Disclaimer
The following views are those of Bloobuoy ©. They are not meant to upset anyone. If you are reading them then you are a friend of mine already and nothing else should matter.
Bloo's list of 10 things you must do in America. If you don't agree with them, then tough. Go make your own list. The list is in no particular order. It's hard to rank them as they are all on the list for different reasons.
1. Niagara Falls (from the canadian side)
2. The Everglades (take an air boat ride and hold a 'gator)
3. Las Vegas (but don't drink white russians)
4. The Grand Canyon (alright then this would be number 1)
5. Any sporting event (don't forget to take a book for all the time outs)
6. Hooters (It's got a kid's menu)
7. Skiing/Snowboarding (take extra padding)
8. Disneyworld (take a picnic)
9. The drive up the Pacific Coast Highway (make sure you've got enough gas)
10. Wal-Mart (to see the fat people and the gun counter).
So there it is America's 10 best sites. I haven't done the 10 worst things as even the bad things have been good experiences, but only because I survived the Greyhound and Detroit.
Bloo's guide to American Cities
New York - Go for a long weekend shopping and sightseeing. That should do it.
Boston - Nice place to go.
Montreal - French
Toronto - I'd like to go back and spend more time.
Niagara Falls - Must see.
Cleveland - Wide empty streets. Stay a day and see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Detroit - Go see the Motown Hall of Fame, but stay across the water in Windsor, Ontario. Seriously.
Chicago - Very nice, don't forget a warm coat.
Memphis - Lots to see (Civil Rights Museum, Mud Island and Graceland), but really horrible place to be.
Washington - If you like monuments and museums go see.
Charleston - I might go back when I've retired.
Kissimmee - Use the kids as an excuse to go to Disney World.
Everglades - Go see, remember the Mozzie repellent.
Key West - Nice enough, but no different from many resorts.
Miami - Downtown dodgy, South Beach alright, but Venice Beach better.
Atlanta - Go pay homage to MLK and Coca Cola then leave.
Houston - Vast, enjoyed the Johnson Space Centre.
Dallas - Smaller than I expected, but JFK piece interesting.
San Antonio - Riverwalk and the Alamo worth a visit.
San Angelo - Go see Andy H. Tell him I sent you. He needs a friend.
Phoenix - I loved it, not sure why. Maybe it was the friendly people.
Las Vegas - An absolute must. Make sure you don't miss a trip to the canyon.
San Diego - All Top Gun and Tijuana. Very nice too.
Hollywood - LA is huge, but spend a few days in Hollywood, see the stars, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Bel Air, Rodeo Drive, etc.
San Francisco - Shame it was raining all the time, but Alcatraz was cool.
Denver - Love their sports and good views of the Rockies.
Salt Lake City - Nice and clean, but watch out for mormons.
Sacramento - Maybe Tim will take you snowboarding?
Seattle - Cool place to be.
Portland - Really nice place, limited in tourist sites.
Vancouver - Shame about the weather.
A running theme in every place that I have been to is the homeless and jobless. Very few of the cities are set-up for people without cars, so be prepared to walk or catch the bus with the weirdo's. Most city centres seem to be devoid of people especially at the weekends. They are sectioned into certain districts so very rarely do people, work, live, go out and shop in the same area of town. This limits the character of the places.
Bloo's guide to America.
As time has gone by I've grown very weary of the USA although strangely I've grown fonder of the places that I've travelled to. The turning point for me was travelling through Tex Arse where I felt the change in attitudes was noticeable. I'm not saying the attitudes were better, but just different. The people had more time and were friendlier. The further west you travel the more noticeable the change is. In summary then:-
North East - Too busy
South East - Too many tourists
Middle - Too much of nothing
South West - Too many dreamers
North West - Just about right.
America has been built on the greed of the few at the expense of many. From what I can tell the american dream is to become one of the few so they can forget about the many. If this truly is the best nation in the world then there is not a lot of hope for us. You can see that there is lots of private money and not a lot of public, therefore they only build what enhances the companies and that is why the rail infrastructure and healthcare system (to name 2 things) is so bad and why so many people still live in relative squalor. It is staggering the number of people who have nothing.
It breeds a winning culture. The youngsters are more or less forced to go to university. It's the only way to guarantee your success and an aim to become a mechanic or the like will be looked down upon. Youngsters can't even consider taking a year out before university or even after university as their lifes path is already mapped out. It's for this reason that they are so clueless on world affairs. Lets face it though they must be doing something right as they have built an enormous economy in a relatively short period of time and even in sports they are a force to be reckoned with in any game they play, I mean they have the world champions in baseball and american football.
Throughout America the scenery is stunning and I want to like America but don't. I gave it every opportunity. I met some truly great people and went to some amazing places, but for me there were too many things that spoilt it. The pan handlers, the Starbucks on every corner and the inability of americans in general to see or want to see the whole picture.
There are places that I would go back to, but i think i know in my heart that the only place I'm likely to return to is Las Vegas and that's because there is no other place like it in the world.
Guide to eating in America
Eating is an american passion, but I struggled with it for a long while. Its easy enough to find places but its tough to find anything decent, cheap and with lots of variety. There are plenty of take aways but what else do you expect. In the end I took to eating in bars that all serve reasonable fare but after drinks and the bloody tip get expensive night on night. Oh yeah and everything will be covered in cheese.
Bloo's guide to accommodation
Our introduction to hostels in America couldn't have been much worse than the 4 days we spent in the Jazz on the Park in New York. As the tour has continued the hostels have improved or maybe I've just got used to them. You will find very few foreign travellers in the hostels until you start getting to the west coast destinations like Los Angeles, Vancouver and San Francisco. In other places they tend to be smaller hostels (normally converted houses) that have americans in them from out of state looking to relocate (or on the run). The hostels are normally priced at around $20 for a dorm bed. They can vary in standards, but if you stick to www.hihostels.com you shouldn't go far wrong.
Some cities have few or no hostels at all like Boston, Detroit, Memphis and Dallas. For these places you can find cheap deals at www.hotels.com .You can also use that if you get bored of the hostels. The hotels rooms will normally have 2 double beds in and in some places can be as low as $40 a night.
Guide to american women
Lesbians, every one of them
