Well. At some point I had to break the Southern Hemisphere tradition and stick to the north, and thus travelling in June-Augustish.
And at some point I had to break the Eastern Hemisphere tradition and head west. And thus, USA/CAN, here I come!
You know the scene from MI:2, when Tom is climbing a rock? That’s in Monument Valley, that’s Navajo land, and that’s where we went. After a lot of photos of various rock formations it was high time for a dinner and a show, starring the local tribe and eventually incorporating us paleskins.
Starry sky, crickets, the occasional coyote howl and snake rattle, combined with the beans we had for dinner completed the feeling of being in the Wild Wild West.
Possibly the grandest of canyons was visited this day, and the rim was hiked along. Sunshine, rain and everything in between made for good photo opportunities. Luckily the weather stabilised on the sunny side on the afternoon, cause that was when we got into the helicopter for an amazing flight over Grand Canyon. Sunset over the canyon while having pizza ended the day.
I awoke in the city of gambling and took a stroll on The Strip. Immersed in tackiness, the casinos were as bombastic as plentiful. Main point of the day: finding a casino with a decent tournament for the evening. And so, while my co-travellers hit the pool for some drinking game, I headed to the MGM Grand for some serious poker.
50 of us seated, $80 buy-in, no-limit hold’em. Top six pays. After two much needed doble-ups (QQ against AA, hitting the trips on the flop and AA against JJ, holding all the way) I found myself at the final table. Two of the finalists were really shortstacked and disappeared quickly. Then one more went down, and another, and I started singing ‘In the money’. I had bled a while, antes and blinds were high, and eventually I had to go all-in, finishing fifth. That’s a $205 win, thank you very much, and after buy-in and tip I ended upp $100 plus. So, not only have I gambled in Vegas, I have actually won in Vegas.
Hot enough for ye? Death Valley was 45 degrees, and I don’t mean the angle. Badwater, Devil’s golfcourse and Zabriske Point was also on the agenda, and then we crossed the border into Nevada. A party bus drove us around town, drinks were had by any and all, and the bus had dancing poles, which some utilised. And what town would that be, then? Vegas, baby!
As the sun rose over Yosemite NP, so did our collective spirits. The view from Glacier Point is nothing short of amazing, and the Yosemite Falls weren’t bad either. As a special treat, we all jumped in the natural 37-ish degrees hot springs. With beer.
It was high time to meet my fellow travellers. Twenty of us (12 girls, 8 blokes), divided into two separate vans, toured the city. Hippie neighbourhood of Haight/Ashbury, tasty crab chowder at Boudins at Fisherman’s Wharf and, of course, Golden Gate bridge was on the agenda. And soon enough we set off to Yosemite.
I took the ferry to one of the most, no, I dare say THE most famous prison island in the Bay Area. Alcatraz (meaning seabirds in spanish) was the destination, and it was interesting. The prison didn’t look that horrid to me, but mind you, I’ve seen Robben Island.
After the audioguided tour and the birdwatching I took to the streets of San Francisco, some of which are steeper than others, and some of which are trafficed by century-old cable cars, some of which had me hanging on the side.
I dreamed of decent leg room. I dreamed of adequately tasty meals. I dreamed of complementery beer. I dreamed of on-flight entertainment where you could choose your film from a variety of options, and even be able to watch it. Domesticallly, I even dreamed of any food at all.
Those where my midsummer night’s dreams, none of which came true, thanks to AA:s rather dubious customer policy.
On the other hand, I dreamed of me AND my luggage arriving safely in San Francisco on time. I dreamed of finding a nice hostel. I dreamed of having a beer and a snaps. Now, those dreams came true.
I’m in America, and the adventure begins!
