I feel like movies, books and series shape the images we have of the United States. We know they aren’t necessarily all true (or not anymore), but we halfway still expect them to be. There’s the image of Western movies with their cowboys, horses and old villages with wooden buildings, there are American High Schools where everyone seems to play football or be on the cheerleading team, and of course the whole history of country music centered around icons like Elvis Presley. My list is pretty much inspired by all of the above, but I hope that you’ll still find some inspiration in it!
Rodeo
I’ve seen a Rodeo sign in Utah near Bryce Canyon once, and since then, I always wanted to see a show for myself! I’ve never been in the right place at the right time though, so I didn’t get a chance yet. But next time I’m there, I’ll definitely do this one!
Black Jack in a Casino in Las Vegas
I actually did this during our trip! But I don’t really get the game. So I lost all my money. That’s okay, I only bet $3.
Western style horse riding
You can do this near Bryce Canyon as well! But we didn’t have time, and frankly, I think that Matt wasn't really up for it anyway. This must be so much fun though, and I’m excited to see how different it is to the English style!Baseball game
I took the opportunity to see the San Francisco Giants when I was there, and it was great. I loved the atmosphere a lot and we had so much fun, altough none of us was really familiar with basebal!. I’d definitely recommend it and I’d definitely go to a game again.
American football game
Football seems to be the quintessential North American sport, because that’s what you see in movies and series all the time. Even if that's not true (but it is, kind of, isn't it?), I definitely want to see one in real life someday!Cheesecake Factory
This one is basically due to The Big Bang Theory where Penny works at the Cheesecake factory. The one in the series is nothing like the real Cheesecake factory though, which looks much more luxurious! Does anyone know why they changed it in the show? Anyway: I already tried it and the cheesecakes are delicious! I don’t see how you would fit any other food into your stomach after (or before) you ate one though.
Gun shooting
To be honest, gun shooting was more on Matt’s list than mine, but I included it here because we tried it in Las Vegas and I had so much fun! I was also impressed with how easy it actually is. I’m the worst at aiming, but I still got the red X in the very middle!
Driving a truck or sports car
That’s half mine and half Matt’s dream. I am in love with pickup trucks (I guess that’s genetic, I recently found out that my dad loves them too) and I hope I’ll get a chance to drive one at one point! Unfortunately, they are more expensive to rent than a smaller car, so we always went for that until now.Matt is a big fan of sports cars (like all guys, right?) and he was so thrilled when we got a Dodge Charger as our rental car for San Francisco! I actually hated it because it was red. I don’t know what it is about red cars, but they all look the same to me and I constantly went to open the wrong car by accident… One time, there were people inside who just looked at me like I was crazy. I don’t blame them, haha! Well, I guess Matt can cross this one off his bucket list and we’ll go for my pickup truck next time. ;)
New York
I didn’t want to include places or cities in my bucket list because there’s just too many that I want to see, but going to New York has been my dream for so long! I did go to 2 years ago and I loved it very, very much. And I definitely want to go back.
Road trip through the desert
Driving for hours without passing towns or houses, with rocks and sand and barely any plants miles and miles around you and country music on the radio. Kind of cliché, I know. But I always wanted to do this! And I kind of did when we went through Arizona and Utah, and then Death Valley as well. I loved the feeling of being alone on the road (I mean, we were two people but there was no one else around).One thing to keep in mind though: there’s no radio in some places. We had the chance to have SiriusXM radio in our rental car which seems to work everywhere, but otherwise be sure to bring an AUX cable and your own playlists!
Following the tracks of Johnny Cash
My fellow roommate introduced me to his music, and I have been a big fan ever since. I read his autobiographies, watched "Walk the line" and thousands of videos on Youtube, and I can't wait to travel to Nashville one day!
Old Western towns & staying on a ranch
I read that these still exist in certain places, and I really want to go and visit! And stay on a ranch somewhere in the area. Preferably ride horses, too. I guess I’ll stop dreaming now.
Let me know if you have done any of these things and how you liked it!
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