What I loved about my last US trip Part 1

As a trailing partner, I do get some amazing perks like travelling to exotic places with my road warrior kangaroo. It wasn’t easy leaving work behind but it was worth the stress and preparation. From mid-April to early May, I flew from Tokyo -> SF -> Las Vegas -> NYC -> Boston -> NYC -> LA -> Tokyo. Aren’t I lucky? Here are the top 10 highlights of my trip:

#1 Got to meet up with my gorgeous gal pals

We gossiped, gaggled, and ate good food together. I also ran, did yoga, watched Broadway shows, checked out an art exhibition — all in the company of my gal pals. Sigh, those were some good times.

#2 Hugged the tallest tree in the world

From San Francisco, we drove to Las Vegas and stopped by the Sequoia National Park to say hello to the tallest (and oldest) tree in the world, General Sherman. It is more than 3,000 years old and it was mighty impressive.

The tree is made of a type of wood that doesn’t decompose and has a natural defense mechanism to even the most violent of weather conditions.

There was still snow when we were there in April. I can’t forget the hushed stillness while walking among these giant trees and I felt like I was in The Lord of The Rings or something magical like that.

Wow.

#3 Walked in a desert for the first time

Nah, we didn’t gamble much in Vegas, but we sure saw a lot of desert in Death Valley just a few hours’ drive from The Strip.

I was amazed at how white the landscape was at Badwater Basin. Just the wide expanse of it all will take your breath away. The kangaroo even touched the salty ground and tasted it, “It’s salty!”

Then just a few hundred metres away was The Devil’s Golf Course, that is another famous landmark for salt formations in Death Valley. “They look like extra-terrestrial eggs lying dormant in a nest,” I thought to myself. Yeah, maybe I watch too much sci-fi…

On our way to lunch, we drove past what looked like a set from Star Wars — it felt like stumbling into an unearthly dimension.

I’d like to visit more deserts — they seem so peaceful and surreal.

#4 Watched Aussie group, Human Nature, perform

The kangaroo used to manage Human Nature’s website back in the 90s and is friends with the bass singer, Toby. I only knew them as a pop group but now they’re known for singing Motown hits by Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Martha Reeves etc. in Las Vegas.

I was actually really surprised at how good they were. Their played to a full house when we went and they got a standing ovation at the end. Wow. Who would’ve thought Human Nature would be doing well in the US?

The kangaroo insisted the three of us take this photo together for his mum. Yup, Mrs Kangaroo is a fan.

#5 Meeting the kangaroo’s cousin, Fred

“I’m as thirsty as a nun’s nasty,” said the kangaroo’s cousin, Fred, when I first met him in Boston. We had to wait for our table outside the restaurant so he was a little impatient for a bevvie. I burst out laughing and he went, “Oops, I thought that would go over your head.”

We had dinner in Alissa Cohen’s raw restaurant, Grezzo, in the Italian part of Boston, North End, and I must say Fred was nothing but complimentary about raw vegan food. He also harassed the waitress with cheeky innuendos (“You should stick out your tongue more often,” he leered at her when she put on a cute grin at the end of her specials spiel) but she took it like a champion and didn’t slap him. He was an absolute scream of a character and was delightful company for an evening. I forgot how Aussie slang can be so hilarious and endearing at the same time.

For the rest of my “Best of” moments in the US, stayed tuned for the next post…

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