Our trip begins in San Francisco. After a 13-hour flight from Auckland, and a brief pit stop in customs, we arrived in early afternoon San Francisco. We explored downtown, Fisherman’s Wharf, and rode bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausilito.
We arrived in downtown Los Angeles from San Francisco via Greyhounds bus. We explored the buzzing Hollywood strip, and rode amusement park rides at Knotts Berry Farm, and Universal Studios in Hollywood.
The lights, spectacle, and vibe of Las Vegas makes a striking first impression. We spent our time exploring the casino strip, drinks in hand, walking from casino to casino. We also saw Penn & Teller at Rio, and Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity at New York-New York.
After the dizzying spectacle of Las Vegas, Denver was the perfect place to come down. We explored the laid back city, eating some excellent Pizza, and singing Waltzing Matilda in rainy pubs with locals, when they noticed our Australian accents.
Following Denver, we made a brief flyover to St Louis. After a rather traditional diner breakfast, with some quality golden pancakes, we explored downtown St Louis and the Gateway Arch. We departed for Pittsburgh, with a redeye greyhound bus route involving stopovers at 2am and 4am.
We arrived early morning in Pittsburgh on little sleep from our St Louis Greyhound odyssey. The quiet, town had a welcoming vibe reminiscent of Fitzroy in Melbourne. We explored the beautiful city, and enjoyed some excellent food and drink — including some memorable burgers and craft beer at Fatheads.
We spent our little time in Washington seeing the various iconic monuments in the national mall; including the Lincoln memorial and the Washington monument, as well as The White House. We also visited the National Air & Space Museum, and the National Museum of Natural History.
Finally, we arrived in New York. Over the course of six days, we saw as much of New York as we could, including Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, and Central Park.