Badlands

Badlands The next stop was the Badlands. This area used to be a shallow sea and that is what made all the beautiful rock formations that can be seen today. We arrived here in the middle of the day and it was super hot, the hottest it had been since we arrived. Catt dropped us off at the visitor centre and we all had a mooch around I bought some souvenirs and read about the history of the area. I also discovered it's inhabited by rattle snakes :0 Catt was picking us up a bit later on to hike through the formations. We all slapped on sun cream and filled our water bottles and waited for her to pick us up. We went and got out of the car and walked to a view point to take some pictures then headed out to the trail. Not going to lie Becky and I were quite scared but we powered on anyway. It was amazing! The Sioux tribe (Native Americans) used to live around the Badlands and they named it so as the weather is crazy hot one minute and thunderstorms the next, that is exactly what happened to us. We had to cut out trek short as it suddenly became very windy and a thunder storm was starting to make it's way to us. We got to the campsite and my dream of being a Native American was over. As I walked around the Badlands I was sort of imagining myself as a Native American! We quickly set up camp and Amy, Becky, Helen and I sat in our tent and had a beer while we waited for Bolognese to be cooked. The weather wasn't great and it soon began to rain :0 I ate my bolognese in the rain as quickly as possible because it was my groups turn to wash up and I wanted to get it done ASAP because there was no sink, this means we have to do it in boxes outside. We collected everyone's plates and began to wash up. I was washer, Zara was dryer and Becky and Nick dried and put away. We were washing up on the bench and it happened to be undercover so everyone joined us and we started signing lots of cheesy songs like JoJo, Leave get out! As we sung we watched the lightening it was really pretty in a strange way. In the end I went to bed early because my ribs were hurting. I think it was because of sitting in the van for so long :0 it was good job though because we were up at 5am the next day to watch the sun rise over the Badlands. We left the campsite at 5.20 an headed to the viewpoint from the previous day. Firstly I saw It was very cloudy so I wasn't too impressed with the actual sunrise itself but it looked so nice at dawn. I took lots of pictures. We zoomed back to camp and had breakfast, changed packed and headed onwards to Devils Tower.

Jackson, Minnesota

Jackson, Minnesota We got up early and left Chicago feeling happy and fulfilled as we had such an amazing time there. I felt slightly blue because I could really see myself living in Chicago and felt I could stay there for at least another week. 2 days simply wasn't enough! I love that city :) ... But there's so many more exciting things to see and do on this trip, so onwards we went. The next stop, Jackson in Minnesota. This stop was really a stop over between Chicago and the Badlands as there really isn't much in-between but we needed to stop because it's too much driving for one day! Catt told us in Chicago that she had too kooky stops planned on the way! Boy they were kooky. The first stop was in Wisconsin at a CHEESE HOUSE as Wisconsin is famous for cheese and beer (my two fave things, but definitely not a state I would visit again 😎) I didn't actually buy any cheese or beer because I'm bit funny about buying it from strange places! But I had a picture with the mouse and bought some postcards and a present for my bezzy Christine. The next stop was amazingly tacky Americana at it's finest.... The SPAM museum. Who knew there would be a museum dedicated to a canned ham? Not I! But it was great, I learned how spam was very helpful durning the war and that Hawaii is the top consumer Of spam in the world closely followed by South Korea. We learned a bit about what goes into spam, although it sounds pretty unappetising! They told us how it's cooked and enjoyed around the world! Including good old spam fritters from the UK. I got Rhian a present as spam is her nickname. Jackson KOA was a boring place in the middle of nowhere but there was a pool and Helen, Amy, Becky and I had a lovely swim in the pool after eating mac n cheese :) cooked by Amy, Helen and Tommy, THE A TEAM ;) next stop the Badlands

Chicago day two

Chicago day two Woke up with a hangover 🙈 worst feeling ever! I dashed some paracetamol and hoped for the best. Amy and I went down and grabbed some muffins and juice and went back to the room. We both got dressed and ready, but while waiting for the others we both fell asleep. Eventually we were all awake and ready by 10am. We headed out for an all day bus pass and some cooked breakfast! Firstly CVS had no bus passes left so we headed to the next one, they didn't sell them. So we headed to breakfast. I can't remember the name but it looked exactly like diners you see on american films with the tables on one with a mirror wall, all along one side with the bar parallel, totally exciting. I had breakfast twos, two eggs, two sausages, two bacon and two pancakes. She asked me how id like them and i said fried... She said easy over? I had no idea what this meant. I always thought the Americans said 'sunny side up?' Anyway I established I would have them over medium. There was free coffee refills and free iced water. You didn't even need to ask, they filled up your cup before you had even had the last swig. Our server had really cool green hair too and said she loved our outfits. She also said she loved English fashion especially ASOS, apparently the US version doesn't have as many cool clothes for purchase. Our food arrived, and I'm not joking when I say it was HUGE. The pancakes were bigger than my face. I definitely couldn't eat it all, despite it being amazing and all! We left the diner and were faced with rain but alas we were prepared with waterproofs. We put them on and headed to millennium park via american apparel. I bought a cheeky dress for only $30. We got to millennium park and no sooner had we got there and taken a few snaps a random man pounced on Helen and Amy after hearing there accents and asked them to be in a video for his son. He was very friendly (but old) we wanted to get away from him so Helen pulled her phone out to create an excuse to leave, which ended with her dropping it on the floor. There was the unmistakeable sound of a screen cracking as it fell face down. The man was nice enough to direct us to the apple shop. We spent the next hour and a half in there while Helen sorted her phone out. It was quite a good coincidence, as it gave us chance to speak to family and upload pictures which we can't do on the van wifi. After the phone was sorted we headed to Hancock tower. According to the guys from Bobbys bike tour this is better than the Willis Tower and FREE! We headed up to the 96th floor, and straight to the women's bathroom which has the best views of the city and Lake Michigan. The drinks were ridiculously priced so we had a Pepsi each (Helen had earl grey). Ben strolled in on his own so we invited him to join. After slowly drinking our drinks we headed back down to ground zero. I suddenly felt sick, we decided to get a taxi back to the hostel. Everyone wanted to go back to get ready for the baseball game and Amy and I wanted to chill before going out to watch the free film in millennium park. I had a sleep and woke up feeling much better. Only Amy, Tommy, Nick and I weren't going to the baseball. We hadn't been with them all day but arranged to meet them at 6.20pm to head out to the free film. On the way I grabbed a flat bread and we walked down to the park. The free film was American Graffiti. I have no clue why it was called that and I wouldn't watch it again. The rest of the free film summer programme looked awesome, even the wizard of oz was being played one week, oh well, it's pot luck I guess. After enduring the film till the end we walked to navy pier and had a walk around there which was really nice and gave me time to bond with Nick as he is South Korean he gets a bit lost in group conversations. After a long night I grabbed a McDonalds and we all headed back to the hostel for an early night for our early start the next day.

First days NIAGARA - CHICAGO

The first day of the trek we woke up early. The night before, we met Helen and Tommy on the hotel shuttle and Becky came to our hotel room to meet us. We went down for breakfast and met Helen. I had pancakes with maple syrup and scrambled eggs and lots of coffee. We headed up to our hotel room and bought our bags down to the lobby where we met everyone else: Sophie from Somerset, Nick from Korea, Olly from Bradford and Zara from well everywhere south of the Midlands.. And CATT! Our awesome tour leader. I received an itinerary of the tour, which detailed where we were stopping, which days and which extra activities Catt had planned and suggested etc.. We also had to do all the boring paperwork. After getting that out of the way we did the 'ice breakers' anyone who knows me KNOW I HATE these things. It doesn't tell you anything about anyone and you forget everyone's name by the time you've gone round the circle. Anyway we had to say our name and what we would replace our left hand with :0 ... Sweets of course! Game over- thank god. Catt instructed us to pack our bags in the trailer and get in the van. We had a long 7 hour drive to get to Niagara Falls state park. On the way we chatted and got to know everyone. Played MORE games lol >.> e.g two truths and a lie, word association and the story game (which is quite fun). We finally got to the campsite at about 5, but stopped to buy a few beers before to celebrate our first night on trek. Catt taught us how to set up camp, and how meals work. There is a bread box and breakfast, lunch and dinner coolers and boxes too. Catt had already been shopping for us and bought some really good food! Vegetables galore, my favourite! Someone has to be assigned 'food mama' this person makes note of what people want and what we need to buy. I thought YES that's the job for me but you have to be good at maths and keep track of the food kitty. That is definitely my weak point. The role was assigned to Olly, and Ben got the job loading the van. The rest of us take turns to cook and shop. We were supposed to go to the Niagara Falls, Maid of the Mist light show, however the campsites near the falls were booked up so Catt booked us into one next to one of the Great Lakes which was about an hour away. With the plan being to go to the falls the next morning. We got up at 6am dashed to the showers got ready and I had a bagel and coffee for breakfast. Catt showed us how to put the tent down and we packed camp down in no time at all. Everything and everyone in we headed off to the Falls. The Falls are amazing!!!! There is a HUGE RAINBOW, you can see where it starts and ends. I hate to break it to you but there is no pot of gold at the end (unless that's a metaphor for natural beauty). The falls are beautiful and the colour of the water is deep green turquoise. Around the falls though (ESP. The Canadian side, are loads of big ugly buildings) the falls is the oldest state park and used as an example as what not to do for others such as Yosemite and Yellowstone. Lots of pictures later we joined the queue for the maid of mist tour. A boat ride that takes you right up to the base of the falls and gets you SOAKING WET. You get a free plastic blue poncho. Doesn't do much to keep you dry though. I would recommend doing the boat ride, it doesn't take long, you get some good views of the falls on the way to and from the base, but be warned! When you enter the mist you can't see anything at all! We drove all the way to Sandusky in Ohio. Today we were supposed to go to Cedar Point I was looking forward to this but made the decision not to go because it cost $36 and would only be there from 5-10pm on a Sunday! I estimated that id only get on a couple of rides due to queues so wasn't worth it. Most of the group still went, but me Becky, Zara, Amy, Tommy and Catt stayed at camp and chilled then headed to Port Clinton by Lake Eerie for some food at Rosie's Grille House. We had some hilarious conversations and all bonded. I really like my group! they are all awesome in their own kooky way. When we got back to camp I got ready for bed and repacked my case. Zara built a fire and we sat around chatting until the others got back. Then I went to sleep ready for another early start! Today ...! Today we are going to CHICAGO the Windy City... On the way we're stopping at Shipshewana the Amish town for lunch and then Michael Jacksons house. It's currently 9.21am and pouring down with rain :( .... Next few days.... Shipshewana was like stepping back in time, there were cars but mainly people seemed to be travelling by horse and carriage. Was very interesting to see. They mainly survive on tourism so we visited Farmer Joes shop which had free meat and cheese samples. The range of food was bizarre... Lots of smoked pigs ears and tails - no thanks! Real beef jerky was out as a sample and other meaty treats, I didn't try any. I did sample the cheeses (of course) Everyone working there was in traditional Amish dress. We went to the big shop next door, this housed lots of little gift type shops. I've never seen so many christening and confirmation cards in my life. We started chatting to a man behind one of the counters who asked where we were from! When we told him England he told us he once lived in York and the food was weird he aparently ordered a mushroom salad and he only got mushrooms in vinaigrette!?! He asked where we were headed- why Michael Jacksons house I said. His face darkened, 'have you ever seen pictures of Beirut?' He asked ... 'Of course' 'Well it's worse than that, be warned' We had lunch under an old barn. Then jumped in the van and headed off to Beirut! Great 😒 Well what can I say about Michael Jacksons house in Gary, Indiana. It wasn't exactly Beirut but it was prettttyyyyyy bad. Every house on the lead up to it was boarded up with 'no trespassing' signs or had smashed windows or looked so dirty they might collapse into a pile of dust if it got too windy. It was a sketchy area to say the least. They have renamed the road after the Jackson family which is quite nice. The Jackson house is at the end of the road on the corner. The gates are locked, but you can stand outside and take pictures. It is cheesy Americana at it's finest. There are huge pictures stuck in the windows and a giant, gravestone type memorial and his music playing over loudspeaker. The house is clean and the garden is full of flowers. I couldn't help but think it obviously didn't look anything like this when he lived there. If anything the other houses give you more of an insight into the kind of life he had as a young boy. Quite sad really! Especially considering there was 9 of them in the house I believe. It can't be any more than a 1 or 2 bed bungalow. I had mixed feelings after leaving the stop but it was good to see it, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see this but if you ever happen to be in the region it's quite interesting to see. Onward and upwards to the Windy City! Upon arrival at the hostel and once in our rooms. The girls room became beauty central! We all swooned over the shower and comfy-ness of the beds. We all had a proper shower, blow dried and straightened our hair and put make up on in a bug free, warm, clean environment (hey! Not that I'm knocking camping or anything) when you're camping for 4 weeks you appreciate any small luxury you get... I don't know why we all made such a tremendous effort because next stop was Bobbys bike tour, an 11 mile twilight tour around Chicago, in the rain I might add. We took a taxi to Bobbys and picked our helmets and were given bikes. Amy had a bike named Monty, slightly weird as it's her dogs name. My bike was called Jeremy and there were some funny names such as Theodore, Mustafa and Gustapo! The boys bikes had girls names. We weren't alone on the tour, there was an American couple and a father and daughter from Chicago, the little girl was about 9 and so cute! I took a picture of them and she said 'omg I just LOVE your accent' ... I'm kind of getting used to hearing that now! After Bobbys bike tour we went to a local Irish bar, half of another trek group joined us. The bar was located right next to the river so we all got a beer, blue moon in my case. Then proceeded to the outside seating area next to the river. Here Catt told us about a shot that can only be bought in Chicago, called Mallort. Of course we bought one! It is supposed to be horrible (none of the locals drink it) but chased with pineapple juice it really wasn't all that bad. Even though it was only 40% it sent us all a bit doolally. Next stop a dive bar. I have to say I don't really get table service in a bar. But I took advantage and it was quite nice not to have to get up and hustle my way to the bar. A few blue moons later and we headed back to the hostel. The next day -FREE DAY 😎

Penne pasta pizza

We headed off the same way as yesterday but firstly met Leanne and Markus... Upon arriving in NY Penn we purchased a lovely Starbucks to start the day. I had an frappucino caffé espresso. We headed towards the Empire State Building, coffee in hand and after seeing the queue, decided a queue jumping ticket would be best! This included a ride on the Sky Ride. I wouldn't recommend this, although the three 'briefing chambers' were pretty informative, giving you a tour around the best sights in Manhattan and the history of the Empire State Building. The ride itself was a tacky motion ride which made us all feel sick. Once the ride was over there was a quick elevator ride to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building for amazing views of Manhattan and beyond! Many photos later we made the descent back to ground level and walked to Grand Central station. A lot grander than I had imagined it to be!! We caught the Subway from here to Central Park when I got off the subway train we walked past the driver who was smiling at me and said 'you look beautiful have a lovely day' :) on the way in we grabbed a hot dog from a street vendor which was the craziest thing I've seen! He served about 10 meals in 1 min ... In Central Park we explored the central area. We saw the Turtle Pond, Shakespeare's Garden, the famous fountain and the Alice in Wonderland section and finally the smaller pond which becomes the ice rink in winter, we walked out via the main entrance and the benches! Unbelievably pretty ^__^... We then made our way across to Times Square again for Leanne and Markus. I got another Starbucks, this time a lovely iced mocha with whipped cream. I sipped it slowly whilst sat on the red steps, watching the world around me. Next stop, the subway to Whitehall to get a ferry to Staten Island to see the Statue of Liberty... this ferry is free, although it doesn't take you as close as the paid tours it's still pretty close, definitely worth doing if you're on a tight budget. After this me and Amy parted paths with Leanne and Markus and went back to the Meatpacking district! We walked underneath the high line to find the Brass Monkey bar... After getting lost we jumped back on the high line until we could see it, got back down and entered via the street. Finishing the long day with two Blue Moons on the rooftop terrace... ONE WORD.. BEAUTIFUL. After sipping our beers we headed back through the Meatpacking district to the Subway but not before stopping for a NY slice on the way, what flavour did I have I hear you ask? Why, penne pasta of course. Yes, that's right a PENNE PASTA PIZZA! I guess anything is possible here.

NYC FIRST DAY...!!!

Arrival Day We arrived at Newark airport and went straight to security, it took a good while to get through. By the time we had out bags were on the conveyor. We grabbed them and ran to the air train which we took for one stop then took the free Shuttle bak to the hotel. After dropping our bags off and freshening up we wEnt back to the airport and took the New Jersey Transit to NY Penn then a subway to 14th on 8th ave to walk the high line! Which was amazing. We got on. At gansevoort st in the meat packing district and walked to Chelsea but I would recommend walking the other way as there are many amazing places to eat and drink in the Meatpacking district. After we got off at Chelsea we walked round before making an exec decision to get a yellow cab to Ellen's Diner. In Ellen's Diner the staff sang an array of songs from phantom of the opera and Frozen to Chicago and Sam Smith! Truly brilliant. We had a pitcher of beer and didn't even get id'd! I had a Philly cheesesteak to go with the beer and was most definitely too full for desert. When we left it was dark so we headed to Times Square and took in the amazing sights/atmosphere on the red steps. On the way we stopped to speak to a boy selling comedy tickets was very chatty. We had some issues on the journey home as we hadn't studied the tube map, we had to ask various people where to go and were directed to platform 13 in Penn NY and jumped on the train - where the screen said next station NY PENN!!! Thinking we were going the wrong way we ran off and then realised we were at PENN ! So ran back on, much to the amusement of the man we sat next to who was laughing at us. He explained the tube map to us and gave us the history of New Jersey and Elizabeth! Who knew our history in the UK was so closely linked... We finally got back to the hotel at 4am UK time, feeling weary , tired and her lagged I jumped into bed for a much much needed sleep. Ready for all that I was to discover on day two in NYC I apologize for spelling and grammar mistakes! I'm having to type this out on my phone, and it's very long winded :( I can't upload any pictures yet because the wifi isn't good enough. Will upload some ASAP.