America!

It was July of last year when I received the good news. I was jumping with so much glee when the US embassy gave me not 6-months but a 10-year tourist visa. As a filipino citizen, it's not easy to acquire one, you see.   Anyway, during my 6-month stay in the land of the free, I was able to see San Francisco, NYC, Atlanta, North Carolina, Tennesse and Michigan.

1. First stop was the hippie world of San Francisco. The place is very liberal, a melting pot of all races and genders ;-). It is just so happy and gay there. Together with a friend of mine, I went to see some of the many remarkable sites of the City by the Bay. This include the ever-famous Golden Gate bridge, the Fisherman's Warf, the crookedest street in the world, Lombard Street, Baker Beach and Sausalito. I had a taste of chocolate sundae in Ghirardelli Square. There's a fine resto in the quaint little place of Sausalito called Spinmaker Restaurant and I had my first ever clam chowder there. So good! We also walked on the fine sand of Baker Beach which has the view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was windy and freezing when we strolled the seaside but nevertheless, I still enjoyed the scenic view. On our second night, we had a spinning ride on Lombard Street.

After almost 3 days of being there, I bid goodbye and headed of to yet another beautiful state, North Carolina.  Below are some of the few of the photos I took in San Francisco.

2. North Carolina is an amazingly beautiful place, I fell in love with it right away. The thing about it is the proximity of the mountain, beach and the city. No wonder why my stepdad Ron loves it there. He lives in Cornelius, a 30-minute drive from downtown Charlotte. My mom was fairly new to the area so just like me she was so eager to explore the Tarheel state.  I didn't adjust much climate-wise as it was humid and sub-tropical by the time I got there which was last week of August 2010, mid-summer. Anyway, my dad brought us to Charlotte, the main city of North Carolina. It isn't that big but I like how charming it is. Also, I was able to see Blowing Rock with them when the fall was just beggining to start. The fall color change is marvelous. My new friend Doug also brought me to places like the summer hit White Water Center. It has a lot of stuff to do like water rafting, ziplining, biking, canoeing, wall climbing and other similar sports. We also went to see Concord Airport which housed the great Fortress,  four-engine heavy bomber aircraft which was developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps.

 I also did some cycling near lake Norman, a large manmade lake made by Duke Energy. It's huge! Another part of NC which I was lucky to see is Asheville a hip, young place. Doug and I went there for the Moogfest which happened a day before the halloween, and it certainly blew my mind off. Massive Attack was so cool, the music is just awesome. Another bands/artist we saw playing were Big Boi, Panda Bear, Dan Deacon and Girl Talk. It was totally a fun experience for me. Anyway, here are a few of the pics I took during my 4 month-stay in North Carolina.

3. Georgia. Another place that I happened to see is Georgia specifically its main city, Atlanta. As what I have learned, its most popular invention is also the world's most popular soft drink, Coca Cola. However, I didn't have the oppurtunity to see the Coke World. But I did see CNN headquarters and the Stone Mountain. I also tried some southern cuisine at Mary Macs which is only found in Atlanta. Here are a few pics of my  trip there.

6. Tennessee. When I went to Asheville, NC for Moogfest, the next morning me and my friend Doug went hiking in Big Creek Mountain in Tennessee. The leaves were everywhere as it was mid-Fall and it was gorgeous to see all colors on the ground. Below are a few of the pictures I took.









4. New York City is a place like no other. People from all walks and talks of life are here. From the chic boutiques along 5th Avenue and Broadway, the busy subways, the great museums and theatres, the ever grand Central Park, the buzzing excitement of Times Square even the pretzel vendors in the street gives this energy, a certain vibe that pumps you up and tells you, to get out from your comfort zone and just embrace NYC's undying energy. I was with my dad, mom  and her friend from our town, Zaide. We stayed at the latter's abode at  Long Island  for 3 days and was so grateful for her generosity and hospitality.  We went strolling down Chinatown, buying  a few knick knacks here and there. We also went inside St. Patrick's Cathedral and lit candles there. I had my portrait done in Central Park.Then we rode the subway to Manhattan. Wow, was all I could mutter as stepped out from the sub and watched the place being flooded by NYC natives and non-natives and tourists from all around the world. Just busy, busy, busy. I must say there is no city quite like the Big Apple. Though I only had a small bite from it, It still blew my mind off. NYC is an awesome city.

4. Michigan is a cold place for me. I went there early of December 2010 and gosh I didn't expect the harsh climate but hey I am the girl from the tropics, you see. It was snowing so hard when I arrived there, it was white everywhere, everything was covered with snow. The house where I stayed was 5-min. from Lake Michigan, a place called St. Joe. Did I tell you that it was my first time to see snow? Well, I loved

 it! I was blown away by the overwhelming emotion of experiencing snow for the first time. I could see that the tip of my nose turned red and my breath came out in little clouds, and as strange as it may sound, I was giggling with so much happiness, realizing that my dream to see snow had finally came true.

I made friends there and they took me out for sledding. It was a whole lot of fun. The following pictures were taken to document my first-snow experience.

Well, those so far are the states I have been to in America.  I know, those are a few states out of the 50, but the good thing about not having been everywhere; well, there are still so many places to see...Yey!

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