"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did." 

Following on from my last post, Activities Part 1 - Here
This is part 2 of the activities I got up to whilst away with Trek America.

Austin 

Things to do in Austin, we spent 2 nights here and on our first night we experienced Rainey Street and 6th Street, we had a great time in both these areas of Austin. We also visited South Congress Bridge one evening to see the Bats but we were waiting ages and didn't see anything so we decided to head off back to 6th Street for the evening. Now probably the majority of people who go on trek and visit Austin will spend their time at Barton Springs which is an outdoor swimming pool for everyone to visit and sunbathe. Most of my group decided to go their on our second free day but what did I want to do? Skydive!!! Now prior to going away with trek I had seen a girl on Instagram which had chosen to do the Southern Sun trek and for her free time she did a skydive in Austin. I messaged her and asked which company she did it with and what the experience was. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to do it myself. The company was Texas Skydiving now looking back I should maybe have done a little research into this as it was just over an hour away from where we were staying. Luckily Hayley, Crystal, Dean and Isaac wanted to come with me for support and to watch so we all booked an Uber. Ok so the skydiving place was literally in the middle of no where haha! I got given my harness and talked through all the health and safety about what to do whilst we were in the air and how to hold my body. Everyone sat down and it was time to get into the plane! The package I chose was the skydive with photo and video. I think I paid around $360 as their was a percentage off offer on at the time. This meant another trained skydiver also came up in the air with you to photograph and film the whole experience. It was such an amazing experience to get the chance to do this and the only time I was nervous was when I was sat at the edge of the plane. You get such a rush of adrenaline through the air. The only downside to this day was trying to get back to Austin! Haha, we were stuck in Lexington with no transport back as Ubers kept cancelling due to the fact of us being so far away. Texas Skydiving looked after us and let us sit inside until we found a way back, they gave us some local taxi numbers (although they didn't expect to take us back) they even offered to go out and get lunch for us which was very kind! But in the end probably about 2 hours after I had finished my skydive we finally got an uber and made it back into Austin.




Amarillo

Before we left Amarillo we stopped off at Cadillac Ranch which is a free public art installation and sculpture of yes you named it, Cadillac cars which are half buried into the ground covered in spray paint. We had previously bought some spray paint at Walmart ready for when we arrived here. The area where the cars were was full of mud so a few of us didn't want to get too close and get covered but we managed to spray paint the cars and write our names on them.


Santa Fe

A few of us decided to go to Meow Wolf which was an optional activity to pay for. So Meow Wolf is a very weird place. It is an arts and entertainment group which is based in New Mexico.

"Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is an explorable, immersive art installation filled with technology and fantastic environments to inspire visitors of all ages. The wildly imaginative art space is a collaboration of over 100 local artists and is a unique combination of children's museum, art gallery, jungle gym and fantasy novel."

I won't say much more, I'll let you experience Meow Wolf for yourselves, unless you want to read about it here.


Monument Valley 

Whilst in Monument Valley our optional paid activity was the 4x4 jeep tour. The company we did this with was the Simpsons Trailhandler Tours. We got our own jeep as a group and our own guide. The jeep tour allows you access to the restricted areas of Monument Valley whilst giving you the chance to see amazing views and the guide gives you all the history about Monument Valley and about their culture. Our guide was really friendly, told us so much information about the rocks and the meanings behind everything, he was also asking us if we had any questions throughout. The jeep tour was a couple of hours long. A part of this tour was for our guide to take us to a traditional Navajo Hogan where there were demonstrations of rug weaving and talks about their arts and crafts. We also got the chance to enjoy dinner the Navajos, try out their Navajo Tacos and even join in dancing with them after our meal when our guide dressed up in their traditional dress wear and sang/performed for us. On our drive back to camp we got to witness the beautiful sunset. What more could you ask for!



Grand Canyon 

For the Grand Canyon, Me, Courtney, Jemma, Hayley, Crystal and Rach decided our activity of the day was going to be a helicopter ride over the canyon. Prior to going away with trek this was activity I was looking forward to doing the most! I have never been on a helicopter ride before so I knew I wanted to experience it this way. The company we did it with was Maverick Helicopter Tour and I think cost just under $300, yes it is expensive but worth it in my eyes, It's such an amazing way to see the Grand Canyon and I would recommend anyone to do it if they have the chance. As their were 6 of us we got split into 2 groups of 3. I was quite nervous for the ride as I thought I'd feel quite sick due to the motion of the helicopter, as I do suffer from travel sickness but I didn't at all! We all got assigned to our seats, me, Courtney and Jemma were placed to sit at the front of the helicopter which I was glad about it was such an amazing view from the front especially when it came to the moment from flying over the forest and straight out over the canyon. The flight lasted about 45 minutes and did a loop of the Grand Canyon. This has to be one of my favourite memories from the trip.



Las Vegas

Veeegaaasssssss!!!! We had made it everyone was super excited for these 2 nights we got to spend here. During our stay in Las Vegas we had a party bus, now this was one of the activities that was already included within the trek and price we paid. This took place on our first night here. Due to the age limit of being 21 for drinking in the USA we had all been pre drinking prior to the bus picking us up to allow the few under 21s to enjoy the night. The party bus picked us up from our hotel The Golden Nugget around 9:30pm. We were allowed to drink on the bus and we were all singing along to the playlist we were allowed to put on and the bus also came with a pole, as a few of the group members were drunk there was a lot of dancing around that pole. It stopped off at the Little White Chapel, Welcome to Vegas sign and the last stop of the night the Bellagio Fountains to allow us to see the fountain display. It really enjoyed it but personally I thought there may have been a few more stops on the list or at least had a bit longer time at each stop, it was literally just off the bus, take a quick photo, then back on again. On our second day in Vegas me and Rach went to go do the Slotzilla Zip Line which is based on Fremont Street where we were staying. We chose to do the Zoomline option, this meant we would be flying "Super Hero" style instead of the seated version. This was around $49. The Zoomline option was 11 stories high and 5 blocks long, where as the seated version is shorter and not as high. This was so much fun! We both were pretty nervous to start with , we had to lay down on a mattress which then lifted you in the air to all you to be attached the harness and zip wire, you have all your body fastened in an once you are ready the mattress then lowers leaving you hanging in the air, the metal shutters then open and you are released head first down Fremont Street. We both loved it!




Upcoming//
Trek America - Activities Part 3

" In the end we only regret the chances we didn't take" 

If you have been reading my previous posts about you Trek America trip back in 2019 you will have read about everything that I got up to on my American Adventure. I wanted to do a separate post going into more detail about what was included in the trip and the optional activities I chose do.

Again I did mention previously that the trip I chose to do was the Grand Trek and this particular trip was split into 2 halves the Southern Sun and then the Northern Trail. This meant that people could book on to do either do the full trek like myself or just one half of it. As the full trip its self (including my extra days there) was for 47 days, I thought I would break my activity post down into dofferent parts as more activities were included in the first half of the trip.

Shall we begin with part 1....

New York City 

Now New York City itself wasn't included as part of the trip. The start/end point ends in Newark which is just outside the city. When starting the trip me and Shaun (another fellow trekker) booked to stay in New York for 2 nights prior to the trek starting. We explored Times Square and Central Park. Experienced the NYC Subway for the first time when we made our way to go see the 9/11 Memorial and Brooklyn Bridge. We both wanted to go see the 9/11 memorial whilst we were here. It was such a strange feeling being in that area as it was just really silent and calm compared to how the rest of New York is. If I had more time I would liked to have visited the museum that was also there too. We also visited the Empire State building and went to the top. We arrived there just before 8am and got our tickets once we are there. We paid $43.55 (2019 price) each for our tickets and then stood in the queue until they were ready to let us go up. They allow so many people in the lift at a time and once you are in and they have pressed the button to take you, on the ceiling of the lift they played a video of the building getting build and had audio telling you the history about it. We arrived on the floor and again they have photos explaining all the history, when it was built etc you could just take your time whilst having a look at these and then you head outside to the deck. There was no cloud in sight! I was so glad it was a clear morning as it meant we got to see for miles, the views were great, this was something I had always wanted to do if I ever got the chance to go to NY. We took photos and I even managed to facetime my parents whilst we were up there, although my signal did go off at one point haha!


Philadelphia 

During our time in Philadelphia the included activity/sights was the most famous Rocky steps and Rocky statue. Our trek leader drove to these stops and let us take photos and re create the run up the steps. Your trek leader will almost certainly recommend you to try a philly cheesesteak sandwich, so defiantly do so! We also had a few hours for some free time to wander around so we checked out Liberty Bell, Elfreths Alley and saw Independence Hall.


Washington DC 

Whilst you are in Washington DC, the main included activity is a bike tour with the company Bike and Roll DC. Now unfortunately I cannot ride a bike, I fell off one when I was little and grazed all my face so never went back on one since. But as I knew this was included and this trip was all about trying new things I wanted to give it a go. The company each gave us all our own bike and helmets and water and sized up the seats to each individual if needed. I got myself all ready with my hat on ready to go until it was time to set off,  but I couldn't do it I felt really unstable and wobbly and just had no confidence, so I decided against it as I didn't want to injure myself this early in the trip. The company was absolutely fine about this and told me how long the others would be on their trip and even gave me some ideas of where I could have a walk to. Now after speaking to the others, the trip included a tour around all the memorials and monuments, I was slightly gutted that I had missed out on this as you come to Washington DC to see this but later on in the day I managed to see the Lincoln Memorial which was the one I most wanted to see. Then we had free time. We visited the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. This was a free museum, so if you are into aviation and space this is great place to see. As we were leaving Washington DC and onto our next destination, Joel (our trek leader) stopped to take us to see the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. This is also connected to the Smithsonian Museum but just in another location. Again this is another free entry. In both these museums you have to get your bags checked for any prohibited items. I personally preferred this museum to the one Smithsonian one back in Washington DC, They had so many aircrafts as exhibits, from general aviation to planes that were used in different wars and even rockets and a space ship!!


Ocoee, Tennessee 

The optional activity whilst staying in Ocoee was White Water Rafting with Adventures Unlimited  our campground for this stay was actually onsite too, so we only had a short walk and the guides met us. As this was an optional activity, a few people out of our group decided to stay at camp. I can't remember the price of this trek but Trek America states its between $40-$60. We got put into groups by our guide so there was me, Rach, Shaun, Kev, Joel and this lady who had come to do the rafting on her own (although she knew the guide so may be a regular) They went through all the health and safety with us and told us to go get our equipment, life jacket, helmet and our paddle/oar (I'm not too sure of the difference haha) we then had to get on this school bus and it was a 15-30minute drive to the start of the river. It was a nice drive as you got to see parts of the Cherokee National Forest and also the Ocoee River itself. We arrived at the start point and me and Rach were so scared and actually questioning why we are doing this to ourselves haha we just knew we were going to fall out. The driver and the guides unloaded the boats and we got back into our groups again. The guides went through everything with us to make sure we knew what we were doing and when they shout we knew whether to duck down in between the seats, get back up and when to row etc. Then it was time to head down to the river. Our guide said that our group/boat had been chosen to be the rescue boat in case anyone fell out or needed our help a long the way, so we always had to wait until every other boat was in front of ours. I really surprised myself with this activity, this is something way out of my comfort zone and I would never have chosen to do something like this normally, but I wanted to experience as much as I could whilst I was out there and I was so glad I decided to it!! It was such a great experience. We got soaked and at one point I did think I was nearly going to fall out as a rapid hit us and Rach flew onto me haha but none of us fell it, there was a calm part of the river and the guide said we could even get out and have a little swim but I decided to stay In the boat which looking back now I'm so glad I did as our other group who was out their on the rapids said they saw a snake in the water. The rapids started to pick up again a little and the guide asked if anyone wanted to ride sat on the front of the boat with their legs hanging over the edge and just holding onto a rope, so Rach went! I thought phew thank god I didn't have to get up there but then after her turn the guide told me to go up front, it was actually so much fun! We arrived at the end and it was time to head back and get a nice warm shower. For this activity it is recommended that you wear footwear e.g trainers but I wore sandals there were fastened around my ankle and I was fine, no one said anything about it. Also, I wore my swimwear but with a t-shirt and shorts over the top as I think you had to have some sort of clothing on over the top. During your ride down the river they take photos along the way and have a package available for you to buy at the end.



Nashville

Once we had arrived in Nashville which was around 3pm we had a bit of free time to have a wander around broadway. This gave us time to check out the plenty of cowboy boot stores that are on the main strip and to stop off for a drink in a bar with live music. This was one of the things I loved about Nashville, all the bars with singers and country music, it was really lively! One of our paid activities was in the evening when we visited the Wildhorse Saloon for tonight's activity of line dancing. Wildhorse is a restaurant, bar and live music venue that also offers line dancing lessons! The fee was under $10 and you get a stamp on your hand which allows you to get back into the venue as we visited it twice on one evening. Whilst in Nashville you have to go an experience the line dancing! It started at 8:30pm and everyone got up to the dance floor ready to start. A lady came on stage and taught us the steps to a short piece of music. It's so much fun! Afterwards we headed out to the bars one of which was Kid Rocks, it was packed but such a great atmosphere, the drinks were flowing and everyone was singing. I really wish we had more days here!


Memphis 

Now the main thing you have to do when you visit Memphis is of course visit Graceland! (Ok you don't have to but I would definitely recommend it if you have never been before, I'm not really an Elvis fan but it was really interesting to see) Our campsite was also on the grounds opposite to Graceland itself and also Elvis themed with each row name after a song. We purchased the Elvis Experience including Airplanes ticket which cost $69 although sadly looking back me and Rach somehow managed to miss out his Automobile museum and Entertainer Career museum, but we got to see his mansion and the planes so for me that was the main parts I wanted to see. The mansion is an audio guided tour, you receive a tablet and headphone set and you all get on a little bus that takes you over the road to the mansion itself and are told when to start the audio tour. This is really good as you can pause it whenever you like so you can take as long as you like to have a look around and the audio tour tells you which part of the house to visit next. There are other optional activities that you can choose from whilst you are visiting Memphis so always check on your trek on the Trek America website or on the downloadable city guides the provide.


New Orleans

As you spend 2 nights in New Orleans that means you have a lot of free time to see what New Orleans has to offer. During our stay here a few of us decided to go off and explore, our first stop of the morning was of course at Café Du Monde to try their famous beignets which are covered in powdered sugar, they are yummy! We visited Jackson Square, had a walk around Louis Armstrong park and also paid to go to the Museum of Death this cost us $15, it was small so didn't take us long to look around but it was quite interesting to read about the killers and see hand written letters from them etc. In the evenings we headed out, now again being in New Orleans you have to try their famous Hand Grenade and Hurricane drinks. Our stay in New Orleans came to end and it was time to move onto the next place but before we got there we made a stop at Dr Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tour this was another paid activity that we all decided to do. We got given a guide and a boat and was ready to ride into the heart of the Honey Island Swamp. The main reason for this activity is to see alligators that live in this swamp, and we did up close and personal! One even lifted up the metal pole at the side of the boat. This was due to the fact the guides on the boat like to feed them to allow everyone on board to see them and what do they feed them with you ask? Marshmallows and hot dogs! I personally thought you wouldn't really get to see them and it was just chance/luck if you did but we saw quite a few and so close to the boat too!


Upcoming//
Trek America - Activities Part 2

"When you travel alone you learn to push yourself in every situation, to meet people, to try new things and to see what you really love without the influence of others" 

Before I start I would like to say that I am not affiliated with Trek America, all views/opinions are my own and I just want to share my experience with you all and hopefully give you an insight into what my trip involved if you are looking to do one yourself, which I would definitley recommend!

** I would also like to add that if I state any activities that I took part in, I will be going into more detail with these in a future post. 

Sunday 7th July 2019 

We were making our way to Lake Erie today for our campground. This was the day when the majority of us wanted to visit the Cedar Point theme park. It felt like a long drive and we just wanted to get there early so we would have more hours to spend at the theme park, but we didn't arrive at camp until 4pm and by the time we had set up and then arrived at Cedar Point it was after 5pm, and from what I can remember the park closed at 10pm so we were all a bit disappointed that we didn't have long there but we made the most of it and headed straight for the first queue. We had left Cedar Point and went to Thirsty Pony to meet with the others who didn't want to go to Cedar Point, for drinks and food. I chose to have a starter of onion rings as I wasn't too hungry but so glad I went for a starter as the portion was huge. We left around midnight and went back to camp. 



Monday 8th July 2019 

This was another strange day, the feeling of knowing the trip is nearly at the end and we would have to say our goodbyes again but first our destination was Niagara falls! Cat let us all go to Chipotle again for our lunch so it was burrito time! We parked up and it was a short walk down to Niagara Falls itself. As it was Shaun's birthday today we also went out for tea to the Hard Rock Café. I had the steak fajitas! Once we had finished our meal we had to rush back as we had the Maid of Mist tour booked and literally had to run in the end to make sure we made the boat as it was the last one of the night, it was a really good experience! We headed back to camp for our last night as a whole group and sat around the camp fire. 





Tuesday 9th July 2019 

We were heading back to Newark Hilton Hotel this day. The hotel were my trek across the USA had begun. To start the day off we stopped off at Tim Hortons for a quick breakfast and a hot drink then for lunch we stopped at this really nice bakery called Itheca. They had a lot of selection to choose from. We had arrived at the hotel around 7pm and we all said our goodbyes as some of the group weren't staying in Newark. Cat gave us all a little present of group photos she had taken of us throughout the trek which was a nice little touch. How had 6 weeks been and gone already?! We checked in and headed to our rooms, it felt so strange being here again the place where it had all started from. It only felt like yesterday that we were meeting the group for the first half of the trip. Once we had sorted things out, Me, Rach and Courtney needed to go to Walmart to buy an extra suitcase for all our stuff and Dean & Shaun decided to come with us. We stocked up on American food and sweets that we wanted to bring home with us and picked out our suitcases. Then had a dilemma of how we would all fit in a taxi back to the hotel with 3 suitcases haha! When we arrived back it was straight to packing and making sure we had everything and our documents for flying home. It was then time for bed! 

Wednesday 10th July 2019 

Today was the day! Heading back to the UK. We woke up early this day around 5:45am as us girls who are all flying back to London Heathrow together wanted to go into NYC for a few hours first as our flight wasn't until 6pm so didn't have to leave for the airport until the afternoon. We got an uber and arrived in Times Square, We went to this little café for breakfast and had pancakes. Hayley had been to New York before so she led the way to most things and we did a little shopping along the way. We didn't have long here but we managed to fit as much in as we could during this time. We had a look around Times Square, walked to 5th avenue, did a bit of central park, saw the Rockefeller building. We stopped to have our last American McDonalds then headed over to the Pennsylvania Station where we got the train back to Newark. 





Upcoming// 
Now the next upcoming posts are going to feature a more in depth explanation of what activities I took part in during my Grand Trek, as there are quite a few I will be splitting them into a few parts. First up will be.... 

Trek America - Activities Part 1 

"Life is short and the world is wide" 

Before I start I would like to say that I am not affiliated with Trek America, all views/opinions are my own and I just want to share my experience with you all and hopefully give you an insight into what my trip involved if you are looking to do one yourself, which I would definitley recommend!

** I would also like to add that if I state any activities that I took part in, I will be going into more detail with these in a future post.

Thursday 4th July 

Due to the previous nights weather, we had a slight change of plan to the itinerary as we were no longer able to hike in the Badlands so Cat decided she would take on a much longer drive for us today and get us closer to Chicago. So our set off time was 6:30am, our first stop of the day was at the 1880s town which was really cool to look around! When it was lunch time we stopped off at McDonalds. We had another weird attraction stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota and then we were supposed to visit the Spam museum but that was closed. Due to our tents collapsing in the storm and even though we only had 3 nights left of camping we still needed new tents to carry with the trek and also for another group when the trip comes to an end. Our final stop was to see the Jolly Green Giant statue in Minnesota. It was around 6:00pm when I looked at my watch, it was such a long day and we were all really tired, but we still had another 3 hours or so to go to make our drive the following day a lot shorter. We had crossed over the Mississippi  River into Wisconsin which was strange as the last time we saw this river we were in New Orleans! As it was a late night we decided as a group we would order pizza instead of cooking late. We picked up our pizzas from Pizza Hut around 9:30pm and we arrived at camp and finally got our tents up. So it was gone 10pm by the time we had ate. We were all so hungry and needed sleep but a few of us had laundry to do as everything was still soaked. So by the time everything was dry it was around 1am so we all went to bed. I was kind of disappointed and I think a few others were too because we missed out on the 4th July celebrations that we all wanted to experience plus which had been advertised as part of our trek, but it was down to circumstances that couldn't be helped and Cat was really great with everything, none of our personal belongings were damaged luckily and our clothes, sleeping bags etc all dried out! American weather... you just never know what you're going to get haha



Friday 5th July 2019 

So this day was supposed to be the long drive to Chicago but due to the change of plan and only having a shorter drive day, Cat let us have a little sleep in this morning and we sat off just after 8am. We arrived in Chicago around 1:30pm but unfortunately we couldn't get our room keys for our hostel until 4pm as our rooms were not quite ready due to a mix up with another trek group I think. In the hostel they had a floor that was like a chill out area so it was full of sofas and had a pool table. Some decided to head out early and some of us including myself decided to stay in this area and wait for our room keys. Us girls used this opportunity to do our makeup ready for the evening and I also facetimed my parents. We finally got into our rooms (I really liked staying in hostels as it was nice to share it with all of the girls and get ready together) and got dressed for the evening as we were going out to Giordano's for Chicago's famous deep dish pizza! So good but so filling! I would definitely recommend Giordano's if you are ever in Chicago, but make a reservation as it was so busy and such a long queue! Afterwards as part of this trek there was another free bike tour to take you around the city at night, but again due to me not being able to ride a bike, I had to sadly sit out of this activity again. I walked back to the hostel as I started to feel slightly unwell and had an early night, I think I ate too much pizza haha!





Saturday 6th July 2019

This was our full free day in Chicago. This day the group kind of just separated and went off to do their own things in smaller groups or pairs. So I just took the opportunity to have some me time and go off to explore myself. I stopped off a Dunkin Doughnuts and got myself a breakfast croissant, I walked over to see the Bean and I also found the beginning of Route 66 sign which I had to get a photo of as I saw the end sign in Santa Monica. And what do I do best? Shopping! Yes I managed to find myself a Sephora and an Ulta store. I was so excited about the Ulta store as I had never been in one before and picked up some goodies. I did the usual souvenir shops and also went to sample some chocolates in Fannie May's. The hostel was in a good location and quite close to the main areas so I just walked back to sort out the things I bought. I then got in contact with Anna as we were going to the Lincoln Park Zoo, we got an uber there and was only about 30 minutes away. I hadn't been to a zoo in ages so I was really looking forward to it. We got an uber back to the hostel when we had finished and freshened up for the evening. We met up with Hayley, Saskia and Jurn and headed out to this American restaurant where I had Cajun chicken alfredo pasta. Beautiful! We all wanted to do the Willis Tower to see Chicago at night so we set off on our walk to find it.






Upcoming//
Trek America - Cedar Point, Niagara Falls and Newark Goodbyes