USA Voyage

The U.S. is a place like no other. A mix of the very good, the good and the bad. I first went to New Zealand and stayed a night with relatives in Auckland, then to San Francisco, then straight up to Minnesota, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and finally back to San Francisco. 

San Francisco was an interesting place full of interesting buildings, it was one of the first homes of the hippie movement, so people painted their houses in vibrant colours. It was interesting going on a hop on, hop off bus, seeing different aspects of the city such as the houses, the parks, the Golden Gate Bridge and the famous Pier 39 where you can board a ferry to visit Alcatraz which we didn't do, but certainly you can. The seafood was also very nice, with their famous chowders. So all in all, San Francisco was a very different place to other areas of the U.S. but in a good way.

Golden Gate Bridge

Town Hall

Typical house in San Fran

Minnesota was a great place. The people are the friendliest you'll ever meet, especially in the little township of Luverne. Luverne is a farming town, in fact, I stayed on a farm. I saw firefly's and bison, and went to their famous County Fair. There were people at the Fair with such pride in their animals. I went to an historic house known as the Hinkley House, and an art nouveau style theatre called the Palace. The people of Luverne are also very generous and shouted a great lunch at the Pizza Ranch.

Barn in Luverne

Bison

The Palace Theatre

Hinkley House

How hungry are you?

Washington D.C. is a very architecturally nice place, with various statues of Presidents, monuments and museums, and the Capitol building. The first thing I did was to visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It was very interesting to learn the stories of the various Presidents and see the film and television exhibits, all under the same roof. The next day I went to the Capitol building, and took a semi-private tour, jumping queues and all that, because I know someone who knows Keith Ellison (Congressman for Minnesota). It was interesting to see the history of such an impressive building, and the paintings and statues within. Then it was off to Mount Vernon, a well restored historical landmark, it was interesting to see how George Washington lived: Nice view over the river, old English style buildings and plants from all over the world.

Mount Vernon

Painting in the dome ceiling of the Capitol Building

Philadelphia is the real home of liberty and all it stands for, being the home of the Liberty Bell and museums such as Constitution Hall. I drove through Amish country, they are really nice people. The Amish really have the stereotypical Amish way of life, they don't use electricity, they look like they do on the television, with their style of dress, their buggies travelling through the town, and their various quilting designs. Ooh and don't forget their food. Philadelphia also had the biggest supermarket in America called Wagman's, it had everything in it including eateries, a community centre and the biggest cheese bar you've ever seen.
Valley Forge was an interesting place to visit, because the Americans had a battle with the English in this area in 1777, the Continental Army vs the British Army. The soldiers lived in log huts whereas George Washington's headquarters was quite a large stone construction. They were there for eight years.

Amish Farmer

Liberty Bell

Log Hut in Valley Forge

New York has vast amounts of food, and huge quantities of it. Two people could share one meal. Manhattan is a great and bustling busy city, very hot in the Summer. Broadway shows are always great to go to. I saw 'Ghost' in a beautifully restored old theatre called the Lunt/Fontane. It's great to go on a boat tour that take passengers around Manhattan and various other boroughs of New York. The MET (Metropolitan Museum of Arts) is absolutely amazing, you couldn't see it all in one day, and of course the Kenny Kramer Reality Tour, conducted by the real Kramer. For those of you who are fans of Seinfeld, you must look up this great tour.
The hop on, hop off bus was good, but you can just as easily walk and take taxis, they are cheap as chips.

Statue of Liberty

View over the Hudson River

Famous Soup Kitchen From Seinfeld

Then it was back to San Francisco, I had a day there to go to their Metro Arts Museum, which is worth a look.
Then back to Australia, via New Zealand. The journey back was long and arduous, but thanks to an unexpected Air New Zealand upgrade, we survived.

Some of the very good experiences I had were the Kenny Kramer Reality Tour, the entertainment, the grandeur of the buildings, the wide variety of food, mostly good service, helpful people and our friends were exceptional hosts.
Some of the bad experiences I had were with internal airlines which left a lot to be desired in terms of service and food availability, taxi mobility with a wheelchair in New York was not good, and the hotel maintenance and air conditioning in some hotels was not adequate.
We had fun educating the Americans on how to make tea properly.
Overall it was a fantastic experience and I hope to go again.