The biggest anticipated trip of the year for Chris and I, to travel to America and see my family and friends. Wow, was I so happy to see everyone. It's almost like I never left. These are my places, those are my people; it just felt like I was back in my skin, back with my kind. And Chris was over the moon excited for our entire adventure. He was looking at things for the first time ever, with this being his first trip to the states and all. And I gotta say, it was fun playing tour guide. I mean, I really had to break everything down; "and here is a freeway that we drive on the right side of the road. Oh and over there is Walmart!" He said his trip highlights were the size of our fast food meals (twice the size of Australian meals), and Jackson Hole (second time ever seeing falling snow). Here is a break down of our 4000 mile road trip :) LAX--------->Oakland--------------> San Francisco "I hopped off the plane at LAX, with my dreams and my cardigan..." No? Miley Cyrus? Well that was Chris' anthem the entire time. "It's a party in the U.S.A!" We only had 30 minutes in L.A. which was a bummer since this was the one spot Chris talked about non-stop. In Australia everyone knows America from the movies and TV shows they watch. And Chris being a sports fan, he wanted to hang out and see where all the action was taking place that he grew up seeing. We'll get back to L.A. at the end of the road trip. We drove straight through to Oakland, where we stayed at an Airbnb (see dog licking my face below). Oh and to fill you in on the drive from the airport, I was delusional; so tired and jet lagged after a 14 hour flight. I honestly should not have been driving. Nevertheless we arrived. And the next morning we toured San Francisco. Had to have some tasty donuts for breakfast and street food for lunch. We wanted to do a night tour of Alcatraz but it was sold out for the next two months. I also wanted to surprise Chris with a tour of the Oracle Arena (Golden State Warriors play there, basketball in case you don't know who they are), but they were also sold out. So we settled with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz from the mainland and a fun drive down Lombard street. So this part of the trip, I was thinking Ok, we are making great time, going to get home to the parents a day early and surprise them. Hey look, we even have extra time to take the scenic Highway 1......little did we know that HWY 1 is like another country in itself. We basically didn't move for 8 hours of driving and I think we ended up In the same zip code as San Francisco! The 1 is a gorgeous coastline drive that takes you over hills all while seeing the stunning California coast, but my God, if you are trying to stick to a schedule of getting out of California in a day, don't drive it! Plus, there was like one gas station the entire way. By night fall we had to find a place to stay over so luckily we found a small town along the way (small as in one INN and one grocery store and a couple restaurants). It's funny because the only room this little old lady in her moo moo had was an ocean view room, but we checked in at dark and left at dark, so we didn't even get to enjoy the view, but still paid the premium price! In my mind after 8 hours driving, we should have about 6 hours left to Portland Oregon. Thanks to the beautiful HWY 1 with its endless coastline views, we still had 11 hours to Portland!! Did we go back in time? Did we enter another dimension?? It was 11 hours away when we left San Francisco and after all day driving you're telling me we gained time?!! Ok, ok....that was a little rant. I wasn't happy. But we made it work out that we could spend two days in Portland with my homie Ryan to make up for arriving so late. Portland with Ry Ry Oh to see my brother from another mother again. It was a sweet homecoming and it couldn't have started off any better then to hang with Ryan. He was our tour guide around town. We had some fun on some city scooters, had some street food, and went to this arcade bar to play some old school arcade games. As you know (well, if you're a stoner), Oregon is a legal state for weed, so we couldn't not have any with Ryan. Oh man, some good laughs were had and I think at one point I was trying to sell a street light that looked like a tree to Chris. "This, sir, is a tree! A beautiful tree with a light on it!" Haha. Since Chris couldn't watch his favourite basketball team in San Franciso play, we settled to go watch Portland Trail Blazers at their arena in Portland. That was my first as well as Chris' first NBA game! It was fun and loud and we had a whole pizza to split among us. Good times. Bye bye Ryan, come visit me in Australia! And get a real bed man! Spokane Bound-Family! 11 days to stay with my parents...ahhh, the smell of home. For me it is the smell of a warm fire, tomatoes stewing on the stove, and fresh linen from the laundry room. I love home, and my parents company. It was so good to see them. Full disclosure, I cried like a baby when I pulled the car in; couldn't contain myself at all. Sis welcomed us with mimosas and Bentley boy was carrying his ball over for Chris to throw and eventually become his best friend. Over the course of about two weeks, we dressed up for Halloween and toured Coeur 'D' Alene and I got to show Chris all my childhood hangouts and where I went to school. We also did a drive up to the river property where the fall colours were in full bloom. It was stunning, and I got to pay tribute to my brother Shane and Grandmas memorial sites. We were able to hang out with all my nieces which was amazing and with my cousin Amanda and Jenny. We spent the night over at my sisters and had dinner at Jenny's house with her family. Overall, Chris enjoyed himself and I was loving being home, like I never left honestly. The day we left my parents, my sis and niece Marie packed up and we headed to Jerry Johnson Hot springs, again a first for Chris to experience. Not sure how he'd like it considering, he sleeps with a sheet and turns the fan on high and has the water run cold for his showers...but he loved it! We hiked in with the rain coming down so it was a very wet trip. We sat in a nice dug out pool the first day and the next day we found only a trickling waterfall hot spring because the river washed out the pools. It was cozy staying in the fireplace warmed cabin with our beds. Chris was definitely experiencing the 'roughing' it lifestyle. We're Going to Jackson! Since I lived in Jackson Hole for the 6 years of my life in the states, I had to go back to show Chris why I ended up there. And lucky for him it was snowing! He has only seen snow one other time and that time really didn't count; I am pretty sure it was the dust from the man made snow flying around on the hills of Australia, but don't tell him that. We were lucky enough to hang out with River Boy, Amanda's Golden Retriever, the entire time we were there. We visited family in Wilson and drove up to Grand Teton National Park and the Elk refuge. Guess what was missing the entire 3 days we were there? The Tetons! The Wildlife! We didn't see the mountains due to the low cloud cover and there wasn't a single elk/moose/deer/bear around! Chris will just have to believe me when I tell him these things exist. We did get to experience the nightlife of Jackson Hole. Cowboy Bar and good ol' two steppin' cowboy country music. I also got to show him the town front and the quaint little shops, we even bought our first Christmas ornament! Chris really wants to snowboard in Jackson so the plan is to go back next year! ---------------Side Note---------------- I wanted Chris to try all the restaurants I grew up getting fat on, so here is the list of places we went. None of these are in Australia...God help us. * Taco Bell * American McDonalds (Ok, so they have McDonalds but everything is like 3 times the size in the states!) * Olive Garden\ * White Castle * In & Out Burger * Taco Time * DQ * Zips (Spokane Favourite) * Seasons (Coeur 'D' Alene) * Arbys * Kings Chinese Restaurant (Spokane) * D.O.G. (Jackson) * Eleaven (Jackson) * Pinky G's Pizza (Jackson) * Gather (Jackson) What Happens in Vegas... Ok, honestly the most anticipated part of the trip...for both of us. I was so happy that Amanda, Amrita, Virginia, Jenny, and my Aunt Pat could make it! So fun. Chris had 3 things to do in Vegas: Buffet, Hard Rock Hotel, and Topgolf. We got to do all three and more! Topgolf was fun with the gang, and you will see below that Chris killed it! We walked the strip and checked out all the hotels (Chris loving Caesars and Bellagio) and loved the water show and volcano eruption at the mirage. Freemont Experience was a great time; so many performers out there and the lights of the old strip are so vibrant. We stayed at the Linq Hotel, right in the heart of the strip and were lucky enough to get rooms on the same floor as everyone. So fun to get all dressed up and go out with the gals ( sorry babe, you were the only guy). Memories were made and sadly with time not on our side or money for that matter, we made the journey home. Back to LAX Before we boarded the plane (11pm flight), we had to at least see Hollywood Blvd. Chris and I walked over to see the Chinese Theater and find the Hollywood Stars of his most favourite people in the world, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Slash. I think after that he felt more complete. We bought a few souvenirs to take back with us ( I couldn't take much considering I loaded up three extra suitcases of my belongings from my parents house to take back with me to Australia) and left to catch our plane. This trip was much needed for me personally. I was feeling lost, I knew I was missing my family after I was in AUS for a year. I mean, that is when I intended to go home. But I kept my heart open and found love instead. Now, with my family loving him as well, Chris and I will figure out where we want to go next. He is interested in moving to the states and I am interested in starting my own business somewhere. For now, we will live in Australia and travel as much as our funds allow us. Thank you to everyone who made my trip home bitter sweet. So happy to have been there, but sad to go. Picture time!
1 Comment
Katy
14/11/2018 09:59:23
Loved reading of your adventures home with your man! Wish I could have seen you while you were home and back over here in the states! Maybe next time! Maybe, just maybe I will get to visit you in Australia instead. =]
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The Journeys Made...
* New Zealand *28 Days in Q *Banff *Home Sweet Home *Bali *Tails4You *Thailand *Fiji *Florida Up Next... East Coast America Royal Caribbean Cruise Everest Base Camp Africa |