'The Great Escape': My USA Adventure

When I set off from the UK I had not planned to spend much time in the USA, apart from a visit to Alaska. However, my plans changed dramatically in Australia.

You see, I built in an emergency safety stop at New Zealand, only booking my journey up to Auckland and no further. I reckoned that by the time I reached Australia (in the previous month) I would need to evaluate how things were going and decide whether to continue on around the world or not. I had several factors to consider:

1. - If I was poorly, broke or homesick - I could call it a day after New Zealand and get a flight home.

2. - If I had seen or experienced something or somewhere amazing, I could go back to that location to live there for a while.

3. - If I had been offered a job or charity position that I liked the look of, I could go back and take it. (Note - I did have 6 job offers in China, Vietnam and Cambodia, but they shall make for a future blog.)

4. - I could choose to continue with my around the world journey.

I chose to continue.

As a consequence of my safety stop however, I had not booked any subsequent travel options post New Zealand and the one that was most pressing was my Incan trek to Machu Picchu. My plan was to continue travelling in the Southern Hemisphere and go to Santiago, Chile from New Zealand. Then I could make my way north through South America to arrive in Peru for a May expedition. Unfortunately, when I tried to book my permit for Machu Picchu, it turned out that the month of May was no longer available. For those of you who do not know, the Peruvian government is now limiting daily numbers to just 500, of which 300 go to guides and porters and the remaining 200 permits go to international tourists. The earliest date that I could visit Machu Pichhu was late August 2015.

My Peruvian goal for later in the year

This was a disaster. What was I going to do? I couldn't go to Chile in April and then spend five months in South America making my way to Peru when I had ony budgeted being there for two. Besides, I had planned to be in Canada and Alaska by August.

In the past, I would have been very distressed at this barrier to my plans and my inflexible, autistic temperament would have struggled to cope with unexpected change. Instead, after just one evening of anxiety, I awoke knowing I was more than capable of dealing with the situation. I could come up with an alternative plan, jettison the old one and look for the positives in the change. What a breakthrough - the man who would get distressed at a change in meal plans, the man who needed to know what he was going to do the following morning before falling asleep on a night - accepting that I would and could change a plan I had devised months before - and be OK with it.

I decided to change hemispheres. I would travel from New Zealand to Alaska and then make my way south to my Machu Picchu engagement rather than flying into Chile and making my way north. One casualty was my planned train trek across Canada. It no longer made sense to travel thusands of miles east to Toronto from Alaska, to then head south. I reasoned that it would be better to save this trip for another time in my life. Financial constraints also started to impact my choices. Cuba, notoriously expensive for international travellers, no longer seemed viable. I therefore decided to take my time in the US and then fly straight into South America.

I could see a great many positives from the changes too.

First, I would now have company in Peru. A friend and former school colleague had told me she had always wanted to tackle the Inca trail, but was nervous about doing it alone. I told her she should join me when I did it, but May was not a date she could make. As soon as I knew I would be doing the trail in August instead, I contacted her and asked if she wanted me to book two places? She jumped at the chance.

Second, I was now able to include places in the US which I had always wanted to visit, but had never thought I would get around to. Places like New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis.

Third, I would now be able to catch up with some people I had met travelling. Sherry and John in Vancouver and Tom and Joann in Nashville.

And finally, I would not have to rush my way through Alaska (and you all know how much I enjoyed my month there.)

My American Adventure - Post Alaska (8th May to 28th June)

You can see final my route across the US here on this amateur home movie I made last night!

Well I can honestly say that my US trip was truly remarkable. The people were incredibly polite and friendly, the sights and sounds were unique and I got to visit all the places I had always fancied (outside of New York, California and Las Vegas where I have been before) and see other places that were a little off the beaten track.

My first port of call was Seattle - such a vibrant and youthful city. I made full use of my CityPass and spent day after day touring the main attractions around the Space Needle, the harbour, the museums, Boeing and the downtown city centre. My Airbnb hostess Nora, made my time more special with advice, trips out and discussions about where to go to next in the USA.

Glass artwork at the Chihuly Gallery Home of the Seahawks

Inside the Seattle Market and an encounter with a sea otter

Then I took a train up to Vancouver and Vancouver Island to stay with John and Sherry at their home in Nanaimo and at their cabin by Lake Horne (details are in a previous blog.) Vancouver itself was culturally very rich and the surrounding environment is simply stunning. Museums, galleries, a bike ride around Granville island and a tour of Gastown and the harbour. I even managed to catch a Greyhound bus for a day trip to Whistler, which really polished things off and gave me a final taste of snow after my time in Alaska. (It also allowed me to take the 'Peak2Peak' cable car, a marvel of alpine engineering and the longest in the world.)

Steam powered clock in Gastown

Vancouver sure is one big eye-sore after another!

From Vancouver, I took the Amtrak Cascades train down to Portland, Oregon. Tamra, my host in Juneau, had recommended it and I thought it would be an interesting alternative to head down through the state of Washington. I was not disappointed. Portland is a cool city and a vibrant place to live. It is youthful, enjoys good weather, is culturally rich and easily navigable on foot and public transport. It is also the most amazing place for books (new and old.) I took time to tour the International Rose Gardens, the Japanese Garden, Portland Art Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry whilst I was there.

From Portland, I went to Reno, Nevada. Now this was not a first choice, nor even a second or third one. You see, whilst I was in Seattle, I had attended a timeshare presentation from the Wyndham company. Despite their best efforts to get me to sign up, I resisted as it did not make financial sense for me to buy in without a home in the UK (I didn't tell them that fact when I arrived - but they didn't ask!) However, for attending the presentation they gave me a week's accommodation anywhere in their Wyndham catalogue. Unfortunately, as I wanted to use it now in the USA and not in the distant future, that turned out to be a choice of just 5 places. 4 required that I have my own transport to reach and to get around, Reno did not. Hello Reno!

I took an 18 and a half hour Greyhound bus overnight through Oregon, California and into Nevada. And actually, despite my many doubts, found that Reno was great. Nevada itself is stunning. It is high, dry, has no insects, a great climate and is filled with snow covered mountains. I resisted gambling in the casinos, bar one Elvis related penny push arcade in the children's area, into which I put 2 quarters. Ironically, I won and dozens of quarters dropped, but instead of giving me the coins, the machine kept them all and gave me 50 prize tickets. Wondering what to do with them all, I saw a nearby child who didn't have enough tickets for the prize she wanted, so I gave them to her.

I avoided the seedier things Reno had to offer and spent my days walking, paddling in the river, swimming in the pool at the hotel and finding different places for a quiet drink at the end of each day. Hurrah's car museum was a real highlight and I got to see my first ever professional baseball game.

From Reno, I wanted to go to Nashville, but every flight I investigated was just too much money, and none of the ones I could afford were direct. The best one went to Chicago first and then turned south (via Charotte NC). When I checked out the flights separately - it turned out to be cheaper still to fly Reno to Chicago and then Chicago to Nashville. I had always wanted to visit Chicago so I decided to stop over and booked myself 4 nights in the Windy City. It was amazing. Such a fabulous place. Another CityPass saw me visit every major attraction I could. I loved Chicago and cannot recommend it enough. I only wish I had stayed longer. Art galleries, museums, parks, the river, the lake (it's a bloody ocean) the towers, the tours, the atmosphere. Chicago is vibrant and easy to get around using public transport.