Impressions of the USA

We have had a wonderful month in the USA. Probably one of the most significant events was Graham throwing away his money belt after about three days. The only time we didn't feel safe was in the Greyhound bus stations. We walked around various cities, some late at night and never felt the need to watch our backs.






The train and bus journeys certainly showed us the back side of towns. There seem to be a lot of derelict buildings still standing. It's as though there is so much land no one cares about houses or industrial buildings that have passed their use by date, people just walk out and move on. Same with cars - we saw dozens of car graveyards.

Another thing that intrigued us was the focus on milk, promoted as America's most popular drink. Three servings of dairy a day seems to translate to three glasses of milk a day for many. We saw a number of people order a glass each of orange juice and milk at breakfast on the train. An interesting combination.

There was a huge presence of advertisements for, and people drinking lite beer. Lite here seems to mean lite on calories, but all the asking, googling and reading labels has still left us bemused about both the alcohol and carb content of the beers promoted here as lite.

Corn is another lasting impression. Corn fields, corn bread, corn dogs, corn on the cob, and corn fed cattle, pigs, chicken, even fish! We watched a documentary, yes on US TV, that almost made us become vegetarians. It certainly put us off eating anything other than Angus burgers here!

The American people we have met, and they have been many and varied, have all been friendly, happy to chat, and interested in New Zealand when they find out where we're from - and most know the difference between New Zealand and Australia!





Our luggage was the cause of lots of comments. People could not believe that we spent a month travelling with just this amount. Here it is! (Note the voodoo dolls, Dean!). The little Onya, the grey and purple thing, unfolds into a good sized backpack, and we did use it often, mostly to help carry the bourbon and beer. Made it very easy getting on and off trains and buses though.

So many highlights! New Orleans, Graceland, Disney World, New York, Las Vegas. But most special of all was meeting up with all of Ann's American family, especially the trip to Nebraska and spending time with her Mom and Dad. Thanks so much Mom and Dad, for making both Graham and Ann feel so much a part of the family, and to Marcy for making it possible!

One episode of our adventure has come to an end. Goodbye USA, we have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, and the hospitality we have received from people everywhere.

;-) Ann-a-Gram