Americium - Completing visits to all 50 states of the USA

Americium

Americium (atomic number 95) seems to me to be the perfect element for the final post of this year's holiday blog. During the last three weeks we have travelled to three states and completed the fifty states of the United States of America. So marking this with the first element to be synthesized in the Americas. Yet again it is the work of Seaborg and his team. I'd not come across there work until this year. But thanks to the challenge from Robin Croft, I've had to work hard to find titles for each of the blog posts which are elements or something closely related, but in doing so I have discovered much about the 118 elements that I did not know. Indeed when I finished studying chemistry in 1973 there were only 103 elements!

Reflecting on the Holiday

This is the fifth time I've ended the holiday blog with a reflection. Given the complexity of this year's holiday I am so pleased, and a little amazed, that everything worked so well, including so much flying, which was a new aspect of this year's holiday.

Highlights 

There are so many great things to remember about this holiday that it was had to think of just three to be highlights. But here goes:

Welcome to Alaska

Welcome to Kaua'i, Hawai'i

First, actually making it to the last two states of the fifty is a source of joy. I didn't realise it would feel like such a great achievement. I think they were two good states to leave until last. They are very different from each other and indeed very different from the other 48 states.

Second, Lands End and Twin Peaks - San Francisco. I was aware there were such places, but finally making it to both was for me a great achievement. I was a way of getting to know my favourite City all the better. 

Third, Kaua'i. The island was an unexpectedly lovely place and the company of the GyPSy guide meant there was a story or tale around every corner. It was early in the holiday but set us up for all that was to come. 


I would have included Homer in my list, but Drew wrote his list first and has already included that lovely place. I could easily go back there for a week or a fortnight. 

<<Co-pilot's note:

Here is my list

First, Honolulu - I thought it would be tacky and touristy like Vegas. While it is focused on tourists it has more character and charm than I expected. A nice little place.

Second, Alaska as a whole. While Denali was special there were so many unexpected: "There's pretty moments" all around the route. These are places that no one hears of, but are still exceptionally pretty. 


Third, Homer Spit - the whole place has an air of mild craziness that suited us. The views of glaciers, mountains, sea and sand all held great charm. It was a lovely place.

Favourite Meal

I have two favourite meals

The Pizzeria at Denali - it was the best comedy value of the holiday. 

Arancino in Honolulu, the best meal, nice atmosphere, lots going on around us. A very nice place. The starter had lots of different flavour tomatoes for starters, then Amatriciana, my favourite, plus I had room for a wobbly Panna Cotta for dessert. >>

Memorable Meal

For me it was Quince of course, but excluding that because it was so exceptional. I think my favourite was Aliotos. From its exceptional service <<Co-pilot's note: Good old Alfred.>>, to its delightful food and most of all for the rich Tomato-base and the astounding collection of seafood in the Cioppino.

Travel

Miles driven

In total we drove 1,742 miles, an exceptionally short period for one of our holidays. We drove 278 miles in Kaua'i and 1,464 in Alaska.

We shared the driving almost evenly, with Drew doing 893 miles and I doing 849 miles (51%-49%). Though the time driving was very different with Drew driving for 16 hours and 35 minutes and I driving for 26 hours and 31 minutes (38% and 62%). This reflects the Kaua'i driving which was very slow, and pretty, and the fact Drew prefers long drives with little stopping, so I end up with town driving.

Miles walked 

Driving is our normal means of travel on holiday, but this year Drew was determined to increase our walking to balance our increase in eating on holiday. This seems to have worked well. 

Overall we walked 309,071 steps or 117 miles. An average of 14,718, or 5.6 miles per day, well above our 10,000 step target. He's a hard task master.

The exceptional days were the Saturday when we walked from Waikiki to Download Honolulu via the murals of Kaka'ako when we walked 28,574 steps or 10.5 miles. The day in Homer when we walked 27,187 steps or 10.9 miles and the Sunday in Fairbanks when, just walking three times back and for from the hotel to town I did 26,872 steps at just over 11 miles. 

It is strange that what was by far the hardest day, the climb up Diamond Head, come in at only 24,409 steps and 9.63 miles. I guess those steep steps are only one step, however steep!!

NB - If you are wondering why the highest steps day is not the highest mile day, it is due to Google fit registering the distance and the steps separately. It doesn't convert steps into miles. It registers the distance travelled and counts the steps taken. Steps of course can be large or small.

Clipper Card

Using a Clipper Card worked out very well for us. If you are going to San Francisco it is worth considering. Even with a $3 charge for the plastic card we saved $20 by having the card rather than using cash. <<Co-pilot's note: I would like, dear readers, to point out that he has saved both plastic cards to achieve greater savings next time!!>>

Earworm songs

An additional section to the review this year. The songs which have stuck in our minds since we heard them, what they call Earworms. 

For us this year there were two songs which were played a few times by the driver, Eddie on our Pearl Harbour tour. Both were by the Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. The first an adaption of John Denver's country road song where Israel is coming home to West Makaha and Mount Ka'ala and has my favourite lyrics about: "crystal-clear blue watah" and "hanging on da beach".

The second about the god/legend of Hawai'i Maui, the Hawaiian superman (or as spelt in the lyrics of this song Suppaman), whose story was told on the GyPSy guide.

Both songs got stuck in our mind on that day, and I suspect will be there for many years.

Thanks

Thanks to all of you who have made the journey with us, with comments on the blog, on Flickr and on Facebook - they have been a great help and encouragement both for informing the journey and for correcting the infelicities <<Co-pilot's note: Eh? U wha?>> on the blog and Flickr pictures.  My favourites have been Robin pointing out on the blog that I had called Denali's former name of Mount McKinley, Mount Kinsey, which is an Antarctic mountain and my sister pointing out on Flickr that the red peppers in the picture were in fact green!! (red-green is a common colour-blind problem for me).