The Falls in Buffalo and the Toe-Tapping in Nashville

The hostel I had found myself in was awesome! It was decorated in a very funky yet informative way, so that you would be draw to something odd on the wall and come out of the experience knowing something new about the city of Buffalo. I had been placed in a 12 sleeper co-ed dorm which actually made no difference as most of the time you wouldn't find yourself in the room, and if you did, everyone pretty much kept to themselves.

When I finally woke up, I tore myself out of bed and headed to the lobby to officially check in. I then packed my backpack for the day and headed off to the bus station to catch the number 40 bus to Niagara falls! This journey had two intentions behind it: firstly to see the Falls, and secondly to cross the boarder to Canada, come back into the USA and switch from a work visa to a tourist visa. 

I arrived at the Niagara State Park and decided to get my visa sorted out first, before going and enjoying the view, so I missioned in pursuit of Canada! All business. I found a sign pointing left to the park and right to Canada, and I smiled at the idea that it was all so close! I went right and found the little unmanned gate; no one was stopping me from leaving the country and it was so easy to do so. I literally walked into Canada and allowed myself my first view of the falls from the bridge between the two countries.

It was breath taking. 

Absolutely beautiful.
Gorgeous.
Incredible.

I allowed myself some time to take in the view then headed back to America to sort out my visa. I didn't actually have a visa to enter Canada, so I walked back across the bridge and into the customs office, and was lucky enough to get an officer with a big smiling face who was happy to help me switch my status. I walked back into the US, officially a tourist, a little sad but excited for the journey ahead.
I entered Niagara State Park for a second time that day, and walked the place flat! I tried to get a closer look at the Falls, and managed to, but it was nothing like to magnificent view I had managed to snag from the bridge. I was pretty lucky in that way, and the reason being that the water comes from the American side so you can't truly see the full picture from the park, but you can get much closer to the water! I stood above the Falls and watched the tour boats take willing victims into the splash zone of the water, but what was really cool, is that the Canadians boats called "The Hornblower" were all blue, and the American boats called "The Maid of the Mist" were all in red.

I spent the next few days organizing my life, planning my trip, and sending stuff home that I no longer needed. I took some time to explore the town a bit, but mostly I found it to be somewhat boring and lacking in things to do. I was there for a total of 4 days and so, before I knew it, I was making my way to the bus station once again, this time headed to Nashville, Tennessee.

This trip was to take me 18 hours, and I found it to be filled with dodge stop points, sketchy pick ups of small parties and questionable morals, and busses filled with odd people. One guy I found myself sitting next to would not stop talking to me. Now it's late, I'm tired, Taken is playing on the TV screens and I would much rather be watching that than attempt to make small talk with this smelly guy who is talking under his breath and swallowing his words. I think he got the hint, as he said nothing more to me until, my favorite quote came from his lips: "Do I smell like marajuana?" 

Yes, yes he did. And in that moment everything made sense. 

At the next stop, I switched seats and attempted to get some sleep.

I finally arrived in Nashville and hopped into the car of a lovely lady named Tanja, who's family I would be staying with for the next 10 days.

The Cloete family was a South African family who moved to the USA 10 years ago. Marc and  Tanja owned both a successful company and a beautiful home, and had two sons: Cameron who was 16, and Logan who was 12 and my newest buddy. 

On the first day of my Tennessee adventure, I stayed at the house, soaking up the wifi, food, Netflix and hospitality. When Cameron and Logan came home, Cam had to go to work so Logan and I entered into an epic Pool and Table Tennis tournament, which I promptly won, to his surprise! I was treated to a home made dinner which was something I didn't know I missed as much as I did, until I had it again. 

The next day Logan and I headed downtown with Marc and Tanja as they had a stand at The Home Show. The event was perfectly placed for some exploring, and so we set off into the city, Logan showing me the way to the best spots on Broadway street. 

The "strip", so to speak, of Nashville, was pumping! Bars and restaurants were overflowing with football fans, who were awaiting the game that was to be played at the stadium at the end of the street later that day. We walked around the area, stopping in every crazy store along the way! The things you could find here were so wacky and wild, most cannot be mentioned in a blog post. I will say that you could get anything from Cowboy boots to boob shaped cups and everything in between! We found ourselves in some famous locations such as The Hard Rock Cafe and Margaritaville, and I'm some not so famous places, which were such fun to explore!  We stopped for some Ice Creme before heading back to the convention centre, and collecting all of the free candy we could get our hands on! We then went to dinner at Jason's Deli where Cameron had just started work, and terrorized him for awhile: such fun!

Over the next few day we had a few more adventures, like one day, Logan came home and we waited with baited breath for the mail to arrive. He had ordered an Eno, which is essentially a fancy camping hammock, that is all the rage over here at the moment. The truck finally pulled up and he ran out the front door, grabbed his package and ran back to the room I was in to open it. We then decided to take a walk through the area, up past all the houses, and into the forest that surrounded the area, to try out this new toy! 

We found a beautiful spot between two trees and set up the Eno, which proved to be a little tougher than expected. Once we got it up, though, it was worth the journey and the struggle as we then spent the next hour lying in it and relaxing, soaking up the surroundings. Another great day was when Logan taught me how to solve a Rubix Cube in 30 minutes! That became my new favorite pastime, solving it, and again, and again.

On one fine day, Marc took me out on his BMW motorbike, and we drove through the country side: it was beautiful. The wide open spaces, the rolling hills, the cotton fields, the magnificent houses, it all felt like something from a wonderful dream. We were gone about an hour and a half, and came home to a delicious dinner.

The next day was my favorite, and I will tell you why in two words: Jason Mraz. We went to see him perform at the Reimen Auditorium, which was so beautiful. It used to be an opera house so you can imagine the look and the acoustics in there were phenomenal! He gave a fantastic show, and nearly brought me to tears when he played "I won't give up". It was such a perfect end to this chapter of my trip.

The next morning I packed my stuff into the car, and Tanja drove me to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye to this family, I really liked them and they made me feel so at home. The next stop, however, was Las Vegas, and the excitement was starting to build...