It was only a matter of time until this trip had to happen. I mean, we are as far west as we can go in Europe, we can almost smell America from here.
So here is the deal, R. wants to go see more EVE friends and I want to see NYC. Perfect. We can kill two birds with one stone here.
The trip will be happening sometime in September and we expect to embark on a month-long driving holiday.A MONTH!
Map of our proposed travels will be similar to the one above. We haven’t finalised our itinerary yet but we hope to spend the first 4 days in NYC, since we will be flying in to JFK. Sooooo many things to see and do in NYC I fear I will be overwhelmed to tears. This will be my very first EVER trip to the states and I am literally shaking with anticipation. As usual I will want to stuff my face with all things America has to offer – I want cronuts, cupcakes, hotdogs from a classic hotdog stand, a Philly cheese steak sandwich, a Reuben sandwich, chicken & waffles, red beans and rice, enchilladas, Boston cream pie, BBQ, lobster rolls … and the list goes on and on and on. I will be travelling with a food list, as is customary, yes yes. I am hoping some of R’s friends will help me out as well by recommending places to eat at and local foods to try out. This is going to be one hell of a trip and I simply cannot wait.
From NYC we will be heading up north to Canada for a few days, you know, Niagara Falls and what not. I will have to obtain an entry visa for that as well. Sheeesh, visa visa everywhere.
From Canada we do a drive-by of Detroit, visit a cousin of mine for a couple of days, then it’s off to Milwaukee for the big meet up with all the EVE players. If past experience is anything to go by, I may once again be the sole female at this gathering. Milwaukee will take up an entire weekend from Friday – Sunday. Milwaukee was chosen because it’s where most of the EVE players can converge within a relatively manageable distance to drive (we have to think of the Canadian players who have to drive from up north). Also, Milwaukee is on the shores of lake Michigan … cannot wait to see it with my own eyes.
For the purposes of entertaining the gamers, a holiday house has been procured that sits right on the shores of the lake, in Kenosha. The boyfriend is very good at choosing awesome holiday accommodation when we travel. Also, Airbnb rocks on so many levels. Below are some beautiful screenshots of the property we will be staying at once we get to Wisconsin. For more info on the property, please click here.
Once we are done with the lads weekend, R. and I will head on over to St Louis to visit another relative of mine for a few days, but on the way I am sure we will stop in to Chicago for a few snaps of famous buildings and I definitely want to tuck into their famous deep dish pizza. I probably won’t be able to finish it even with R. sharing, but hey it’ll be a dining experience to remember.
Whenever I think of St Louis I think of this movie, Meet Me In St Louis starring Judy Garland, and I hope the trams and the city still retains some of that old school charm.
From St Louis we will head on over to Nashville, home of country music (and Taylor Swift). Once here I am going to indulge myself on southern cooking and die happy. Not sure how many days we will be here since the trip back to NYC will be free and easy. If I fall in love with Nashville maybe we will extend our stay.
On the way back up north we will follow Route 81 through some of Americas famed national reserves along the Appalachian Mountain range. Hope to see some wildlife along the way … I wanna see a moose. Bill Bryson wrote so much about the Appalacian trail in his book A Walk in the Woods, I now want to see it with my own eyes. Being autumn, I hope to take some awesome photos of amber and golden leaves stretching across the landscape like a carpet on fire. And more moose sightings.
Halfway through we will stop in at Raleigh, North Carolina to see more people from the EVE circle who may not be able to make it to Milwaukee.
See that bit in the map where is says Las Vegas and Utah? Well that is no longer happening because I feel it would be cramming in too much in 4 weeks. I don’t want my first trip to the States to be rushed. I want to immerse myself in everything and take my time to absorb the experience as much as i can.
So, counting down to September now.
UPDATE : AUGUST 2016
So, only a week left until we embark on this epic America – Canada roadtrip in the autunm.
We have also made a few tweaks to the trip and fine tuned our destinations. In fact, we have altered the direction of the trip entirely to better suit the seasonal change. Instead of heading north from New York we are turning right round and heading towards North Carolina and Nashville first. We hope this will buy us some more time to allow the fall colours to properly set in up north before we get there.
The map has now been split into two legs, Milwaukee being the split-point; EVE weekend.
First Leg : New York —> Milwaukee
So many people have made generous offers for us to stay with them and for this we will forever be grateful. This will enable us to fully enjoy not just the cities but the excellent company. New York is definitely going to be the big highlight of this trip for me but who knows what the other cities have in store. In New York, R. and I will be celebrating seven wonderful years together since the first time we met, 10,000 miles and two continents ago. Tickets have been booked to catch a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium on the very night we fly in to NY, and a Coney Island visit if the weather permits.
Heading south to see Dom and Xerxes in N.C we will drive via the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway to take in just one of America’s many famous national parks. Maybe I will be able to snap some pictures of wildlife … I am hoping to see my first black bear.
Second Leg : Milwaukee –> Toronto –> Quebec –> New York
By the time we hit Michigan state it will be the end of the month and (we hope) it will be getting significantly colder up north. Will only spend a couple days in Michigan then we will cross over to see Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.
The last remaining days of our holiday we have left blank. No plans, no destination, no timelines – just rest, relax and unwind from the days and days of driving around. We have intentionally done this so we can rest up and simply sit back to enjoy the fall colours of Quebec and Vermont. I think I have even booked a day at a spa somewhere in there. We are hoping that by the time October rocks round there will be enough colour popping up all around the forests by then, but I cannot be sure. Am seriously contemplating making one of those ‘Expectations vs Reality’ posts when the time comes.
Well, as I have said, this is the final update before we depart in a weeks time. Stay tuned to my Facebook page for updates during the trip and for pictures and snippets. I am definitely excited now, cannot wait for it to be here.
What people are saying…