Driving, Thanksgiving and Endings

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Its been ages since I last filled ye in on my trip this was due in most part to pc issues and deleting the document I just wrote but also in small part to having lots of fun!. By now I am back in New York, well today I am heading to Washington DC for a few days before I return to New York to fly home in 8 days!!!!!!!! This post will be shorter than originally planned as this is now the 4th time I try and write it. I am also back to using the bus. I drove almost 9,000 miles in my little car. Starting in San Francisco and ending in New York. I didn't get to be in every state but I tried hard!. My route took me through lots of states, the ones I spent at least an overnight if not longer time exploring are California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisianan, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Philadelphia, Maryland and back to New York. I drove through many more states on my way to or from some places. So at this point I have visited over half of the states within the US. I visited some states in the beginning of my trip and more in the middle. Other's I didn't have a car for and more I only was in as part of driving through a National Park but I'm still counting them!.

There is so much to catch you up on but some of the highlights since the last update are, visiting the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument, in New Mexico. These rock formations were strange looking with little tent formations on top of each pillar structure. These were entirely made by nature and are also slowly being eroded away by the elements. The same could be said about the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. Huge rock formations that with wind and rain now have some cool shapes. my favourite was the Kissing Camels, as this was the clearest to see. In Texas I got to see so many "Lone Stars" in the Capitol building even the door hinges and light fixtures had either a lone star or the letters TEXAS in them, most time it was both. I also got to see the site of the Alamo. I had known it was in the middle of a built up area but it was still a bit surreal to try and picture the battle site, when towering above the walls surrounding the site are multi-storey building and shopping malls.

I got to visit some plantations while I was in the South, I visited a Creole style home, which was brightly coloured and more welcoming than the imposing white colonial style plantation houses. Both homes would have contained slaves and harsh working conditions. The difference was if the owners were native to Louisiana (Creole) or were born else where. In New Orleans I visited the cool French Quarter, enjoying the Halloween decorations and the voodoo shops. In Savannah I enjoyed wandering through the many green squares in the historic district. Visiting the old graveyards, where the dates on some graves had been change was fun too. Some man had lived for 1500 years where some one else was dead before he was born. Following the Mississippi river in South Carolina, walking along the water front was very enjoyable. I visited the DeSoto State Park after a heavy rain fall and got to see the waterfalls full and rushing over the cliff edge. I also saw some Ravens swooping and soaring in the canyon.

In Tennessee I got to follow the music, country, jazz and got to relive the birth of rock n roll. I visited Sun Studio, where Elvis and many others got their big break. I visited Graceland. On Beale St I was able to sit and listen to lots of music all through the day. My travels were coming to an end and I was hurrying to get back to New York before Thanksgiving. I still had time to stop in Baltimore, and walk the waterfront, and fold the flag in the fort. I now know how to fold it into the triangle, and learnt some rules for the flag. It was then time to say good bye to the car 😞 and visit Liz for Thanksgiving 😊 and what a feast!

My first Thanksgiving was amazing and will never be surpassed! Lots of yummy food, turkey, yams, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turnips or rutabaga. I'm sure I forgot some but was delicious. I was so full after dinner. The next day I got to attempt to play america football, which was excellent fun even though I had no clue what to do. Then a pizza party and walking along the beach. It was the best Thanksgiving. I then had a few more days in New York.

I got to see Central Park with out the snow, its really pretty! I met a friendly squirrel who scampered along with me for a while. I found the Alice in Wonderland statue also. I got to walk along the Brooklyn Bridge and even got to ride the Staten Island Ferry and see the Statue of Liberty. This time the Hudson River was not frozen. I also got to see all the Christmas Trees and Holiday lights!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone again!

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