I’m by myself again and so happy to leave my sister in California. I head to Portland Oregon on an early flight. The first thing was the cold and I felt it. I added another layer and ventured outside to find the way to downtown. I hopped on the tram or trolley and checked in to my hostel. These guys are trying to be so posh and swanky they don’t even call it hostel. It’s the society hotel but it has bunk beds as high as the warehouse ceiling so it’s a hostel. I took top bunk because it’s fun getting up and down those giant ladders and if you roll out of bed you could die. After little nap I went exploring the city of bridges. It was a cloudy day but at least no rain. The homeless people were out and about, half with pants on and half with pants halfway down. I’ve seen so many bums more than the bridges. I walked to 8 bridges and walked over 2 of them. Each bridge is different and I like that. Just a few miles north and we enter Canada. Not sure why more US citizens aren’t just moving across the border just for the universal health care alone. After checking out the bridges and downtown I was pretty much done. I’m looking forward to my trip to Astoria tomorrow.
As I headed to the train station to board my coach I hoped that the rain would subside as we reached Astoria. It didn’t happen if anything the rain just got worse throughout the day. It didn’t stop me from having an excellent day though. It was all because of the movie Goonies. Filmed mostly in the state of Oregon and especially in and around Astoria. I first visited the old jail which was where the Fratelli brothers was incarcerated is now the film museum. It’s not the best museum and at $6 was a bargain. From there I went location hunting for the Goonies house, Data’s house, Mouth’s house, bowling alley and the market. I even spotted a few locations from Kindergarten Cop and the twilight movies. I was soaking wet even wet feet and eventually got back to Portland at 9pm and dried off using the hairdryer.
The next morning it was raining and I boarded my greyhound to Seattle to state number 24 Washington. I checked into my hostel and went exploring. I went straight to the space needle which is the main feature of my favourite TV show Grey’s Anatomy. After two days of walking around looking around Seattle I then boarded my flight to Kalispell Montana.
I arrived in Kalispell Montana state number 25 at midnight. I arranged for the hotel to pick me up from the airport and laughed at the idea that I even thought about walking from the airport into Kalispell town. I must have been nuts. The place was covered in snow and was getting ready for an unexpected snow storm and vortex low temperatures. I was so glad about booking the hotel and shuttle. The next morning I waited for my glacier national park tour only for it to be cancelled because of low visibility. I went back to bed and checked out later. I headed downtown into the snow blizzard as I wanted to see as much as I could before my flight that evening. I also wanted to experience the snow and below 20 degrees temperatures. After less than 2 hours and as everything was closed or I couldn’t see to find it, I headed back to the hotel to thaw out. During the day was told that flights were all getting cancelled. This got me worried especially as my airline insisted it was just delayed. The hotel shuttle was stopping soon and suggested I go to the airport Earth enquire about my flight. I got to the airport to see them close all doors and explained flights were cancelled but yet again my airline insisted it was only delayed. The driver suggested that the hotel lobby was more comfortable than the airport and I was reluctant to leave but I’m glad I did. If not I would never have met Tonia Leigh Johnson. A woman travelling on her own for work. I met her in the lobby while I was on hold on with alaska airlines. We hit it off straight away and became friends quickly. After confirming that our flight was on we headed to the airport on my lyft account. I decided to pay it forward. So we were at the gate ready to board only to have the flight get cancelled. We were eventually rebooked for two days later reluctantly. I realised tonia was waiting for me which was such a relief as one night in the airport was bad but two in these temperatures was just unthinkable. She said she still had her room and insisted I take the other bed. I couldn’t believe her kindness. I couldn’t sleep anyway but eventually after 2am fell asleep. As she was working on this trip she had meetings booked. I slept till noon and then after her meetings we decided to spend time together for the day before our flight the next morning. We really got along so well people thought we were best friends. After walking around town in the bitter cold but beautiful sunny day we visited the museum, a gallery and the historic district even did a bit of shopping we headed for the sauna, hot tub and swimming pool. We had an absolute blast getting to know each other spilling all out traumatic pasts to each other like a therapy session. She insisted on taking me to dinner as everything was on her expense account. I couldn’t believe my luck that my only expense was the lyft fare in return for two nights accommodation, uber to the hotel to the airport twice and eventually a rental car and 500 miles drive to Seattle. At dinner at brannigans Irish pub just before the food arrived she looked at her phone to see that our flight was cancelled again and rescheduled for another 3 days. We suddenly lost our appetite and I was unsure what to do with all my connections. Then she said she’d drive and we decided on a road trip. We got our food to go and went to collect the car. The next morning at 5am we started our road trip. By lunchtime we were in Seattle and she had driven me through Idaho my 26th state. I had already done Arizona when I went to the hoover dam which was state number 27. I was back on track and we hugged goodbye as I went to change my flight to get to Denver and thanked my lucky stars for meeting this lovely lady.
So because of the airlines cancellations and the knock on effect I missed my time in Phoenix and Salt Lake city. Instead I had an extra couple of days in Denver Colorado. Even in Denver my flight to Cheyenne was cancelled but I managed to get on a greyhound instead. I got to Cheyenne at 4pm as it was a delayed and precarious start to the journey. I met a lady on the bus who offered me a ride to my airbnb. I met my host and his roommate and we got along like a house on fire. His roommate even made me dosai for dinner. Unbelievable. The next morning his roommate gave me a ride into town because he didn’t want me walking in the snow. Little did he know that I was going to be walking through snow to get to my greyhound station for two hours. Then the coach was 3 hours delayed. Thank goodness I had a lovely tour of Cheyenne. No wind or snow blizzard just snow and sunshine. I made it back to Denver at 7pm and I was able to book a tour for the following day to the rocky national park and surrounding areas in Denver which was a complete shit show. They should have cancelled as they missed 4 of the 6 stops. The guide went gallivanting and got bus stuck in the snow ditch during a snow storm. It was lucky I made it back to Denver for my flight to Fargo the next morning.
When I arrived in Fargo the WiFi didn’t work so I couldn’t even try to get a lyft as there was no bus services from the airport. My airport motel was over an hour’s walk away. So I started walking. 10 minutes in walking on the road as there was no pavement and everything is white covered in snow. A car stopped in front of me and said jump in you I’ll give you a ride it looks like you need it. I was reluctant but he said he was an off duty uber and was happy to take me wherever I needed to go so I accepted gratefully. As he left me at my motel he said he would take me to the mall near the wood chipper if I could check in within 5 minutes and meet him outside. So that’s what I did and the lovely uber man Chris dropped me off 20 minutes from the wood chipper. I didn’t realise how bitterly cold it was as I was excited about my 2 free rides. The wood chipper was the famous scene in one of my favourite movies of all time Fargo. I was so happy. After that it was sensible to get back to the motel before dark as the weather although not a storm or windy was very cold. My skin was actually hurting. After getting lost and taking nearly 3 hours I made it back to the motel by 6 pm.
The next day I walked 20 minutes to the nearest bus stop and got to my greyhound stop. I managed to leave my bag at the jefferson lines depot and go sightseeing downtown Fargo. It was still so cold even though there wasn’t any wind. It’s the coldest I’ve felt in my life. I couldn’t find all the murals nut enjoyed the gallery and art museum before my long journey to Sioux Falls. Not my destination but only a stopover. I treated myself to a lyft as it was dark, cold and a lot of snow to walk 20 minutes to the motel. For $7 it was worth it plus the next morning I did walk to the greyhound station.
The journey to Rapid City took an hour longer because of the time zone. We arrived at 6pm so it was still dark but not as cold but the motel was an hour’s walk away so I took a lyft for $7.
My prearranged tour to Mount Rushmore and Custer Forest Park was on schedule. My guide was a retired navy man. I visited the most iconic American monument and it was just amazing. Then it was onto Custer Forest Park and to Crazy horse which still remains unfinished. Then it was all about wildlife driving around the park spotting white tailed deer, mule deer, big horned sheep, prairie dogs and bison. It was an amazing day which ended with my guide backing up a parked car with a passenger in it. This was a very expensive tour because I was the only person which means paying double. I got $10 discount for being a teacher. Every bit helps.
The next morning there was no way I was paying $10 on a lyft so I walked to the greyhound station an hour away. My next destination Minniapolis.
Minniapolis was actually OK really even at midnight. The buses run and the drivers helpful too and didn’t charge me. My airbnb is in little Africa mainly Somalian and Ethiopian. In fact my hosts are drug taking immigrants sub letting their rooms for extra cash to buy drugs. They stay in all day sleeping and taking drugs. They’re more mellow users rather than junkies. Minniapolis on a cold grey day wasn’t as bad as I thought. They have the best stone arch bridge in the world and I loved walking across it. The Mississippi river was frozen and looked pretty cool. I also crossed the first bridge of Minniapolis. There was also a bridge collapse in 2007. Price was also from Minniapolis or at least an hour away. The squirrel here were super friendly, I thought but actually really hungry. So I fed them in Loring park. I’m looking forward to my next destination Milwalkee in Wisconsin. It was a relaxing stay in Milwalkee. My airbnb host cooked and fed me each night Indian food and also dosai for breakfast. Minniapolis wasn’t as cold but it sure was foggy. Apart for the Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley connection Minniapolis was just like any other city but with a weirdly German twist.
The fog followed all the way to Chicago. I expected the windy city but all I got was a foggy wet city. It was a shame as the skyscrapers here are awesome if I could see it all. I’m excited to see all my favourite TV show locations in Chicago. Unfortunately it was all in the roughest and dangerous places in Chicago.
Then I took the early train to Springfield Land of Lincoln and had an amazing time looking for Lincoln. I had my backpack with me so it was a harder walk but I still enjoyed my walk to Lincoln’s tomb, his house and his neighbourhood. From Springfield it was a quick stopover in St Louis Missouri. The train ride from Illinois to Missouri was great. From St Louis I went to Kansas City. I had a few hours to visit this city and luckily the tram was free so there wasn’t much walking with my rucksack. My train to Wichita was late which meant getting there at 6am. Luckily the hotel I booked was easily talked into giving me a room at such an early hour without any charges. I obviously looked tired but I was happy to get some sleep and enjoy the free breakfast all before my actual check in time. The next part of the journey was to Des Moines but due to greyhound incompetence my 5am coach took me back to Wichita via Oklohoma city 12 hours later. I eventually got to Kansas City in time to intercept the bus from Tulsa to eventually get to Des Moines, Iowa. It was another quick stop in a tiny city which was being dug up for Google cable. Art galleries and a great state capitol was all it had to offer. From Des Moines it was an easy bus ride to Omaha, Nebraska. As it turned out the journey from downtown to my airbnb was different. The route from the last stop to my airbnb was 15 minutes but through a park and a downhill trail full of mud and debris from the snow. It was a difficult walk and when I eventually got to the road there was no paved road but just more mud. I did finally find it and my host and two cats made up for the crappy trip there. Malcolm X was born in Omaha but not as revered as Martin Luther King is. His birthplace looks abandoned with possibly a homeless person living in it. The rest of the city was just as expected, art galleries, parks and museums. My host even gave me a ride to the greyhound for the longest journey to Detroit Michigan via Chicago. The bus took me to Ann Arbor and it really wasn’t as special as I thought it would be like I saw on TV. I got to my hostel and was upgraded to a private room. I had a quick explore of Detroit’s oldest neighbourhood, Corktown and the their diverse one Mexicotown. The following day I visited the General Motor Renaissance Center to check out the cars. It’s right across the river from Canada. The partially under the river tunnel is one of its kind. Over 9 million vehicles use it to cross the border. Motown museum was closed so I spent most of my time downtown admiring the beautiful buildings. Detroit once the country’s most richest state with its state of the art car technology is now leading as the nation’s poorest in literacy, school dropouts and highest property foreclosures.
After Michigan I was just bored of writing about everything I experienced. I posted on facebook obviously but decided to stop writing in this journal. I think this trip was just way too long. It ended up being more of an endurance. I did enjoy seeing all the new stuff and experience everything that came with it. I didn't enjoy the delays and cancellations by Greyhound, the airlines etc and dodgy people at the bus stations harrassing me at one point.
It was definately a trip to remember and I'm glad I achieved what I set out to do but I don't think it was worth it though trying to fit all the states into one trip. You live and learn.
