Hawaii - only stayed in Waikiki, but did an island tour around Oahu. Feels like so long ago now but it was only 2 weeks ago. Had a great time with two of my nieces and got to meet some great people. I like Hawaii but honestly don't think I would go back on my own. It was nice but just not my kind of place. Must say it was a nice place to spend my 40th tho :). Highlights: Cousin Duke on the Grand Island Tour, Waikiki sunsets, Teddy's Burgers, Pearl Harbour
New York - stayed in NYC and managed to get to 3 of of the Boroughs of New York City - Manhattan, Brooklyn & Staten Island. Went around Manhattan a few times on the hop on hop off bus, which was great value - especially if you use it right. I know I've said already but whilst it has been an experience, I can't see NYC being on my list of places to visit any time soon. I have enjoyed my time here but again it's not my kind of place. Highlights: seeing the Brooklyn Bridge, view from Top of the Rock, Staten Island Ferry, The Rockettes, seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in a play (he was really good!)
District of Columbia - Washington D.C... loved this place. Did a night tour the first night, which was great. Got to see heaps. Then did another day tour the next day (more on this in the Virginia section), and got to see the same places but in daylight, which I think gives another aspect of things. I really did enjoy my time here. There are some amazing buildings - huge buildings and not so huge buildings (The White House is way smaller than I thought it would be). Highlights: Seeing the US Capitol Building for the first time, seeing the Lincoln Memorial (that was impressive!), the Korean War Memorial (because my dad was in the Korean War, it was very poignant), seeing the White House, Union Station. Another thing I loved is that in D.C no building is higher than the US Capitol.
Virginia - technically I have to include this because 3 of the places we visited as part of the day tour are in Virginia. The highlight of my entire trip was one of these places. Mount Vernon - I loved this place so much! Mount Vernon is the estate of George Washington and has been rebuilt as much as it was back in his day. It is a really special place in a really beautiful setting. I recommend that everyone goes there. Another place visited was Arlington Cemetery. As much as it was sad, it was also impressively massive. Rather sad seeing all those headstones.
Pennsylvania - Philly Baby.... Philadelphia! Ok so if I loved D.C, I really, really loved Philly. It was definitely my kind of city. I can't even describe it, but there is so much history. There are so many little side streets with so much going on. There are a lot of different neighbourhoods and the people are really friendly. I really enjoyed my day here and the night was great too - the bed at the Best Western Independence Park was one of the most comfortable I've ever slept in. Highlights: Independence Hall, Philly Cheese Steak (even tho I didn't really enjoy it), 30th St Station (seriously, if you need food then this is the place to go!!)
All in all it's been a successful trip. I have learnt things about myself this trip and isn't that the whole point - to learn and discover things. At first I thought I would not be back to the States in a hurry but now having been to a few other places, I really want to discover more of this county. I want to go outside the big cities and discover the smaller cities and towns. I have learnt that each city has it's own identity and just because they are in the same country, doesn't make them all the same. I mean I already knew this but I think this trip really opened my eyes to it. I also learnt that just because someone likes something or a certain place, doesn't mean that everyone is going to like it. This really came to my attention with I got to NYC. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't like it more because everyone said I would love it. But because I didn't I kind of felt guilty and didn't really want to tell anyone. But then I thought "Stuff it, this is my opinion and I'm entitled to it as much as the next person".
I am glad to be going home to be in my own space but I also wish I could spend more time here and go around this country further. It's been a great 3 weeks and I am sorry to see it end.
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