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Niagara Falls, Canada

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Toronto, Canada

Amish country, we’re in Amish country! It’s snowing and we’re chilling with the Amish, in Amish country!! Snow completed a picture perfect setting for our visit into this simplistic part of the world. We arrived at 3:00pm into the the town of Lancaster, PENNSYLVANIA and realised we needed to proactively find some Amish fast before the snow storm worsened. In typical tourist innocence, I asked the hotel reception for the ‘Amish whereabouts’, their hangout spots. Not realising they are normal people who go about their business in everyday ways, I could see the receptionist getting twitchy. I turned around and realised the local tourist attraction was in fact standing right behind us. The snow storm cancelled the tour through the village but we completed that ourself later. It was easy enough to spot an Amish house. Apart from the lack of lights shown through the windows, Amish houses will only ever be painted three colours: white (representing peace), green (land) and blue (sky). Windmills can be also seen, for driving their compressed air machinery whereas kerosene and propane is used for powering other devices. They need something to keep their innards warm, as today we have had 10cm+ of snow over everything. By 3:30 we had booked ourself onto the day’s last tour through a former Amish house, with a backyard and buggies. They are a fascinating bunch of people. 31,000 live here in Lancaster and that doubles every 20years. The Amish arose originally from a Swiss Mennonite, Jakob Amman before the religion spread through Europe. Unfortunately they gradually were forced to move to the USA to avoid religious persecution and compulsory military service and are now completely eradicated from Europe. There are 200,000 “old order” (full blown) Amish living in America, over 20 settlements in 20 states. I admire their core values: humility, family, community and separation from the world. From an outsider’s perspective, all we see is odd clothing and their rejection of anything worldly, specifically electricity. Electricity is a prime connection to the world which has temptations detrimental to the community and family life. When you see western kids with their iPads at the dining room table, they have a point. Amish munchkins attend a one room Amish community school and there are no Amish churches per se. Every second Sunday they rotate the location of the service to someone’s house. What we most admire about these folk, is families understand that adolescents will go through a misbehaving phase. The Amish call it Rumspringa, we’d call it a pain in the ass stage. During that time, rules are more relaxed before they have an opportunity to decide if they want to leave the Amish way (“gone English”), leave for a less exacting religion (“he’s got his hair cut”) or stay in. Depending on the strictness of the community, sadly those leaving in any way may run the risk of being shunned by their family and community. Apart from the buggies, the next glaringly obvious “Amish identity” is their distinctive self made clothing and beards, essentially that of a 17th-century European peasant. Men and boys wear their trademark broad-brimmed black hats, dark-coloured suits, straight-cut coats, broad fall pants, suspenders, solid-coloured shirts and black socks and shoes. Their shirts may fasten with conventional buttons, but their coats and vests fasten with hooks and eyes. They don’t like buttons as that is a reminder of the European persecution days. The baddies had shining gold buttons. Men must grow beards after they marry but are forbidden to have moustaches. Whereas the woman never cut their hair, which is worn in a bun, and they are not allowed to wear jewellery of any kind. Amish women and girls wear bonnets, long full dresses with capes over the shoulders, shawls, and black shoes and stockings. The most fascinating things about all their clothing is they are fastened with PINS – no sewing or buttons of any sort. This make for easy access I’d say, which is why most families have 8 kids – in my opinion anyway.
Following our informative visit to the Amish house, we headed to an Amish style restaurant. It’s family style dining so eating with others is encouraged while hearty Amish food is served. In an Amish home, woman are in the kitchen for 15 hours a day so food is a huge part of their lifestyle. If I was Amish, we’d starve. They aren’t so much an attraction as first thought but more a fascinating, conservative way of life that we were fortunate enough to learn about. No photos were taken directly. Apart from it being rude, that’s a big no-no in the Amish rule book. Regardless, those memories will be captured forever.

The further north we drove the thicker the snow. By the time we hit Buffalo, just before the Canadian border, the snow was a few feet deep on the ground and covered every available surface, resembling a 3D shading. Snow layers on tree branches gave the scene a further depth of field. Driving through a snow storm simulates being in a shaken snow globe. Dad is a brilliant driver so we have no qualms about driving on through. Plus, he has great confidence in this truck, so nothing is stopping us from exploring. All the roads are continuously being snow ploughed. It was especially chilly taking the five minute walk from the car park to the Niagara Falls look out on the American side. The lake effect brings a very cold wind chill. A bridge with customs each side segregates the American and Canadian sides. Driving into the Canadian side was like driving into a mini Las Vegas. Light city. Additionally, the city goes crazy on the Christmas lights along the road to the falls. Dad took us for a drive around the town after dinner. The falls themselves are lit up in all colours, it’s so bright the spray from the falls mixed with the falling snow make a incandescent rainbow over the falls. Stunning! The people on the Canadian side are different, softer, from those in the state of New York we had just left.

Two nights in Toronto with two missions: one was achieved and one was not. The first was to see our friend from the African trip, Laurie. Laurie and Dave were two peas in a pod on that trip. If anyone was to be caught climbing a tree or rolling down a gigantic sand dune on theirs tums, it’d be the two of them. Due to the weather, lack of trees and sand dunes we opted for dinner in a warm Canadian beer garden, a walk to the ice skating rink and through the kilometres of enclosed pathways linking up the city. An indoor path linking the city is a brilliant invention considering temperatures this evening were between -12 to -20 degrees depending on whether in the wind or not. The temperature is routinely discussed without the minus as that is a given. For example it’s 12degrees when it’s really -12. The other ‘to do’ but didn’t do, was to go to an ice hockey game. Tickets to the games were upwards of $70 each. We can’t do it all unfortunately. Mum has caught my cold but hers turned into a terrible flu. She came across particularly ill, fainting in a shopping centre so Dad took her back to the hotel and looked after her while Dave and I went to the movies for the afternoon. Temperatures of that ilk are far too chilly for too much outdoor exploring – except for a mammoth snow ball fight of course. Whether it be flurries of snow flakes falling or snow balls to the head, neither loses it’s appeal. White snow marks everything, except the road, which continues to be ploughed. The footpath with its continuous foot traffic is a different story. Slushy, muddy grey snow makes for yucky walking. Salt is placed on most surface areas to melt and wash away the snow.

This morning we found another hidden treasure. In an unassuming commercial area between Toronto and Niagara Falls hides a restaurant recommended on Trip Advisor as the best place for a Canadian brekkie. Blue Line is a cafe/shop owned by the former world number 3 ice hokey player. Before knowing that, we got an epic sized Canadian feast served by a phenomenal waitress. Her boss, the owner and daughter of the hockey player, came over for a chat. She asked where we were from and
we said Australia. She was flabbergasted and got the kitchen staff out to show us off. Further more, when asked where we’d been and we said we’re on a one year world trip, she was utterly speechless until she said “holy ****” in the most unbelieving yet enthusiastic tone. We both often get blasé with what we are doing this year. This lady’s enthusiasm brought it back into perspective. It was also followed by a statement we get as often as ordering a coffee, which is why we don’t mention what we are doing unless prompted – “you must be rich”. What 99% of these people don’t comprehend is our determination to do something, started from a dream and years of hard work.

After a Canadian – American border debacle, we drove for two days, 1046km, all the way through the state of NEW YORK, NEW HAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS and into MAINE. When we were planning this road trip we all chose points we all wanted to stop off at. Dad has had a 40 year fascination with Maine particularly the coastline from Maine to Cape Cod. Just before the border of New Hampshire, still in Maine, we had a throughly enjoyable lunch on the waterfront. Once again it’s the people and their exceptional service that will bring back the memories. Snow right to the ocean front on the left with beautiful big English style 3 storey weatherboard homes painted in pastel colours to the right interwoven with lakes and floating frost. It was well worth the drive, Mum and Dad say it’s right up there with the most beautiful places they’ve been and we’d have to agree.

The gay capital of American is found on the peninsular of Cape Cod, in a quaint little village called Provincetown. We loved it. Cape Cod lived up to expectations, it’s just the way it should be. We’ve taken many photos of houses over the last week. That’s because they set the tone for the state. Bare trees, New English style neighbourhoods, without fences look peaceful, timeless and serene. The final leg of this journey was through RHODE ISLAND and CONNECTICUT. We had plans to drive down to the car drop off point at JFK via Long Island. Unfortunately we miscalculated the length of the island so we’ve written that idea off and spent the last few hours attempting to find the last two onesies. From Florida up to Toronto across to Maine and back down to New York, our mission was to find four onesies! We hunted for the perfect four outfits to wear on Christmas Day in what felt like every Walmart, JC Penny, Macy’s, Super Target and Sears over the 5,282KM distance covered in the last two weeks – as you do. The other key elements of this trip were the $2 Subway lunches and the 25hour audio of the Steve Job bio to speed along the driving time. We have also been noting some funny restaurant, shop and suburb names we have seen along the way:
– Piggly Wiggly, Gay dolphin, Crabby Mikes and Dick’s Pawn (not porn) shops
– Dirty Dick’s Crab House (probably more appropriate than the opposite sex equivalent…)
– A shop slogan “home of the shag dance”
– Yankee-doodle bridge
– Drive through pharmacies that sell milk and beer
– The town of Intercourse (where the population is steadily growing) and Virginville (where the population is rapidly depleting).
As children at heart, we can’t help but laugh.

With Dad’s driving, Dave’s navigating, my organising and Mum’s entertaining we were able to see a huge amount over the last two weeks. The quality time together has been a priceless experience. With the cruise finished and now the East Coast road trip also finishing we are about to embark on the last leg with Mum and Dad – New York for Christmas. A three year dream becomes a reality.

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Niagara Falls, NY

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Lancaster, PA

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Washington DC, DistrictofColumbia

In some regards, outsiders may sometimes have stereotypical views about 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 that have opened our ignorant eyes. 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 5 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 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 4×4, 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.

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 at the property boundaries 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. 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 &amp; 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 that in 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 &amp; 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 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 Americans, 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.

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Chesapeake Beach, MD

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Virginia Beach, VA

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Southport, NC

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Myrtle Beach, SC

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Savannah, GA

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