Tuesday 18 July:
Morning, I buy more treats today, go on a long bus ride to the airport and check in drama free.
Today is not about the flight but rather an overview of my trip as a whole:
Reviewing the places I visited:
New York:
An incredible place! You could spend a whole holiday there and still have more to explore. If I had to chose any state to live in based on where I have gone so far I would 92% go there (lost 8% as the weather is not as great as the west coast). It has such a great atmosphere, the people are nice, there aren’t so many druggies on the street and it feels (at least where I have explored in New York) like a relatively safe place.
Boston:
Definitely didn’t spend enough time there to build a solid opinion but I liked the small town kind of vibe it had.
Niagara Falls:
Beautiful, definitely a must see. Could be a day activity – going on the Canadian and American side.
Toronto:
I really enjoyed the area. The weather was a bit disappointing. There was so much to see and it was a nice walking distance between places (not too far).
Vancouver:
Another place that I honestly would live in. The weather was amazing. The people are friendly. It doesn’t have such a big atmosphere but the beach and mountain give it its glow. It’s a relatively safe area with tons of places to explore. The one downside is that downtown is easy to travel to by foot but besides that you do need to use transportation although the bus drivers are extremely friendly as are most people.
Renton, Seattle:
The vibe in Seattle is hip and happening. The area I stayed at, on a lake, was beyond stunning they have a great 4th July, people are friendly and the weather is great. I know that where I stayed it was a safe area but I am aware that most of Renton is going down.
Hood river, Oregon:
Such an amazing place. I was lucky enough to be staying at a place in the middle of everything. It has so much to offer – mountain, beach, wind surfing. It is a mostly tourist area so it is designed for tourists to enjoy. Such a great friendly area.
California:
San Francisco – the area I was staying at the majority of the time, at the Green Tortoise Hostel which is by far the best hostel I stayed at, was a vibey place, as for the rest of it it’s not great. The weather is bad, even in summer but the Golden Gate Bridge and the other attractions I went to were beautiful.
Los Angeles – it is a city that has so much to offer at all different levels. The problem I found though was that it was difficult to go to these places – everything is quite far away especially if you are using public transport so if I were to go there again I would somehow hire a car to go around as it is not walking accessible. The weather is incredible as well as the beaches (and security on the mountain).
With California I’ve got to say I’m disappointed. I think it’s always been a dream of mine to go to Hollywood and the area is not what I expected. There are lots of drug addicts and although I experienced this in most places I visited this trip, the catcalling is absolutely constant and disgusting to an extreme and for the level I experienced it I would not choose to go there again. But stating the obvious that’s only what I experienced in the areas I went and some towns you could tell were better than others.
Overall I had an incredible travel experience around a tiny amount of the coast of North America. I really enjoyed the experience and loved that I could go and just focus on what I wanted to do and see as a solo traveler. I hope to continue traveling for years to come once I start earning an income as this trip was kindly sponsored by my dad as a month long ‘gap year’ for me. I honestly had one of the most amazing times of my life.
Thank you for joining me on my journey
Goodbye for now
XOXO
Yael
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