# An Aussie visit to the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2016, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592 "2016-06-17T09:15:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/41 "2016-06-19T18:10:56Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Oh, people are buggers, cuz they like to…bugger…other people. From the French: _bougre_. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/42 "2016-06-19T18:41:03Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > They’re on [Pier 39](http://www.sealioncenter.org/), but they do come and go at times. > > ETA: Here’s a [good shot](https://blueandgoldfleet.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/sealionsatpier39october20092.jpg) of peak sea-lion sprawl. Looking at the live [sea lion cam](http://www.pier39.com/home/the-sea-lion-story/sea-lion-webcam-2/), I’m not seeing many out there right now. You can use the Control button to see different views – I did catch two sea lions a moment ago, but it’s mostly empty. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/43 "2016-06-19T18:42:35Z")
I’m glad you liked what you saw! But if someone coming to the US could see **JUST ONE THING** I’d sa visit the Grand Canyon. There simply isn’t anyplace else like it on the planet. I haven’t been there in many years, since I was still at home and my family did road trip vacations. But once I was flying from Kansas to Californina, and we flew over it on a sunny day in the morning. I’ll never see anything like that again! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/44 "2016-06-19T19:53:45Z")
That’d be a great thread: “What should the Aussie dude see next?” (maybe titled “Grand Canyon vs Central Park: The Ultimate Cage Match”) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/45 "2016-06-19T21:00:10Z")
The Grand Canyon would eat Central Park, and NYC for that matter, for breakfast. It’ wouldn’t even be a contest. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/46 "2016-06-19T21:55:23Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > I wasn’t visiting anyone, the reason was a sort of illogical sequence. > > I only knew of El paso from the old Marty Robbins song, I wanted to get around this holiday a bit do I googled El paso. Noticed it was in West Texas so close to California, read a bit about the history and Juarez and got intrigued. > > Somewhere a bit different to start the holiday off, and I’m glad I did. I’m glad you did too. I just heard that the El Paso tourism bureau flipped the 2016 tourist count on their sign from 0 to 1 thanks to you :). I am not making fun of you or El Paso. I have heard good things about it from people that have lived there and it a surprisingly large city compared to what most people in the U.S. imagine. The problem with it is that it is so far from anything, even the more popular cities in Texas, that most people never go there even just to pass through. Picking out of the way and less appreciated places is fun. I have done it even as an American and had a great time everywhere from rural Indiana to the boonies in Arkansas. I live about a 3 hour drive away from New York City and still have never really been there except to pass through or catch a plane to somewhere else. It just never really interested me for some reason. Tell me to go to some obscure place in northern Vermont though and I will be all over that. I hope to go to Australia sometime soon and I hope to do the equivalent version. Sydney and Melbourne are fine for some things but most international cities are roughly interchangeable and somewhat boring for that reason. What is the El Paso of Australia? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/47 "2016-06-20T00:10:37Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > the boonies in Arkansas. I am curious where you visited. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/48 "2016-06-20T03:29:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I am curious where you visited. All of it basically but I own property near Devils Den state park in Winslow, AR (population 391 at last count). The nearest store is completely stereotypical hillbilly. It is just a shed with everything piled up on the floor with no electrical lighting and they do all sales by adding everything up on a piece of paper. It is an extreme throwback when you go in there. I love it. My family owns a fully stocked 60 acre compound that consists of a metal building with cots, a nice bathroom and a large pond because my father is a survivalist at heart. In reality, it is just a place where you can go to get away from modern civilization and just hang out for week or more and just shoot, fish or relax. I love Arkansas and think it is the most underrated state. It is called the ‘Natural State’ for a reason. Combine that with Wal-Mart money and you have an enviable combination. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/49 "2016-06-21T19:39:28Z")
I woulda picked Amarillo TX, where they refurbish worn out nuclear weapons. The people have a healthy green glow, and you can tell your grandchildren about the experience, assuming you have kids before your trip. You won’t have any after being in Amarillo for very long. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/50 "2016-06-21T20:03:42Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Looking at the live [sea lion cam](http://www.pier39.com/home/the-sea-lion-story/sea-lion-webcam-2/), I’m not seeing many out there right now. You can use the Control button to see different views – I did catch two sea lions a moment ago, but it’s mostly empty. Yep, it’s breeding season - I just saw a half dozen in the back corner and they mostly look pretty small. Probably there are getting some juveniles, other non-breeders and maybe just possibly I suppose maybe a few breeding animals from nearby in the Farrallones taking a breather after hunting in the bay. But most have likely departed southwards. ETA: Oh and checking the website: Q: **Do the sea lions stay here all year?** _Yes and no. From late summer (late July) to late spring (mid May), there are typically hundreds of sea lions hauled out at K-Dock (ranging from 150 to 600+). In June and July, most of the sea lions head south to breeding grounds on the Channel Islands, although a handful to a few dozen have remained throughout the summer in recent years. In late July, non-breeding sub-adult males and juvenile females begin to migrate north again. Other breeding males travel north later, and some males migrate as far north as Alaska and British Columbia, Canada._ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/51 "2016-06-21T20:31:33Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > In June and July, most of the sea lions head south to breeding grounds on the Channel Islands, although a handful to a few dozen have remained throughout the summer in recent years. Sea lion nerds. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/52 "2016-06-21T21:06:50Z")
Did you remember to tip, OP? ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592/53 "2016-06-21T22:00:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Did you remember to tip, OP? Even if he didn’t, people are rather forgiving. Before she retired and leased out her medallion, my mom developed a fantastic relationship with a handful of Australian tourists who hired her taxi cab. The first guy was utterly polite, called Ma back for several day trips during his visit, and then his return from downtown to the airport. He paid the metered rate each time - no tip. After he got home, something or someone mentioned tipping. He still had Mom’s business card, and made a (then) very expensive phone call to apologize. It really wasn’t a big deal - Ma was the business owner, and made her money on the trip. Tips were truly a bonus. But he still insisted upon sending a nice little gift, and then shared her business card with about a dozen of his acquaintances who traveled to “her” city on his advice. Even now - almost 2 decades after such a minor faux pas - Ma comes out of retirement to drive some of “her” tourists from Australia. Tl&dr: if you are polite, most tipped employees are quite understanding of visitors who are genuinely unaware of local customs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-aussie-visit-to-the-usa/757592.md?page=2)