Driving 4,000 kilometers across seven states in the Western United States in 13 days

I applied for a US visa in 2017, but have never had the opportunity to officially set foot on American soil. The destination of this trip was the United States only two weeks before departure. We left as soon as we could. Within a week, we made preliminary reservations for the route, car rental, and hotel. The air ticket is a direct flight from Hainan Airlines to San Jose, costing more than 4,000 RMB round trip per person. In addition, due to the limited travel time, I didn’t have time to drive back to San Jose, so I bought a flight ticket from Salt Lake City to San Jose in the United States, which cost about more than 100 dollars. I chose Avis for car rental and booked a mid-sized SUV. I thought their car was relatively new, so I roughly made a reservation through the hotel booking.

The specific itinerary is as follows:

Day1 Beijing-San Jose

Day2 San Jose-San Francisco

Day3 San Francisco

Day4 San Francisco-Route 1-Los Angeles

Day5 Universal Studios

Day6 Los Angeles-Las Vegas

Day7 Las Vegas-Grand Canyon- Page

Day8 Antelope Canyon-Horseshoe Bend-Salt Lake City

Day9 Salt Lake City-Great Salt Lake-West Yellowstone

Day10 Yellowstone Park

Day12 Salt Lake City-San Jose

Day13 San Jose-Beijing

Looking at this route map is quite shocking. Compared with 13 days, such a trip is quite tight. It’s too hard to see more beautiful scenery in the time.

The day of departure came soon. Traveling is always exciting. On June 15th, I took Hainan Airlines to fly to San Jose. The flight was comfortable, and I arrived at Sanjose International Airport smoothly after a good night's sleep. I felt quite energetic, not sleepy, and didn't need jet lag. The airport is not big, and only Hainan Airlines and ANA land in San Jose, so there are relatively few people entering customs here. It takes less than 20 minutes to pick up your luggage and leave the terminal, which is very efficient. It doesn't feel hot at all in California in June. Although the sun is shining, it still feels a bit cool. Taking the airport bus to the car rental building to go through the car rental procedures, Avis is really inefficient and takes about forty minutes. The elevator opposite the car rental counter went directly to the fifth floor to pick up the car. The Indian guy in charge of the car told me that it was still being cleaned. After waiting for a while, the Indian guy drove the car over. It was a Subaru Outback. It had just been driven 600 miles and the car was in good condition.

After driving out of the airport, I was not familiar with the road conditions here, and I was in urgent need of supplies. I Googled the nearest Walmart and went to get some repairs first. The urban road network in the United States is very developed, with four lanes leading in four directions. You need to make predictions in advance, otherwise it will be too late to change lanes. Americans drive very fast, and even go straight and turn corners very quickly. You must obey the rules when driving in the United States. Otherwise it's really dangerous.

There are many fast food restaurants around Walmart. By the way, I tried the popular California burger, In-N-Out. The patty of this burger is juicy and the vegetables are fresh. The set meal is about $6, which is about the same price as McDonald's, but the taste is much stronger. Whenever I encounter this store along the way, I will basically go there. After leaving Wal-Mart, we headed to Silicon Valley to see the offices of major American manufacturers.

The first stop is Apple. The surrounding environment of Apple is quite good, but there is only one Apple store where apple fans from all over the world can buy products, and there is not much else. It is not recommended for those who are not die-hard fans.

The second stop is google. Google feels a little more considerate than Apple, and a young lady is arranged at the entrance to direct traffic.

There are some decorations in the Google office area for tourists to take pictures.

The third stop is Facebook. There is nothing to see here, just a few buildings, so it is not recommended to go. We drove around and left. Continue north and pass through the town of Stamford, where you must visit the university. Stanford University is so big that it took me quite a while to visit one-fifth of the campus.

Stanford University in graduation season.

Hoover Tower

Get active on the Stanford playground.

It’s an hour’s drive from Stanford to San Francisco, which is not too far. We arrived at the hotel around 6:30 in the evening. San Francisco is really cold, and I don’t feel the warm sunshine of California at all. Went out for dinner with friends in the evening and visited the University of California, Berkeley.

The bell tower in the snow.

In the evening, we ate Japanese food with local friends and ended the first day of the trip.

San Francisco on June 16th

We set out for downtown San Francisco early in the morning. We first arrived at the Twin Peaks. I wanted to hike to the top, but the wind was too strong and the fog was heavy, so I couldn’t get a full view of San Francisco. , had to give up. After going down the mountain and heading to the Golden Gate Bridge, the wind was also super strong. The current impression of San Francisco is that it is cold, where is the legendary Sunshine Coast. I walked along the seaside path, and at the end I came to a cafe. It was full of people, probably because they were too cold and wanted to have a cup of hot drink to ward off the cold.

The Golden Gate Bridge in heavy fog.

After leaving the Golden Gate Bridge, we went to the popular Jiuquhua Street

After driving for three times, I got over the car addiction. Driving skills are not required, because there are traffic controllers directing traffic. It’s not like you have to queue for a long time as the legend says. It’s quite interesting to drive in the car with people watching from outside.

After leaving Flower Street and driving down the road, you will find Chinatown.

What impressed me most was the small square in Chinatown. Many old Chinese people were sitting in wheelchairs in a daze (mostly people from southern Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). The people singing in the center of the square were in an unknown dialect and it was very noisy. Living such a life, I think they should miss their hometown every day. Their impression of Chinatown is average and not as good as that of fifth-tier cities in China.

This large ramp is very characteristic of San Francisco!

The Trans-American Pyramid in the distance

Graffiti in Chinatown

After shopping for a day, my stomach was growling, so I went to Fisherman’s Wharf for a seafood feast. . Fisherman's Wharf is one of the liveliest areas in San Francisco, where tourists, street performers and all kinds of food mingle. Pier 39, a fixed resting area for sea lions, where you can observe wild sea lions up close.

The Alcatraz Island in the distance is the prototype of the movie Bravely Killing the Island.

We chose a restaurant called Fog Harbor Fish house to enjoy a seaside meal.

Sourdough bread and cream of mushroom soup, this bread is a local specialty, sour and hard.

This meal was delicious and cost fifty or sixty yuan. You can search for the restaurant on Dianping.com.

June 17

The third day of the trip is from San Francisco to Los Angeles via Highway 17, Route 1. 17-mile Drive is one of the famous tourist attractions in California. It is rated as one of the three most scenic driving routes in the United States. This private road close to the Pacific Ocean is known for its beautiful coastal scenery and world-famous golf courses. , a mansion with a deep courtyard that will last forever and never get tired of it. The most special thing about it is that this large piece of coastline along the Pacific Ocean is entirely privately owned, so it can be called the most charming private coast in the world. You need to pay a toll of US$10 to enter.

"Seventeen miles" of sea view

Squirrels fed fat by tourists

After 17 miles, we officially entered California Highway 1, the most beautiful in the legend of highway. California Route 1 connects San Francisco and Los Angeles from north to south, winding along the west coast of the United States, with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers. Due to its unique geographical environment, on one side is the vast ocean, sky, turbulent waves crashing on the shore, and vast expanse of blue waves with sails dotted; on the other side, there are steep cliffs, green mountains, grasslands, and herds of cattle and horses. The scenery is so beautiful that it is called the most beautiful road in the world.

The Bixby Bridge is an open single-arch bridge with a span of approximately 100 meters and is the longest concrete bridge in the California highway system. The Bixby River under the bridge is named after Charles Henry Bixby, who came from Livingston County, New York, and came to the Monterey Peninsula in 1868. He purchased a large area of ??land in the Big Sur area and was engaged in railroad ties. production work.

The main bridge of the bridge

1 A good highway is not a highway, with less traffic and beautiful scenery. In the scenic areas along the way, many protruding loess roads are designed in a humane way. For vehicles to park and enjoy the view. However, it is still very tiring to drive down because it is full of winding mountain roads. Although the scenery is beautiful, the drive is tiring.

Beautiful scenery along the way

This journey started from San Francisco at around 8 o'clock in the morning. We had fun and rushed, and it was already after 9 o'clock in the evening when we arrived at the hotel in Los Angeles. I was exhausted both physically and mentally, so I just fell into bed. sleep.

June 18

Today I mainly visited Universal Studios and bought express tickets on Mafengwo in advance. The express tickets include tickets. After breakfast at McDonald’s, we drove to Universal Studios. The parking lot is very large and the parking fee is 30 dollars. It’s the first time to play in its hometown, and I’m still looking forward to it. After downloading the app, you can check the queue time in real time. Universal Studios California is not big overall, with about ten rides. There are much fewer tourists than in Osaka, and the queue at the most popular one didn’t last more than 40 minutes, so we played Harry Potter twice.

To summarize, you can complete all the projects at Universal Studios Hollywood in one day, and some can be queued for a second time. Express tickets are not necessary. Transformers, Minions, and Harry Potter are all very fun. You can play whatever you want in the United States, and there are so few people in line.

After visiting Universal Studios, go to Santa Monica Beach for dinner

The end of the famous Route 66

California pizza, Kung Pao chicken pasta is a bit Chinese smell.

June 19th

Today I am leaving Los Angeles for the Las Vegas Strip. This trip to Los Angeles did not go into the city. There are no traditional tourist areas like Hollywood or the Avenue of Stars. I went, partly because I was short of time, and partly because I felt that parking in the city was not easy, and the downtown of Los Angeles was not very attractive to me because there were too many homeless people.

432 kilometers, directly accessible by Highway 15. After breakfast, refuel and set off. After leaving California, Highway 15 gradually entered the desert area. The road was straight and the view was wide. It was all a straight road. It was so nice.

After driving for four hours, we finally arrived at the South Las Vegas outlet and could take a rest. Today is the first time in the past few days that we have arrived at our destination earlier, and it will also be the only time on this journey. It's really hot in Las Vegas, from about 20 degrees in California to 40 degrees. Fortunately, Nan Ole is indoors and does not need to be exposed to the sun. There are not many places to shop in this outlet. Champion is really cheap, and Nike is really cheap. They are basically American brands. I bought two bags of Champion. You heard me right. The unit is a bag. Think of the United States. How cheap a champion is. The fruit was not taken out of the car when I got out of the car, but it was roasted a few hours later. The water has also been heated up. I didn't expect to drink hot water in this way, but I really want to drink ice water at this moment!

Normal fruit

Roasted fruit [laughing and crying]

After visiting the outlet, I followed Gao Xiaosong’s advice among the many delicacies in Las Vegas. It is recommended to eat American crawfish. The sauce is stir-fried and put in a bag. It contains corn, potatoes, etc., which can be paired with other seafood. It tastes pretty good, and it feels like it may be more delicious and more unique than the buffet recommended by various guides.

Las Vegas at night, various hotels.

At midnight, after watching the show, we drove back to the hotel. The heat of Las Vegas continues at midnight, and the streets are crowded with people. This time I stayed at the Trump Hotel, which is at the northern end of the long street. The location is relatively remote, but it is quiet and there is no casino.

Leave Las Vegas on June 20th and go to the most luxurious Venetian to have a look.

The Bridge of Sighs, Piazza San Marco, the Bell Tower, and the Gondola...everything in Venice can be seen here. The hotel is full of arch bridges, small canals and stone roads full of Venetian characteristics. In particular, the canal arranged on the second floor, the arch bridge full of Venetian style, stone roads and the artificial sky that changes every 20 minutes are very spectacular. You can take a Venetian gondola ride and enjoy the coastal scenery.

Magnificent

There are Internet celebrity shops everywhere in the world, eggslut, casino Internet celebrities, look at this person’s arrangement.

This store also sells burgers. . It just adds eggs in the middle, a bit like McDonald's breakfast. The white one is slut, and the mashed potatoes below are steamed eggs. This combination is quite fresh.

After breakfast, we replenished fuel at the gas station, said goodbye to the casino, and were about to start a long journey.