I’ve spent a lot of my travelling life going to America. My first holiday there was when I was 13 and our parents took my sister and I to New York and Washington DC. Since then I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been back.
I have sat on the edge of the Grand Canyon and rolled dice in Las Vegas, been driven along Highway 1, caught the rays in Palm Springs, eaten Po Boys in Mississippi and beignets in New Orleans. I’ve put my hands in the prints of Marilyn Monroe at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and looked for buffalo in Golden Gate Park, paddled at La Jolla and visited the book depository in Dallas, been to the top of the Willis Tower and the Empire State Building, and been chauffeur-driven around the Lincoln Memorial and the other National Monuments at night. I’ve seen the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, JFK’s grave at Arlington Cemetery, Pearl Harbor and the surfers in Hawaii, spent a lot of time in Florida and the Mid West and taken the train from coast to coast and up and down. And of course I’ve been to Walt Disney World and Seaworld and Universal Studios (both coasts) more times than I can count. Experiencing America through my son’s eyes, too, has been an absolute joy.
Oh I’m not wearing rose-tinted glasses. I’ve also seen the ugly side of America, the poverty and obesity, and I have witnessed racism first-hand. I read American Studies at university and know a lot about US history, sociology and politics. I’ll be taking a keen interest in today’s election results.
But for the sheer breadth of experience, for incredible landscapes, buildings and cultural diversity, and of course its popular culture, I love America.
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Yes, a great post, Liz. So nice to read these words!! I love that you know so much of the country and you still love it. And I love how you’ve been able to enjoy it through your son’s eyes.
Gosh I love America too!
I have been to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, off to California and Vegas next year. Want to go to New York, San Francisco, and so many places in the good ole USA, I love travel and I love planning my holidays too, its all part of the fun. Thanks for a great post Liz
Nice post, Liz. I’m envious that you’ve done Highway 1 – that’s still on my list.
It’s nice to hear encouraging words from a native Brit. I’m now British as well as American and love both countries. These days, watching this nail-biting presidential campaign, sometimes you have to love the foibles and flaws as much as the good qualities, but there is a lot to appreciate about the U.S.