This summer I went on
a USA road trip. I visited 14 states, 7 big cities, countless smaller ones and numerous national parks. I would like to share my experience with you.
The trip took us 5
weeks. Our first flight was from Warsaw to New York, where we spent a couple of
days. Then we rented a car and drove South: to Washington, Outer Banks (a beautiful
coast full of little islands – remember “Nights in Rodanthe” movie?), Atlanta,
Charleston and Savannah. Later we went to New Orleans (also a couple of days
there), from where we flew to Denver. On the East coast we visited many
national parks, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Cities
New York is a city
that gives you a choice in practically every field. It also gives you an
opportunity to fulfill your dreams, whatever they are. Even if it is loud,
packed with people and very quickly moving and changing – everyone will find
something they love about New York.
Washington is flat -
there is a law that limits the height of the buildings there. It also has a
very long lawn called the National Mall (3 km) with the Capitol on one edge and
the Lincoln Memorial on the other. The White House and the Washington Memorial
(the obelisk) are somewhere in the middle and they are not interesting at all.
Atlanta has very
little to offer, it doesn’t have the unique atmosphere other cities have. It is
very industrial and the only funny thing in there was the Coca Cola museum.
Charleston and
Savannah are the perfect examples of the southern architecture. There are a lot
of old, well maintained, colorful houses and the ambience of these cities is
unforgettable.
New Orleans is
overrated. It most certainly is beautiful and colorful, but I couldn’t feel the
unique atmosphere everybody talks about.
Las Vegas is one of
its kind. If you don’t have enough money to travel around the world – come to
Vegas: you can be in New York, Rome, Venice, Paris, Egypt, Havana, Monte Carlo
and many more, and all of them in just one night. Because sightseeing in Las
Vegas means visiting the hotels. You can also visit the medieval times, a circus
and a pirates’ island. But your feet will be killing you after you have walked
the entire Strip (7 km).
San Francisco is cold
and windy, but it is truly beautiful. I like everything there – angled
streets, architecture, little artisanal shops, a pier packed with sea lions…
and I’d love to come back there.
Los Angeles is
boring. It is elegant, but there is nothing more to it. All the celebrities’
houses are hidden behind thick walls and fences and the stars themselves don’t
appear that much on the streets.
Nature
USA is a big country
of course, but it is so diversified that it is nearly impossible to describe.
The least I can say is that the views change completely every 50 kilometers or
so. Of all the places that we visited I enjoyed the most the Antelope Canyon
and Lafayette swamps. We didn’t have much time to cover all the tourist
must-sees, but we have seen the Grand Canyon (totally overrated), the Bryce
Canyon, Canyon lands, Arches, the Yosemite, Sequoia, the Monument Valley and the
Death Valley. The more popular ones were packed with tourists (mostly
Japanese), although it was September and the summer break was over.
Accommodation
We have slept in
different types of places: mostly motels (they have entire towns made just of
motels and cheap restaurants!), but also hotels, rented apartments and a room
in someone’s house. The one thing they all have in common is the top quality
mattresses. It is funny that a lot of accommodation websites list the mattress
manufacturer as their advantage and pride. Thanks to the number of motels we
could always find a room. In the West coast it was easier and we didn’t have to
book anything in advance and in the East coast (specifically in the National
Parks’ area) it got more difficult and we had to make some reservations.
Food
Food in hotels/motels
is truly disgusting (at least for me). And the price you pay for the night
doesn’t matter. A breakfast set is practically the same everywhere you go: you
get a waffle machine with waffle mix, bagels, muffins, egg omelets, a variety
of cereal etc. You may get diabetes and sclerosis just from looking at the
buffet. No wonder I was falling asleep straight after every breakfast I ate in
a motel. It is better to choose accommodation without breakfast or skip it and
buy some food at a supermarket.
The beauty of
American cities lies in their diversity and possibility to choose whatever you
want. Therefore when you’re planning to go out for dinner, you get to choose
from thousands of restaurants. They do not care for niches or supply/demand
ratio, they just put restaurants EVERYWHERE. I’ve heard that in New York City
you could spend more than 20 years eating in three different places everyday
and still you wouldn’t visit all the restaurants. Plus, more than a thousand
new restaurants are opened every year. Once we have found ourselves in the
middle of nowhere and we asked a cashier at a gas station where the city centre
was; she answered “THIS is the city centre”. And still TripAdvisor showed us
more than 60 restaurants in the area.
Generally speaking, fast
foods are the restaurants for the less wealthy. The quality AND quantity (which
may be surprising) is basically the same as in Poland. The difference lies in a
size of beverages – their small is our large etc. Also, there is a wider
variety of such places and again you may choose whichever you prefer. The one
that I enjoyed the most (and the rumour has it that the president Obama shares
my preferences) is Five Guys burger place. You choose a burger and all the side
ingredients, they fry it straight after you have placed your order, they use
local potatoes to produce their fries (made from whole potatoes, the skin is
left on them) and everything is really, really tasty.
Advice/Other
Buying fuel is really
weird if you don’t have any American credit card. You have to park your car
next to a fuel pump, inside the shop you pay the estimated amount of money,
then you refuel your car and if you tanked less than you expected to, you may
get the refund at the cashier.
Americans have a
slightly different highway code. There are STOP signs everywhere and you have
to respect them. It is not uncommon that there are four STOP signs on an
intersection. The strangest difference was, in my opinion, the rule regarding the
right of way on this kind of intersections: it wasn’t the “right hand rule” (as
in Poland), but the “who was first” rule – this means that whoever comes to the
intersection first gets to be the one that leaves it first.
If you think that you
understand an American accent, you probably understand only some of the most
popular ones (New York, Florida, California). Try understanding a swamp guide
from Louisiana or a toothless lady at a hotel front desk somewhere in Arizona.
Everyone is so friendly
over there that Europeans tend to be very suspicious about that. People are
willing to help you with everything and they smile all the time. This was a
nice change from Polish frowns. When we got a flat tire, a super friendly
firefighter appeared out of nowhere and offered his help (he wouldn’t take no
for an answer), changed the tire in our car, advised us on some safety rules,
found us a car garage and even escorted us there.
“Big fat Americans”
is an unjust myth. People take better care of themselves than in Poland. I have
never seen as many people running and exercising as in NYC. There are also
plenty of healthy restaurants, organic supermarkets etc. Maybe somewhere in the
country people are less aware of the issues regarding an unhealthy lifestyle,
but this is changing for the better very fast.
They have THE BEST
MEAT I’ve ever eaten in my life. That’s all I’ve got to say.
Questions:
- Do you know any strange American customs? Or from any other country?
- What is the best way to explore new places? How do you get to know them?
- Have you ever been on a road trip? How was it?
- What is the most interesting place you have ever been to? And why?
Photos sources:
All photographs were taken by me
Comments
Anyway I think I have similar conclusions after my trip. Everybody were really, really nice and helpful. I haven’t seen a lot of obese people (I assume there may be more of them in some poorer states). I don’t think I ate in fast food places but portions in normal restaurants were sometimes enormous. However, I loved the huge choice of candy in shops but they all seemed both sweet and salty which was surprising for me.
I really love to travel and have been to a lot of places but I intend to see many, many more. I often look for cheap flights and choose a destination when I see a cheap ticket. Then I roughly plan what I would like to see there and try to plan a trip around it. My family never really planned their trips but we got into a car and drove somewhere. My sister does the same thing, she have already been to Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India thanks to very cheap flights, found a place to live when she got there and traveled freely. I was never a fun of travel agencies and would much rather plan everything by myself. I recommend it to everybody :) I find it to be the best way to explore new places, read some guides, talk with people who have already been there and choose for yourself.
I love to explore new places on my own, without any organized group of people. The best way is to book the tickets and maybe some accommodation, make a good research before the trip and be open to new interesting events that may occur.
I spent a month in Tenerife last year and it was really interesting experience. I wanted to know how it is like to live on an island, around different people and culture, in different climate. The trip was a great success and I'm considering making more such voyages in the future.
I've only been outside of Europe once - I visited my aunt in Canada when I was 15. I really liked it, people were lovely and helpful, and I still can't face up to the fact we don't have Tim Horton's in Poland - I absolutely love their coffee! I've seen American border on a trip to Niagara Falls, but that's the closest I've ever been to States :)
Do you mind me asking how much, approximately, you've spent on your trip?
Most interesting place? Huh, I hope I have yet to be there. World is a beautiful place, and I really enjoy every part of it.
I haven't been in the USA yet, though I am planning to visit, and maybe stay and try living there. It is true that the environment in the USA varies a lot throughout the whole country. It is hard to talk about those places if you have never been there.
The biggest connection I have with the USA are the popular youtube vloggers who live there and vlog their every day. I watch some of their videos quite regularly and am able to see the surroundings and get to know their accent better.
I've heared that Americans are very friendly and most of the people you see are smiling happy. I wish we would have this sort of behavior in Poland too. Speaking of me I am usually smiling to others and most of the time I am very friendly to everyone.
I need to try 5 guys burgers as I've heared they are delicious and they also look very tasty.
I believe that the best way to explore new places is to interact with people. Visiting museums and sightseeing is important, but I've learned that locals can tell you many interesting and useful things - tips where to go or not to go and facts about the country you probably won't find in a guide.
I've been on a road trip with my friends in Peru. It was an archaeological trip organized by the University so we spent half of our time at an ancient site working - digging, measuring and documenting the relics. But throughout the rest of our stay there (more or less a month) we travelled around on our own and it is something I will remember until the end of my life. :)
We saw Lima, Arequipa, Puno (with floating Uros islands on Lake Titicaca), Cuzco. We travelled through Nazca desert (though we couldn't see the famous Nazca Lines) and descended into Colca Canyon. The best part was Machu Picchu. It was one of my life-time dreams to see it and I was overjoyed when we eventually got there. The journey itself was thrilling too. To get to Machu Picchu you can take one of special buses that will get you directly to your destination or even a train (one of very few functioning railroads in the whole country), but this was very expensive of course. Because we were poor students, we chose the cheaper (but so much more exciting!) option. We started from Cuzco and travelled using local buses and taxis, we walked a few kilometers on railway tracks to finally arrive in Aguas Calientes - a town closest to the site. We spent a night there, woke up before dawn and walked up the mountain to finally see Machu Picchu. It was exhausting but absolutely worth it.
Paulina, I hope that you will come back to America to see what you want. I would also like to come back there, I've heard that Oregon is really beautiful and I dodn't have a chance to see it.
I'm not a big fan of fun parks, but I'd love to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. I know that it's probably cheesy, but hey, it's Harry Potter.
You're not the first person that has mentioned the unusual saltiness of the sweets, but I haven't noticed anything like that. The thing that I hated the most was that cheese Cheetos tasted COMPLETELY different than in Poland and they were disgusting. Imagine 5 weeks without Cheetos :C Did you find any funny sweets that you liked most?
Speaking of cheap flights - my friend texted me recently and her localisation showed that she was in Gdańsk. I asked her: Ola, what are you doing in Gdańsk? It's Tuesday! She answered that she'd bought Ryanair tickets to Gdańsk and back (one day round trip) for 9 zł and she went to chill on the seaside for one day. Have you ever bought a ticket that cheap?
I agree with your second statement - for our 5 week trip we have had hotels booked for only 5 or 6 nights so that we would have kind of a freedom. We went where we wanted to and we didn't have to care if we would make it to a hotel or not.
One month in Tenerife, that's fantastic! I've never heard of anyone that would be there for more than 10 days. Did you travel all over the island or did you stay in one place and explored it?I would really like to go somewhere for a longer period of time and just soak up the atmosphere.
I went on this trip with my mom and brother. As far as I remember, we spent approximately $13000 per person (everything but plane tickets included). A two bedded room in a motel costs about $60, food is quite cheap, as well as fuel. Unfortunately, the tickets to the famous tourist places are really expensive, for example we payed $40 each to get on top of Rockefeller Plaza in NYC to see the skyline (the second picture in 'cities' section was taken there). If you want to see a lot of national parks, it is very good to buy an annual pass - it gives you access to all the national parks in the USA for a year. It costs $80, but it includes one car and 4 passengers and it turns cheaper after you had visited 5 parks or so.
The most strange custom which I heard and know is Chinese custom which says that if we want to give someone gift it could be not a clock! Why? Because Chinese old wives’ story says that it is counting to death. In Chinese language affirmation ‘give a clock’ means ‘go to a funeral’.
The most interesting (and for me beautiful) place I have ever been is Switzerland. I love this country and I would like to live there! Maybe there is not the most fascinating, traditional and interesting country for a lot of people but culture and amazing views are encouraging!
What ist the best way to explore new places? I think… it is being spontaneous and open-minded to new adventures! You only need a little (not a lot!) money, good friends, wide road and… have a nice trip! :)
Do you know any strange American customs? Or from any other country?
It's sort of custom(maybe more of a standard), you always get a free water at restaurants and no matter what kind restaurant is it you can take leftovers.
What is the best way to explore new places? How do you get to know them?
Just go and don't have a detailed plan what you want to see.
Have you ever been on a road trip? How was it?
No, I have not.
What is the most interesting place you have ever been to? And why?
I can't remember of any especially interesting place. I was in LA and LAX too, I've seen Grand Canyon, visited Chicago and parts of Winsconsin but I've never seen something that blew my mind.
The one of them, Dan, the obese teenager from New Jesey has told me that he had a huge fight with his mother before leaving to Poland, because she thought that here we've got no Mc Donald's so he'll be starving for 3 weeks. He was the happiest person I've ever seen when he found out that there're about 3 Mc Donalds' in the neighbourhood of our hotel. Seriously, is it the way that mum should take care of her child!? By worrying that her child will have no fast-food to eat!? Of course, Dan was skipping hotel dinners (he said that he can't even look at them) in order to grab some hamburger (or a few at once....) afterwards.
Okey, it could be an exception, but then another Americans have staggered me. I was going for a run in every evening and once Leanna, the university student, with her mum decided to join me. I was pretty impressed by the time when I saw them ready to run.... with the package of the crisps in one hand and cola in another. They managed to do one lap, in the time I've done about 40. No-one will ever convince me that America is not the laziest nation in the whole world.
Honestly I'd rather go to the one of the Scandinavian countries. That's the places that are considered as the ones with the healthiest societies and I'm really intrested in Scandinavian life-style. I wouldn't believe in the sayings that they're so active and fit, unless they're the most common ones that I meet on every single gym I've ever been to.
Yes, that about Americans smiling and being friendly is absolutely true, they are also very helpful:)
Wow, your trip sounds really good! I hope I'll go there too one day.
Oh, Switzerland, I've never been there and I'd love to go!
Yes, I think that good friends are an essential element of any trip - even if everything goes terribly wrong, you will still have someone to share the experience with and you can solve problems together.
I think that the best way to get to know new place is duided tour. Guide can be your friend when he knows this place. Another good option is sightseeing with guidebook, when you want to be more independent. It can be very interesting, of course when you bought good book. I have never been on road trip but I want to go to USA or Japan. The most interesting place where I have ever been is Sicilia. I love this kind of landscapes like in godfather, one of my favourite film. Moreover I fall fore italian dishes and sicily cakes with ricotta cheese and obviously. I love the tipical Sicilian climate.
Yeah, that thing with leftovers and water is true. Maybe it would be impolite to take leftovers from a three star Michelin restaurant (although I don't think there would be any), but generally it is a habit. Maybe it is because the portions are so big?
About scandinavian contries, 3 years ago I went on a road trip to Norway, but only for 10 days. It was great though, the views were amazing and everything was so quiet there. I even went to this terrifying rock called Kjerag, you can see it here: http://silesiair.com.pl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/zdjeciepelne38955420130610kamien-kjerag-norwegia.jpg (it's not me standing on it, just a photo from Google).
You really meet Scandinavian people in Polish gyms? That sounds so unreal:D
I think that people dream about visiting unreachable places. For Polish people it was almost impossible to visit the USA for many many years, for political reasons and then because it was so expensive. Now, when this dream became achievable, everyone wants to go there. I have been seeing photos from all over the States for the whole summer on my Facebook wall. But Antarctica seems like not so tourist place, so you might want to go there before it gets more accessible and everyone starts travelling there:)
When it comes to your questions:
1. As Robert has already mentioned, serving free water for everyone before meal - I wonder if anyone take it into consideration like me at all. I mean I am quite against it - just think of these hectolitres of water that are simply wasted! For example people who take care about health and respect one of the basic rules which is not to drink right before, during, and at least 1,5h after meal (except the green tea which is allowed) - they simple don't touch it. When you are not so thirsty, you won't drink all of it. What about child or older people? No matter how convincing could I try to be, there is no doubt that large amounts of water which is, as we all perfectly know non-renewable, natural resource, are idle away.
2. First of all - you need to have a dream. Then add: individuality (helps to make your trip YOURS), curiosity and pinch of creativity. And when you relate this values with an honest necessity of exploring new places, meeting new people, contacting different cultures - just like in the process of learning - that is without all doubt perfect receipt for an effective journey. Add some great company and you are prepared for an adventure! Because, in my opinion, travelling is learning, but in very most pleasant, perfect way.
3. I have already written few words about it in the beginnig :)
4. The most interesting place I've ever been to was Hawaii (but also I will tell you about in June), Berlin (which is my favourite city as it so beautiful and artistic, full of initiatives and events) and little village in Mazury that was, for many years of childhood, my permanent, and in fact, favourite destination and I feel very sentimental about this place and period, for many reasons.
This summer I'm going back to US and work to save some money and start my own business here in Warsaw. In September I think I will organise myself pretty well road trip :)
Magdalena Żołądek
The most interesting place I've ever been is actually Poland. Our country is really interesting! With so many castles, old towns colliding with new architecture it is really awesome.
When I arrive at new place I usually check tripadvisor or similar portal for some advices, I choose most interesting and during my trip I usually visit half of them and many others which local people recommend me. My trip plan exists but is changed like every hour. Sometimes it happens that I forget to visit some place but I try to not skip most interesting things.
I've never been on road trip however I'm planning one in USA in the future so I will save your post for some tips for 'beginner' :)
I don't know any weird or strange customs. Nothing comes to my mind, maybe because I simply accept the differences. When I'm traveling I like to learn about all the different customs not from any guidebooks but simply by walking around and observing people on the streets. For me that's the best way to learn about a new place.
And the whole story and pics... Briliant.
I don't really care for museums when I'm visiting someplace new, I'd like to get to know the place and the local people as they are right now and from them.
Talking to locals is a great idea and almost always you can learn something interesting about the place you're visiting, something you won't find in a guidebook.
In my opinion places we visit are interesting because of the culture - the people. And that's what we should explore to have an interesting and memorable trip.
Unless of course you have some specific goal in mind when visiting a foreign country, like for example you are obsessed with the Vikings and you just have to go to that Norwegian Viking Ship Museum you always dreamed of.
If that's the case, go for it :)
strange consumers? Each country has different customs. Personally, I would not call this a strange just different.
The most interesting place I've been to? I think it is a Norway. It isn`t so far but i really like this kind of landscape. Fjords sea and friendly human cool temperature (I do not like hot weather, and maybe that's why I like so much this country).
I Think that the best way to explore new places is to plan everything and go travel around the world. I’m a type of person who want to plan everything and wants to have a place where I can stay and sleep well. The other things such as exploring some places or try traditional food can be spontaneity When I was young I was on a road trip with my parents. Right now I can’t find time for that but I will definitely go somewhere after graduating. The most interesting places for me were all kinds of castes that I loved to look at and watch them.
I have never been on a road trip and I think it might be cool, but on the other hand I feel like I was spending the whole time in a car, what sounds not that nice :P How many time did you spend driving?
For me the best way to explore a place is simply to stay there for some time. I like the most observing people, watching well known places, but these unknown as well - it gives a great feeling about a city to know every side of it :) And the best way in my opinion is simply to spend time with people who live there, to ask them to show their favourite places and so on :)