In June 2024, I got a chance to attend the CVPR conference in Seattle. It was a week long conference scheduled from June 17 to June 21. It was my third trip to the US, but the first one out of California. My first two trips were mostly spent in the tech bubble of the bay area.
As is customary, I extended my trip to a month. I decided to see more of the "real" USA while also visiting my friends.
June 16 - June 22
Attended CVPR in Seattle. The conference was an intense, invigorating experience which rekindled my love for research. This is the best thing I love about the US - it is ingrained in their (academic?) culture to push the envelope, especially in areas of science and tech. The city itself is quite pretty with big and small bodies of water interspersed across the urban landscape. The state of Washington has strong outdoorsy vibes with three national parks in vicinity of Seattle and tons of countryside to explore.
June 22 - took an overnight flight from Seattle to New York City
June 23-24 - met with D and spent two days in NYC. I stayed with D in Harlem - a neighborhood with a lot of history and good food. Also got to meet some of D's friends.
June 25 - quick meetup with A in Connecticut.
June 26 - took a train from Stamford to Boston. Spent a couple of hours in Massachusetts, esp the MIT Press bookstore before being picked up by S. V arrived later that evening in the wake of an incoming storm and shifty flight schedules.
June 27 - June 28
Spent two nights camping in Acadia National Park with S and V. It is a five hour drive from Boston which goes through the states of New Hampshire and Maine. I was surprised by how well maintained the campground was. Having done my fair share of hikes in Taiwan, I had begun to associate camping with hiking over a rugged terrain while surviving on bare basics in a remote land far away from any civilization. This was not the case here - we always had access to a car and the Bar Harbor town had everything we could possibly need. The place is gorgeous and offers sweeping views of the ocean and pockets of islands dispersed throughout the area. On the second night, the sky opened up to a rare uninterrupted view of the Milky Way.
June 29 - drove back to Boston and met up with G and M.
July 30 - got to explore a little bit of the downtown but being an early Sunday morning, there wasn't much to see. Had lunch with S and M and then headed to the airport to take a flight to Chicago.
July 30 - July 2
I met up with S. This was the third week of the trip and I had started to work (remotely). This meant spending more time in cafes in downtown Chicago. Also met up with V again and checked out the Art Institute of Chicago and the Harold Washington library with him. S also took me to the north avenue beach. I went there again the next morning and took a long detour back to S's place via Lincoln park and the surrounding neighborhood.
We also tried out the gummies and for the first time I experienced a somewhat positive effect. I would describe it as having the same feeling of heightened senses as when you wake up after a long and deep nap. Add to it a warped sense of time and you have what one would call a high.
Downtown Chicago has an energy characteristic of Asian cities with a relatively well connected public transport while still maintaining the luxury of space typical of the US with an affordable cost of living. In other words, it is a pretty good balance of different elements which makes it quite likable.
July 3 - July 8
Took a Greyhound bus from Chicago to St Paul with a pit stop at Milwaukee. This route is quite scenic and offers fleeting views of rustic midwest America. R picked me up at St Paul bus station. We took a quick stop in St Paul's downtown before driving to R's place. St Paul's downtown is pleasantly active and charming in stark contrast to NYC or downtown areas of Chicago and Seattle.
I was seeing R after 15 years and we had a lot to catch up on. We also got to see the July 4th fireworks in Minneapolis city. I also learnt that the relatively less talked about twin cities of St-Paul and Minneapolis are actually headquarters to General Mills, the Pillsbury company, Allianz Life, Target, Best Buy, 3M and Polaroid Corp.
I took a flight from St Paul airport back to Seattle. The staff at the airport was the friendliest I have seen in the US.
July 8 - July 16
I had booked an Airbnb close to Northgate. I lost a pouch with my chargers at the airport and almost ran out of battery by the time I checked in to my Airbnb (which was way past midnight and there was no recourse). I was a little weary of constantly moving, packing and unpacking stuff. I spent the last nine days in Seattle winding down. My favorite part of the city was South Lake where I took long walks and checked out the coffee shops.
Here, I met up with K with his wife and friend. He was on a trip to the northwest part of the continent starting from Vancouver and ending in Portland. He drove us to the Mt Rainier National Park which is absolutely stunning!
It was only a couple of weeks after returning to Taipei did I realize that A was also in Seattle during this time.
July 16 - took a flight back home to Taipei.
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