“I love to travel, but hate to arrive” - Albert Einstein
One of the many wonderful things about marrying my American wife was an extended trip in the US while we applied for her spousal visa to live with me here in South Africa. We were advised that applying in the US was a much easier process, but they can keep your passport for up to 6 weeks during the application. We used this opportunity to travel around the country seeing as much of it as we could but even then it was a drop in the ocean. America is truly worlds within a world. Every state is so unique with its own accents, cultures, landscapes and histories.
As an investor I have always been fond of travelling. The expansion of perspective it affords can only be useful, and particularly with global investments it is helpful to add people and places into the world of numbers. I was very fortunate to be able to take this trip and am happy to try share some of the experience.
Flying direct from South Africa, our trip began in New York but our stay in the city was short as we moved onto a little known gem called fire island about a 40 minute ferry ride from the mainland. What makes fire island so other worldly is that no cars are allowed on the island, so all transport by island inhabitants is via bicycles. The relaxed atmosphere this creates is hard to describe, especially coming from the streets of the city! Starting to feel more relaxed it was time to move onto the magical tapestry of history and curiosity that is New Orleans.
Though the points of interest are too numerous to discuss here, one of the more fun elements was having a drink in Lafitte’s hideout. Lafitte was one of the more infamous pirates in American history and enjoyed certain liberties in New Orleans due to circumstances relating to the American / British war. His residence still stands and a bar has been built inside so travellers can sit with a drink and enjoy the ambiance Jack Sparrow style.
For more modern day ambiance, the music bars in Nashville are hard to beat. Besides for being the country music capital its also responsible for some political milestones like the right for woman to vote. The United States was tied at the threshold to allow women to vote and it all came down to Nashville which was also tied even after a re-vote. In the end one vote swayed it. One man changed his mind because of a letter from his mother saying she would like to vote before she died. Moms truly make the world go round.
But what a beautiful world it can be as can be seen clearly in the national parks America has to offer. We were fortunate enough to follow buffalo on foot in Yellow Stone national park, swim in the deep blue/purple waters of Americas deepest lake at Crater Lake national park, and camp close to 2,500 year old redwoods in the redwood forests.
From the cosmopolitan streets of New York to the primordial geysers of Yellow Stone, I return home with a further expanded perspective, and I look forward to continuing my exploration through seeking out and finding investment ideas around the globe.