USA Trip Day 30 - 3 Oct 2014 - San Francisco Suburbs

I had to finish packing early as my highschool friend would pick me up around noon for lunch. 

We haven't seen each other since I was 17-18 years old so it has been a decade! I was happy our friendship remained the same despite being apart for such a long time. 

I don't know about others, but I very much prefer face to face catch up over emails or Facebook. I feel that giving time to be with each other shows sincerity in keeping that relationship, rather than just for show to others in social media. 

Do you know what else I was happy with? Lunch!

This family-run Millbrae Pancake House has been around for almost 60 years and I must say, pancakes were delectable. (But IHOP would still be my No.1, shhhhh)

USA Trip Day 29 - 2 Oct 2014 - Across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito

What a whirlwind voyage it had been! We took it slow today, and left home around 10am to visit Mister's late grandfather. After stopping by to get a bouquet of flowers, Uncle drove us to cemetery, where we paid our respect to the deceased.

After a brief stop at Target, we took a spin to Mountain View's Castro Street around noon for lunch. It's a lovely area with diverse options of restaurants, to spoil you for choice. 

 Mountain View's Castro Street

 Isn't it a delightful place to enjoy lunch al fresco? 

USA Trip Day 28 - 1 Oct 2014 - National Cathedral & Zoo in DC

After a full day of touring museums and sightseeing that covered several iconic buildings which formed the heart of the American political system, we wanted to do something completely different. So we diverged from our original itinerary and took a impromptu trip down to the National Cathedral & Zoo.

With a Virgin America flight to catch at 5:10pm, we managed to reach National Cathedral by 10:30am after a 30 minute commute using subway and bus (30S or 33 or 96). 

Gothic Architectural Style 

USA Trip Day 27 - 30 Sep 2014 - Home of POTUS & FLOTUS

Our first stop of the day - The White House.

We left Days Inn hotel around 10:15 am and took Red Metro from Van Ness UDC Station to Metro Centre Station, 5 stops away.  Along our short stroll from metro station to The White House, we felt a sense of tranquility and order, perhaps too rigid and strict, but without the jumble and chaos we witnessed in other metropolitans like San Francisco and New York City.

Definitely the cleaner part of the USA

USA Trip Day 26 - 29 Sep 2014 - Free and Easy Philly

We woke up, packed our bags, checked out of the hotel, left our stuff with the storage bell boy and left for breakfast at IHOP around 1030am. Oh my, that was my very first time at IHOP and I was asking myself why I didn't discover this place sooner?!! 

Amazing taste would be an understatement for a brunch at IHOP 

USA Trip Day 25 - 28 Sep 2014 - Founding Story of the USA

We woke up in the wee hours and took subway towards the 34th St - Penn Station.  While our Bolt bus departure is 815am and google map route indicated trip duration to be around 1 hour, we set aside almost 2 hours just to be sure.  It was barely after 6am on Sunday, so the train frequency might not be what we were used to in Singapore. We didn't want to take any chance of missing our bus :D

It was good that we left our friend's place around 630am, as we had to take 2 train services and the bus afterwards (I think it was M34, 5 stops). There were only 15 minutes to spare by the time we reached Bolt bus! Phew

USA Trip Day 24 - 27 Sep 2014 - Outlet Mall Shopping in New York

Now that I look back on our two days with New York Pass, it was crazily packed!  We squeezed in several sights in those two short days but we didn't regret it one bit though. It's such an exciting city. But after 4 days of sightseeing, we wanted something different so we boarded the bus to Woodbury Common Premium Outlet.  

https://woodburybybus.com/Woodbury/Home

It is located just an hour drive from NYC Port Authority and return bus ticket cost us US$37 each. There were a huge assortment of shops ranging from Adidas, Burberry, Coach, DKNY, Gap, Kate Spade, MK, NIke, Nine West to Tory Burch. I honestly don't think you would regret it if your bucket list of the United States holiday include a shopping spree.  

Plus points
1) Great assortment of brands
2) Better designs
3) Beautiful surrounding
4) Easy to get there from NYC

You should go if you won't get a chance to visit other outlet malls.

Downside

The bargains are not as great as in Vegas or Palm Springs.  If you are visiting those places and are hunting for the best deals, then skip this Woodbury Common. 

USA Trip Day 21 - 24 Sep 2014 - Free and Easy in the Big Apple

My kind friend is bringing us around the Big Apple today and highlight was food :D

We first started off with Dim Sum brunch in Elmhurst, Queens  area before ending up in Central Park around 1pm.  The funny thing was I needed to use the toilet urgently and the first thing we looked for was huge shopping malls like in Singapore. But my friend was like there was no such thing in NYC as many stores were stand-alone! Plaza Hotel saved me from embarrassing myself though hahaha Also, the hotel's basement has food court in case you are looking for one in the area.   

Charismatic horse carriages at your service to make you feel like a princess! 

USA Trip Day 20 - 23 Sep 2014 - NYC's Broadway

Today, we are taking a 9:30am Amtrak train from Boston to the Big Apple! So, around 8:30am, we headed out of our Airbnb, walked for about 10 minutes to the Tufts Medical Center Station to take SL4 for 2 stops to the South Station. 

Time Check: 9am at the Boston South Station 

USA Trip Day 18 - 21 Sep 2014 - Onto East Coast (Boston)

A gust of chilly wind greeted us in Boston.  Even inside the airport terminal, the air was frosty.  Sleepy us took shuttle bus SL1 to Boston South Station (5 stops) then took Red Line T to Charles Station (3 stops). 

US$ 2.25 per trip with Charlie Card

US$ 2.75 per trip with Charlie Ticket / Cash on board

US$ 12.00 unlimited 1 day Link Pass

US$ 21.25 unlimited 7 days Link Pass

Barely an hour after our 745am arrival in Boston Logan Airport, we were right smack in the middle of Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. We had about 3 hours to spare as we could only check in to our Airbnb accommodation only around noon. 

USA Trip Day 17 - 20 Sep 2014 - Self Drive Holiday: Palm Springs -> Santa Babara -> Solvang -> San Francisco

Even though it was just 7am, the sun was shining so brightly and I felt quite warm already.  We had breakfast at hotel and set out on our epic road trip back to San Francisco! We planned to return our rental car at airport and catch an 11pm flight to Boston from SFO. I was quite worried though as Mister was gonna be the only driver for such a long journey. Hence, we incorporated pit stops along the way. We were on our way by 745am.  

Byeeeee Palm Springs

USA Trip Day 16 - 19 Sep 2014 - Self Drive to Palm Springs (AND shopping!)

For the next two days of our trip, we booked a car from Alamo. So we packed our bags, left hotel around 8am and took FlyAway shuttle bus to LAX to pick up our car around 930am. 

FlyAway shuttle bus to LAX

We paid US$ 8.00 per pax for one way ticket but its US$ 9.00 now.

We then drove back to hotel, checked out, loaded our bags onto the car, bought breakfast and were on way to Griffith Observatory, for a closer view of Hollywood sign.  There is free parking available at the observatory parking lot but we had to wait a few minutes for the lot.  Even then, we visited on a weekday! 

If you are interested in hiking, you can try the 3 miles trail from the parking lot towards the sign. 

http://hollywoodsign.org/hiking-to-the-sign/

USA Trip Day 15 - 18 Sep 2014 - Back to LA

Nothing much on agenda for today.  We just wanted to take it easy after an activity packed day. So we slept in, had leisurely lunch while waiting for laundry, and started on our packing before leaving the hotel at 3pm. 

After an hour bus journey (with #20, through Koreatown), we reached the beautiful LACMA campus on the Wilshire Boulevard. 

Chris Burden's Urban Light (2008) Installation was the main reason for our visit to the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. Since seeing such mesmerizing setup in the movie Valentine Day, I had wanted to see it in person. 

There are 202 restored street lights, which used to lit up areas in Hollywood, Glendale and Anaheim back in the 1920s and 1930s. Chris Burden started his collection in 2000 with just 2 lamps, purchased at US$ 800 each. With the goal of keeping his entire collection together, he invited prospective buyers to his studio. Among them, LACMA's then new director Michael Govan fit it was a perfect fit and hence, we get to enjoy such as fascinating installation today. 

USA Trip Day 14 - 17 Sep 2014 - Happiest Place on Earth

WE ARE VISITING THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAN YOU IMAGINE MY EXCITEMENT??!!!

I KNOW I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS BUT HEY, ITS DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D  

Opened on 17 July 1955, Anaheim Disneyland is the only theme-park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walk Disney. Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme-park in the world, with over 650 million guests since its opening. 

USA Trip Day 13 - 16 Sep 2014 - Hollywood Glamour

Whoohoooo it's Hollywood day! 

Regardless of how indifferent I had felt about the City of Angels, I was beyond excited to see Hollywood.  

I meant we all grew up watching movies and cartoons, listening to music, copying the style of those hottest stars - all products of Hollywood. It was also portrayed as the place, where many made it big and had gone from zero to hero. 

Be it unconsciously or consciously, I'm sure we all wish to one day be able to experience such glamorous lifestyle, typically associated with Hollywood! Right?

USA Trip Day 12 - 15 Sep 2014 - LA Downtown & Korea Town

While we checked in soon after midnight, we fell asleep only around 3am as we decided to Febreze the whole bed, pillows and blankets. It was of course expected that we slept in and had a leisurely lunch. 

One of the few good things about this hotel was that it was surrounded by food and amenities. There were loads of restaurants nearby including a very homely Mexican diner and a Chinese take away shop round the corner. There was also a CVS pharmacy nearby for all your necessities. Our hotel didn’t provide us with drinking water so we had to get ours from there.

Another reason we set out only around noon was that venturing out into the sunny LA during heat wave felt like an uphill battle.  While our 'boutique hotel' room didn't have air-conditioning, we were still under the shelter. So doing laundry was our excuse for starting our sightseeing so late.  

Heat wave + sauna like room + bathroom with bad drainage + noisy and shady neighbourhood all combined made us lose our excitement and curiosity in exploring the City of Angels. 

The nearest subway station was like 15 min walk away! In this heat! Grhhhhh

USA Trip Day 12 - 15 Sep 2014 - LA Hotel (Stay on Main / Hotel Cecil)

Oh Heat Wave! Why you no go away! Why must you visit LA, while we were there only for a short 4 days?!  The lack of air-con in our room made it worse! We kept taking a shower when the heat got too much for us too handle. 

Initially, the room I booked didn't even have an attached bathroom.  I realized it when I read the confirmation email. So immediately I cancelled my booking and made a new reservation for a room with private bathroom, for extra charge.  Thank god I did that. Otherwise, I can't imagine how bad our stay could have become. Can I just share a bit about our hotel / hostel?

Stay On Main (Old Name: Hotel Cecil)

+ Great location downtown (convenient to buy food and take public transport)
+ Affordable rates
+ Grand lobby
+ Free iMac in the lobby

- Can be scary location too with homeless, the city's worst drug addicts and most destitute citizens, typical of DTLA 
- Foreboding past with haunted stories and murder cases (Mister wisely kept this history from me and only told me after we checked out.  Otherwise, I don't think I could have lasted all 5 days there)
- NO AIR-CONDITIONING
- Horrible drainage in our private bathroom
- Rooms are not sound-proof, so if your neighbors are night owls, good luck to you
- Extremely noisy with police sirens

USA Trip Day 11 - 14 Sep 2014 - Sightseeing & Shopping in Vegas

Since we toured a great deal of distance on foot the previous day, we were exhausted and woke up late.  We checked out, left luggages at the reception and took an airport shuttle bus from our hotel, to pick up our rental Nissan around 10 am.  

Our first stop (after getting some drinks and bread from a mart) was the renowned "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. Did you know that it is a self-sustaining neon sign with its own solar panel?

A prefect example of the golden age of neon signs 

USA Trip Day 10 - 13 Sep 2014 - Grand Canyon Day Tour

Being one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, Grand Canyon has been in our bucket list for a long time. Since we were already so close to Arizona, we decided to visit this 227-miles long, up to 18-miles wide and over 1-mile deep canyon.  It was awe-inspiring to witness 2 billion years of the Earth's geological history, represented as neat layers of the canyon in this nature park. 

USA Trip Day 9 - 12 Sep 2014 - Vegas Baby!

As soon as we landed in the Vegas airport, we were amused to find slot machines in the waiting area, next to the boarding gates.  

No question about it. This is indeed Vegas!