Week 10: Gap Year: First Week in the U.S.A

Team America

The first week in the United States has gone in a blur of fun, tiredness, and rewarded us already with some absolutely incredible sites. Essentially the single point that the group has come to realize is that the Americans think BIG. Portions, transport, geography, architecture, distances. As a group we have barely scratched the surface of the magnificent state that is California and that of the U.S.A. Even so it still makes for quite an experience which now taking a day of relaxing in San Jose is difficult to explain in one post.

Monday to Thursday in San Francisco has gone in blur. I say blur so far, particularly in the beginning of the week because of some severe jet lag, such that me, Charlie and Rupert have never been accustomed to (whilst Ollie has already done his gap year in Australia which is intense mileage). Originally and inevitably the jet lag hampered the group on arrival and for a couple of days. The 10 hour flight, despite the 3rd season of 'Walking Dead' and 'Django Unchained', was fairly ruthless psychologically and physically not to mention the agony of being surrounded by a large group of French/ French Canadians who loved having their seats back but did not appreciate it when Rupert wanted his seat back (typical). Six Amstel's between me and Ollie and one small bottle of wine for Charlie and one eternity later (accompanied by Patches O'Hoolehan) we finally landed leaving the plane out of relief rather the short-lived excitement and adrenaline which accompanied us when entering the plane.

Arriving though, once we had passed through security who grilled a large majority of group waiting for them to crack under the strain of tiredness, was amazing given the hard-work that we have all done to make this trip a possibility. Normally the destination for students or graduates would have been Asia but seeing and being in San Francisco was a reminder that we had finally arrived. The traditional America diner nearby the hostel and the Moon Doggie's, Cheeseburgers, teeth-rotting cherry coke for Ollie and an epic banana milkshake for Charlie were the first orders of the trip which was then followed by a well-earned rest, once obviously a few pints of Budweiser and Guinness had been consumed in the Irish pub down the road. 

Numerous early wake-ups between 4:30 am and 7.00 am was quite uncomfortable but it meant we could get out early and see things rather than waste time.  Tuesday (the day after arrival) was simply an incredible day as the group explored far and wide in San Francisco, bustling locals rushing to get to work and quickly grabbing a coffee from the seemingly endless availability of a Starbucks coffee on every single street. During the week it was a bit more difficult to go out because many of the locals our age, like us, are most likely traveling or hurrying out the city during the heat. To be fair however the weather in San Francisco was very mild when there was cloud cover, but it became hot as soon as the sun came out that quite easily matched the heatwave we left behind in the United Kingdom. The plan to go out on Tuesday backfired hilariously with all of us suggesting 'Boys, lets go to some bars!' at 18:30 only for for us to fall asleep at 19:30 and sleep till early morning. As Charles Roe correctly pointed out after our 'heavy night' of staying in; jet lag is and always will be a cruel mistress. It did not takeaway anything from a great first day in the U.S.A with walks across some signature steep hills in San Francisco, along the famous piers (including the pier that accesses Alcatraz island) where we managed to eat some clam cowder from a bread bowl, and the beginning of and the continuation of, during our stay in San Francisco, of frequent flirtation with American Eagle.

San Francisco

We did not book in advance for Alcatraz so it left that plan floundering and the only real opportunity we got to see Alcatraz Prison was obviously from a distance and admiring painfully the large model on the pier before tourists boarded the boat to the actual prison. We still got awkward pictures of the model though, which when edited makes us look like we got a helicopter over the island. Desperation is damned unfortunate. San Francisco is very touristy and international and many of the locals did not seem surprised to see four young Englishmen on the road in the U.S.A. However the Adelaide Hostel I strongly recommend for anyone planning to stay in San Francisco on a budget and if it is your first destination. Free breakfast and very comfortable beds was the order of the day especially when you want some comfort when you originally land after a long flight and for about $200 dollars for about 5 days (considering hostels are a rarity in America) is a pretty good deal with several good bars to chill at in the evening including the very American 'Saloon' (the oldest bar in San Francisco) and on with the shape of an owl right round the corner from the hostel where on a Friday lots of people hang out after a long week at work. Let us not forget the size of the shots they give you there, the whiskey Charlie consumed being cheap, double the size of the drops we receive back in the UK and naturally double effective.

Budget Rental!?

The next stop was Yosemite Park which considering the closeness to departure (the day before) was relatively cheap when choosing accommodation and transport. A top tip to consider would be bringing a credit card under your name, because when you are under-21 traveling by car, it creates a few issues when attempting to pay by debit card. The squeal of delight driving up and down San Francisco's hills caught the eye of many disapproving locals as 'American Woman' blazed out of the car windows. Going down the hills felt like a rollar-coaster and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (Tenacious D blazing out on the latter crossing) were great highlights on the long road to Yosemite, not to mention the car we rented from Budget was the automatic VW-Passat, the type of car we should really have earned in our late 20s.  Also when trying to get to Yosemite, it may seem fairly simple but take a navigation system to save time. Rupert made the best possible misreading of the map ever, accidentally taking us down Yosemite Valley itself. Though it extended the journey by three hours circling the valley it was quite a sight to behold driving to and through the valley, winding roads, endless and varying landscapes and some quite spectacular views of forests and mountains in Yosemite. It felt like you were going through several different countries in one state; very dry Scottish highlands, dry deserts and mountains near Mammoth Lakes similar to Morocco and the Middle East and typical American routes with endless tarmac and copious amounts of forest similar to the Black Forest in Germany. Heaven help the person who had to paint the lines on all these roads. If there is one destination that you must see before you leave it is Yosemite National Park. It was money very well-spent. Yosemite is internationally recognized for its epic granite cliffs and faces(some of which some slightly unhinged people sleep on), waterfalls and clear mountain streams. We managed one walk and saw several stags, deer, squirrels and the once in the life time sight of a wild black bear cub. We could not believe our luck, the cub springing out of nowhere and working its way across a fallen tree trunk with Ollie exclaiming 'Holy s**t that's a bear!'. Whilst Charlie caught some decent camera shots, me, Ollie and Rupert weren't waiting around for the mother or father bear to tap us on the shoulder and ravage us. One walk in Yosemite National Park, one wild bear sighted, some tourists never see them so it was privilege we shall not forget to soon. Numerous great photos including Ollie's signature 'selfies' (sigh) and lots of uploading of photos to Facebook which leave most of you guys back home sick of us, it was a shame we had to leave so soon. It looked like the ultimate place for cycling and skiing in winter and it is a place where the journey though long, is never tiresome, especially when you have a good playlist and Rupert Arvidsson doing Sin City impressions of Marv and White Goodman from Dodgeball and telling Yosemite Park, while photographing to 'work it' like he was photographing some model.

Class Photography in Yosemite National Park courtesy of Mr. Arvidsson

The place we stayed at was two and a half hours from the Valley,  a decent travel lodge with an awesome hot-tub (which after long drives and walks was a very welcome dip with cold beer in hand). The mosquito net took a bit of a beating which I inexplicably in a typical 'Matt Williams' moment blundered through and knocked to the floor. The other guests were amused, the guys in hysterics, Rupert face-palming in embarrassment and I was left questioning my eye-sight and the new laws of physics. The breakfast was included, albeit slightly plain but enough to keep us alive for the majority of the day. It was the bar/restaurant down the road which was really good.  33 inch giant pizza's two evenings in a row and three pitchers each night and the first group of young British people to probably stay in Mammoth Lakes. The one British person we encountered who had lived in the U.S.A most of his life someone evading the system of the U.S.A said he had never seen any British people in the restaurant and harped on about how the experience of the U.S.A is something else, that while we were in LA we should try and convince some head over heels America women to road trip around the West Coast with us and that American cars per gallon, particularly pick up trucks are ridiculously expensive. Glenn and Rupert's newly purchased and large vehicle would have been crushed under the wheels of a unaware truck. Ollie was unfortunate enough to be hit on by a quite intoxicated and unpleasant woman who accused us of stealing her handbag; Ollie was not amused, we were not amused. This annoyance increased when some of them said we were German. Nevertheless the previous night we met some people from LA/Santi Monica and within two minutes they were offering us to stay in Santi Monica, (I'm contacting them by phone today) and show us an epic time on the LA beaches and nightlife, saying that apparently the ladies love a good British accent. Haven't heard that before.. To be fair though if someone offered you to stay at their place within two minutes of meeting, they would think you were too keen, here however it is a completely different but awesome story. The big question of the night in a typical American accent was 'What are you doing in Mammoth?!'.

"Essentially the single point that the group has come to realize is that the Americans think BIG."

Conclusion to this week staying with David Roe and his very hospitable family in San Jose, having a day off after a hectic but unforgettable week, with six and half weeks to go.

• The U.S.A is incredible
• Taco Bell is average, Del Taco is incredible.
• Don't walk to Golden Gate Park from the centre of San Francisco it is a trek, worthwhile but a trek, take the bus.
• The group has began a prosperous relationship with Wendy's
• When we return home every portion will be tiny.
• When we return home we will, WE WILL be chubby.
• American hospitality, though varying from place to place, is amazing.
• Yosemite National Park is a must see destination before you die.
• We still need a Supersize Me Mcdonalds meal.
• American TV Adverts are simply terrible, overly frequent and corny. 'Thanks Kelly!' 'Thanks Rupert!' etc. 
• Americans live big, eat big, drink big, shop big, build big.
• Patches O'Hoolehan can in fact become 'Patches O'Roelehan'
• Twinkie's have by-enlarge gone bust.
• Never ever set your loud profile ringtone on the Japanese War Cry 'Banzai'; it scared everyone involved in the middle of the night. 
• Book Alcatraz Island in advance of arrival in San Francisco.
• 'GOOD OBSERVATION!'

Good America = 'God Bless America'

Bad America = 'I thought this was America!'

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park

http://www.adelaidehostel.com/

http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/home/home.ex

Matthew Williams