Boulder, Colorado

On Friday I made my way from Denver to Boulder. I checked into the hostel and then wandered down to Pearl St which is a really nice street of shops, restaurants and bars. I really wanted to go hiking so I got in contact with a friend of a friend, Ron, and organised to go hiking on Saturday. Ron and some of his friends took me hiking up the first and second Flatirons which are rock formations on Green Mountain. It was a really nice hike and the views were amazing. The weather was also beautiful with clear blue skies but not too hot! We climbed up some rocks to get a good view and as I was trying to get down I managed to slide down on my bum leaving my leg a bit battered and bruised but nothing serious!

Ron's friends then invited me to a party at their house on Saturday night. Their house has an awesome set up for a party and they had a band playing downstairs. A couple of us then ended up at the bars on Pearl St because one of Ron's friends turned 21 at midnight. Was an awesome night!

On Sunday I ended up lazing around for most of the day but then in the afternoon I went for a walk along Boulder Creek path which follows Boulder Creek to the foot of the mountains. I then found the Red Rocks Trail which climbed up the hill to some big red rocks and had an awesome view from the top. 

Boulder is so beautiful! Anyone who is in to rock climbing, hiking or basically anything outdoorsy would love it and I definitely recommend it. It can get really hot in summer and snows in winter so I timed it really well with the weather for hiking.

I had an interesting experience with the hostel because there was a lady in my room who slept under a tarp and aluminium foil because she said she was sensitive to EMF's and electricity. This meant that every time she moved it was really noisy. You definitely meet some interesting people in your travels!!

From here I am heading back to Denver to get a bus to Tucson, Arizona - unfortunately another long bus trip :( My bus is not until 8:30pm but I just found out that Amberly, a girl I met in Arizona, is living in Denver so I am going to catch up with her during the day before heading off. I am excited to go back to Tucson and catch-up with some old friends :)

 The Flatirons

 Near the top

Result of my slide down the rocks

 Out on Pearl St

 Boulder Creek

View from the top of the Red Rocks Trail

Denver, Colorado

From Austin I took a 23 hour Greyhound to Denver. I slept on and off the whole way but they stop every couple of hours and every time they stop they turn on the lights!

In Denver I explored 16th St Mall and the LoDo area and went into the Colorado Capitol and the Molly Brown House Museum. Molly Brown was a survivor of the Titanic and was a very influential woman in Colorado. They have restored her house and have managed to find a lot of the possessions that belonged to her. I also went to an awesome Cuban restaurant with one of the girls in my room at the hostel. 

 16th St Mall

 Colorado Capitol

Molly Brown House Museum

Austin, Texas

From Houston I took the Greyhound to Austin which was a nice short 3 hour trip. I met Andy at the hostel in Portland and he lives in student apartments in Austin so I crashed on his couch for 4 nights. The day I arrived we went to happy hour and got Margaritas and then headed out to 6th street. 6th street is full of bars and clubs and is where all the college kids go out! I had been to Austin a couple of years earlier and it brought back some great memories and I was amazed at how much I recognised (including where Kate bought her sexy shoes and Natalie drunkenly got her ear pierced 2 years earlier). Unfortunately some of the clubs I remembered had recently been closed down because they were involved in arms and drug dealing!

While Andy had class I explored the city and went into the Texas Capitol which is actually bigger than the US Capitol in Washington DC. Then on Saturday I went with Andy and a couple of his friends to Hamilton Pool, which is a natural outdoor pool. The weather was so nice and the pool was beautiful so we hung out there and swam for a couple of hours. On Saturday night I met up with Lara and Alexa who I met in Austin a couple of years ago and went out to 6th street with some of their friends. As usual, 6th street delivered a big night and we kept partying once the bars closed. I met up with Lara and Alexa again the next day for brunch at a café that we ate at a couple of years ago for old times sake. On my last day in Austin I wandered down South Congress Ave where there are lots of cool vintage shops and shops full of cowboy boots and hats!

The whole weekend definitely brought back some great memories! I wish my Arizona crew could have been there with me :) 

 Thursday nights on 6th Street

Hamilton Pool

 Reunited - Lara, Alexa and I

Trip down memory lane

Houston, Texas

Maddy heard that my next stop was Texas and she is from Houston so she decided to join me and go home for a few days. We roadtripped it from New Orleans to Houston which took around 5 hours (so much nicer than a 13 hour Greyhound trip!) I stayed at her house for a couple of days and we did lots of shopping (there is a lot of really good op shops) and checked out the Houston nightlife which was a bit interesting because it was the middle of the week. One night we went to a typical southern honky tonk bar with the big dance floor in the middle and everyone is doing the two step and other country dances. I learnt how to two step and a dance which is the equivalent to the Australian nutbush. But they also play hip hop and pop music so it's funny because one second people are doing the two step to country music and then everyone starts breaking it down to Flo Rida. 

 Maddy and I

 American equivalent of the nutbush

Two step

New Orleans, Louisiana

From Miami I flew to New Orleans where I stayed with a friend of a friend. The night I arrived we went to a college bar for happy hour and got three drinks for the price of one, so that's three drinks for $3! Have to love American drink prices. The French Quarter Festival was on that weekend so the next day we went into the city and listened to some live music with her roommate (Maddy) and some friends. That night I went out with Maddy to Bourbon St which is crazy and there are people everywhere! Greg, one of the Australian guys I met in Miami, was also in New Orleans so he met us out and then the next day we wandered around Magazine St and tried Gumbo and Muffaletta which are some of New Orleans specialties (see picture). The next day Chrissy, the Australian girl I met in Miami, also arrived in New Orleans. We headed down to Magazine St with a couple of people from Chrissy's hostel and ate at an awesome Caribbean restaurant and wandered around the shops until it started pouring with rain. We went back to pre drink at the hostel and then went out to Frenchmen St where there is live music every night at all the bars. Heard lots of awesome music including jazz, blues and reggae. Other very New Orleansy food I tried was Pho Boys...so good (see picture). New Orleans is a very cool place and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is into live music, especially jazz and blues. 

 French Quarter Fest

 The craziness of Bourbon St

Gumbo and Muffaletta

 Awesome Caribbean food

 Chrissy and I pre drinking in style

Roast beef Pho Boy

Miami, Florida

I was super excited for Miami and it was even better than I had imagined. I stayed at a hostel in South Beach and the hostels each night put on free drinks and take you out to the bars. There was an Australian girl, Chrissy, staying in my room who had already been there for a few days so introduced me to some of the other people at the hostel. We all went out with the hostel that night and a group of 12 of us became pretty close and ended up hanging out for the next few days. The weather was amazing and it was so nice to go to the beach and swim in the sea again! 

A couple of people in the group planned on going to the Everglades where there is a national park and you can do tours to see alligators, crocodiles, snakes etc. They had also heard about a hostel in the Everglades so they planned to stay for the night. They asked me if I wanted to go but I was hesitant because I had already paid for two more nights at the hostel in South Beach which I couldn’t refund. In the end I decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up and lots of us decided it was a good idea so a group of 10 of us ended up going together. Five Australians, two Swedish, one Dutch, one English and one American. The hostel was amazing – there were nets and hammocks in the trees, a pond with a waterfall that you could swim in and lounges outside. We went on an Everglades tour run by the hostel which included a walk to see alligators, kayaking through the mangroves (where luckily we didn’t see any alligators and snakes) and then a walk through the bush to see more alligators and snakes. I think the tour guide was getting really annoyed at us because we had all become very close and rowdy. Some of the group decided to stay at the hostel for one more night but some of us had to head back to South Beach. A lot of us had only known each other for a couple of days but it was really sad to say goodbye to everyone. Luckily I have been able to catch up with a few people since Miami. 

Being in Miami felt more like what I imagine Central and South America to be like. It is a little bit expensive but I definitely recommend going to Miami one day. There are loads of awesome photos so check out my Facebook!

 Miami Hostel in South Beach

 South Beach

 Hostel in the Everglades

 Hostel in the Everglades

 Everglades National Park

Kayaking through the mangroves

Wilmington, North Carolina

I also wanted to go to South Carolina but I found a cheap flight from Wilmington to Miami so I decided to do that instead. A flight sounded much better than sitting on a Greyhound for 24 hours! The Greyhound trip from Asheville to Wilmington was 10 hours and a guy my age came and sat next to me and couldn’t understand why I was travelling around America by myself and told me I should be travelling with my boyfriend. He then went on to tell me he was going to come to Australia and take me on a date and if it went well he would move to Australia for me. I also found out that he had a 3 year old daughter and the mum was about to go to jail. He was a lovely guy but I am not quite ready to take on that baggage so mum you don't have to worry haha! It was a very interesting bus trip and I guess it made it go a bit quicker.

There are no hostels in Wilmington so I booked a cheap motel for 2 nights. At first I was really excited to have a double bed and a room and bathroom to myself but it was too quiet! Luckily Kim, a friend of a friend, was in Wilmington that weekend so I went to meet her and her friends out at the bars at Wrightsville Beach. This is where all the college kids go out and was a really fun night. The next day was Easter Sunday and a couple of people I met out invited me over for dinner because they were cooking turkey. It was nice to spend Easter with people and not be sitting in the motel by myself.

Wilmington is where One Tree Hill was filmed and apparently Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols live down at Wrightsville beach as well.

 Jason and I and the deadly fishbowl

 Kim and I

Wrightsville Beach

Asheville, North Carolina

Up until now I had been pretty organised but at this point I knew I wanted to go to North Carolina but I wasn't sure where. There are very limited hostels in America and with North Carolina not being one of the biggest tourist attractions it came down to where I could find a hostel. I found a couple of hostels in Asheville and I heard it was a pretty place so I took a 13 hour Greyhound from DC to Asheville. Asheville is a very pretty small town and is very quirky and hippy. Every Friday night there is a drum circle in town and a whole lot of people stand around watching and dancing. I felt like I needed to buy a tie die shirt or get dreadlocks to fit in. The hostel was really cool but unfortunately it wasn’t very social so I didn’t end up doing a whole lot but it was nice to have a few days to relax a bit and book some more of my trip. 

 The lounge at the hostel

Drum circle

Washington DC

Once again I took a bus from New York to DC and for the first 2 nights I stayed in a hostel. I explored all the famous sites including the White House, the World War memorials, the Lincoln Memorial, the US Capitol, the Washington Monument and also went up the Old Post Office Bell Tower which had a good view of the city. I also caught up with Melissa who I met in Seattle and she took me to Georgetown which is a really pretty suburb with lots of bars and restaurants. There is also a famous cupcake place there and we lined up down the street to get cupcakes. Apparently the line is much longer on the weekends! 

The next two nights I stayed with Nikki who I met while she was on exchange in Wollongong about 3 years ago. She had tickets to a baseball game (Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox) and had a few extra tickets so I invited two German guys that I met in my room at the hostel. Baseball is a bit slow but like all American sports games the atmosphere was amazing. We then went down to see the monuments and memorials again because they are really pretty at night and then went out to a bar in Georgetown. The next day Nikki and I went paddleboating (think 10 Things I Hate About You) and to the Arlington National Cemetery. The Cemetery was really beautiful and we watched the changing of the guards which happens ever half hour. 

 The White House

Line to get cupcakes!

Chris, Thomas and I at the baseball

 The Washington Monument at sunset

Nikki and I paddleboating