One year ago I was in Washington state, 50 miles south of the Canadian border. One week ago I was in the White Mountains of New Hampshire 100 miles south of the Canadian border but on the opposite coast. I've been many places between these two locations. The consensus is that the USA is becoming homogeneous, and before I started criss-crossing the country, I would have blindly agreed. After all, seen one Target, Walmart, McDonald's or Applebee's seen them all. Standardization IS alive and well in those national chains. That said, there's still quite a bit of individuality out there. For instance, we ate dinner in a great chef owned restaurant in Dickson, Tennessee (a town of 20,000) and had food as good (or better) than we got in New York City. [The chef/owner really lit up when I told him that.]
Food and drink are definitely not standardized. The Northeast likes pepsi, ginger ale and rootbeer. I didn't see any Dr. Pepper or hardly any coke. I didn't find salsa at breakfast until I hit Arkansas. Every menu in the Northeast has a reuben sandwich, while the Northwest menus always feature mac and cheese. Grits and fountain Dr. Pepper appeared in Virginia. The comfort food of New York is Italian. There were no chicken fried steaks until I got to Texas.
I can tell you that the fast food restaurants are the new 'rest areas'. You can always count on what you will find - a reasonably clean bathroom paired with cheap food and drinks, and no one cares if you buy anything when you come in to pee. Big plus: fast food restaurants are EVERYWHERE. The very best bathrooms are in casinos, and you can even score free soft drinks there as well as handi-wipes. Gas stations are a complete crap shoot - I've seen gas stations with fresh flowers in the ladies restroom, and others that I just turned around and walked out of. However, there is definitely the expectation that you are going to BUY something if you try to pee at a gas station. My favorite rest stops are when you cross state lines. I love to be 'welcomed' into a state. They give really, really clean bathrooms paired with reading material and people with spiels whose job it is to pretend they are THRILLED to see you. I also love that crisp, clean precision folded free state map you can walk out with.
As a general rule, we drive the Interstate Highway system when we are pulling the cargo trailer - it takes less gas and less effort to drive when you go interstate. You do have to deal with the trucks. Worst truck corridor: Interstate 81 going south - starting in Pennsylvania. It's pretty rural out there, but the farmland is dotted with distribution centers and the 18 wheelers are like bees checking in at the hive. Then they fan out delivering everything you can imagine. They swarm the Interstate Highway system in this area because there are so many criss-crossing interstate highways. When there's a convoy of trucks as far as you see ahead and behind you, our consumerism certainly sinks into the consciousness.
We've also found that all Interstates are not equal. Worst interstate: crossing Indiana. There were actual axle breaking potholes on the Interstate roadway - and there were a lot of them. Indiana has closed all their 'rest areas' all the way across the state. I actually saw men taking a 'bathroom' break against the back walls of one rest area building. That was really embarrassing! I didn't get a map either.
The northeast rest areas around NYC and New Jersey are gigantic and have multiple fast food restaurants inside them. You could actually get a Nathan's kosher hot dog inside the rest area. The drive into New York City was probably the most hair raising driving we've done. Thank heaven Drake was behind the wheel. We went across a toll bridge into Brooklyn that had a $13 toll. My hand held GPS in my iPhone got us to the door of our duplex in Brooklyn sighing with relief, and I can't imagine EVER driving in Manhattan. We actually took a slightly longer route to avoid driving across Manhattan. Brooklyn was bad enough.
The main impression I've gotten driving across the country is how beautiful it is. This last drive from New Hampshire to Texas was a primer in autumn. We loved the leaves in New Hampshire as everyone saw in our pictures, but an unlooked for bonus was as we drove to Texas, we followed fall color. I so want to go back to Virginia - it's just flat out gorgeous. Tennessee wasn't any slouch either. Virginia is just jampacked with stuff 'to do'. I'm certain that's a destination in the future.
Another impression is how nice people are in this country. The media would have us believe that people are scary. If you believed those jokers, you would think the USA is populated with gun toting vigilantes or pants sagging gangbangers or hard core criminals on every corner. I'm here to tell you that this is so far from the truth, it's laughable. There are regional differences. Folks in the Northeast are friendly, but they are not 'warm'. Same for the folks in the Northwest. Somewhere in Virginia we crossed some invisible line. Beyond it, people 'visit' and comment and tell you about themselves and their families and their pets at any social interaction. Having been raised in this type of sociability, I can tell you that it was very comforting after having been in the Northeast for 5 months. I guess what I'm trying to say is crossing the country and interacting with the people and the scenery and the 'attractions' is always amazing and informative and surprising. I marvel at the diversity I've seen.
We are 'resting' with friends for a couple of days before we head for Austin. We'll be 'holidaying' in Texas with Sarah (our daughter) out of a condo in Austin close to her house. We'll be leaving for another drive to Sun City, AZ to spend our winter with Drake's mom and the rest of the family. I'm also excited to be going to Logan Utah for the summer and then onto Montana. Places to go and people to meet. I can hardly wait.
