Around The World in 308 Days

Follow our world wide adventure! My partner and I are travelling through 11 countries over the next 10 months, you can currently find us in Australia!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 42 - 45: Golden Bear Bridge

America: Sunday 23rd - Wednesday 26th October

Lloyd and I met our friend Darren at the airport after a stressful drive through San Francisco city centre (including scaling the hills of Chinatown) to return the rental car. He was joining us for 12 days and was very kind on our peasant ways, buying us food on several occasions and paying for us all to enter the Academy of Sciences which was the perfect rainy day activity! After watching the penguin feed and having explored all the different areas we reluctantly made our way outside (into the damp afternoon) to the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately it was an incredibly grey day and the low clouds seemed intent on spoiling our view! Cold and wet we took shelter in a restaurant on Pier 39 and enjoyed our first meal out since leaving; courtesy of Darren!

We returned to our hotel room where I found a pink envelope on my bed… It was from my friend Allie asking if I would be her bridesmaid! I was so surprised I cried with happiness! Allie and Lloyd had been absolute ninjas getting this organised and Darren had brought that beautiful little letter all the way to America with him. I went to bed so excited, the biggest smile spread over my face!

The following morning we picked up the rental car (it was Lloyd’s turn to drive now) and visited Yosemite National Park, after an initial blunder with directions (Darren and I were not quite as precise as we needed to be - Lloyd had set a high bar with his superhuman navigation ability) we had a day to explore; one afternoon and the following morning. We stopped at Swinging Bridge and hiked towards the Upper Yosemite Fall. The following morning, after an incredible buffet breakfast (waffles, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles included), we walked to Mirror Lake and Lower Yosemite Falls. As we started along the path to the falls Lloyd spotted a small bear crossing the river… towards the path where we were stood! It climbed a tree, seemingly just to pose, before settling in some long grass between the road and a path. Very quickly a crowd gathered and after a few sneaky photos we left the golden bear to enjoy its paparazzi. After viewing the waterfalls we headed back towards the car and bumped into a Park Ranger who was staring at a bear bottom perched high in a tree. She had to scare the bear (called White10) away from the road by shooting it with paintballs…! This is supposed to reintroduce a fear in humans but we agreed that all it would do was make the bears frightened of humans in a Ranger uniform!

Next stop was San Francisco airport, we returned the rental car and checked in for our flight to Fabulous Las Vegas. After a very short flight we walked out into arrivals and laughed. It was certainly obvious we had landed in the right place. We were greeted by rows of slot machines, whizzing and blinking whilst expressionless people perched, hypnotised, at their mercy… It was even incredibly difficult to find the exit and escape! We did eventually make it to our hotel and were glad to be on the third floor, away from the noise of the casino!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 55 - 65: Hawaiian Holiday

Saturday 5th - Tuesday 15th / Wednesday 16th November

Our 10 days in Hawaii flew by in a breeze of beaches and busses. We celebrated Lloyd’s “Home” birthday the evening we arrived in Honolulu after stumbling across Barefoot Beach Cafe, an open air restaurant that boasted a wonderful view. Our delicious BBQ buffet was accompanied by live acoustic music and front row seats to an ocean sunset. When the fuchsia sky had faded it was replaced by a sprinkle of stars that twinkled above the lights of the cafe. It was wonderful evening, one we will certainly remember.

Lloyd’s “Hawaii” birthday began with a special breakfast of fresh fruit and bagels. A few party hats and balloons decorated our small balcony and after speaking to his family and blowing out candles on a large chocolate cake via a video call (I’ve never wished for Wonka Vision more than at that moment) we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. We ate another delicious dinner at the cafe and walked along the shore as the sky turned the beach candyfloss pink.

Our days continued on this holiday rhythm; we climbed a dormant volcano and were lucky enough to see a rainbow arc all the way over the crater, hiked through a jungle to a waterfall, visited a Japanese temple and sunbathed at Paradise Cove. Our favourite day was spent at Hanauma Bay; we rented snorkel gear and after an hour or so, splashing around in the shallows like fish out of water (ha), we finally felt comfortable enough to take the plunge and swim out towards the larger coral.  With child-like excitement we pointed out every fish that swam near us and spent the day in and out of the sea exploring our newly discovered underwater world. I could feel my mermaid tail growing by the second! Aside from an unexpected (very sandy) dunk in the sea, far too many cold bus journeys (especially after the unexpected dip in the sea), lots of mosquito bites and the US election results our time in Hawaii passed by blissfully uneventful!

Hawaii is home to some wonderful people. An incredibly sweet 85 year old lady who we met at a bus stop and chatted to for 45 minutes. We ended up giving her a hug and kiss goodbye. We also saw the same Chinese family twice. We first met when we stayed at their AirBnB in the South of Oahu and then we saw them again when we arrived to an AirBnB of another Chinese family who lived on the West side: 40 miles away! We knocked on the door and some familiar faces were smiling and waving back at us… We must have been jumping to some hugely stereotypical conclusions when we thought they looked the same as the people we had previously stayed with? But no, it was the exact same family, on the other side of the island! Due to a language barrier everyone just smiled and waved at each other but we all found it pretty funny. This AirBnB was our favourite, Jue was lovely and served us a wonderful, home cooked, Chinese meal followed by cookies, milk and a kiss on the cheek from her adorable little boy Gabriel. This spell was not even broken at the airport, we collected some free gifts from a store for simply spinning a wheel of fortune and enjoyed unlimited wine refills on our flight to Fiji, the first drops of sweet nectar in a long time - the 10 hour flight across the international date line wasn’t quite so bad after all…

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Catching Up On A Century

Today is Wednesday 21st December. Day 100.

In an attempt to TRY and catch up on the past 60 days I’ll be hopping back and forth in the time line and posting blogs on larger chunks of our journey. I’ll be adding a location to the title so hopefully it doesn’t get too confusing and it means you can get some more recent stories alongside some now almost historical ones (don’t worry Darren I’ve not forgotten about your time with us!)

Wish me luck..!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 38 - 41: American Giants

Wednesday 19th - Saturday 22nd October

Our tour of America’s National and State Parks continued as we visited Newberry Volcanic Monument and walked within what remained of a historic explosion that blew out the side of the volcano and covered the land in ash and lava. It looked as if someone had thrown huge lumps of coal from the top of a mountain, they had settled almost mid roll and it gave the feeling we were frozen in time. We then drove into the increasingly cold weather and arrived at the vast Crater Lake National Park to thick snow! We walked along the edge for as long as we could bear the freezing temperature and then returned to the car to continue enjoying the view from the warmth! In places, where they had cleared the roads, the snow was over 6 foot deep but as we wound our way back down the steep mountain road the white blanket gradually disappeared.

The next few days were spent in California exploring Redwood National Parks, we walked up Fern Canyon where the walls dripped with water and the path was a running stream. We had to hop and jump our way along, trying to avoid getting wet feet by balancing on fallen logs. We then visited BIG tree which was very big indeed (304 ft tall, 21.6 ft wide and 1,500 years old to be exact) and walked through the forest along a trail, admiring the other huge trees. The following day we drove along Avenue of the Giants, stopping to run around the natural playground like little children. We climbed and jumped on the fallen trees, whose roots were as tall as a house and walked under arches of splintered wood from trees that had toppled on top of one another. It was then that we realised we were quite low on fuel, we had to make it through the rest of the forest and find the nearest gas station, which we only did with the help and direction of some local firemen… with only a dribble of fuel left! Feeling more relaxed now that the car wasn’t going to sputter to a halt on us we drove towards San Francisco and made it to our accommodation in Santa Rosa with no further dramas! Tomorrow we hand back the car and meet Darren for another new adventure...

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 31 - 37: Hiding Behind Mountains

Wednesday 12th - Tuesday 18th October

It’s been over a month since we began our travels, however these 6 days were pretty uneventful!  We were enjoying the Canadian part of our road trip and our final morning in Banff went by quickly. We paid our parking fine (booo) and visited some more of natures beauties in Yoho National Park; we stopped at Takakkaw Falls to eat our lunch, visited the shore of Emerald Lake and climbed over a Natural Bridge.

Our road trip from there took us to Sicamous as we were planning to continue west in Canada before heading down the coast of America. Unfortunately though the tail end of a typhoon was due to whip the west coast and we didn’t want to get caught up in a bad storm, so we quickly changed our plans and headed south, staying inland, hidden behind the mountains. This new route took us through both beautiful and barren landscapes and we added a lot of miles to the clock with not alot to show for it. It did mean however that we got to stay in 2 of the nicest AirBnB’s so far. A lady called Mel hosted us just before we left Canada, along with her adorable dog Roo, we were made incredibly welcome. She cooked us dinner, provided us with ample, delicious food (even enough for the following day) and chatted to us, providing recommendations for our new route. She owned a coffee shop next door called Blondies and made us several hot drinks (served with large fresh cookies *drool*). My favourite was called a London Fogg and was a blend of Earl Grey, vanilla extract and steamed, frothy milk. Despite that sounding odd it was especially tasty and the best cup of tea I’ve had since leaving home!

Our next host was a lovely woman called Carol and her furry companion, a sweet dog called Bonnie (you’re gathering there’s a theme here between a good AirBnB and an average one?). They lived on a small farm near Redmond, Oregon and we chatted to Carol as she introduced us to her 3 chickens, 2 goats and a rooster. The following morning, after sleeping in an incredibly cosy bed, we were treated to a cooked breakfast and a song (accompanied by an acoustic ukulele riff) about how she came to adopt Bonnie which was very touching and quite catchy! We said goodbye to them both and made our way to Smith Rock State Park which was a very enjoyable, spontaneous day out. The hike offered some pretty cool views and we felt like quite the intrepid explorers as we stood on top of the mountains looking out at the suspiciously flat land around us.

So you’re probably thinking “Beth, this doesn’t sound like enough content for 6 whole days!?” well what felt like far too many hours were spent driving or in motels. Other than almost getting blown away when we stopped at a very windy scenic viewpoint and a giant tumbleweed nearly causing an accident right in front of us nothing much else happened. I suppose though I should be thankful, I have to catch up with these blogs somehow!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 29 & 30: One Of Those Days

Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th October

After clearing several inches of snow from the car we pulled out of the driveway, tires crunching on the untouched white blanket, and drove along the icy roads to Banff National Park. 

Our first day began quite disappointingly. A damp, chilly air engulfed us and we walked to a ‘scenic viewpoint’ but realised we were on the wrong side of the river (therefore no view). Worst of all, when we returned to the car, waiting under the windscreen wipers, was a parking ticket. It flapped mockingly in the breeze as I tried to enjoy my Philadelphia and pepper sandwich. As we looked around the surrounding streets in Banff town centre, disbelief etched on our faces, we realised that all the cars parked on the right were facing away from us and all the cars on the left were facing towards us. In other words our parking ticket for “facing the wrong way on a two way street” actually meant we had parked facing opposing ‘traffic’ (I had crossed a solid yellow line in order to reach the bay. I was parked safely in an allotted space. The speed limit was 30 kmph… The Canadians are strict!). We quickly moved on, pocketing the ticket and leaving our frustration, my guilt and all general bad feelings for the morning's activities behind.

The weather seemed to turn colder the further we drove and it was snowing heavily by mid afternoon. This added to the magic of Moraine Lake, a true winter wonderland. The pine trees were sprinkled with snow and trails of deep footprints were scattered along the water’s edge. But before I could leave my own footsteps in the fresh snow I proceeded to slip straight onto my bottom, much to the amusement of a nearby woman who didn’t even try to conceal her laughter. 

We had then planned to go for a swim in a natural hot spring, relaxing with a view of the mountains, but it looked just like an outdoor swimming pool without even a mountain peak in sight! We decided to save our money and give that a miss, we had a parking fine to pay after all! 

The following day the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. The bitter air felt a little warmer and we could actually see the mountains! We visited the rugged shoreline of Lake Minnewanka ( … we laughed too) and the busier but beautiful Lake Louise, stopping to have our photo taken by a very nice woman who turned out to be a photographer (perfect!). We took the short ride to the peak of Mount Sulphur on the Banff Gondola and explored along a slippery, ridge-top, wooden, boardwalk (it was much safer than I’ve made that sound, honest). After an hour, our hands and noses numb from the cold, we went inside and watched the sunset from the 360-degree, rooftop observation deck. It was an enjoyable afternoon and we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the Canadian Rockies.

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day...?

A HUGE apology to those of you who are still keen to hear about our trip (I wouldn’t blame you if you’ve lost interest, we’re now on day 58 so i’m 29 days behind... That’s as many days behind as I have actually posted about). In that time we’ve gone from snow, to big trees, unusual rocks, to glorious sunshine, had a friend join us and head home again. We’re having a brilliant time and I have lots of stories to tell so I’ll try and get the posts going again over the next week... but don’t hold me to that, it’s hard work lazing on a Hawaiian beach you know! 

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 26, 27 & 28: Not Such a Pheasant View

Friday 7th - Sunday 9th October

Most of these days were spent travelling in the car (it's now got a good collection of crumbs on the floor and dirt on the windows, hopefully the rental company doesn't charge an additional cleaning fee!) We were fortunate that 2 of the mornings were at motels that provided a free “continental” breakfast so we were well fed on waffles, maple syrup, bagels, toast and coffee prior to leaving (including sneaking away some sandwiches we made for lunch). On the Friday we made the very long drive from West Yellowstone to Kalispell, it took us nearly 6 hours but we made several stops along the way and managed to check into our motel around dinner time. Thursday we visited Glacier National Park but were greeted by cloud and rain that insisted on following us around all day. The main part of our plan for visiting Glacier was to drive along the ‘Going to the Sun Road’ and enjoy the views, unfortunately we couldn’t see too far past the road due to the mist and clouds (we were half way up a mountain so I guess I should have expected the weather to cling to them). A section of the road was closed due to snow fall which meant we had to turn around, go back down the winding mountain road and take a much longer route to get to the other side of the mountain range. Heading south it seemed the weather was a little clearer and we were able to stop a few times to take in the sights whilst making our way along an even more winding and bumpy, cliff side road! Just as it started to get a little dark, the roads became a little wider and nowhere near as steep which was a relief. We were making our way towards the Canadian border, however (if you’re a bird lover, maybe skip the next part, we’re not having much luck with our feathery friends) what we think was a pheasant ran out about 5 meters in front of the car. I did my best to slow as much as possible but it tried to fly and ended up hitting our windscreen. I saw it laid in the road in my rear view mirror and just hoped that it wouldn’t get hit by someone else. I felt awful. Lloyd reassured me I did everything I could while keeping the car safe and just as our tension had dissipated (about 30 minutes later) a huge deer hopped over a fence to my left (I’m driving on the right), stared directly at us driving towards it, with it’s creepy illuminated devil eyes, and slowly trotted across the road… thankfully I was a lot further away so I was able to slow down without getting too close but that made us feel anxious all over again!

We crossed the border into Canada without any further drama and spent the night in a lovely AirBnB in an incredibly cosy bed. Sunday we enjoyed being lazy, spoke to our families, ate lunch and packed up our things. Somehow it was 3pm before we started the drive to Calgary, most of the journey was along straight roads that stretched out in front of us until you couldn’t see past the horizon!. 3 ½ hours later we arrived at what can only be described as a mansion. An AirBnB with chandeliers, wood clad walls, bookcases as tall as the ceiling, tapestries hung from inside balconies, a sauna, gym and huge t.v. room. It’s the most grand (and oddly the cheapest) place we had seen so far let alone stayed in! We ate dinner at the huge table and then escaped to our fairly modest room to plan our route through Banff National Park and cross our fingers that we would have better weather!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 24 & 25: Follow the Yellowstone Road

Wednesday 5th & Thursday 6th October

Yellowstone National Park is a vast and beautiful place. Our time only allowed us to skim the surface of all that was available to discover. We encountered Elk crossing the road (from the safety of the car) and lots of Bison, Lloyd perhaps a little too closely. He had hopped out of the car just before a bridge to capture a herd of Bison crossing a river. However some of them decided they didn’t want to get their hooves wet, they would just walk across the bridge… Thankfully they weren’t interested in the crowd of people that had gathered and ignored everyone completely! (Lloyd was clever enough to use the group as a human shield just in case).

Visiting Yellowstone involved considerably more driving than we anticipated. Not only did we spend our 2 days battling the cold weather, wrapped up in our charity shop ensemble (a look that we told ourselves resembled a pair of intrepid explorers no matter how many odd glances we received), but we spent a lot of time in the car, which we both agreed felt like we had somehow cheated the system. However, because of the access the car gave us we were able to see some wonderful things; there were lakes as still and clear as a mirror, forests with hidden waterfalls, a deep canyon iced thick with snow and geysers the colour of opal and ruby, that bubbled and steamed like something from another planet. We were also lucky enough to see, not only a fleeting glance of a young Black Bear as he dashed across the road in the dark, but a Mamma Grizzly Bear and her cub relaxing in a clearing, behind some trees!

Occasionally we were even blessed with patches of sunshine, one of those moments was after a short walk to a viewing platform over the canyon called Artists Point. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, illuminating a waterfall and seeming to turn the falling snow into glitter. We stayed there a while, admiring the view as it was transformed with the setting of the sun.

This did mean however that we had to drive through the snow, in the dark; my headlights turning the falling snow into a seemingly unending vortex - imagine being surrounded by an oppressing blackness and a thousand streaks of white rushing hypnotically towards the car. As I’m sure you can understand, that was one of my least favourite parts. Our time in Yellowstone, though brief, was pretty special and we had a really good time freezing our little fingers and toes off!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 23: Freezing Our Tetons Off

Tuesday 4th October

Waking up in our ‘room with a view’ to a dense grey cloud where the mountain range should have been and a forecast high of 0°C we stayed snug in bed for a little too long. By the time we stepped onto the cold wood floor it had even started to drizzle! Wrapped up in our many layers we planned on driving to Teton National Park however we very quickly found ourselves in snowy territory. We had been feeling prepared for the sudden winter we’d been thrust into but as the winding road got ever steeper we decided to pull over and briefly enjoy the snow where we were. My oh my it was cold out there. I believe the car’s temperature gauge was showing 26°F (that’s a balmy -3°C)… After a brief walk and a lot of marvelling at how quickly it had become quite so cold, we left the snow behind and headed slowly back down the mountain road.

It had been suggested by our host, if the icy roads forced us to turn around as they had, that we stop off in the neighbouring village for a Milkshake, so we thought why not, we’ve just warmed up so let’s go and have a nice cold drink! We ordered as recommended by the girl behind the counter and chatted to her whilst Lloyd and I shared the delicious Huckleberry Milkshake. We talked to her about travelling and the local wildlife; once her school had to go into lockdown as there was a bear roaming around the playground and they weren’t allowed to leave until it was declared safe! Quite different to home!

Returning earlier than planned to our AirBnB we were able to cook our pasta, relax and hope that the weather would brighten up for tomorrow. Oh and we saw a bird fly hard into a window and watched helplessly as it lay struggling on the ground outside….

Side note: A little while later the bird had disappeared, Lloyd told me (much as you would tell a child that their dog had gone to live on a farm) that he had seen it fly away, looking rather dizzy. I’m going to believe that is exactly what happened and that the cat outside had absolutely nothing to do with it.

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 22: Thrifty Miles Per Hour

Monday 3rd October

Here marked the start of a new chapter in our adventure! (I'd like to say that the delay in my blogs was a method chosen to build suspense but it turns out that driving the length of Plymouth to London every day whilst trying to see as much of the national parks as we could didn't leave much time or energy for writing!)

We picked up our rental car (which I was now having to drive, thanks to some pickpocket in New York who stole Lloyd’s wallet leaving him without proof of his licence), collected our bags and as the weather had turned really cold, one of our first nervous drives was to the thrift store to buy jumpers, hats, scarves, gloves and jogging bottoms. All thoughts about their origin (unknown and possibly unwashed) had to be pushed to the back of our minds as we layered up for the potentially freezing temperatures we were driving into. The large roads leaving the city were rather daunting as there were often 5 lanes of traffic and people would overtake from any side (probably because I was going quite a bit slower than the speed limit - Lloyd was patient with me and, for the most part, very subtle when pressing his imaginary accelerator). When we reached the smaller roads I felt a lot more comfortable and even enjoyed the drive a little, that is until we stopped for far too long at a Walmart and it got dark and started to rain… The visibility was pretty poor but Lloyd was a wonderful co-pilot and directed us safely to our AirBnB where we cooked dinner and contemplated the arctic weather forecast for tomorrow.

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 19, 20 & 21: Breaking Social Morms

Friday 30th September - Sunday 2nd October

These few days in Salt Lake City were unique. Our Lyft ride dropped us off at our next AirBnB and wished us good luck… we had to fight our way through an overgrown garden and some hanging Halloween decorations before we made it to the door but we quickly dropped off our bags and went out to explore the city. First stop was Temple Square to see the the Mormon church (I felt a little underdressed with my shorts on; I'd never seen so many knee length skirts!). We wandered across to a park for a snack break and everyone was looking down at their phones, naturally we thought it could only be one thing so checked ourselves, Pokémon were everywhere! We sat for a while whilst I caught the constant bounty (Lloyd's app wouldn't load so he couldn't join in…) and enjoying the sun before heading to the Utah State Capitol building where we enjoyed some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

In the following days we booked our rental car, caught up with laundry and chatted to our rather eccentric hosts. We also met another English couple who are doing a round the world trip very similar to ours! With lists of thing to buy for the car and a route planned for our National Park road trip we were ready for the next chapter in our adventure!

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 16, 17 & 18: I want to be like you when I grow up

Tuesday 27th - Thursday 19th September

Excuse my condensed blog, we really did relax during our first few days in Salt Lake City (in hindsight probably a bit too much) so I don't have too much to tell! Other than venturing to the local shop we stayed indoors for the most part, our hosts house was set up so we (and any other guests) had a separate kitchen and living room to where she lived so we could lounge around without feeling like we were in someone's way. Included in this set up however, was a rather premature Christmas Tree… we thought it best not to ask and just enjoyed its festive presence.

During an aforementioned “lounge time” we met a lovely couple from Washington DC called Roydon and Shanaaz. We chatted to them for a while, they were full of character: when we were telling them about all the places we are going to visit and how we left our jobs to travel, Roydon (who was 29...) exclaimed “I want to be like you when I grow up!” Which we found hilarious.

We also met our host Sharon and were telling her of our plans to hire a car and travel around the national parks and she proceeded to show us her “camper car “. A fully self adapted Ford Edge complete with bed, curtains, fold down dressing table, kitchen area and most importantly a footstool/toilet/cooler box… It was truly impressive how she had converted, what looked from the outside, a completely normal car, into a comfortable and sufficient place to live! We wanted to rent it off of her!

We had a great few days staying in her home, aside from an issue with the internet (which, because of the trouble and the fact Lloyd helped her fix it, she bought us a takeaway pizza for). However we hadn't been productive enough and had to book a few extra days elsewhere in the city to organise our upcoming road trip, including finding a rental a car….

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 15: The Windy City

Monday 26th September

This morning we enjoyed our best breakfast so far: toasted cinnamon bagels, butter, jam, cereal, coffee and milk! It was wonderful! (I'm drooling now thinking about it...) After we had filled our bellies and packed up our bags we checked out and headed back into Chicago, this time heading to the waterfront of Lake Michigan. Walking towards the water there was a lovely view of the city however being so exposed meant we truly had the Windy City experience! Despite the sunshine I was freezing so we went in search of shelter and found a takeaway Taco restaurant on ‘12th Beach Street’ (I say we found it, I'd seen a sign for it earlier and we happened to walk past it at lunch time… coincidence?)

Another tasty meal devoured we had to go back to the hostel and collect our large rucksacks before continuing onto the airport. It was nice finding out we didn't have to check our bags for the flight as they met the carry on luggage requirements, however this did mean we got stopped at security because of 1 large bottle of sunscreen* in my bag (*2 bottles of sunscreen because I stupidly asked why the one in Lloyd's bag hadn't been picked up) which Lloyd had to go and decant into a ziplock bag in order for us to be allowed through.

Two flights, a brief stopover in Denver, another time zone and a friendly Lyft ride later we quietly checked into our AirBnB around 12am and let out a sigh of relief as we knew we could relax here for the next 3 days.

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Days 13 & 14: Sunset - ‘Sleep’ - Sunrise

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th September

We had a relaxed morning on Saturday and even managed to cook ourselves something for lunch that would qualify as a meal! After wrestling our rucksacks onto our backs we began the arduous walk to the train station and then boarded a “Sleeper” train (I use that term lightly as it has to have been one of the worst nights sleeps I've ever had) for an overnight, cross country, 19 hour train ride!

The train did not have a wifi connection like if we were on a coach and we didn't get brought any free refreshments like if we were on a plane but it did have a carriage with floor to ceiling windows and sideways facing seats so you could enjoy the view. We watched the world go by and chatted to a lady from Washington state who gave us some good tips on what to do if we stumble upon a grizzly bear; “Don't run away, make yourself as big as you can. If all else fails curl up into a ball to protect your head and vital organs” ….. On that note we excused ourselves and here began the longest night of my life.

Turns out, sleeping in a chair is not for me. I could not get comfortable and felt like I woke up with every bump in the tracks. A lot of fidgeting later I moved to a pair of seats so I could lie down, curled up and managed to get a good long nap in before we were rudely awoken at 7am by an announcement over the tannoy. I watched the sunrise flash by, over the quiet Sunday sky and we managed to nap a little more until we arrived into Chicago.

Our next accommodation (which was much nicer than the previous hostel and definitely better than the train) allowed us to drop off our bags before check in which meant we could go and explore the city. We were lucky enough to catch Chicago on a beautifully sunny day and we wandered around enjoying the little surprises we would find. One big shiny surprise was Cloud Gate in Millennium Park (otherwise known as ‘The Bean’). We spent a while walking around, staring at it in awe, fascinated by our own topsy turvy reflections, like a baby with a mirror. Eventually tearing ourselves away we stumbled across urban gardens, silver bridges and even a stream to paddle in! They all felt like special little secrets the city was hiding between its skyscrapers and we wanted to find more but the lack of sleep, combined with the warm afternoon sun hit us around 3 and we decided to call it a day knowing we could return to explore again tomorrow.

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 12: “Too hot, hot damn! Call the police and the fireman”

Friday 23rd September 

We woke up early to plan (but the main reason we got out of bed was to escape that guys horrendous snoring). Having booked trains, flights and accommodation for the next week we set off into Washington DC to explore. Our first stop was the White House (which looked more cream if you ask me but I guess that doesn't sound quite as good). Then we headed to the Washington memorial via the White House’s back yard - they had a marching brass band playing so we stood (at quite the distance, you weren't allowed anywhere near) and listened for a while. It was an incredibly hot day for us English folk - 31 Degrees Celsius which is a temperature I don't think I've experienced since a trip to Disneyland Paris 2 years ago! The heat sapped our energy (we really need to get used to it though, we're going to Australia in the heat of summer…) and it took us a lot longer to walk from that memorial, across the mall to the Capitol Building than it should have. When we got there (after stopping at several benches along the way) there were so many police cars driving around, blaring their sirens, several fire engines and sections of the roads had been closed off. We were still able to get up to the Capitol Building and managed to have a look around the outside but decided we needed something to eat if we were to carry on sightseeing. Heading back towards the memorial, followed by the echoing of sirens, we stumbled across a food and music festival so we splashed out and bought a meal each from a stall. I had a delicious curry and Lloyd had fish and chips, both were tasty and very much enjoyed. Feeling slightly more human we walked to the Lincon Memorial and then down to the river, past some beautiful willow trees, to watch the sun set over the city.

[bethanyjaycarter-blog]

Day 11: Capital Letter

Thursday 22nd September

We had a lazy but productive morning and checked out of our accommodation in Wilmington around midday. Our coach journey to Washington DC went smoothly and when we arrived we wandered out onto the street in an attempt to catch a bus to our hostel. For unknown reasons (maybe Mr Obama wanted to go out) there was a high police presence around the station and they started blocking off roads so we decided to catch a train to our accommodation. A brief walk later we checked in to the hostel and claimed our top bunks… After finding a much needed McDonald’s for tea and chatting to a couple of our roommates we decided to have an early night and settled into our separate top bunks for a disrupted night’s sleep... (A couple came into our room at 2am, proceeded to whisper very loudly for ageees and when they eventually went to sleep the guy had the loudest, longest snore I've ever heard!!!)