Down South!!

---

---

Firstly - Weird sh*t about America

Kent and I have been amused or just plain puzzled by some differences we’ve come across in the states. Here are some examples:

1. Laws
There seems to be laws about having covers over drinking straws (probably a good idea espec at truck stops!), but in Texas and Arkansas you don’t need to wear helmets on motorbikes. So beware any bugs on straws but you can ride at 70mile an hour on an interstate no worries - what the?? This leads onto two extra subjects….straws and road kill, he, he. It seems that the classier the joint you’re in the thinner the straws in drinks and the fatter the straw the more guzzling they expect you to do - especially in sports bars!! Road kill cracked us up yesterday (sorry to be insensitive), but we saw two dead BEAVERS and a pepe le pew (skunk) - we think. Not your average sighting - oh so American.

2. Cars
Kent wants to put his two bob in about the cars in America - we can’t get them in Australia and it SUCKS!! Cars are great over here, cheap, big, loads of muscle and you can buy them anywhere. It seems that in Australia if you do get the same models of cars you don’t get all the goodies with them - bugger all options like over here. One thing Kent has noticed so far is that there aren’t many classic cars on the roads, they are all new. No 1956 Caddys he’s afraid - sorry Davina and Knuckle Head. He wanted to rent a car from ‘rent a wreck’ so we might get something like an older Chev and possibly cheaper but they don’t have any dealers in the areas we’ve been in so far. Kent’s been buying a few auto books with cars for sale - just to tease him and no doubt a few of you guys when we get back home. Here’s a great website from one of those books for you though Scotty www.danchuk.com for 55-57 Chevvy parts. Another thing we noticed is that in California the latest fad is to put big diameter wheels on pick up trucks and to install lift kits in them…Kent laughed that they couldn’t even reach the door handle to open the cab door. Anyway enough about cars - I have to hear about it all day anyway

3. Not things for weak stomached people
Ok, I’ve said a little about the loos already, but they are fascinating things - they are all really low (no good for Nanna knees I’m sure), they are really full of water and they flush anticlockwise - but there’s more. There are ashtrays in some places built into the loos - funny, there are seat covers in most places and automatic flushing in some, which can freak you out as you’re yanking up your jeans and the loo goes off by itself - they flush so much louder than ours too. Living in such close quarters Kent and I have also had the joy of toilet sharing, so his Mr Whippy skidmark cracked us both up the other morning - something you just couldn’t do in an Aussie loo!

4. Things out of the movies
They really do have red flags on their mail boxes to let the mail man know when you’ve put something IN the box to be posted and visa versa I think.
The hot dogs are little - like they serve at ball games in movies.
There are RVs all over the place -travelling homes full of retired folk.
Beer and liquor is sold in servos and supermarkets - cool!
There is a junk food junction in every town and food is advertised EVERYWHERE.
The Americans drink a lot of coffee - refills are the norm, but the stuff is weak and often bad. Even the expresso coffee from Starbucks can be dodgy - I have learnt to order an extra shot and avoid any flavours as they are stacked with sugar. In the hotels they have a mini coffee percolator but no real milk - just ‘non dairy’ creamer that has a main ingredient of palm syrup - sugar!!

Florida

Hi ya’ll,
Well we’ve just left Florida after spending 6 days with the Hodges. They’re our American family (my Auntie Jill was an exchange student with them in the 60’s and has remained close to them since). We stayed with mum/mom Hodge. She’s a gorgeous southern LADY in her 80’s who poured love and southern hospitality on us. Stanley and Susan and John and Imelda two of her sons and their wives who live on either side of her just spoilt us. It was fantastic staying with family after traveling by ourselves for a while. We had dinners at everyone’s homes with their extended families and met a heap of their friends too. We got to experience St Patrick’s day and Palatka’s street parade, incl their new dump truck - a small show but fun! They had a band playing out in their beer garden, so Kent and I settled in for a while and made friends with some locals. Florida is gorgeous - Spring is here and the azaleas are blooming everywhere. The weather was about 25-30 degrees and a little cooler at night. We drove down to Daytona Beach to try and get Kent in a race car but they don’t do that until April. Had a track tour anyway with a heap of rednecks from all over the country - an experience! We called into the biggest Harley Davidson dealer on the way down and Kent just walked around with is mouth open - particularly when he saw the choppers. It’s Spring break at the moment so there are college kids all over the joint in their bikinis, partying - sort of like schoolies in Surfers. On Sat we went to some local gardens where our hosts put on a picnic for us…got to see some more folk - it was a beautiful day. Saw a theme wedding occur in the garden while we were there - Starwars, so funny….there were even ewoks! That night we were invited to a party with the gang, so we got to experience a southern do - fun, great food and lots of pick-up trucks. On the Sun we went to the Gatornationals in Gainesville about 50 miles away from Palatka. Kent thought it was brilliant - I had fun people/mullet watching. An Aussie driver actually won the top fuel dragster and the fastest car on the day was driven by a woman - cool. 329 miles and hour in 4.5 secs over a quarter mile - go girl power!! There were 4 women in the finals and two won their races - one on a bike and one in a dragster. I was impressed and they got supported all the way by the crowd. Kent floated around the pits and the merchandise stores looking for photos and gear to show off to the guys that he was there and they weren’t  We got out of the carpark in the evening after an hour wait with rubber splattered on us and big grins on our faces. On Monday we went with mum Hodge and her daughter Melanie to St Augustine a very old historic Spanish town and shopped till we dropped! Stuck our feet in the Atlantic ocean and then got some jobs done in Palatka incl getting Kent an accidental hick haircut - funny!! It’s so short he could have enlisted in the US army recruitment centre in the mall (yes, they do have them there -very scary really).
Apart from what we saw in Florida we just appreciated spending time with the Hodges, in their sign shop which is a friendly place where lots of people drop in all day long, in their homes (beautiful homes with big porches), and at their favourite restaurants and bars to name a few. I just LOVE their accents - (just what so many people have said to us).The southern drawl is like treacle - my favourites are ‘you’re kin - kiiiiiiiin, hush - huuuuuush, ya’ll - yoooowl’. Susan gave me a cook book which is all southern recipes, so I’ll have to get the knack of some of the dishes (besides southern fried chicken) and cook up a storm when I get home. Stanley gave me a ‘hush puppy’ - or huuuush puuuuuppy recipe which is sort of a fried onion dumpling - very good! Those guys were just so sweet and we can’t wait to have them down to Australia. When they come down, we’ll have to throw a party and you’ll all have to come and have a listen to THEIR accents - fantastic. We headed to Savannah, Georgia on the Tues (Kent’s bday) and had a nice meal down by the river, we then found a British pub and got on it. Kent said he could have had 10 more Stellas but we called it quits at 1am. Woke up today a bit rough but wandered around Savannah anyway - it’s beautiful too. I have to say the south has really taken me - my kinda place - warm, relaxed and friendly. We had lunch at a place called The Lady and Sons restaurant owned by the same woman who wrote the cook book Susan gave me - Paula Deen (she’s very big over here apparently), which was evident when we waited in a line to put our names down for a lunch booking and then had to wait for 3 hours to get in. It’s always that busy and they have a very tight system to make sure they get as many people in as possible. The food was good - real comfort stuff. We then drove 4 hours to North Carolina and have pulled up for the night.
I know Kent and I would love to come back to Florida/Georgia in the future - Kent’s worked out that in a space of 6 weeks he could get in Daytona 500 - Nascars, Daytona Bike Week - 500,000 motorbikes, the Gatornationals, and a few car shows and Spring break - all while the weather is good too. And we could spend time at the beach, shopping and just relaxing with the Hodge family - perfect! Now just to win the lottery to fund the trip - hee, hee.
Well we’re heading up North to Washington DC then catching the train into New York.
Hope you’re all well…keep the messages coming…we love getting them from you.
Will write again soon.
Love the honeymooners xxxxxxx

---