And the Aussies hit 50 US States!

Welcome back to our final US adventures tale—that glorious October week where we finally hit all 50 US states! It seems especially apropos that I should be posting about our final US adventures now, when it’s only a week until we move home(!).

Despite arriving back from our Midwest travels mid-afternoon on Tuesday, we were back on the road again on Wednesday. Fortunately it wasn’t an early flight! After two flights, we landed in Buffalo, NY   on Wednesday night & walked over the road to our hotel. From thence, we discovered two things: one good, one bad. The good thing was that the Buffalo Fairfield Inn & Suites offers free ice cream Monday-Thursday nights. Cha-ching! 

The bad thing was that there is NOTHING nearby in terms of restaurants. We ended up walking to a shitty little bar nearby—and almost freezing to death in the process!—and having a truly average dinner. For this reason, if no others, I think I’d recommend people stay in Buffalo itself. 

Thursday, 18 October

We started our first day with complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and covetous eyes towards where the ice cream had been sitting the night prior. Really, other than seeing the falls, eating ice cream was my only big goal for the day. That being said, we did some fun stuff on Thursday! 

After getting an Uber out to Niagara, we strolled from the drop off point towards the falls through the city. There, on a street corner, I saw a pitch black squirrel. A black squirrel! Of course, I promptly and completely freaked with excitement. James, having missed seeing it, was pretty sure I had completely lost my mind… which led to me scrounging around in the bushes for a few minutes trying to find said wee beastie. Thankfully, I eventually did and I was able to prove to James that I hadn’t made it up, and continue on towards the park. There, I stood near an inquisitive squirrel and had a conversation with it… only for it to climb up my leg! Sadly I freaked out—afraid it would keep climbing and end up on top of my head—and we missed the chance for a photo. But still! For a brief moment, I was pretty much a tree. 

Unable to coax my little friend to return for a happy snap, we purchased tickets for the Maid of Mist boat trip, and headed onto the viewing platform. You don’t realise until you’re standing on it how ridiculously high it is—and cold! And misty (apt). 

From there, we headed downstairs to board our boat trip. Weee! As you can likely tell, it was a bit damp… Hence the trendy bright pink rain smocks!

Of course, we didn’t have much fun at all: clearly. Up close, the Falls plume mist that rises high into the air so that from a distance it almost appears as though Niagara is on fire. The boats throttle hard to resist the powerful thrum of the water, and the Falls shift in and out of view amidst the spray. It was beautiful… But not as large as we’d thought it’d be. Niagara Falls are the broadest falls, but the tick for the highest belongs in Yosemite, so we were a little desensitised perhaps!

We hadn’t brought our passports with us—a rookie mistake!—so that meant heading over to Canada wasn’t an option. Still, in the interests of seeing absolutely everything we could around Niagara, we went for a stroll. There are a number of small islands on the US side of Niagara Falls: Green Island, Goat Island and the Three Sisters Islands. I have no doubt that the area is abuzz in warmer weather, but it was dead when we were there. With the trolley not running (too cold to be worth it, I guess), and the only restaurant closed for an event, it was hardly scintillating… though we did get a shitty $2 packet-mix hot chocolate, so it wasn’t all bad I guess!

AND, though my phone battery was on the blink and plummeting by the minute, I managed to snap a very blurry photo of a black squirrel! By the time we’d walked over ever island and done a full lap of Goat Island, we were ready to call it quits.

Hungry and chilled (though grateful I’d worn thermals!), we headed back into town in search of some lunch. Though we checked out a bunch of options & stopped to buy a phone charger, we ended up going for Indian at Zaika. Then we ate our body weight in curry.

We did some rough estimations and arrived at the conclusion that when we lived in Adelaide, we probably ate Indian as regularly as every fortnight or so. Needless to say, that won’t be happening when we move back to Australia. Why? Because penniless writers don’t eat delicious take-away curry, they eat gruel & scraps, and develop consumption in the midst of their life’s great work.

But, for this one beautiful (and freezing) day in Buffalo, we ate like royalty. The buffet spread at Zaika was pretty good (though as excellent as Little Nepal in Colorado Springs? Probably not.) and we gorged accordingly. And, struck by the lightning spear of brilliance, we bought extra to take back to the hotel for dinner. A nap, a quick gym session, then more curry… Hard to complain about that kind of day. Then, of course, we hoed into very large cones of complimentary chocolate soft serve to finish out the day. And that, my friends, is the pretty great tale of our visit to Niagara Falls. 

Friday, 19 October

We had an early start (again!) on Friday to fly from Buffalo to Burlington, Vermont. After grabbing our bags and picking up our hire car (with heated seats, hurray!) we went in search of brunch. And, oh, did we find it. 

Burlington

I will readily admit: I was in love with Vermont after 5 minutes. After parking the car nearby, we ended up in a gorgeous little cafe called Monarch and The Milkweed. James still reckons they had the best chicken and waffles he’d ever eaten: he still talks about it. (I think that may have been the first time he’d ever had them.)

But the weird thing was that  there was a woman sitting next to us when we entered. Not long after we arrived, she left. A plate of really delicious-looking waffles were delivered to her abandoned table. And there they sat. For quite a long time, actually, and no one batted an eye. I strongly considered stealing them because, well, hungry, but managed to resist, which was a good thing, because some time later, she just reappeared and ate her meal. But where did she go? How’d they know she hadn’t just bailed? It was bizarre. After an amazing meal—and without any pastries for later, sadly!—we went for a stroll around Burlington. What is stroll synonymous with in our existence? Book-browsing. Of course.

Phoenix Books offered a gorgeous, welcoming space for us to plunge into a book world. I’ve started spending more and more time in the nonfiction section and its a confusing and confronting life change. We somehow left without buying anything and were rewarded with a soft-eared puppy sitting on the sidewalk outside. Yes, of course: I stopped for a pat. It was the second time that day that I seriously considered a life of theft. 

Thus, despite being really full, as both a reward and a sop for my broken heart, I ordered a very thick, very rich hot chocolate from Lake Champlain Chocolates. James somehow resisted. Finally, we checked out  the Crow Bookshop before heading south to Bennington. 

Heading South

On the way, we found a giant teddy bear (and stopped for a photo of course). And, well, another bookstore. Oops. But who, I ask you, could resist a bookstore called The Flying Pig Bookstore?? It’s a really beautiful little independent bookstore that neither of us wanted to leave. It’s also filled with various pig things, which I somehow stopped myself from buying… But this time we didn’t quite manage to escape empty-handed (we’re weak when it comes to books). 

And because my friend Nancy (over at The Oethical Oenologist) had recommended a ‘short, easy’ hike, we stopped over at Mount Philo to break up the drive. Now, I’m not saying that Nancy lied, but… the hike was a lot more work than we were expecting. There was some sweating and removing of jumpers, as well as plenty of dogs and a little garter snake that I spotted.

The view from the top was absolutely worth it: we were so glad we’d chased Autumn to the North East! Then, invigorated by the beautiful day, and with a blister burgeoning on my heel, we carried on towards Bennington.

Bennington

Though the countryside was stunning, we quickly tired of driving, and were relieved to arrive in Bennington. And very excited to meet Nancy and Kris! Nancy and I first met through Twitter while doing the New York Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge back in 2016, and have been friends ever since. 

And, that’s now 2 from 2 internet friends I’ve met who haven’t killed me. What a batting average! Nancy and Kris gave us a quick tour of Bennington before we headed off for dinner. We dropped in briefly to the Bennington Visitor’s centre, then marvelled at the gorgeous pieces in Fiddlehead at Four Corners. Then we headed to the Bennington Bookshop. Why? Because Nancy has just published her first book! 

The Joy of Brewing Cider, Mead, and Herbal Wine: How to Craft Seasonal Fast-Brew Favorites at Home was sitting there, proud as punch (or mead?) on the bookshelf. It’s a beautiful, bright book that’s easy and interesting to read, even if you’ve never considered home brewing before. And if you have, you should probably buy a copy! (Also, yours truly is on the jacket copy: wee!)

We met up with a friend of Kris and Nancy’s for dinner in the ‘Lounge’ area of a stunning restaurant called Pangaea. The braised beef short ribs blew my hungry little carnivore’s mind, while James ploughed through an incredibly salmon and risotto. With warm cookies and creme brûlée for dessert, I think it’d be apt to say it was a perfect evening! We capped off a huge day with a late night of music and chatting to Kris and Nancy. All in all, a pretty bloody wonderful introduction to Vermont!

Saturday, 20 October

We had a leisurely start to the morning on Saturday after coffee with Nancy & Kris, then took the scenic route south. (The 9, then the 100, then the 112… just so you know!) And it was another big day in our quest to visit all 50 US States before moving back to Australia. 

Connecticut

On the recommendation of a friend of James’s, we stopped over at the Yankee Candle Factory. The village is monstrous. In fact, I’m about 99% positive that came within seconds of being lost forevermore: that’s how big it is. I expected it to be candles… But there’s food, jewellery, reams of clothing, homewares, toys, food—only in America could this place exist. It was so overwhelming that once we found ourselves again, we hightailed it out of there. There’s only so much Yankee Candle crap any one person can handle!

We had lunch at Tisane in West Hartford, eager for some Thai. Sadly it was a bit disappointing: you win some, you lose some. Afterwards, we headed for Mark Twain’s house, only to discover that the only option for viewing was by guided tour. The next tour didn’t start until 2:30pm and went for over an hour… Not really feasible with the amount of travelling remaining in our day, sadly. So, a quick scout around the outside (and maybe some cheeky peeping in the windows) had to suffice. By the by, should anyone end up there in the future, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Rhode Island

And then it was on to Rhode Island! We chose Newport for the sole purpose of visiting Easton’s beach, and from there set off on the cliff walk recommended by Nancy and Kris. We were looking forward to seeing some incredible mansions… but I’m pretty sure we started from the wrong end of the walk. Oops! We weren’t enthused about spending all afternoon on the walk, so we missed most of the houses (boo, hiss). Still, we got some great photos and saw a very friendly, loyal dog. And any day that includes a friendly golden retriever is a good day.

We couldn’t leave without getting some ice-cream—mostly just because I wanted ice cream—so it was on to the Newport Creamery on our way out! It was pretty tasty, but the server’s joie de vivre really irritated James. Consider that your friendly warning if heading to Newport! And, despite some wonderful Newport dinner recommendations by Nancy & Kris, we were keen to get to Boston and check into our Airbnb. Our Airbnb was amazing & really well-located in Boston, so if you’re travelling to Boston, we recommend seeing if it’s available here. 

It’s a few hours from Newport back into MA and Boston, and the day was on the wane as we reached our destination. Plus, as we tend to do when travelling, we’d lost track of the days. Let me tell you: Saturday nights in Boston are busy! That became very evident when we decided to try and find some dinner… without a reservation. And, well, dressed casually to say the list. Two pizzas from Nicole’s Pizza, only a short walk from our Airbnb fit the ticket when we just couldn’t take the pain anymore. Capped off with some takeaway Rocky Road ice-cream from FoMu (what? We like ice cream), we were set!

Sunday, 21 October

We were up Sunday morning with big plans. First, breakfast at The Friendly Toast! Next, we saddled up in our trusty steed to head north. Destination: Portland, Maine!

Maine

As with all great quests, there were inevitably parts of the USA that received a lot less of our time and adventuring than other parts. Maine was, I feel, one of those places—day trips to tick off a state typically mean you don’t see a lot of that state! Regardless, we found some fun things to do. 

For a start, we went to a bookshop. I know, I know: I, too, was shocked. Print: A Bookstore is a beautiful, modern space with a fantastic array of books. Some wonderful, intricately-illustrated fairytale-esque offerings screamed my name, but I resisted. James, however, having found books 2 & 3 of the Red Sparrow trilogy in the same style as the book 1 we already own, did not. Hurray, more books! To be fair, he’ll have finished the trilogy before we leave America, so it’s not like they’re not being read. And the bookkeeper was a really lovely person, so that’s always a bonus. In fact… We met a lot of wonderful bookkeepers on this trip: perhaps because we like books so much. 

The day was brisk, but we decided to head down and check out Bug Light Park. What was fantastic (and what we didn’t realise until we got down there), was that the area is also home to the Liberty Ship Memorial. I mean, of course, we knew about the lighthouse—why do you think we went & risked our digits to frostbite?

I hadn’t realised just how pivotal Portland was as a site of shipbuilding activity during WWII, and it was fascinating to read about the mammoth amount of industry centralised in Portland during that time. It’s estimating that 30 000 people were employed there in the shipbuilding industry from 1941-1945. And it’s a pretty cool-looking memorial, too. It had to be

We’d made brisk work of Maine, and we then dashed through New Hampshire… It ended up being more of a photo stop than anything else. BUT, we weren’t there. And that’s 50 US STATES EVERYONE!

Salem

But, having been so efficient, we decided to tick off Salem on the same day. This was perhaps not our best choice. We’d forgotten, again, what day of the week it was. A Sunday close to Halloween was never likely to be quiet in Salem! There then followed a truly harrowing ordeal… Trying to find a bloody car park. I won’t bore you with the tale of those struggles, but suffice to say, by the time we found a park, tempers weren’t just frayed, they were completely severed. Never a fun way to start exploring! Not, that being said, that there were a lot of exploring options. Or, there were, but the flood of people in Salem made getting around to a lot of things (or very many at all, really), somewhat challenging. But, as we’d ended up parking at the House of the Seven Gables, headed in there for a look around to justify our parking spot. 

Situated right on Salem Harbour (and boasting some pretty chilly winds off the water!) House of the Seven Gables is best known as having inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel by the same name. Again, you had to pay some silly amount of money for a guided tour. And, again, the time slots didn’t work considering our other goals—read: witch stuff. Instead, we meandered through the gardens and checked out some of the other buildings that were moved to become part of the compound historical site. These included Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace, which we could look through without a tour. It was really interesting, and I’d recommend it to any writing/reading/history nerds. 

Witches!

But I was hanging out for witches (figuratively speaking). Luckily for us, we were able to get in for a tour of the Witch Dungeon Museum in the late afternoon. The shop upstairs where you have to wait for the re-enactment and tour was a bit kitschy. There was a bit of a wait. Our tempers still weren’t at their best, but I was determined: I wanted to see some witchy stuff. And I’m glad we prevailed! The re-enactment was really excellent and very informative. I thought I had an average, generic understanding of the Salem witch trials, but I learnt a lot. And the acting was amazing! Even better, they’d painstakingly recreated the witch dungeons downstairs. It’s pretty mind-boggling, especially the woman who was heavily pregnant and in a cell that forced her to stand without any option for respite. 

Plus, we got to get this cool photo afterwards. It made pretty much the whole trip worthwhile. Well, and of course, we couldn’t leave Salem without a trip to the candy store. Not just any candy store, but Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie: the oldest candy company in America. Don’t anyone worry: we bought plenty of goodies. Including a popcorn/chocolate/candy ‘pizza’… and chocolate potato chips. Weird, but kinda delicious, actually.  

The day was waning, and we had things to do, so we farewelled Salem and her crowds. Also, I was hungry—we hadn’t stopped for lunch! Part of our rationale for seeing Salem had been returning the hire car a day earlier, so off to the airport we went. Returning the car was easy—getting back into Boston less so. With both of our phones rapidly dying and the cold exacerbating the issue, we stood in the frigid night air waiting for an Uber. Just before it arrived, James’s phone died. Dammit. Luckily, our Uber drive arrived just before our fingers and noses spontaneously detached from our bodies, and we bundled into the warmth. 

Our dinner efforts were significantly better that night, as we strolled from our Airbnb to Boston Chops. This was probably the best dinner we had in Boston, I’d say—not cheap, but definitely worth it! We started off with some casual and delicious cocktails before feasting on an entree of bone marrow and oxtail croquettes. (I can’t go past oxtail anything: full kudos to Grandma for that!)

For mains, I had the 10-ounce bone-in tenderloin, while James went all out with the 18-ounce ribeye. A huge-ass baked potato and some bacon-roasted brussel sprouts rounded out the night’s meal. 

We rolled ourselves home again and collapsed into bed. Tomorrow it would be time to explore Boston!

Monday, 22 October 

Caffe Nero was our (pretty tasty) poison of choice for breakfast on Monday morning to fuel us for a big day of sightseeing. From there, we got an Uber out to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. If you’ve followed this blog for any period of time and remember our 2016 Dallas trip and my emotional response to Dealey Plaza, you’ll know I’m fascinated by JFK. That, plus the opportunity of some historical education, meant we couldn’t not go while we were in Boston. The museum is honestly fantastic: it’s incredibly well-curated and very, very informative.

I had studied some JFK speeches for my final major assessment in a ‘Rhetoric in Public Affairs’. By necessity, that had meant garnering a much stronger understanding of his foreign policy and key political acts during his presidency. As a result, I knew a bit about the Cuban Missile Crisis—and the secret recordings JFK made of key, highly classified meetings during the crisi. It was a very nice change to know a little bit more than James about something in the political/international sphere. Still, there was a lot I had had no idea about. For example, I hadn’t previously been aware of Jackie Kennedy’s role in having the White House declared a heritage building. As First Lady, she actively restored historical artefacts to the White House to enable the education of visitors. Hopefully sometime in the next 12 months, I’ll fulfil one of my big goals and actually read some books about the Kennedys. Regardless, I would really strongly recommend this museum to anyone visiting Boston who feels like knowing a little more about the city, American history, and the Kennedys. 

The Boston Tea Party

Of course, as with any museum, there’s never enough time to really absorb it all. But when we felt we’d seen a fair whack, we headed on to the next item on the agenda. James had already selected our lunch location, but upon arrival, we were informed that it was about an hour’s wait. (Why, oh why, are we so resistant to making bookings? Not something you tend to be able to get away with in big cities!) So, to kill time, we headed down the road to the Boston Tea Party Tour.  

We were each allocated a character as part of the Tea Party event, and, of course, James and I played ours with gusto. James even had a speaking role! … And a truly excellent English accent that took me quite off guard. It was a brilliant tour and very, very informative—I’d heard of the Boston Tea Party but really didn’t understand much about it. For those who don’t know, it was mainly centred on the issue of the English taxing goods coming into America. Though these various taxes were protested and overturned, at the time of this event, tea was still being taxed. And the events of the Boston Tea Party can be seen to lead to the American Revolutionary War. 

What is also fascinating is how much isn’t said when consuming American history in America. For example, it’s rarely mentioned that British taxes were emplaced to pay for the billeting of British soldiers… Who were predominantly in America to prevent European settlers from expanding outside their designated regions and invading Native American lands. (My reference for this is Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s excellent investigation of the origins of the Second Amendment, Loaded). 

Despite this interesting omission (that  didn’t know about at the time), the tour was excellent! We got to bellow old English curses (fie!) and throw tea overboard from the deck of a ship. 

We returned to Row 34 and were able to secure a seat at the bar for a belated lunch. When in Rome, as they say, so we ordered the clam chowder and a buttered lobster roll to share. 

Once lunch was, regrettably, complete, we set off to look around a bit more. Or, to be honest… We went looking for pastry. James’s friend had also recommended we get cannolis while in Boston, a suggestion I was only too keen to act upon. But it was quite a bit of a ways from Row 34. We figured, what the hell? We’d walk it. So off we headed to North End and the Italian district. On the way, we happened to stumble into Old State House: a nice break to defrost our hands… and to try on hats. I love to try on hats. As you may know from our trip to San Antonio, I have a great head for hats.

The walk to North End itself was beautiful and scenic. We wandered through some markets, over various bridges… Saw dribs and drabs of The Freedom Trail along the way (more on that, later).

The toss up was whether we went to Mike’s Pastry or Modern Pastry for our fix. Apparently the two are locked in an epic, ancient battle to be ‘the’ cannoli place in Boston. Gotta be honest: the crowds solved that for us. Mike’s Pastry was crammed with humans: easily one of my least favourite things in the world. Plus they only took cash, and that seemed to make up our minds for us! Until we found out that Modern Pastry only took cash too. Well, we weren’t leaving Boston without eating cannolis, so off to the ATM we went. Then back to Modern Pastry. 

It was worth it. And our self-control! We only got two: I can’t believe it myself. But they were amaaaaaaazing. I’m ready to go back to Boston right now, just thinking about it.

The temperature began to drop as we sat near the water bit footsore, and keen to just lie in bed and do some reading, we stopped in at an Italian restaurant called Antiquo Forno to grab some takeaway. I’d heard about it on the radio the previous night and it was a great choice. The food was excellent, though I think we probably should have gotten more. Why is it so hard to get ordering right? It always seems to be too much or too little. Luckily for us, there was some leftover Pad Thai from Connecticut for a still-hungry James… then some delicious ‘pizza’ from Salem for us to split. I wish we’d bought the full-size!

Tuesday, 23 October

If Boston Chops was our best Boston dinner, and Row 34 made a strong bid for best Boston lunch, then our Tuesday breakfast was undoubtedly the best in the Boston leg of our NorthEast trip. (Personally, I think for me, it might even have been better than Monarch and the Milkweed.) Where did we go, I hear you ask? 

Trident Booksellers and Cafe. 

Wait! I know what you’re thinking: Ana’s only excited because it was a cafe in a bookstore. Well, yes, that was part of it. But the food, people, the FOOD. It was mind-mind-blowingly good. We ordered way too much, but it was so amazing. Ok, yes, I’m leaving for Boston, right now. 

We finally managed to tear ourselves away from Trident (amidst tears and gnashing of teeth—all me) and headed out to explore more of Boston. As we strolled along, we passed the Boston Women’s Memorial—a sculpture dedicated to three women (Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phillis Wheatley.) We also saw a seriously bad-ass, autumnal be-vined church. 

Boston’s Parks

Finally we arrived at the famed Boston sculpture ‘Make Way for the Ducklings’. The sculpture was created in 1987 in honour of Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book about the duck family that makes its home in Boston’s Public Garden. And it’s not just for children: see? 

We spent some time hanging around nearby: mostly to see dogs playing in the park over lunchtime. There were so many dogs!

Bunker Hill

James was really keen for some more history, however, so we began the long walk out to the Bunker Hill Monument. I think, in the end, we walked almost the whole of The Freedom Trail to end up at the Monument.

It was an overcast day, which cut the cold quite a lot, and by the time we arrived, I realised wearing thermal pants had been a bad idea. Damn. So I skivvied those off in the bathroom, and then we perused the Bunker Hill museum. It’s a pretty great museum and very informative… but sadly possessed of a museum guide who didn’t know when he wasn’t wanted. He continued to bombard people with information, even though everyone was clearly keen to work through the exhibits at their own pace. But anyway. We left the museum to see the monument itself, and felt a few threatening splashes on impending rain. And we’d left the umbrella behind!

It looked great from a distance, which meant, of course, that we needed to see more. Ooooh, say what? You can ascend to the top via an internal staircase? Well then! So, we climbed a million stairs to the top of the monument (okay, it was 294, but still!). It was pretty brutal… But the view from the top was phenomenal. Well worth the climb!

After that kind of climb, what else was there to do but find snacks? It was the perfect time for some snacks and scrabble Charlestown Tea & Treats. Word nerds will always find time for Scrabble.

Since we were already out, we had a very early meal at The Warren Tavern. I had the shepherd’s pie, and it was excellent! Then, thinking of breakky the next day, we stopped at WholeFoods for some supplies. This didn’t go quite as planned. For one thing, my boots had holes in the soles. Plus rain = wet feet. Also, WholeFoods had some Burt’s Bees onesies for sale. Matching onesies. Who could resist that? 

Answer: not us. 

You can’t say that that isn’t a very, very successful day.

Wednesday, 24 October 

Breakfast for our last day in the NorthEast was a fairly bland affair at the local Appleton cafe, which I wouldn’t really recommend. I wish we’d gone back to Trident! But anyway, we then hopped a train to Harvard. The train system is pretty brilliant in Boston, and easy to use—as I guess you’d hope for such a big city! But after living in Lawton for 2.5 years, it was pretty exciting. 

Harvard

My boots were still wet, and with fresh drizzle going on, it was a fool’s hope to expect my socks to stay dry as we strolled around Harvard. We quickly ended up in the Harvard Museum of Natural History anyway, and pored through the various exhibits. There were some incredible bug displays and a wonderful live bee hive. On the windowsill, you could see the little outlet for the bees to leave the hive… And almost every one that made it down the long metal tube, took one look at the day and uttered a big ol’ ‘nope’! Can’t blame them for that. 

I loved the various animal exhibitions: such as this very friendly bird. And some terrifying monkeys.

Harvard Square… For snacks, of course

Afterwards, of course, we checked out Harvard Square… and went to the Harvard Book Store. Of course. It was beautiful, so we happily whiled some time away in there before our stomachs began to protest. Off for ramen at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka just a few stores down. While it was a fun experience, I actually don’t think it came close to matching the incredible ramen place we’ve found in Oklahoma City (shocking, right?).

Well, we couldn’t leave without buying at least one pastry from the nearby Flour Bakery + Cafe. And when I say one, we all know I don’t really mean ‘one’. But they were really good – so put that on your list! We got the train back in to Boston again with minimal fuss, and headed back to our Airbnb to pack up before our final night of Boston-ventures. 

A Farewell to Boston!

We decided to finish our Boston adventures with dinner at B&G Oysters. Neither of us really like seafood. I know: a strange choice for our final meal. And I feel that if you loved seafood, this’d probably be a great place to go… but not for us. We ordered a seafood platter complete with— 2 little neck clams, 2 cherry stone clams, 6 oysters, apple-smoked mussels, a shrimp cocktail and a crab cocktail. And a lobster roll to share. Gotta be honest: my favourite bit of the whole dinner was the bread they brought out before the meal. Lesson? I do not like clams. In fact, neither of us like clams. At least now we know. 

And the lobster roll was definitely no patch on the one we’d had at Row 34, but oh well! On the plus side, the chippies were very good. To console ourselves, we walked into the city to Max Brenner for dessert. And there, we went a little wild.

It seemed like a fitting end to travelling in America — a dessert the size of our heads. So we ate until we burst, then rolled ourselves back to the Airbnb. The next day, we flew back to Lawton.

50 US States Complete – Goodbye America!

And that’s 50 US States seen while living in America! As per usual, I feel like I haven’t even covered anything but I’m exhausted by this blog post business & no doubt you’re exhausted by reading it. If you’re ever planning to travel in the USA though, hopefully these many blogs have given you some ideas about where to go and what to do!

As for us, in a week’s time, we’ll be wriggling in our seats in Dallas-Fort Worth, ready to head back to the motherland. Thanks for the amazing adventures, the new skills, all the sights seen and the food eaten, and (for the most part) a pretty great time, ol’ US of A!

Australia, we’re coming for you!

— Ana.