Friday, July 01, 2011

Some Random Thoughts On A Visit To The United States


1.  The United States is a wonderful place : not merely because of the scale or wealth of the country but because of its diverse, friendly and fascinating inhabitants.
2.  There is a breakfast waiter at the Sheraton Hotel, Fort Lauderdale who deserves a US Tourist Board prize for welcoming people to his country and for serving probably the finest breakfast I have ever eaten.
3. There is a strange sadness hanging over the magnificent Kennedy Space Centre as the balance tilts from it being an active scientific facility to becoming a passive tourist resort.
4. Mule-drawn carts could provide a solution to many of the urban transport problems facing modern cities. If it works in Charleston there is no reason it shouldn't work in Chesterfield.
5. I could happily live in New York and survive merely by soaking up the excitement and energy through my skin by a process of osmosis.
6. The view from the top of the Empire State Building at night takes a lot - a very lot - of beating.
7. Newport, Rhode Island is a magical place and its Historical Society have some of the best audio guides I have ever come across. But it would have been even better had I been able to meet up with a certain "old hippie, amateur photographer, musician, poet, and essayist" for a pint there.
8. If you take a bus tour through Boston, try to avoid a bus with advertising slogans across the windows (somebody owes me the cost of a return trip to Boston).
9. A week is a very short time.
10. I want to go back and explore properly.

17 comments:

  1. Only a week? Seems like you were gone ages!

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  2. Alan, Thanks for the first hits.My feeling exactly on NYC ... even the energy that leeks in through an open window is exciting and palpable. -J

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  3. CB : It was a long sail back.

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  4. CB : Your Blog seems to be stopping me from making comments on your posts - is it something I have said?

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  5. Alan: No - but I see you got through in the end. Had a problem with it yesterday; for some reason I just couldn't log-on to post.

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  6. Alan thank you for all the kind words about the U.S. I am sure your were a most gracious visitor. I can sure vouch for Newport, Rhode Island. I was there for a week and was fascinated. Used to visit rural New York when our son lived there but only spent one day in the city. Exciting yes, livable for me, not.
    QMM

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  7. Now you see why it was so hard for me to have to leave Newport. Believe it or not, I was actually thinking of you and the GLW on the day we had been planning to meet up. I hope the weather was good that day (it's always a chancy proposition in June along the New England coast)!

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  8. I agree with your sentiments about NYC. There's no place like it. Glad you had a good time! Sounds like you packed a lot into a week, that is for sure! Yes, next time we need to meet you! And I also wouldn't mind meeting that "old hippie"! :)

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  9. I'm glad you enjoyed our country, Alan, and that we fed you your best breakfast ever. My daughter lived in New York for a year and absolutely fell in love with the city.

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  10. Alan--glad you enjoyed your trip--hope you get back soon and can spend some more time-- thank you for your kind words regarding the us of a--best c

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  11. Oh I so agree with you about returning and exploring properly again...that's exactly how I felt when I explored England.....but that's a great thing, don't you agree...it so makes leaving home to explore a good thing and we do it again and again and again! Happy to see your post again!

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  12. So pleased to hear that your experience was a positive one. I'll get there someday. There has been some talk of a family fly-drive holiday. Here's hoping.

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  13. Glad you're back - glad you enjoyed your trip too. What a pity about the Boston bus - it looks such a great city.(I follow "Clueless in Boston"'s blog.)

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  14. We had four days in NYC a few weeks ago, great city

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  15. We were only passing through a few years ago, but we had an action-packed 24 hours. If a week wasn’t enough for you, imagine how deprived we felt!

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  16. Sounds just lovely and you covered a lot of ground. Do write more about the US. I never wanted to go there until a couple of years ago, now it's on top of my bucket list. Shame you couldn't meet up with Roy.

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  17. I have never been to the east coast..only as far as Indiana and then Georgia and Florida in the south. Lots of people and traffic. If you ever come to Minnesota I will show you around to the Headwaters of the Mississippi! I don't imagine that Minnesota is too high on your must see list. The headwaters and then the port city of Duluth are two of the best places in Minnesota.
    I enjoyed your list..I am glad you had a good trip and are home safely:)

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