Hello, bored blog readers!
First up, the title of what will be my penultimate American ponderings is a little dedication to all you US peeps and my new favourite greeting. Enjoy!
As I left Vegas I resisted the urge to put some more money into an Aussie poker machine and tried to adjust to the flood of natural light that hit my face and my empty pockets. It was time for our final... very long journey in Frosty (our Toyota Corolla-looking Cadillac). Our destination: San Francisco.
The journey was fairly standard: wrong side of the road, many American flags and so on. However, it was certainly nice to be seeing some more green out the window. But it was on the final leg of the journey where the real treat unleashed itself. It was the sort of sunset you see in movies and documentaries about the Beach Boys, but it was glorious and well worth the 9 hours of driving we had endured.
A good night's sleep was then in store, and for me the touristy thing I had been looking forward to the most on this trip was on the agenda the next day: The Charles M. Schulz museum. There are very few people I would attribute the word "genius" to, but he is one of them. Give me the profound philosophical musings on every aspect of life from Charlie Brown and Snoopy over any other "classic" literary work any day. It was simple, humble, fascinating and touching, just like the "Peanuts" comic strip, and it came with the added bonus of a trip across the famous Golden Gate bridge. The only downside was finding that all the t-shirts I wanted to buy were not in my size. Oh well, I had accumulated enough novelty shirts by this point anyway.
Next stop was to return Frosty. It was an emotional departure to the little engine that could... and did get us from one side of the vast country to the other. In my best American posture, Frosty, I salute you. We quickly missed him even more, as Ash - who had joined us in Vegas and was now firmly entrenched in the Roadside Project happenings - and I were treated to a cab ride straight from the Steve Mcqueen movie "Bullitt". Many harrowing minutes later we made it back to our hotel.
The rest of the time in San Fran mostly involved seeing the sights around Pier 39. This involved the rainforest cafe (mere words cannot describe), several aquariums, and attempting to win on the world's biggest skill tester. Let's just say many dollars were frustratingly wasted. I was also taken in by some brilliant haggling in an antiquities store. But in all fairness I shall be the proud owner of an original and signed LP of the Foo Fighters' debut album in a few months - bank balance permitting. The time in San Fran was capped of with the ubiquitous visit to Alcatraz, and luckily the few times I broke the speed limit in our road trip didn't come up as an issue.
So we're on the home stretch. Next time I write shall most likely be upon arrival back in Australia. I know the last little bit in the US of A is going to be amazing, and I can't wait for it.
Miss y'all, and catch you on the flip side!
Nick, xo
