A million miles away - New York to San Francisco road trip

It's more than 500 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, full thermos of water, it's bright, and I'm the only one not wearing sunglasses. Hit it! Awesome, but maybe let's start from the beginning!

I'm just writing from the back seat of our car. We're driving on the interstate 90 from Niagara Falls to Chicago. There's this overly organized Russian, fussy Lebanese, and me (I'll hold on commenting on myself). So what's the plan?

New York, Chicago, Kansas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. In other words we've embarked on an epic journey to cross a continent, reconnect with the nature and visit some of the coolest landmarks in the USA!

The dream almost died when we've reached the AVIS office in New York. Who the hell in Europe needs a credit card? The epic journey was standing on the edge of a high cliff, preparing to jump. Dark future flashed before our eyes, it's name was R.I.P. #NY2SF trip. Seems though the free spirit of the USA was keeping an eye on us, so touched by its presence Kassem found out that HERTZ actually doesn't suck big time as AVIS does. We bid farewell to AVIS, took our bags and strolled few blocks away to fulfill our destiny!

This ugly episode happened fortunately after we had a chance to enjoy New York. The city of high skyscrapers, smelly hot-dog stands, awesome views and, most noticeably, full of cute girls! Tipping was at times a bit annoying especially when the service was poor. Maybe soon you'll have to tip the cashier in the shop too? Except the air conditioning in the Metro, London Tube wins in all other cases i.e. easier access to check your balance on travel card, cleaner stations, friendlier staff, more maps and travel information provided. There are always pros and cons, but there's one thing I have to give to New York. It has this unique atmosphere that makes you feel really good, like straight from a comic book or famous American movie. It's just magical!

Keep calm and carry on they say in England, so we did. Our next stop was Niagara Falls. Vast waterfalls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, right on the border with Canada, make you want to re-think your life and appreciate nature, contemplate. A bit similar like the pork ribs we had in Hard Rock Cafe, they make you wanna contemplate too, but in a bit different way.

The road spirit in the USA is huge. You can notice it on every food stop, gas station and of course on its main medium, the highway. So here we are now, listening to music, driving to Chicago, living in America for two weeks, hitting the road, so stay tuned!

States we've passed through so far: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.