Boston

 I left NYC on a day pouring with rain which always makes the travel day a little less fun. Nevertheless, I got to New Haven for a quick pitstop overnight. It rained almost the entire time I was there, but I did get a run in, had a reasonable look around Yale and it also featured my first Chipotle experience. For the record, far better food that I expected.

It turns out, I have inadvertently picked travel dates that are chasing ivy league college graduations around which certainly explains why the accommodation costs were high in the east. I’ve followed graduations of NYU, Yale, Boston University and Harvard so far! I poked my head into the Harvard event whilst I was there, unsurprisingly I can confirm that American’s go wayyyy harder on their ceremonies than Utas does. I feel robbed. The Yale event was so big that they had police blocking off the streets and security at every entrance. I can confirm that Yale is the most beautiful school I’ve ever seen, and I have major envy for all Yale attendees and alumni. If I ever feel a need to study again that will be my first pick (and no doubt first rejection).

Given the rich running history with Boston I had been sure that this would be a city I would enjoy. I also speculated it would been a great place given it’s one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. My expectations were high. But still, I hadn’t set them high enough. I could stop writing right here and end with I love Boston. But that wouldn’t be good blogging.

Boston isn’t an enormous city (around 650k) so it’s less hectic than others. Despite being smaller, the amenities of the city are great (IMO anyway, the locals don’t seem to know how good they got it). The city is full of old (and beautiful) red brick buildings that are to die for. I could have strolled around Beacon Hill forever, it’s so stunning and surprisingly quiet given it’s essentially in the middle of the city. If I ever have more money that I know what to do with buying a holiday home in this suburb will top my wish list. The parks (Boston Common and the Public Gardens) are beautiful, and I spent several sunny afternoons filling in time lazing and people watching here. In the days leading up to Memorial Day (public holiday to commemorate military service personnel) Boston Common was adorned with hundreds of small American flags – over the top for sure (like everything in this country) but nevertheless a rather spectacular display that stopped me mid run to gaze at.

I almost didn’t bother going to the Public Library, because I thought... it’s just a library honestly how good could it be? Fortunately, I decided that it might be worth a look. The Library is stunning. The more well-known reading hall is quite spectacular, photo’s look great but don’t do it justice.

If day-time Boston was impressing me then night-time Boston was an absolute serve. The night-time city lights are just something else here. Dreamy. I became much more of a night owl that I usually am chasing the city lights every night! This wasn’t a bad thing, it led me out to different areas for dinner each night, so I got a good look around and ate differently. Speaking of eating, the food here was off the charts; from italian in the North End to pubs in Cambridge I feel like I got all the food destinations in! I found eating nutritiously much less of a task here than other cities, salad bars and meals that include vegetables were much easier to come by. Paired with a good deal of running and I’m physically feeling the best I have since landing in LA. I did treat myself to a cannoli from Mike’s (a dessert institution in Boston) on my last night. I had to line up down the street to do so but as I have no responsibilities, I had the time.

The coffee here has been almost Australian level good (I know, this place just keeps getting better). They even know how to make a flat white which seems to bamboozle the rest of this country, which I find absurd given all the 10000 options of coffee-somethings you can get at Starbucks. If you like a coffee that isn’t a litre in volume I recommend ordering a Cortado if you’re in the States. It’s a smaller, stronger latte – bigger than a piccolo but smaller than a regular coffee.

And the running. If you follow my Strava then you will already know I have been frothing the running here! My highlight is running along the Charles River, this is the quintessential Boston run and it’s stunning. The river path is, firstly, a really decent flat path (my cooked ankles were not at risk here), and it’s incredibly beautiful with foliage and river views, cute foot bridges and parks. You can easily get a 15-18km run in and it’s lovely the whole way. I also went out to Arnold Arboretum and really enjoyed the peaceful scenery. There are plenty of paths around Boston Common and the Public Gardens but do avoid Sunday afternoons as its full of people. I also did a hike in the Blue Hills Reservation. I tackled the Skyline Loop which was a moderately challenging rocky hike. Not runnable as most of if is rock scrambling, but there are plenty of options for trail running here too if you consider flat city runs boring. I did also manage to find a public track which lead to a very cup filling session! I’m embracing road running but my heart is still with the track. Ultimately, running in Boston is as good as you’d imagine. I did have a look at the marathon finish line too, didn’t attempt the course though (maybe one day when I live here in my fancy house in the most expensive neighbourhood in the world hahahaha).

As I had a decent amount of time here it gave me the flexibility to venture out of the city. I spent a day in Salem learning more about witches (lol) and the witch trials – really interesting. I really wanted to meet some Wikkans, sadly I did not that I know of. The city of Salem is almost 400 years old meaning the history is pretty incredible. I also visited the famed ‘House of the Seven Gables’ which again, is a 397-year-old building on its original footings. Quite amazing. Whilst I had heard of the novel, I didn’t know anything about the story, the author, nor the long history of the house - it was well worth the visit. On a particularly warm spring day here (30C) I even got out to the beach! Got nothing on Australian beaches but there was sand and water.

I continue to be asked for help on subways. I’m starting to think it is me.

I have been experiencing a strange occurrence lately of people mistaking me for someone they know. I have been a Brooke and a Miss Adams and some other person called me a movie star but that might have been different. I always thought I was relatively unique in appearance (remember how someone thought I was Persian ha) but perhaps, in-fact, I look just like everyone else.

For anyone that has been following my IG and also NBA might have noticed the overlap between my time in Boston and the NBA Playoffs which are currently featuring the Celtics. For those curious, pubs/bars/restaurants/the hospitality industry goes off on gameday. It’s a sea of green everywhere. It’s very commonplace to go watch the game in a public venue rather than at home. For those not following NBA, Celtics are closing in on (apparently) the best comeback in history, so things have been hectic. Men in bars love telling me things about NBA I didn’t ask about. I do usually watch the games, but I try to find a quieter bar with less aggressive customers.

It has taken five weeks, but on my second last night in Boston I finally got asked the question I have been dying to hear:

“Would you like fries or tatter totts with that?” Welp stick a fork in me, I am done. Finally got my totts and they were phenomenal.

I have still been making my way around using cash only. This, at times, has been a nuisance but all-in-all I am managing. I’m already getting sick of explaining to various operators that I can’t use a card or pay with an app! If I could I would, but I can’t so I shan’t. It has, however, forced me to be really financially accountable so I have been living very economically. I can’t wait to have my cards back again in a few weeks! There are just so many things that can’t be done without an online booking or payment these days. It meant I’ve had to find mostly free and easily accessible things to do (no boujie wine trips haha). Big picture, no big deal I am still on the trip of a lifetime and grateful to be so. I mostly enjoy moseying about seeing what’s what anyways.

I’m sure you will also be pleased to know that despite staying in a hostel I have been sleeping well. I’ve had a bunch of interesting roomies here including a girl who has recently moved from Ukraine to the USA to flee the war. She came to Boston alone and was ready and rearing to hit the clubs by herself the moment she arrived! I adored her independence and spirit.

I’ve loved my time in Boston, it’s jumped straight to the top of my favourite US cities list meaning Chicago has big shoes to fill! I will soon be able to deliver the verdict on deep-dish pizza and lobster rolls! Can’t wait!

The good, the bad and the ugly.

I left DC in a pretty poor mood, I’ll be honest. The last two nights of my trip I had been treated to the gift of a snorer in my dorm and as a light sleeper this resulted in two sleepless nights. T’was 3am on night one of this misery when a dishevelled Sandy made her way to reception to purchase some ear plugs, the reception staff member was very sympathetic to my cause but alas they had run out of earplugs (ffs). I was further disgruntled that said snorer had also checked into a dorm sick as a dog, not wearing a mask or anything. By the time I was checking out I could feel a sore throat coming on and as I was already tired and cranky I was primed and ready to use good and proper strayan curse words at whomever bothered me next. Given that this is my blog and these thoughts are entirely my own I don’t mind saying that IF YOU SNORE, DO NOT BOOK INTO A DORM YOU SELFISH DICKHEAD.

I continued to Baltimore and unfortunately by the time I got there I was feeling pretty sick. I spent the first 24 hours in Baltimore sleeping like a baby but seeing very little. Once I had recovered, I mostly spent my time in the harbour. I found it really beautiful there, the pace was much slower in Baltimore and I enjoyed moseying around in the sun.

My journey out of Baltimore was not particularly smooth either, my bus was three hours delayed and when I finally got on it someone was sitting in my assigned seat and wouldn’t move (wtf). So, I had to sit elsewhere and yeah let's just say a lot of people don’t want anyone sitting next to them. But I eventually made it to Philadelphia.

Whilst in planning mode for this trip I had been lamenting whether to go to Phily because for some reason the accommodation was crazy expensive. I sucked it up because I wanted to go. Turns out, the hectic prices were due to Taylor Swift playing three sold out shows in Phily every night I was there. Given that Taylor is the queen I accepted the price because Long Live the queen (Speak Now TV coming just in time for my birthday yasss), Tay Tay is the best etc etc. There were so many swifites running around in their Era’s merch and I hated them all because I tried to get tickets and didn’t even make the main queue. There were heaps of kids too which really made me wild because they weren’t alive for half of the eras and so could not possibly appreciate the magnificence before them. But, alas, I had a liberty bell to see (lick, IFKYK) so I had to get on with my life.

After a day sight seeing in Phily that included the Liberty Bell, Rocky and a cheese steak (not what I expected but tasty) my day was about to get exponentially worse. Whilst I was out having dinner my handbag was stolen. All of my credit cards, debit cards, cash and ID (other than passport, thankgod) were taken. I was instantly stuck with no money nor access to money. After spending the whole night on the phone to banks (and my sim card provider, international calling) I was left with the rather shocking realisation that there was nothing that could be done to give me access to my bank accounts, I would have to wait until my cards are posted to Australia and then forwarded onto me in the states. Cue major panic. I was also still a bit sick from the douche canoe (I said what I said) in DC which didn’t help. After a sleepless night, my sister had organised a Western Union cash wire where I had a total break down when asked for two forms of identification to allow it (because I only had one left following the burglary). She also victim-blamed me hard which was so unnecessary. My fight or flight instinct had truly kicked in and I was having a very hard time thinking logically like I normally would in a situation. Fortunately, I am an organised traveller, so I was able to get myself to New York as planned (albeit with some very long walking commutes with my baggage in warm weather) and pay for my accommodation in cash (like a drug dealer) and go from there. In the following 48 hours I spent a lot of time on the phone, repeatedly hearing the phrases “there’s nothing we can do for you” and “I’m sorry we can’t help” and possibly the most frustrating of all “we don’t have a policy for that”. I thought I would be coming home given that I had only a few hundred dollars cash left and no way to get more. I can honestly say that this was the most isolated and terrified I have ever felt. The intense stress had started having strange effects on my body including all the skin on my face peeling off, intense thirst and a fatigue so strong I almost fell asleep sitting upright on a park bench. If you’re wondering, I tried multiple banks (including the US affiliate of my bank), Mastercard’s emergency line, Australian Consulate, attempted to use to prepaid debit cards (I couldn’t activate one without a social security number) and to utilise my digital wallet. Nothing prevailed. I was really worried Western Union wouldn’t be an option after my first experience was questionable, however another go at this proved successful and is the only reason I have been able to remain overseas. Upon receiving extra cash, my stress subsided enough for me to think more clearly about what was in front of me. I could then see that, actually, I had booked almost everything that required a card and, yes, cash could get me through until my cards could be delivered to me albeit a few other obstacles to overcome. Luckily, I have great support from home that helped me through this absolute shit storm. Anyways, I’m doing much better now, my skin returned to normal as soon as my stress went away and I’ve got back to doing my thing in NYC with a few tough lessons firmly under my belt. One of the most frustrating parts of all of this is that I had thought hard about all of this before I left. I’ve travelled plenty and not naïve to overseas safety. I had two different transaction accounts with different banks and a credit card to safeguard me if something happened to one of them However, I made a critical error in not keeping one of those cards in my suitcase/hotel at all times- this is the biggest lesson that I hope someone else can learn from. The second biggest lesson is that if you lose all your cards overseas you will be totally screwed and no one will be able to help you – it’s not a situation I would wish on anyone. Not even that bad banana from DC.

But eventually I left my hotel and saw NYC! Reallyyyy lived up to the hype! Easily my favourite destination so far! The city is so cool, there are so many things to see and there is something about the pace of this city that just seems to agree with me. I love that the ‘green man’ (although its white here) is very much a formality when crossing roads and how people and traffic and everything just goes. Central Park is even more beautiful than I imagined, as is the Brooklyn Bridge. I thought the subway would be quite intimidating but it’s great – hectic, but no more complex than anywhere else. Unless you want to take the 6 downtown, that train eludes me I don’t know why. It hides at every station. Chelsea Market would be my unexpected highlight, coolest indoor market ever and the food options are top notch. I opted for a Taiwanese noodle soup and it was incredible.

The pizza here is as good as they say. Now I’ve had a taste of the good stuff, it might have wrecked all other pizza for me, but I can die happy now I’ve had the quintessential experience of folding my pizza and it going everywhere amazingggg.

The coffee has been a big step up on everywhere else – and by god did I need a good coffee. And a strong margarita. This has never been my go-to drink but they are a standard happy hour inclusion, and the Mexican vibes are strong here, so I have leaned into it.

I’m sad I lost two full days here in meltdown mode, I would have loved to have spent more time in Brooklyn than I did (I mostly wandered Dumbo) as that area felt like a real vibe. I also wanted to see the Natural History Museum (well, dinosaurs) but ran out of time.

Other things I did here that were great/worthwhile: the 9/11 Memorial, walking the High Line, Staten Island Ferry, Times Square, Four Seasons Park on Roosevelt Island and watching people play pickleball in Central Park lol (mostly is looks like adults playing a game for children, idk smh).

For the runners, Central Park is so good. There is so many paths and the trail around the lake is for runners/walkers only and probably the only totally flat track in the place – it would be perfect for a threshold/tempo run. I’ll be honest, after being robbed I lost my mojo for a few days (and physically was not in a good way) and only putted around here but you could do any session you wanted. The perimeter loop is an undulating 10km that is as iconic as you could imagine. The only thing missing is a synthetic track! Beggars can’t be choosers, but a girl can dream. Roosevelt Island has a great jogging path around it and out of the bustle. The cable tram over is very cool too. There are miles of flat running down the Hudson but, I’ll be honest, unless you’re staying in the Upper West Side (and I don’t know why you would be) then it’s not the easiest to get to. I’m staying on the East Side of Manhattan (Midtown) and it’s a pain getting the subway over there, it’s like a three-transfer and a walk situation.

Putting the robbery behind me (easier said than done), I ended up seeing plenty and really enjoyed my time in NYC. People rave about this place for a reason. I continue to Boston with a short stop in New Haven on the way. I’ve been looking forward to Boston since I decided to go to the USA, it remains to be seen whether it lives up to my own personal hype.

 

Leaving the heat of the desert made entering the cold of San Francisco a bit sad.

SF is a nice city and pretty tightly packed which made getting around easier. By easier, I just mean I wore my shoes out walking an inordinate amount every day. I had to buy some new sneakers whilst I was there! 

SF also happened to be my first hostel experience. The first thing to note, breakfast was bagels everyday so you can bet your bottom dollar I ate allllll the bagels in my six days here #noregrets. In true US style, the only options for spreads were cream cheese, peanut butter and jam (jelly). I had so much PB&J, it was getting ridiculous BUT breakfast was included so had make the most of it! My first hostel went smoothly albeit a lot of broken sleep with people coming and going at all hours of the day and night. I did get my fix of social interaction which was the whole point. Travelling solo is fabulous for setting your own schedule and doing only the things you want to do. But, as an extroverted person I do also need some human interaction to keep me going. I did also meet some aussie guys whilst there which was nice to get some AFL chit chat in and complain about having to tip 20% etc etc.

Getting good coffee has been a bit of a bug bear for me the whole time. For some reason, many American’s happily drink large quantities of brewed coffee. Now, I’m not saying its awful to drink but I am saying that there’s just no point drinking it. You need 20oz minimum to get any caffeine at all and its not that tasty. Silly American’s measure coffee sizes in ounces. I don’t know how much an ounce is, but I have come to learn that 6oz is the equivalent to what I have at home. And that 12oz is the standard coffee size here, so that’s problematic. The only properly good coffee I have had was a café in Ocean Park in LA! 

My SF highlight reel included:

·       Alcatraz – as interesting as you’d think.

·       Food – Many seafood options (I will shortly detail my crab chowder experience) and     Little Italy is brilliant here (I ate a lot of types of pasta). I found it really hard to eat a     decent amount of vegetables here though. I have to be intentional with what I order         to get appropriate nutrition in. This usually equates to ordering a side of veggies             with meals. I'm looking forward to being able to cook more meals in the future.

·       Napa Valley and Sonoma – wine country. I did a super boujie wine trip day and it         was abfab.

·       Yosemite National Park – I did a very big day trip here. The national park is             spectacular. I adventured all day with a new friend from South Africa walking the trails and taking 1000 pictures! I am finding day trips a great way to meet people and get lots of travel tips!

I do need to talk about my chowder. I went for dinner with my new wine trip friends at a seafood restaurant in the Marina District (boujie AF). The signature dish was crab and corn chowder so that’s what I got. The menu had two options: soup bowl and bread bowl. I thought the bread bowl just meant it came with bread. And that bread would be in a bowl. I asked this out loud and my new American friends were utterly gleeful to explain that, in-fact, the soup comes in a bowl MADE OF bread! Say whatttt. Anyway, the bread bowl was great – basically a cob loaf but I wasn’t going to bring that up as I didn’t have the energy to explain cob loaves to Americans. The chowder was delicious, by the way.

SF is a great running city assuming the cold and wind and rain doesn’t bother you. I was bothered by it notgonlie. I left Tasmania to avoid this nonsense! I survived though. The Embarcadero (basically the waterfront) is great, flat and pretty along the water and views of the bridges – avoid peak hour or when a large ferry has just docked – learn from my mistakes! You can run right through to the Presidio Park which has great Golden Gate views. Presido Park has heaps of paths too, many kms to be run here. I twice went to Kezar Stadium to utilise the public track. The stadium is also in a park, Golden Gate Park, which also has a whole heap of paths. Kezar track was fun, lots of people running around (despite the rain) and school action every afternoon. I got a couple of good sessions in here. It was fun to do some faster running again! I am on Strava too if you're interested.

Leaving SF on yet another rainy day (byeeeeee!) I ventured east to Washington DC. It was warm as soon as I landed despite being around 8pm. Thank god.

I have really loved my time in DC. Along with great weather (days usually mid twenties) the city is beautiful. It’s the first place I have been, so far, that I have thought yeah I could spend a while here. I stayed in what I can only describe as a fancy pants hostel, which does sound counter intuitive but it’s really quoite noice. It’s part of the Generator franchise and I will look out for their other locations during my travels. Its trendy and viby and there is a great Mexican bar/restaurant selling the strongest marg’s I’ve ever had. Winning! It’s also much quieter than my hostel in SF so sleep has not been an issue.

Every building here is stunning as are the monuments (and made of marble, often inclusive of a rotunda, dome or artistic columns), streets are tree lined, the public transport is a breeze and I haven’t met a single rude person, however I haven’t come across any politicians so I’m sure they’re out there. Funnily enough I have been asked twice here for help with the Metro (lol), I don’t know if I look approachable, like a local or like maybe I just know what I am doing (can't be it) but it’s been nice to help some people even though I am also just winging it. The Metro here is super easy and fast. Way better than LA.

If I didn’t know better (because I’ve done all the appropriate sight-seeing to know better, my selfie stick got a good workout) I would have guessed this city was designed with runners in mind. Wide paths and lakes and rivers and parks and monuments just everywhere. You could easily combine a run with sight-seeing. I’m sure people do. It’s been nice to run in warmer weather again too. Big tick for running here.

I continue my journey in a north easterly direction, my next stop is Baltimore followed by Philadelphia to lick the Liberty Bell (IYKYK) on my way up to NYC!

Joshua Tree. The place, not the U2 album.

 

Prior to leaving Australia, whenever discussing my travel plans with someone the mention of Joshua Tree would go in one of two directions: ‘OMG amazing’ or ‘…what is that?’

Hiking in Joshua Tree was one of my bucket list items and I was determined to make it happen.

For those unaware, Joshua Tree is a national park in California, just shy of an hour drive from Palm Springs. Very much in the desert!

I took a bus from LA to Palm Springs and hired a car to travel to JT. I spent a couple of hours wandering Palm Springs which was a sweet place, lots of shops and café’s along the main streets which lie underneath the desert, but also snow-capped, mountains and unsurprisingly the streets are lined with palm trees. This would be a great place to spend a weekend. It was also quite hot here; I questioned whether the upcoming hikes I had planned were a little ambitious and needed to be scaled back so that I don’t end up needing the US version of the Westpac Helicopter. Holy guacamole that would be embarrassing.

My stress had been running a little high since getting off the bus as this was the cue for me to pick up my hire car and start my driving journey on the wrong side of the road. I had to take a short uber to the airport and my uber driver had me in fits after he asked if I had checked in for my hire car already? Obviously not, is checking in for a hire car a thing? I’ve never done it. Urgh America. Apparently, Coachella is still on, and every influencer and their dog were in town and hire cars had become scarce and therefore my car may not be available even though I’d booked it. But, sheesh what a drama llama I got my car straight away no issues! Yas! FYI you need to drive to JT, there is no public transport that takes you inside the national park and its far too far to leg it. Even for trail runners. Although I suppose if you are a PCT participant then maybe no big deal, but they’d eat normal trail runners for breakfast.

Whilst the first few minutes were strange and a little stressful, driving in backwards land wasn’t as bad as I had expected. The crazy-near-psychotic amount of stop signs had me questioning my knowledge of the road rules not to mention the strange right hand turn situation whereby if you are making a right at a controlled intersection you can go on a red as long as no one is coming. What are traffic lights even for? (Rhetorical question) By the time I handed the keys back over I was feeling really comfortable with it. Happy days for if I want to hire a car again!

My drive to JT was straightforward (and the landscape beautiful) and I went straight to the national park for an introductory walk!

Not as hot in the desert as Palm Springs, phew! I live to walk another day. Still around 30ish degrees but I got through my first short walk with ease! Tick!

Even from this short walk I had already formed the opinion that JT is spectacular. The desert landscape is unique and beautiful and honestly there was a spiritual sort of feeling about the place. I don’t have the words to describe how beautiful it was nor am I a good enough photographer to do it justice. But my new Samsung certainly helps! Photo’s at the end!

The following day I did a few walks, a bit tentative to tackle a long walk on my own. Not because I doubted my limitations but in-case I saw a rattle snake (because those slithery danger noodles are about here) and I lost my shit entirely. There is safety in numbers when you have a phobia! Its very draining when you enjoy hiking but are terrified of snakes. Anyway, I was happy with my choices in the end as doing a few different walks allowed me to see the various terrains of the desert and some of the other landmarks in between! There were plenty of people along these trails, so I never felt too isolated despite being in the heart of the desert! I was very impressed with the park itself, there are so many trails and every fitness level is catered for. Camping and overnight hikes are also available (but I opted for air conditioning and a plunge pool because I have my priorities in order). Most trailheads have toilets and drinking water available too.

I didn’t do any running here because its hot and I am Tasmanian.

JT, the town, is quite small but has everything you need – food, drinks, a bar and a visitor centre! Even the coffee spot was great! Following my second day of hikes I was a bit hot and bothered after taking on my last walk in the heat of the day (temps were up to mid thirties), so I figured a tequila in the desert would be good way to start cooling off. Turns out the local saloon (naturally, the desert has a saloon) has live music every Saturday so I very much enjoyed my tequila mojito and good vibes that afternoon! I also met a lady here that has completed five marathons, including Boston (legend), so I had a solid chin-wag with her and her son about running and travelling etc. I have found the people here to be both friendly and helpful.

A cruisy evening taking in the desert views from the spa bath with a glass of wine (the bottle I bought for $5 from the convenience store haha) thinking how lucky I am to have experienced this magnificent place. And to do it in style. There are hostels in my near future so I am lapping it up while I can!

Leaving from Palm Springs was also a genius move as it meant that I avoided LAX and enjoyed chaos free travel at Palm Springs Airport. So good, in fact, that my flight was 22 minutes early. 

Onwards to San Francisco!