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So in many respects a very difficult blog to write as I have such mixed emotions before, during and after the trip that it is very difficult to sum up how I felt.
An American said to me that unfortunately the whole ethos of "God Bless America" in reality applies only to Americans and no-one else.Certainly after a long day/night spent travelling it certainly felt like that waiting to clear immigration.It was a fairly dispiriting process snaking your way along a very long line to then be greeted by not some happy chappy but officialdom at its very worst.There was a seemingly endless list of questions, photographs, fingerprints and then I was through.I then had to dodge a huge crowd of people standing clapping and cheering a load of soldiers coming through the airport en masse.An interesting response given the armed forces of not just the States but regrettably England as well are responsible for the death of nearly 100k civilians so far.Not sure what exactly we have to be grateful for?
Western Virginia was certainly beautiful. Picture postcard villages, vineyards which we naturally sampled, lakes and forests but then odd clumps of suburbia being developed on green belt land. It felt like pretty soon there wasn't going to be enough space particularly if you look at the huge volumes of gas guzzling vehicles on the freeways. I guess Al Gore's various environmental messages have pretty much fallen on deaf ears then?
I really enjoyed being on the lake with Julie and George although it felt like we were living in some sort of parallel universe. Their kindness and generosity are what makes America such a great place. This applies equally to Scotty's other friends who were warm, friendly people and extremely hospitable.
It was great to visit Philadelphia and stay with Bridget and Norm. En-route we stopped in Baltimore for lunch with Scotty's Aunt and Uncle. Interesting chatting to Scotty's cousin about gun crime and the fact that all toy guns have to be painted bright orange so that they can be distinguished from the real thing. You have to love that right to bear arms don't you? Philadelphia was though once again a great place to visit and it was fun being with Bridget and Norm.
Next up was a few days in Washington seeing the sights. It was a real treat having a personal tour of the Senate with Scotty's cousin Colin and seeing things that the ordinary visitor might not get to see. Bizarre as well though seeing a family saying grace before sitting down to eat in what was ostensibly a staff canteen. Also fascinating seeing the sights like the White House, Lincoln Memorial, the various other war memorials which were very moving as was the Holocaust museum and the other museums we visited. Great city!
Last few days were spent shopping in Target, visiting Scotty's family in what has to be one of the coldest houses I have ever been to in the middle of summer as the air con was running so high, Thomas Jefferson's house and generally sampling a whole manner of Southern delicacies.
So all in all a fun and interesting trip. Once again the US though presents a conundrum. Some very bizarre experiences, some really great times, some lovely people but also some complete whack jobs. In many ways I felt very adrift, almost alien. A car bumper sticker I saw said "don't blame me I didn't vote for him" in response to changes Obama wanted to try and make. In many ways this seems to sum up people's response to the way they choose to live their lives. It's like don't blame me if what we do screws up your life. They really do have everything but some people choose to take it to excess and to hell with the rest of the world. And yet if such a huge percentage of the world's population live their lives like this with such excess there won't be a world left for the rest of us to enjoy.
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