RTW solo backpacking trip

Just me, my Osprey farpoint 40L bag and a vague idea of where I want to go Read more

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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Nashville, Tennessese
December 13, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
WHAT A NIGHTMARE OF A DAY!

Had to get a coach from Memphis to here, however the coach was delayed a good hour, and then we got stuck in traffic for 2 hours making a 4 hour journey close to 8 with the drivers break!

Anyway finally made it to the hostel which is quite cool - it’s called downtown Nashville hostel. It’s huge and all the rooms are named after bands etc.... guess which room I was put in.... THE BEATLES. Bastards

Anyway it was pissing down so I only went for a quick walk around the block around 9pm and had a quick beer before people retiring to bed. However from my first impressions.... I like Nashville. I like it a lotRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Nashville
December 14, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
Up and out today aaaaaaand it was lashing it down. Gutted. Hasn’t stopped all day and when you don’t really have much winter/wet weather clothing it’s a proper bitch.

However I did manage to get a few sites in before I and to give up and turn back. I went to see the state capitol building which is cool, saw the Andrew Jackson monument, Vietnam war monument, Korean War monument etc, basically I went to the war museum.

After I had managed to get soaked i went to broadway to a place called nudies honkey tonk bar which was awesome. It had the longest bar in Nashville it was class. The band was awesome, played some cool songs and I even got a request on which was sharp dressed man and they did it brilliantly! After a few beers in there I went to broadway brewery- 70 ales on tap! Cool place and I had brisket nachos that was bigger than my torso!

I debated about going out tonight but I’ve been told Saturday is the big night so I saved my money as I have to pick and choose my battles when travelling as once the money is gone. That’s it. Game over. Time to fly home. So I went back the hostel and just chilled, kinda boring but you can’t constantly keep yourself entertained whilst away, and sometimes just doing nothing is good for the mind.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get out and go and see the pantheon and the grand old oprey- fingers crossed for the weather...Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Nashville
December 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
The weather was much better today so I walked up to the Pantheon which was about an hours walk away. Once you get past Broadway there isn’t much after that, it’s kinda boring however the ‘The Gulch’ area of Nashville is cool, I’d recommend that area to anyone for a little walk about.

I got to the pantheon which is a full size scale replica of the original in Greece, not exactly sure why they built it in a park just outside of Nashville however it is pretty awesome to walk around - inside is an art gallery which is not really my thing so I just kept to staying outside and walking around it. It just means I have to go to the original now to compare....

After my hour walk back into Nashville I had a little jaunt around music row on my way back... meh

I get back to my hostel and get changed ready for a few beers and enjoy what the night had to offer - although I’ve got to be honest I didn’t enjoy it. Every bar was rammed so you could barely move and tbh I’m getting sick of drinking. I don’t drink much as it is, and I think my body just wants me to drink water for a few days, especially when I’ve been eating nothing but crap for a month too!

I persevered for a few hours but then made my way back to the hostel to watch the rocky fielding fight - didn’t have much hope for him.... I can’t decide if alvarez was just levels above in quality or whether rocky just didn’t fancy it. Either way at least he can say he headlined at madison Square garden!

Last full day tomorrow, no plans as of yet, I might just wait for the notice board to be updated and see what’s on there...Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Nashville
December 16, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Last day in Nashville - took it easy. I managed to watch the Liverpool game and then I went for a walk up and down Broadway and went to a bar called tin roof. I was there for hours watching the band and eating awesome food.Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis - Missouri
December 17, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
Came to St Louis a bit early as I couldn’t find anywhere relatively close to stay for cheap and I managed a good deal on a hotel here. I got here quite late at night (again) as it’s much cheaper to travel at later hours. It was a ball ache of a journey made even worse by some weirdos on the bus Hahahahaha. Anyway I didn’t do anything at all today just managed to get a few snaps of St. Louis on the way inRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 18, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
I woke up today around 3pm - had no idea I was so tired. I think after staying in hostels for a few weeks the feeling of having my own bed made me sleep so much. It was nice having my own bathroom and not having to worry about things being left in a locker etc. So all I did today was stay in my room, listen to music loud, watch films and order food.

It was fantastic!

I’m meeting up with David tomorrow, excited for that as I’ve not seen him in years and I will be spending Christmas and New Year with him and his wife Katie. So lots to look forward to!!!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 19, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
I MET UP WITH DAVID!

I’ll start from the beginning....

I was due to check out of my hotel room at 11am, so I was planning on getting up around 10am so I could have a shower and pack my things but a cleaning woman Came into my room at around 7:30 AM and woke me up. So I was not best pleased!

Anyway I get my shower and pack my things and I don’t leave my room till exactly 11am as my passive aggressive form of payback.

I was meeting David around 1pm at the ballpark so I just made my way over there as it wasn’t far from the hotel and there was a load of bars etc there.

I end up waiting in the Budweiser bar in ballpark village, which was a nice bar so I ordered a pint of Budweiser... $11! It’s brewed down the fucking road!!! I drink my pint and watch the Real Madrid super cup game waiting for David.

Got talking to the barmaid in there as she noticed the accent and thought I was Australian... she had never even heard of Liverpool Hahahaha!

I meet up with David... it was good to see his face after so Long.

We ended up going for some food in a BBQ place, he doesn’t get to go much as Katie is vegan. It was fit, can’t remember the name of it though.

We make our way back to his house in O’Fallon which is about a 40 minute drive west from St Louis centre. His house is lovely and I finally met Katie and she’s super friendly and I also met his 3 dogs, Kai, Koda and Leo... Leo is a psycho.

We go out for tea that night which was nice and then we get back to the house and We are just sitting and catching up for a few hours which was awesome. I taught Katie a bit of scouse which was funny.

I think I’m going to enjoy myself hereRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Not updates in a few days as I’ve been so busy but at the same time not doing much! But tonight me and David went to the casino here called ‘Ameristar’ cool place we went for a few drinks, gambled a little bit and went for a meal! I didn’t win anything but it was a good laugh.Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 22, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C
So today we did a bit of everything, we went shopping, went for a meal at a place called Bar Louie which was nice. We also went to a place called Westport social which was a cool bar. It had all sorts of games in there about 3 bars and a live band.

Great nightRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 23, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
So today was a chill day, went the gym in the morning with David and then we pretty much just chilled all day, we went out for a beer or two and a little bit of shopping for Xmas presents. We then went back to the house, ate loads of pizza and ice cream and watched elf on the couchRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis - Xmas Eve
December 24, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
I hate David....

We gorge ourselves on pizza and ice cream last night so I was feeling pretty sluggish but he signed us up for a 9am class at the gym for a HIT Hot Yoga session.

I’d never done Yoga before and omg I’m so inflexible Hahahaha was shocking. I felt so sick during it and I probably lost about a stone in sweat Hahahaha.

After the gym we went to a little town in St Charles which was very pretty! There was a ‘British Shop’ there so we had to go in! It was cool like but the prices where insane... $13 for some weetabix hahahahaha.

I ended up treating David to some British food - cost me nearly 30 quid like 😂😂😂

Later on we watched the first Harry Potter before bed waiting for Father Christmas 🎄Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis - Xmas Day
December 25, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
IIIIIITTTTTSSSSS CHRRRRIIIISSSTMAAAAAS!!

First Christmas away from home and it was brilliant!

Katie and I made the Christmas Dinner which turned out to be amazing. I bought some Yorkshire pudding mix from the British Shop and I had already brought David some bistro gravy which I had carried all around the states!

The dinner was half vegan half normal hahaha - Katie had made us Vegas mashed potatoes and stuffing but she bought David and I a beef tenderloin which I cooked- it was delicious!

It was a really nice dinner with even better company!

We exchanged presents so I gave them their perfume which again I had carried all around the USA and tried not to damage. They where super generous and got me some money, socks, bills, chocolate and even a brand new pair of trainers which are gorgeous!

After our meal and presents we all went ice skating which was nice - I’m not very good at it 😂😂 after that we went back to the house and pretty much passed out after an eventful day!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis - Boxing Day
December 26, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Just watched footy all day

Boss
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 27, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
So today was an eventful one.

David took me the shooting range, it was unreal. Proper enjoyed it and will definitely do it again. We shot a 45, and a 9mm 2 types of each and it is massively addictive. I wasn’t too bad at it at all, managed a fair few good shots and managed to group them too which was cool.

Later on in the evening we met up with some of David’s friends Lucas and Hannah and we went to do an escape room which we managed to escape with less than 60 seconds to go! I wasn’t that great at the clues to be fair 😂😂

After the escape room we went to St Louis’s highest bar called 360 for a meal and a few drinks. It was awesome the view was class and the food wasn’t bad either!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis
December 28, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
We met up with Lucas and Hannah today and we went to the Budweiser brewery to see all the lights which was awesome and you got a free beer too Hahahaha. We went to the drunken fish afterwards for tea and I tried sushi for the first time which wasn’t bad at all. I quite liked it. We sat around the table, drank beer, ate food and talked till quite late.

We made plans to go watch Lucas play in his indoor footy game tomorrow so we have That to look forward to tomorrow!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis - New Years Eve
December 31, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 6 °C
So David and Katie where kind enough and got me tickets for the St Louis Blues NHL game for Christmas as they knew I’d always wanted to see it.

The tickets were awesome, David’s boss had rink side seats which included $25 of credit per ticket to use on food/drinks. St Louis lost 2-1 to the New York Rangers but it was a brilliant game and I loved every second of it!

We decided for New Years we would go to the Casino and try and get tickets to a bar or something in there as we left it kinda last minute! We get there.... all sold out! So we just decide to get a few drinks and watch the UFC fight with Jon Bones Jones which was cool...
Still prefer boxing

We go the casino and the girl checking ID’s on the desk claims her family is from Liverpool.... I ask where and she says ‘Runcorn’ I just walked away. We grab something to eat in the Asia restaurant in the casino I got a pad Thai... gonna compared it to Thailand when I get there hahahah.

I borrow both David and Katie $100 each as they had no cash and they wanted to play blackjack - the dealer they had was definitely a stripper or something... it wasn’t bad to just stand there and watch.... she was super friendly. Anyways we count down the new year at the table with Katie being up on her bets and David being down hahahahah. I lend David another $100 to go play poker... he pays me back instantly as he Wins like $250 on his first hand and he eventually walks away around $60 up I think it was

Next it was my turn to gamble, we headed over to the roulette table as it’s the only thing I enjoy playing. I throw a $100 chip on black. Im feeling lucky.

BOOM

Black comes in, I take 100 away and leave the other 100 on black.

BOOM

Black again!

Now I have a system when it comes to roulette- black black, red black

However I wasn’t feeling that it was going to be red, so instead of breaking my system I just took my money off the table and lucky for me it was black again!

I throw 200 down for red and it comes in, I walk away around 400 for the night so I was a happy guy and it was a brilliant way to bring in the new year!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - St Louis - New Years Day!
January 1, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
So today was my last full day in St Louis - time has flown and I’ve enjoyed myself so much and it was brilliant to see David after so long.

We didn’t do much today we just sat around and chilled in the house, ate chick fil-a and watched movies. It was the perfect way to bring my time to and end in St Louis. I’ve just attached a few photos that I’ve not posted beforeRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Missouri/Nashville/Arkansas
January 2, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
I left St Louis today and had a 17 hour journey ahead of me to Texas. The journey wasn’t too bad to be fair, we had a 2 hour change over at Memphis but it was more like 3 hours by the time we left. I just watched a few movies and started to watch jack ryan on amazon which was half Decent I enjoyed it! I am due in Dallas Texas 6am tomorrow morning.

I just want to sleepRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Dallas - Texas
January 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 3 °C
I FINALLY MADE IT! 17 hours after leaving St Louis I arrived in Dallas, Texas

And it was pissing it down!

I was so fucked off, hadn’t slept at all on the coach it’s 6:30am, I’m drenched, I have no WiFi to order an Uber and generally annoyed so Dallas didn’t get off to the best of starts!

I made my way to my hostel which was about a 20 minute walk from the bus station, carrying two bags which were heavy on roads with no pavements. I knew I was far too early to check into my hostel but I was just hoping to leave my bags there and maybe sit down. However Lady Luck must of been looking down at me as the woman on reception let me check in at 7am which was 9 hours early! I could of cried, I was tired and just wanted to sleep so I ran to my room threw all my stuff on my bed and just passed out. I was lucky enough to remember to set my alarm for the Liverpool V City game.

I had a few hours sleep and went to find a bar for the game. Ended up going with a guy called Bruno who was staying in my hostel to an Irish bar for the game. We got talking to a guy from St Louis who was a Liverpool fan who used to live in Sheffield 😂😂 then a Manc came in from fallowfield!

Liverpool lost but it was a good laugh having a few beers watching the game - felt like home for a bit

After the game I went back the hostel and just slept all afternoon and all night.

I was exhaustedRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Dallas - Texas
January 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
Lazy day today. I walked around Deep Ellum and came across a bar called Adair’s Saloon - proper little dive bar. It was awesome. I spent a few hours in there. Cool tunes, good food and excellent beer. This area is much cooler than it seems, you get to know it just by being there, drinking, eating and watching the world go by!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Dallas - Texas
January 5, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
UN REAL DAY!

So today started off with a walk into downtown Dallas - I’ll be honest the walk isn’t brilliant but it was awesome weather!

I walked around where JFK got shot which was kinda strange, too many tourists posing and laughing which I wasn’t a fan of. I went to a bar called gators and FaceTimed my mum for an hour in the glorious sunshine drinking amber ale.

Then I got a Uber to the Dallas cowboys stadium around 3:30 even though the game didn’t kick off till 7:15. But I was so excited, although I’m not NFL fan, it’s an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. Plus if I was to pick a NFL team it would be the Dallas Cowboys.

The Uber driver dropped me off at a place called Texas live! It’s a complex full off bars, restaurants and huge screen tv’s. I noticed as I was walking around that I was the only one not wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey.... so I ended up dropping $100 on a jersey I’ll never wear again hahahahah.

Before the cowboys game, I went outside to the drinking area where there was 2 huge tv’s showing the Houston Texans game. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to support them or not as some cowboys fans were celebrating and some weren’t 😂😂😂 however the best thing about it was 1 - the waitresses where all in leather chaps.... and 2 - the view I had of the stadium was unreal, especially as the sun was setting.

Walking over to the stadium was cool, there was tailgating going on and had been since about 1pm and the stadium is huge, it’s fucking awesome!

I get into the stadium and one thing I’ll say is that even with 90k people and a closed roof, the atmosphere just isn’t the same as back home in a footy stadium. It feels sanitised... manufactured. However as a spectacle it’s like nothing I’ve seen before.

The seats I had give an awesome view, quite high up but it gave a full view of the field and you could still pick out the players.

I can’t comment too much on the game as I still don’t understand it,however as an event it was awesome and would love to do it again

LETS GO COWBOYSRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Dallas - Texas
January 6, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Chill day today. After watching the NFL the night before and not getting back till late I decided to have a nice chill day as I’m almost 30 😂😂😂

I stayed around my local area of Deep Ellum as I do think it’s the best area of Dallas.

I saw a bar on my first day called Ruin bar so I headed there as it had an outside seating area.

Not going to lie, I sat there all day and made my way through the beer menu and watched the day go by

14/10 would recommendRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Austin - Texas
January 7, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
I got my coach today from Dallas down to Austin. But as per usual, it was delayed!

I ended up getting into Austin 2 hours later than expected and the coach doesn’t stop in Austin, it stops aaaaaages away so I had to get a Uber to my hostel.

First impression of the hostel was - stoners! The place reeked of weed.

Upon checking in To my room I was greeted by David from Sweden and Michelle from Singapore, who are both waiting for their dorms to be ready at the university of Texas which was about a 5 minute walk from the hostel. I asked them where was good for a bevvy.... they had no idea what that meant. So I asked where was good for a beer. They recommended a place called pluckers which was 10 mins away.

It did not disappoint.

Cool sports bar with steins for $6 and buffalo wings for $5 - heaven!

I was in there for a few hours and got a scooter back to the hostel. If I thought it reeked of weed this morning, now it was 10 times worse. Kinda annoying but sometimes that’s the chance you take with a hostel... especially one so close to a university full of students!Read more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Austin - Texas
January 8, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Exploring day today!

Sun was shining, heat was blazing down it would be a shame to waste it!

I had no particular plan today - I just wanted to walk around Austin. I didn’t google or look into things to do or see, I just wanted to see what I would discover.

Much better city than Dallas, easier to walk around, and just prettier in general.

I walked EVERYWHERE, my legs where killing me.

I ended up in this saloon bar which was awesome, proper cowboy feel to it. Cowboys walking in with their guns strapped to them and that, proper sick like!

I ended up seeing state capitol (which is bigger than DC) which is cool, and I walked about 20 miles in total according to my phone

Austin

I love youRead more
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RTW solo backpacking trip Sheppo89
USA Tour - Las Vegas - Nevada
January 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
So I finally arrived in Sin City! Flew in from Houston airport and arrived at Vegas airport which is like nothing I’ve seen. Slot machines everywhere!

Anyway I go get my bag and I get to the Bellagio as quick as possible. Looking up and around on my way into the city, what struck me is that in the day it’s not what I imagined. It’s kinda normal.

I arrive at the Bellagio a bit overawed at the size of it. I give my bag to the bell desk and make my way inside. Unforgettable moment. Huge lobby area with statues and art everywhere. I walk through the casino and see all the money on the tables, the cheering, the gasps, the sound of the bell when someone wins on the machine. It’s infectious. I walk through the mall in the Bellagio which is cool, shops are out my price range though.

I met up with trudi and Kelly and we went out and had a ball.

No more Needs sayingRead more
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