Thanks for putting this bluntly. I have already rethought some passages due to others commenting on how bad public transport is. Do you know why is it so bad? I’m indeed European and used to travelling around it by cars, bus and trains fairly easily.

It’s hard to fathom how one could go this far for a cat.

My experience with Airbnb so far has been mitigated. While the price for value is awesome compared to hotels/hostels, the hosts were almost never in the apartment/house with me and my friends. I think that most people used it as a complementary stream of income but don’t necessarily enjoy chatting with foreigners. I had one amazing experience in Praha though. I guess we have to get lucky and check the comments first.

Definitely considering dropping all the “bus” part of the plan. Still wants to take the California Zephyr though. I’ve checked the reviews on Yelp & Tripadvisor, it’s known for arriving late but I think I’m ok with that. It would be part of the journey and if I make my plan a bit more flexible it should be no problem. As I would be taking it from Denver to SF, it seems reasonable to say I should not have a problem finding shuttles to gain the city center.

A friend of mine might join me for parts of the trip and we are considering renting a car between SF & LA in order to do some of the natural parks.

I’m interested in a lot of different things: the cities and their unique culture (e.g. New Orleans), the vastness of the Natural parks (Yosemite is now on the itinerary), discovering big cities in and out, seeing the country and getting off the beaten track (California Zephyr should also be a great occasion to discuss with Americans from all over the country). But I also want to do a bit of the touristy stuff. I have a month in NYC in July (will be working there), which should be great to see what the locals do and speak a lot with them and experience the city.

Thanks again for the post.