My USAmerica Must Do List!

Since I posted my announcement of going to the US, I have received a few invitations from my friends to come visit them and it made me even more excited about going!

I had the idea of coming up with this list when I saw an episode of 100 Things documentary on the Travel and Living Channel about one man's mission to accomplish 100 things in his bucket list!  I felt inspired to make a bucket list of my own for my US trip! Nothing crazy like getting married in Las Vegas or anything haha

So far, this is what I have in my list.  Feel free to give specific suggestions of things I should do, or let me know where I can accomplish the task that's already on my list.

New York
-eat the best burger
-eat the best pizza

"pizza go to Lombardi's pizza "Highly regarded and rated as the Best of New York , a City of Pizzeria's."" -Jules C.

-eat the best cheesecake
-go to all the museums
-watch a musical
-watch Today Show
-join a speed dating event

-sing at an open mic night
-HALLOWEEN!!!

New Jersey
-shop tax free
-go to Carlos' Bakery and hopefully meet the Cake Boss or any of his sisters! haha

Massachusetts
-go to the museums in Boston
-Harvard University
-check out the place where the bombing happened

Rhode Island

-go to the home town of my friend David and Peter Griffin of Family Guy!
-Eat quahogs (hard clams)
-Eat the best lobster I will ever have in my life!

"...my state is called the Ocean State....so you tell me!!! The best lobster you ever had in your life...." David B.

Washington DC
-go to the White House
-visit all the museums

and then down to

Florida NEW!
-sunbathe in Miami Beach and drool over Latinos haha
-get a tattoo?

"Miami should be top of the list. Drool over all the hot bods and feast some some Latino specialties" By Sue Z.
"See the Florida Keys if you can. If not at least the lower eastern coast. The water is nice."By Rob B.

Bahamas Cruise

Louisiana
-help build houses for victims of hurricane Katrina/Sandy
-eat crawfish
-go to Emeril Lagasse's restaurant and have turtle soup!
-listen to Jazz music
-dance in the French quarter

Texas HELP!
i still haven't decided which city of Texas I should go to.  I don't know a lot of people who has either been to Texas or lives in Texas.  Which city do you suggest so I can do these things:
-square dance
-eat ribs

and then up to the West UPDATE!
I have decided to skip the West Coast on this trip and just focus on the East Coast and the South.  I realized the only place I wanted to go to was San Francisco.  I guess I can do another USA trip just for the West coast.

Hawaii UPDATE!
If you read my previous post about my ticket, I am still waiting for feedback from Rajah and them from Hawaiian Airlines; if they're going to re-book me or refund me my ticket.  

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

News that is changing my travel plans!

It has not been a week since I posted my first entry in preparation for my USA trip this coming September and my itinerary has already been changed!

Last April 11, 2013, Hawaiian Airline announced that they are stopping the Manila-Honolulu (and vice versa) flights starting August 1!  I booked my ticket for September.  It's a good thing Rajah is taking care of this for me; it'll just save me a lot of trouble.  I've heard a few bad reviews about HA but also experienced their staff's nonchalance when I was inquiring about booking a ticket with them at the travel expo.  Imagine their customer service? 

Moreover, we, the Philippines have been having touble keeping airlines to stay.  Not long ago, the last flight out of Manila direct to Europe ended when KLM ceased their flights last March 2012.  No direct flights make it hard for our tourism to soar; flying so far from say, Hawaii or any European countries will make you think twice of coming if you will have to ride another few hours from Malaysia, Hong Kong or Singapore just to come here.  Tourists will have to be dead decided that they're coming here to want to see the Philippines, otherwise they'll just decide on a destination with a direct flight from their airports. 

Mr. Jojo Clemente of Rajah Travels expressed his thoughts on this matter: "This was unexpected. With only one carrier to service the Manila/Honolulu route, expect ticket prices to go up. Unfortunate that another carrier will cease operations to the Philippines. I hope the relevant government agencies can come up with some incentives to convince Hawaiian to stay. it is in the best interest of the travel industry to have as many suppliers available to afford consumers choices in transportation. I hope this situation can still be salvaged. :("

Oh well.

So what does this mean to my trip?  Well, I may have to skip Hawaii :(  I guess I will have to save Honolulu for next time.  I don't know which airline they're going to re-book me to, but I'm excited to know where my layover is gonna be... maybe Alaska!

My first trip out of Asia! USA here I come!

I am fortunate that I've had the chance to travel but so far just within Asia. I remember the first time I went out of the country, I was 16, it was my high school graduation gift for myself, it was a trip to Hong Kong with my sisters!  We went on a cold February and it was both my first airplane ride and cold weather!

It was terrible!  I puked during the flight because I got so dizzy and I got sick in Hong Kong because it was so cold! haha  My sisters reminded me that I even swore to never ride the plane again!

That was 13 years ago and I am so glad that I did not decide to be stupid and not travel ever!  Traveling and Couchsurfing has changed me in so many ways; I have made true friends and discovered the best way traveling should be done.

So why am I writing again after I have done several other travels that I did not even bother writing about?  Well, because this travel is gonna be another first, it's going to be my first trip out of Asia!  On September 2013, I will be going to US of America for 2 straight months!

I've had my 10-year US visa since 2008 and after handful of failed attempts of going; and my sister (who got the visa the same time I did) has been to the US 3 times, ♫♪...its my turn....♪♫

I bought my ticket from Rajah Travels at the 20th Philippine Travel Tour Expo last February and got a great deal on an open-jaw ticket from Hawaiian Airlines; My sister, the Wanderlass, told me that if I don't buy the ticket now, then my trip will never push through; and so I did.

Here I am, giddy, waiting until September comes and I will be spending Autumn in New York!  I will be visiting friends/relatives and just EXPERIENCE America!

I will be going from East to West hitting the following states, depending on the result of your comments and suggestions, my plans will and can be changed:

New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Pennsylvania
Washington DC

and then down to

Louisiana
Texas

and then up to the West

California
Nevada

and then to

Hawaii

and then probably 30 pounds later, home.

I've made a MUST DO/EAT list in America based on different travel shows I've seen, TV series I've followed, or Archie comics I've read but would like to come up with more things to put on my checklist!

What are the things I HAVE to do? HELP OUT!