Days 213 - 218: USA - Road Trip, East Coast - Washington DC, DistrictofColumbia
Washington DC, DistrictofColumbia
In some regards, outsiders may sometimes have stereotypical views on America as a country and generalise about it's people.. To sum it up: "Worldwide in America". Prior to leaving home, America was a country I've had mixed feelings about spending 3months in. Over the past 6 months we have met a few Americans along the way who have broken these stereotypical views. Like anything, it's often the unknown that paints these views in our head. What we have noticed, maybe another generalisation, Americans don't travel abroad as much as other nationalities. We've read that only 10-20% own passports, so it would be safe to say, generally, they travel domestically rather than internationally. The consequence of that, is their views and knowledge is often limited to their world. "Worldwide in America". It's a common thing for us Kiwis to say we're from New Zealand and Americans to think it's either a part of USA or part of Australia. So saying, tiny New Zealand has about 4 million people and America has 330 million and is the size of Australia (which only has 23m). If we were asked where a tiny country was on the other side of the world, there's a good chance most Kiwis wouldn't know where it was either. What I've learnt on this trip is you can't generalise, you have to put things into perspective. Within every country, small or big, there's going to be good and bad. America is one of the bigger nations, so from state to state it's going to have its ups and downs with differing cultures. Our mission for this '3 months Road Trip' around North America is to get to know them as a nation.
The first few hours in the country didn't get off to a good start. Both at airport customs and on the train everyone in the vicinity of the officials got screamed at - army style. On the train, the guard spoke to us like a police officer talking to a criminal, not a tourist who has just arrived into their country. It came across as a power trip, abusing their positions. With guns being legal here, the country scares me at the best of times let alone when getting screamed at for sitting on the wrong seat of a train. I was ready to turn around and get back on the plane, to the politeness of the English. It's too early to give in so we went to the Caribbean for a few weeks first - to ease into this new culture.
The time has come, for us to begin this epic road trip. The first of two parts is with Mum and Dad on the East Coast. We have 12 days to drive to New York City in our beast of a car. The car hire company has given us a GMC Yukon V8 4x4, 8 seater monster truck. The first state off the rank is FLORIDA with it's Hispanic feel. Much of the signage is in Spanish. Miami has similarities to the Gold Coast. It has similar beaches, canals, palm trees, high rises and wide open roads. Most of our exploring in Florida will be left for when Allison and Adriaan are here in February.
A few hours North of Miami is the Kennedy Space Centre. With great intentions to be educated in space travel, we were disappointed to find out the entrance fee was $60 each. Needless to say, we took pictures of the shuttles from afar and left. Im sure Wiki or Google will have everything we missed....
The coastal road took us out of the sunshine state and into GEORGIA. What becomes clear, through all of these towns we drive through, is a consistent reoccurring theme of: church, dining option, church, fast food, church, restaurant, church. Their beliefs are obviously a big thing here, as much as their food. Family restaurants such as Denny's, Loan star and Applebees are as common as McDs, Taco Bell and Wendy's (the Kiwis will know which Wendy's I'm talking about). The other common theme is motels of all shapes and sizes - all with beds for $40!
State highway 95 runs all the way up the east coast and is very dull, so we took a short deviation to the seaside town of Myrtle Beach, SOUTH CAROLINA. It's renown for its 50 plus miniature (not mini, so we're told) golf courses, some being the best in the world. As it's low season they are closed for the winter. Clearly visible from the outside, one course has a plane strung 2 floors up. You're in a mock plane disaster before a helicopter, also midair, comes to rescue you. There's courses with train rides and floating pirate ships. Dave loves his miniature golf so it was a shame we couldn't go for a game or two.
For me to be able to put pen to paper I have to really feel the place and get it under my skin. If I don't experience a strong emotion or a place doesn't have that something special it's difficult to write about. The scenery and houses started changing the further north we headed. Around the North and South Carolina border, Mum and Dad called it a 'New England' feel. For those, including myself, who don't know what that means, think of the setting in the series of Revenge. Although the Hamptons is many thousands of kilometres from here in Southport, North Carolina, it feels very similar to that of the small coastal town in Revenge. To my surprise Revenge isn't filmed in the Hamptons. (Side note: It's filmed in California. There is no actual Grayson Mansion. Instead, the interior and exterior of the house is a photoshopped mash up of a fictitious architectural design and a mansion in North Carolina). Here in Southport, at the end of a cul de sac, Pebble Stone Lane is Emily’s beach house from the show. It's amazing what photo shop can do, with a mash of this house and the internal of another, but it's clear her balcony (here) faces the beach with it's private pier. The roads leading here were something very different to what we've seen to date. Huge Live Oak trees tower on either side of the small roads. Ornate white Victorian houses with deciduous trees as the property boundary led us to the village of Southport. We had lunch in a tiny weatherboard house from the movie 'Safe Haven'. The scenery within the tiny wee town is what made me put pen to pad. A small fishing village where the air is crisp fresh, the sky's blue. This place has something special. It is one of those small town feels, out in the middle of nowhere, where they don't get much through traffic. Of our short visit, we spent quarter of that speaking to the ladies at the visitor information about the town. They were fascinated with our accents and couldn't understand why we would leave Australia to come here. I just looked out of the visitor information window, past a set of rocking chairs to a view of green space onto the pier which took my gaze out to sea. For us, a view like that says it all. We tell her we are here to discover places like this and meet people just like her. Off the main drag, it's a hidden treasure to many, we felt like we were the only ones in this town. This place has in fact been discovered by Hollywood. Over 49 films and tv series have been filmed in this truly beautiful place, including Dawson's Creek, Under the Dome, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Nights in Rodanthe and Safe Haven.The drive through North Carolina all the way into Virginia was a different side of America than we've seen before. This is what we have come to find.
Only a few days in, we are out of the vicinity of the city slickers and into the country with the friendly bumpkins from VIRGINIA & MARYLAND. We stop just a few times per day on this road trip north, for food, accommodation, coffee and sightseeing. Without exception, each and everyone of the locals we've chatted to so has been welcoming, friendly and inquisitive. In many ways they are more interested in where we have come from with our "funny sounding accents" than the locals in Europe. Unfortunately, coming back into the the cities you often experience something quite different to the above. It wasn't long into our visit to WASHINGTON DC that a passing local said something really nasty to me. I quickly responded with "that's not a way to greet someone who has come a long way around the world to see your country". The reality is all places around the world you'll have ********. Like the few Americans (and other nationalities) we have all met along the way, who have said nasty or dumb things, they are a minority. There is far greater good in this world, than there is bad.
The man that uttered something nasty was in fact sitting by himself in the Arlington National Cemetery. It saddened me to think that he had to be so horrible because he was lonely or bitter. Arlington National Cemetery is a unique place with an unlikely beauty about it. The cemetery is over 600acres in size, with approx 400,000 people interred there. All of them served in the 20th & 21st century wars and in some cases their wives are also buried there. It's a very surreal feeling standing in the fields of graves, all with the exact same headstone, all strictly aligned in two directions. Towering over the simple white stones are gigantic oak trees, dropping the last of the autumn leaves into the sprinkling of snow. There are strict policies for what families can leave on the graves, regarding flowers and wreaths. Mum and Dad walked back through it that evening when two semi trucks were delivering one green Christmas wreath with a red bow to each of the 400,000 national graves. I may have harped on about this cemetery but I think it explains a lot about the American people and their culture. A staggering 7,000 people are buried there in a typical year. That's 7,000 people who have lost their lives representing their country.
From the cemetery, we walked over to the Lincoln memorial, the Reflecting Pool, the World War Two memorial, through National Mall all the way to Capitol Hill (where the big wigs of the nation do their business and the president does his inaugural speech). A visit to Washington DC wouldn't be complete without a picture of the White House. It's smaller than I'd expected. I'll have to plan my coffee with the president better next time, as there's a 3-6 months wait for a visit to get inside. Washington DC isn't actually 'in a state' as it would be seen as bias towards a particular state. Only 600,000 live in the capital Washington DC with 5million living in the surrounding area of Washington City, which is in the states of Virginia and Maryland. For me, the only thing of interest during the Capitol Hill tour was a statement about "many become one", meaning many states with different ideas and diverse opinions are at the end of the day one nation. With that in mind, the other thing that stuck with me was at the National Museum of American History where we saw a sign that said "freedom is not free" and "freedom is not given, it's won". It'd be safe to say most people have heard of these two men: Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. The visit to the museum was one of the most important visits in this whole American trip. It provided knowledge of what these two men did for this country and how they shaped the world as it stands today. In 1860, there were about 31m people in the USA, 4.5m of those were African American and 4m of those were enslaved. Human beings sold like cattle, complete with adverts with their build and skills. Lincoln, a white president, led the country to abolish slavery. 100years later, that's only 50years ago, African America although no longer enslaved still didn't have equal rights where racial segregation was legal and widely practiced. This meant segregated schooling, limited (if any) jobs and poverty. In 1960 enough became enough. A rally of over 200,000 from across the nation marched into Washington DC, to the Lincoln memorial and the Reflecting Pool. Many freedom speeches were given by different leaders and party heads, including that famous "I have a dream" speech. I've been rambling on a bit about this but even after just a week, I wonder if that passion for equal rights shaped the American people, as we know them today. I read this statement but can now understand it more so: In times of celebration, pride and protest people have raised their flag to express their ideas of what it means to be an American.
Our final stop before our departure was to see Hailey and her boyfriend Andre. Hailey is one of the most genuine and kind people we've met on this trip. We met her on the African trip and catching up with her for breakie made it feel like it was only yesterday since we had seen her. Following breakfast, we rolled out of Washington DC and headed towards Amish country AND it's starting to snow for the first time! DJ Dave is on the airwaves next to driver Dad with mum behind keeping me entertained in the back. The road trip it self is going very smoothly. It is great to have company while we drive along, to share experiences, create new memories, all the while becoming more of a global citizen.