What Did I Notice About the US of A?

My brother asked me as I left to write a post about what I thought about the USA that I saw on this trip.  I love visiting the USA - my husband is an American citizen and I have often told him that I could live there easily, because there is so much to see and do, so much beauty and variety in places and people.  He always says he prefers to live in NZ and I do understand this to a certain extent - it is home for me, after all.

I have had about 8 visits to the USA since 2006.  I think it really is far more than we as NZers expect, as we have pre-formed ideas from television, news and (often loud) american visitors to NZ.  The scenery is fantastic, there are fantastical places to visit and being a tourist is soooooooo easy.  The service is generally far superior to that which is encountered in NZ.

NZers tend to visit the places we see and hear most about.  LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York.  But there is so much more.  I have visited about 17 of the 50 states now and my dream Lotto travel plan would include two years visiting the rest. 

The national park system is far superior to ours, mainly, I believe, because of the fees that are charged to enter these.  It allows for a much better level of upkeep and service.  Maps are excellent, advice is excellent, both online and in person.  

So, what did I notice this time, that was different from my previous 7 visits?  

• Homelessness.  So many more than before in both the mainland places I visited, and in Hawaii. 
• Lots more people on some kind of drugs and out of control of themselves.  
• A lot more division in people's perceptions of themselves as Americans - many embarrassed and ashamed, others loud and proud.
• Ridiculous book bannings and ridiculous control of outrageous educational outcomes in different states.

Other than these points, it still remains my favourite place in the world next to home sweet home.  I don't think I have the same keenness to live there anymore, though.  Too many social problems, and I know we have them here in NZ but on a smaller scale and not so visible for the average NZer.

A Week in Hawaii

On the 7th we flew to Honolulu.  Hawaii is a special place for me.  A place where I have healed, married, celebrated anniversaries and this time, I invited friends and family to meet up to celebrate the various ages of our lives (from just 73 to 21).  We flew in from Denver, about a very do-able 7 hour journey, while others flew from Auckland and Perth, longer and much longer trips.

We stayed at the Twin Fin, where we had stayed before and enjoyed its location on the beachfront, and between the beachfront shopping area and the zoo at Waikiki.  The views never fail to relax me.

Every day this view looks different but it is always stunning.

The first day, we had decided to do a group tour of Oahu as most of our group of 10 had not visited the island before and that was a good way to familiarise them with a trip around together, starting with the visit to Pearl Harbour, where the Japanese had launched their first attack against the USA in WWII, with hundreds of planes bombing the fleet in the harbour.  2400 people were killed in that attack, nearly a tenth of them were women and about 11 children.  It is a sobering site, as are all war memorials, no matter what side you may be on, or how neutral you feel about the conflicts.  Over a thousand have their permanent resting place beneath the sea on the Arizona which is at the centre of the memorial.  The oil slick which floats on the sea above the wreck is said to be the tears of the battleship.

The rest of the tour went around the island stopping at the Dole Pineapple tourist attraction, the Tropical Farm Macadaemia Nut shop, lunch at the food trucks where you can eat various poke (raw fish recipes) and visits to various beach attractions including surfing and turtle bays.  We also stopped at the windiest lookout I have been to as you can see from my hair.

The next days included the beach, the swimming pool, the bars, the aquarium, the food, the shopping and the zoo or whatever took our fancy on the day.

Food trucks are great for inexpensive and fast meals.

The highlight for me, other than having friends and family there, was the climb up Diamond Head.  You need to book a timed entry so that the path is not overcrowded and I opted for the 7am entry to avoid the heat of the sun.  We caught Ubers to the crater entry and set out from there.  It is advised that the trip takes 11/2 to 2 hours but we made the top in about half an hour.  It is a good stiff climb with stairs at the top but as long as you are reasonably fit, you can do it.  We saw others who did not look very fit, taking their time to the top, while some very smart men and women were running up!

The volcano looks quite imposing from the outside but the uphill drive into the crater gives you quite an advantage in terms of the height you have to climb.   

Setting out

Diamond head from below.

This is inside the crater.

And here we are at the top - fabulous views of Waikiki

And beneath the group celebrate at the bottom.

Poke - or raw fish dish (delish!)

Out for dinner on the second to last night.

All in all, a fun-filled week to remember and we flew home on 14th September.

A day in Denver and Red Rocks Amphitheatre

 Our last day on the mainland and we spent it with family.  Nita took us to Red Rocks Amphitheatre as Terry was sick from the kiwi cold that we so generously shared with him. Red Rocks was fabulous! 

They have made a feature wall of all the artists who have performed here over the years and it really is mind boggling! So many famous names. Posters and instruments decorate the lists. Well worth a visit. 

In the afternoon we joined my niece, Zoe, and nephew, Max, and their partners, Robert and Rosie. We talked and laughed the afternoon away at Max’s house, checked out his garden ( it’s in the genes) and Max drove us back to Terry and Nita’s where we had more drinks and dinner and laughter and sadness. 

Zinnias like my grandfather! 

And how it is leaving day, hard to do. 

Goodby to Colorado and family 😢😢😢

Last day in Utah

Spent the morning trying to get a solution to our flat-tyre problem.  We tried to get a new car but there were none available in Moab - only in Grand Junction which was 2 hours away.  Finally, we waited in a 3 hour line to get repairs. Did some retail therapy in Moab, Utah while we waited.  We had a long 5-hour drive ahead back to Denver.

However, I decided that I couldn’t leave Utah without at least seeing Dead Horse Point which is often seen online.  We missed out on "The Arches National Park" because of the flat tyre and that dreadful emergency tyre, so although we knew about the long drive back to Denver, I made the decision to see it or bust! 

I’m so pleased I did! It was really a flying visit but totally worth it. The photos do not do it justice.  This place is HUGE!  A very tall man offered to take our photo up there but he did not really capture the Colorado river so well, even though he had the advantage of his height.

The wind and hostile environment have a bonsai effect on many of the plants.

The river was green although the Colorado River is often red from the soil.

Such a long way down! Then we began the long trip back to Denver across the rugged Rockies. Fabulous country!! Some terrible drivers and rough roads but we made it. 

So pleased to see Terry at the rental car depot and after a few drinks, it’s bedtime in his house at Denver! 

Some road trip photos: 

The interstate road back to Denver is a four-way highway (two lanes each way) and has been enabled in narrow gorges by building one of the roads up above the other.

There are multiple areas where the roads are so steep downhill that trucks have a separate maximum speed and lane, with emergency runoff areas if they get out of control.

The Arches Fall Down

We were excited to have a timed entry to Arches National Park and were going to finish the day with a trip to Dead Horse Bend. Here is the furtherest that we got on this adventure. A view out of the park information centre. 

Instead of progressing further, we found that we had a flat tyre at the park entrance and after getting the emergency tyre put on and being advised not to drive it around the park we limped slowly back into town (Moab). Not one repair shop open because it is apparently Labour Day here so we have to wait for a new car or a new tyre tomorrow. So we have run out of time for exploring and had to spend the last day of our Utah adventure at our accommodation. It could be worse, I suppose. Here are some of our roadside pics or some at the lovely accommodation. Tune in tomorrow to see if we made it back to Denver. 

The last pic is of me at the bottom of this big rock.