USA Backpacking - Florida

12/22/2015

The first and second day in Florida, we spent our days in Universal Studio Florida. It was awesome! I have been a fan of Universal Studio when I was a kid, and I have been to Universal Studio Singapore for three times. The reason why I love this theme park especially is because of the Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss theme. 

12/24/2015 

We drove to Miami and spent the day on the beach. 

12/25/2015 

Key West activity - Parasailing 

12/26/2015

We took a ferry to Dry Tortugas National Park from Key West port. It used to be a prison and the only way to go there is by this ferry. The ferry was about two hours from the mainland. We were able to explore the island and even snorkeling.

The package that we paid for included with snorkeling gear, so we did not need to rent any gears. Which is a plus!

12/27/2015
Everglades National Park is 5 hours from the Key West. If you would like to experience tropical life in United States, this is the place to begin with. It reminds me a lot of Malaysia

12/28/2015
Weeki Wachee river is famous with their mermaid performance. The theme park is not as big as Universal Studio, but we get to experience something that is totally different. We even had the chance to swim in the river and it was a very cool experience. It was a bummer as we did not have the chance to kayak as it was super crowded that day.

That is the end of my journey in Florida, the trip did not end yet. We still have Georgia and Tennessee!

USA Backpacking - San Francisco

Salamualaik,

I finished my finals on Wednesday, only Allah knows how relieved I was. But still, I am so worried about my results. I want to get all A's but He knows the best. Kerja kita, tawakal dan usaha selagi masih ada masa. 

So I took the 8.30 am to Chicago on Thursday, and have almost 10 hours sitting in the bus. I was so worried that I might miss my flight. But Alhamdulillah everything happened so smoothly. 

I thought my flight to San Francisco only took about 3 hours, but I was wrong. I forget to consider the time difference and it actually took about 6 hours.

I reach San Francisco at 11 am and I need to check in my hostel before 12 am, because that is their policy. So I called the hostel and said that I might be late. Thank God, she willingly to wait for me. 

The next morning, I strolled alone in San Francisco downtown. I went shopping, and such. I wonder why I never do this before. After doing some shopping, I went back to my hostel to rearrange my luggage, and I found out that I make a mistake by buying a duffle bag. I want to return it but I am too lazy to walk to the store and I thought maybe sometimes the duffle bag might have its use. 

I really fall in love with San Francisco, the downtown is so beautiful, but the living cost is so damn high. Other than that, San Francisco is full with migrates. Like almost every shop is owned by Chinese. Everywhere I go, I could spot Chinese first. 

Then I get hungry, I tried to google for halal food and while walking, the google maps seems to bring be to a weird place. So I decided to get back and find something vegetarian. While walking back, I decided to off my gps and start walking where my legs lead me too. And Allah knows I haven't eat anything since the morning, so He leads my legs to a halal cart. I am so grateful to meet the truck. 

Sebabkan tangan Najwa dah nak patah, tarik bag macam hape je tadi, so I will only upload a picture for you. This is the famous tram in San Francisco. 

USA Backpacking - New Mexico and Texas

It's been a month since I had my spring break and finals are approaching, but I don't have any chance to update about my trip. So here we go.

March 20, 2015

I had an exam that evening, and after I had finished with it, I took a bus to Kansas City. My first destination is to Denver, Colorado because I was joining my friends trip. 

March 21, 2015

I took the first flight and arrived Denver at around 7.50 am. My friends took me from the airport and we started our journey to New Mexico. We arrive Albuquerque around 6 pm and check in the hotel. We went to the Old Town after we settled down and the town is really like one of the Mexican movies if you ever  watched one. 

March 22, 2015

The plan for this day is to go the Sandra Peak Mountain by tram. We basically went up there by a huge tram and it was quite a nerve. The weather was hot at the bottom of the mountain, but you could still saw snow at the peak, just to give you an imagination of how high the mountain is. But the view is a catch. 

Then we went to the Balloon museum. Albuquerque, New Mexico is known for their hot air balloons. Every year, there will be a season for hot air balloon festival and people around the world would gather here to participate in the hot air balloon competition. Even while we were on the road, you could see many hot air balloons in the air. 

March 23, 2015 

We spent the night in Roswell, New Mexico. Our next adventure is at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It is a natural limestone cave and we have the opportunity for spelunking. Here's a picture of the inside. 

March 24, 2015

We move on to our journey to Texas. Our first stop in Texas in San Antonio. Early in the morning, after we checked out from the hotel, we went to Mission San Jose. Basically, it is the historic building where the Spanish influence the red Indians to join them fought against the Europe. We could see that people actually living in a house made for the wall that protect their city. 

Then we went to The Alamo, which is a mission too. But with more tourist as is is located near the downtown. When we were at the Mission San Jose, we could not find any young people, so we declare "We are the oldies". Just kidding :D Then we walk to the Riverwalk. Riverwalk is located across the Alamo. We walk from The Alamo to the Riverwalk. Riverwalk is the reincarnation of Venice, Italy. Hahaha. It is so beautiful with many restaurants across the river, and we ride the boat.

Told ya, I'm in Venice. 

March 25, 2015

We were in Austin. Our activity in Austin is burning ourselves while water biking. The weather today is quite hot, and I have stomach-ache, so I did not have any tourist mood that day. I was wearing track-suit and you could imagine, I was like a school kids who missed her bus.

That's me who looks really unsettling with the nice view of Austin city.

This is my favorite part of this trip. The Hamilton Pool, The view was so magnificent, that I can't even shut my mouth. I feel like living here and smell how fresh the air is. SubhanaAllah, He created it so perfect that nothing could ever duplicate it. Being here, made me appreciate more what I have. Made me have this weird dream of traveling my whole life. 

We have two more trips, but I'm too lazy to write in this post. I''m going to post it in the next post. 

Najwa A

USA Backpacking: Saint Louis, Missouri

Hi,
A day trip to St Louis

This was my first trip to St Louis, and I was super excited. We rented a big car and drove to Rolla to pick up a friend.

This bridge structure amaze me, so I commemorate my Static knowledge by taking a picture.

It was super windy and so unexpected, we met some friends who studied in Urbana Champange for a little reunion. We decided to waste our money $6 to be on top of Saint Louis. I couldn't say it was worth it but once in a while was okay. The escalator was an egg-shape and quite small to fit in 4 people. So beware those who is Claustrophobic.

From up there, this is the $6 view that you paid for. 

At the base of the Arch, there's a Native American museum. It was cool at first as I am a museum freak. I enjoyed taking pictures with weird animal more than anything else. Oh, and the toffee shop there too. 

lastly, here's a picture from your amateur photographer.

Fun Fact: The Gateway Arch was built as a monument for Thomas Jefferson and a memorial of St Louis involvement in Westward expansion of USA. For more information, refer to your American History textbook.

Najwa A