Ju's Observations

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States visited: 22
California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Conneticut.
Okay, so we just walked in Utah at Four Corners, and we trained through Rhode Island and Conneticut on our way to New York - but I jumped out on the platform so I have touched ground! And we drove in all the others!

Springfields visited: 2
Springfield, Colorado and Springfield, Illinois. Neither of them had a Shelbyville anywhere near. Neither did we see any mutant fish.

State Capitals passed through: 8
Denver, Colorado; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; Nashville, Tennessee; Springfield, Illinois; Montpellier, Vermont; Concord, New Hampshire; and Boston, Massachusetts.

Miles travelled in our car: 5,740.

Tumbleweed sighted in: California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado.

Roadkill sighted: Skunk, deer, birds, rabbit, porcupine, possum (huge grey animals, we didn't even recognise them as possums until told that's what they were!) And lots of a large, black, scaly animal which we were staring at curiously until we eventually realised are actually shredded truck tyre treads - these fall off at frequent intervals and dot the highways of America.

Nationalities Juliet has been mistaken for so far: English, Irish, Scottish, Australian, German, American, and Russian.

Nationalities Jenny has been mistaken for so far: English, Irish, Australian, Scottish, and American.

Number of times we've been called Australian or asked about Australia even after explaining we're from New Zealand: Completely lost count, I'm afraid. Also lost count of the number of people who think New Zealand is in Europe right next to Ireland (or Scotland perhaps.)

Number of times asked what language we speak at home: 2

Number of times pulled over for speeding: 1

Number of tickets received: None at all! (Good job, girls!)

Fast Food tried: Chinese from Chinatown in San Francisco; Philly Cheesesteak in San Francisco; Wendy's in Las Vegas and Illinois; Burger King in Lamar, Colorado; Horseshoe Sandwich in Springfield, Illinois; Taco Bell in Arkansas and Tennessee; Taqueras in California and Nevada; Frisch's in Port Clinton, Ohio; numerous pizzas in just about every state (we like pizza)

Top 5 Travel Items

Water bottles - Americans look at us like we're crazy when we drink the tap water. But in some places even we couldn't do that - sometimes the water is just plain nasty.
Cans of Soda - Serving purpose as refresher on the road, blood sugar regulator, and something alternative to water - also handy as a mixer!
Sunglasses - On a long day's driving, these are a lifesaver, plus in large cities you can look cool walking around in shades.
Diary and pen - to recount our adventures day by day and prevent them getting lost in the mists of time, swamped by activites undertaken since.
Shampoo and conditioner - it's amazing how much better you feel, even if scruffy and slightly dirty, when your hair feels nice!

Americanisms

Toss it!

A couple of the hostels we have stayed in have recycling programmes, but pretty much everywhere else everything just goes into the trash.
We've also been suprised at how many hostels and eateries use plastic plates and utensils when for the price of a person to wash the dishes they could use silverware and crockery...

Reality TV We haven't been watching that much TV, but have noticed the proliferation of reality shows - not only the shows like Idol or Next Top Model that are syndicated or franshised world wide, but more - we've seen ads for America's Next Skating Star, and my personal favourite - American Inventor in which inventors go head to head and get elimintated every week - soundbite

this could make or break my career!

Road Safety I guess it's cos if you have an accident you'll sue, but the highways here should be the safest in the world based on road signage. Buckle Up signs are standard, but in almost every state we have also been warned that

Bridges freeze before roadways

, (alternatively - Watch for ice on bridges),

Slow down or pull over for stopped or emergency vehicles

and also, sensibly,

Speeding fines doubled in work zones - slow down save lives.

New Hampshire has a proud addition to some road safety signs -

Common sense for all

and New York State had the most interesting sign - there we were warned

State law: headlights required when using wipers

SO... the Great American Road Trip part of our travels is at an end, and we are now pedestrains and public transport users once more.

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Comments

[Skerzug]

Road Signs
I'm suprised you didn't see any "Bee alert arrive unhurt" signs with the big bumble bee on it. They are probly being phased out anyhow.