Because the city (Pigeon Forge) was in the "middle of nowhere" and public transport only ran between a few adjacent towns that lacked bus stations, I had no opportunity to travel to nearby states. Nevertheless, I was never bored! There were so many activities organized for tourists; we kept some of the flyers in our shop, so as shop employees, we could visit these attractions for free by booking in advance, or we paid a negligible portion—10-20%. We could also bring friends to many of them. That is exactly how I rode a hot air balloon, went to Wonderland (where I lay on 2,500 nails, moved balls with the power of my mind, played baseball, walked on ropes, danced on a platform with moving steps—I don't know how to explain it properly, inflated human-sized balloons, etc.), went to the local zoo, and rode the cable car and the "bobsled track." In my free time, I also visited every possible restaurant, among which I want to mention the well-known Bubba Gump. They constantly hold quizzes about the movie there, and on the table, there are funny signs that say "Run Forrest or Stop Forrest," which you flip depending on whether you want the waiter to come to you or not. I also really liked Red Lobster; of course, it's a bit expensive, but it is incomparably cheaper than trying the same dishes of lobster, mussels, shrimp, etc., in Russia, and they cook very deliciously there. The only problem is the crab legs, because when you try to break them with special tongs, the meat and juice spray in all directions, scattering according to the effort applied. One of the main attractions is the water park and amusement park of the famous country singer Dolly Parton; I must say that I rode many of them with my eyes closed, clutching the railings with all my might. The local car show, Road Run, is very popular; as a rule, they sell old and unusual cars there. Closer to the end of August, I started looking for people who were flying to the West Coast around mid-September, but many of them were leaving much earlier (the Ukrainians only had their visas open until August 31st). I didn't want to miss the chance, so I decided to fly alone and booked a 5-day tour (on the website: http://www.tours4fun.com/, which has a flexible discount system depending on the number of participants), which included: Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, the Grand Canyon, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Yosemite National Park, the Danish village of Solvang, and a visit to Stanford University! Even though I went alone and paid more for it, I never doubted the correctness of my decision. In the end, I found friends during the trip, and the emotions from the trip exceeded all my expectations: 1. In Las Vegas, I was placed in one of the best hotels in the city—the Stratosphere. It is famous for having some of the scariest rides in the world at its peak, approximately 300m up: "Big Shot, Insanity the Ride, and XSCREAM." The latter fully justifies its name; I never thought I could scream so loudly... In the city itself, what I remember most is Fremont St (this is a covered street in Vegas where they host 3D shows on the ceilings, and every 100m on the street there are stages where musicians perform different styles of music) and, of course, the famous hotels: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Paris Hotel. Each of them is unique and, in my opinion, a work of art. 2. The next day we set off for the Grand Canyon; it was simply stunning!!! It's hard to believe that nature could create such a thing and that there was once an ocean there! On the way back, we visited the Hoover Dam, but I barely remember it because my thoughts were still only on the Grand Canyon. 3. Los Angeles is one of my favorite and most beautiful cities in the USA. It's a pity we were only there for an evening and could only visit the main attractions (Beverly Hills, Walt Disney Concert Hall, etc.). Driving through every street, we were told exactly which movies were filmed there; of course, a
+9
