My 20th Post - 20 of 20 in 2020
When I discovered earlier this week that I had written 19 blog posts, and then realised that I’d travelled to 20 States in the US this year, it was just too much of a coincidence to not write a 20th post to round out 2020 - even though I proclaimed my last post was my final one for this year. In keeping with the weird, wacky, and totally-different-to-my-everyday-life year that 2020 has been, I’ve picked 20 experiences from 20 different States I’ve visited, in 2020, which reflect this most unusual year.
In alphabetical order, here they are:
Alabama - scrumptious fried chicken at an authentic 1950s road stop with old fashioned service. I’ll never tire of this - the chicken and the service.
Arkansas - travelling on a ‘Duck Boat’ - a 6-wheel-drive amphibious modification of trucks used by the US military during WWll. Like ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, this was a road vehicle that literally turned into a boat!
California - getting smashed in the face with a big, speeding, heavy ball (while I was on the ground taking photos) and needing a trip to Emergency Care, just as COVID warnings were starting to come out.
Florida - the shock of visiting a State in June that displayed a complete disregard for COVID, with virtually no masks, social distancing or even belief that the virus existed.
Georgia - a ghost tour in Savannah, not something you do everyday.
Illinois - numerous road signs on the drive to Chicago that argued for the right of teachers to have guns in the classroom.
Indiana - visiting a town called ‘Santa Claus’ where every street and shop is themed around Santa.
Kentucky - visiting the ‘Breonna Taylor Protest Camp’ in Louisville, seeing people walking around with large semi-automatics slung over their shoulder, and being 2 blocks away from a lethal shooting.
Maine - seeing snow at the beach!
Maryland - (well Washington D.C next door), experiencing the feeling of a boarded up city after the recent BLM protests, and the renaming of a street to ‘Black Lives Matter Boulevard’.
Massachusetts - reflecting on historical times with the ‘Boston Tea Party’, the pilgrimage of the Irish to the US after the potato famine, and the emigration of thousands of Italians that set up the wonderful ‘Little Italy’ in Boston. The Boston cream donuts were amazing!
Mississippi - exploring empty car parks outside the ‘once thriving’ Tunica casinos - the Las Vegas of the south, during COVID times. Some were abandoned completely, some just shut for the lockdown, but all with a feeling of unique strangeness that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Missouri - being enthralled in Kansas City by someone with a first-hand connection to the notorious BTK killer Dennis Rader after just watching the Netflix series, ‘Mindhunter’.
New York - driving through 6-feet of snow in the Saratoga Springs McDonald’s car park, then almost getting bogged in the slush. Oh, and I also sprained my ankle in the icy conditions that morning walking around Niagara Falls. Thankfully there was ice on hand to alleviate some pain!
North Carolina - watching a busker write requested love poems on his typewriter then presenting them with handstands or other gymnastics movements.
Tennessee - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - seeing a black Mama bear and her baby was a once in a lifetime experience.
Texas - the traffic cop with the ten-gallon hat was definitely unique.
Vermont - ‘Ethical Dog Sledding’ with Jim was pretty magical. I’ll be writing more about this in the future, as the love Jim has for his dogs is something that needs to be shared far and wide.
Virginia -a Confederate statue removal whilst a crowd of over a thousand people cheered.
West Virginia - the wonder of viewing the majestic mountains, and understanding the inspiration to John Denver’s longing for ‘home’.
2020 - It’s been one wild and wacky year!
Happy New Year, and let’s hope 2021 brings the right kind of craziness, a little more optimism, and a lot more light.
