Musings on the USA

So, after a week back in the UK, following two weeks holiday in the USA: Time to ponder & give some impressions.

Counting up, this was something like my 25th trip to America over a period of some 30+ years, most have been business trips but about 5 or 6 were holidays, and it is interesting to reflect on the changes over time.

Our trip started in Chicago where we cleared immigration. This was smooth, reasonably quick and quite painless, I've certainly stood in much longer queues on previous visits so no complaints there, other than being fingerprinted - I am NOT a criminal so why am I treated as one? A connecting flight took us to Little Rock Arkansas where we were met by my old biking pal Bryn and he drove us to Searcy, around 60 miles North East where Bren was waiting with a glass or two of Red and a bowl of chili.

Over the next two days we were shown around the local area, then further afield to a little town called Mountainview in the Ozarks. A filling snack of BBQ pulled pork followed by Moose Tracks ice-cream certainly hit the spot. In the afternoon we watched the "Grinnin' and Pickin'" where folk just gathered in small groups with fiddles, basses, guitars, dulcimers and whatever and started playing & singing. Not for money, just for fun and charming it was. Most bizarrely though, the whole area is "dry" as in "no alcohol on sale" (certainly not in respect of rainfall as much was under water!). A visit to Wal-Mart, to buy some remarkably cheap Wranglers, got me thinking on why I could have bought a gun in a supermarket, but not a bottle of beer? I think that is one thing about America where I just believe they are fundamentally wrong in their reasoning. The right to bear arms may be important, but doesn't the right to life trump that? I've been in The South before, mainly Georgia, but this was my first time in Arkansas. My impressions were very favourable, a benign climate (possibly excepting the odd tornado), no overcrowding, no clogged up roads, beautiful lakes & mountains with a politeness and friendliness from everyone that I spoke to. But (isn't there always a but?) I just got the feeling that this was so much of a backwater that I'd never live there. Terrific place to visit and I would definitely go again and spend more time in the mountains, but I had the same feeling that I had in Australia some years ago, of being so far away from "mainstream" - that and not being able to have a glass of wine with your meal.....

On from Arkansas to Annapolis, Maryland. Staying at the William Page Inn we had the most comfortable room, great hospitality from Robert the Innkeeper and a really pleasant two days. The highlight was a day out with a very old friend, Stan Bielak and his wife Janet. Stan, a business acquaintance from some 15 years ago has, I'm delighted to say, become a friend. We spent the afternoon chatting in their beautiful home on the shores of The Chesapeake Bay, joined later by two most pleasant grandchildren, mad keen on soccer (that's football to the rest of the western world!). Then we went for a super meal at The Narrows just across the Chesapeake Bridge. All in all a very, very pleasant day.

Next day to Washington, where Lynne was to have two days attending the conference (which was the underlying purpose of the whole trip). Our hotel was "Rouge" both in name & nature. An older (late 60's?) building that had been renovated and turned into a "Boutique Hotel", apparently by someone with a limitless supply of red paint, but no ability to fix mirrors to walls or to organise engineers to mend lifts! However they did supply free booze (you've guessed it RED Stripe Beer or RED wine) for an hour every evening. On the first night we ate with the other members of Lynnes' study group at The Logan Tavern a really busy bar/restaurant about 10 minutes walk away and in the process one of our party made an excellent wine choice with an Argentine Malbec - Who said psychiatrists were dull? It is now Thursday 10'th April and with Lynne attending the conference I have the day to myself, so decide to do the tourist thing and get a day's subway ticket (what a bargain at $7.50). My first choice was to go to the National Archives to see the The Declaration of Independence, but unfortunately the queues for entry were right round the building and I passed on that option and went instead to The National Gallery of Art, a superb building where the collections are impressive to the point of overwhelming. I spent most time in the West building where the more traditional (classical?) art is kept, but did visit the East building for confirmation that (in my opinion) most modern art is just a case of The Emperor's New Clothes! On from the Art Galleries to The Capitol, a walk up the hill and back onto the subway and that was my day gone. That evening there was a dinner meeting organised by the American conference hosts with the guest speaker being the chief psychiatrist in the American Army, talking about the suicide rates amongst the US service personnel involved in their various conflicts. Not, you might think, the most engrossing subject for a talk over dinner, but the Colonel was an excellent speaker and her talk quite fascinating to me as a complete layman.

My impressions of Washington? Overall I found it rather a dull city, although there are some impressive buildings, there just isn't much of a "buzz" about the place.

Friday and we caught an early afternoon train to New York, to arrive in Penn Station. A taxi ride across town to our hotel The Affinia Gardens, another suite hotel but unlike The Rouge, not in garish red AND with functioning lifts! The meal that evening had been booked at The Tribeca Grill owned in part by Robert de Niro. After managing to get on the wrong subway line, a group of us ended up on Canal Street with about a mile to walk - so in true British spirit we did! The meal was good (though no sight of de Niro, but would I have recognised him anyway - surely he's not as famous as Johnny Briggs who we saw in Manchester?), but extraordinarily expensive even with the pound worth two dollars! Just possibly it may have been the quantity of extremely pleasing red wine that tipped the balance. One of us was certainly unconscious in the taxi back to the hotel but modesty forbids me to say which one. That said, why was it me that awoke with a headache the next morning? Once again Lynne was attending the conference (Saturday) so I had the day to myself in New York. The fizzy tablets did their work & I caught the subway to City Hall and joining the folk walking over The Brooklyn Bridge. From the Brooklyn side I took many (too many!) photographs some of which are up on my website in Gallery24 if you are interested.

Sunday was to be our last full day in New York, so we went for culture! A walk from our hotel on E 64th street, 25 blocks north to The Guggenhiem Museum on E 89th street. Such a pity, but the museum building itself is completely covered in scaffolding and udergoing a significant renovation. Inside, the major exhibition was by a Chinese American artist, Cai Guo-Qiang. "Challenging" would be my best way of describing it; from a set of cars in various stages of destruction, all suspended from the gallery ceiling, to 100 stuffed wolves running into a glass wall it certainly challenged me to try and understand what it meant or whether The Emperor's New Clothes had struck again? On the The Metropolitan Museum - a look around the ancient Egyptian galleries - very impressive, a look at the Fench Impressionists also impressive, then some Mark Rothko et al (you've got it - The Empero.....).

But what a treat outside - two young black guys doing a break dance and acrobatic show on the pavement - the climax was a full somersault over four audience members stood looking petrified!

The meal that evening was in Smith & Wollensky (a steak house that Stan had introduced me to on a previous visit to New Your a good few years ago). The Colorado Rib steak was enormous and delicious.

Monday was our last day in New York as were would be catching the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited train to Chicago. We did the tourist things and visited Macys then went to The Rockefeller Centre and up to "The Top of The Rock". Being a bright, clear, sunny day the views were spectacular in all directions.Finally a meal in the Sea Grill, in the Rockefeller Centre rounded off an excellent short stay in one of the world's most exciting cities. Once again I was impressed by New York, even though it's overcrowded and too touristy in many parts, it does have that "buzz" that is missing in Washington.


So - the overnight train to Chicago, luggage checked in at the station (how civilised is that?) and ensconced in our sleeper, we set off up the Hudson River valley through Schenectady, Albany and on towards the Great Lakes. Not the greatest night's sleep, but woke up to a flatish, pretty dull landscape and a train that was gradually going slower and slower until it ground to a complete halt. It transpired that one of the two engines had a problem so they took it off and we continued, eventually, with just the other engine pulling the train and finally arrived in Chicago about 4 hours late. Apart from the unfailing cheerfulness of the train staff it was a tad reminiscent of British Rail in the bad old days!

As Chicago was to be the end of the holiday, we'd decided to "hang the expense" and booked into the Ritz-Carlton just off the Magnificent Mile. Let me declare an interest right up front - I love Chicago, I think I've been 3 or 4 times now and the city never fails to impress. It's a busy, working town. There's an agression in the driving that I like (most driving in the US just seems SO slow and far too polite compared to Europe).
But, overall it's the architecture and the skyline that knocks me out: The view is from Navy pier towards the Hancock Tower (with the two aerials) - our hotel is the tall building immediately to the left).
Our first evening in Chicago we had seats at Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs pay Cinncinati Reds. Lynne's first ever visit to a baseball game and despite my insistance on wearing my Salford City Reds hat I think she thoroughly enjoyed the razzamatazz of an All American event.
For our one full day in Chicago we got tourist tickets on the subway and went to ride the "EL" round The Loop. The EL invokes thoughts of gangster movies and cop car chases and must be one of the travel bargains of the world!









A visit to the Marshal Field department store (now owned by Macy's) brought a great photo opportunity. We walked for miles that day, ending up down at the Navy Pier with the wind so strong that you could hardly stand up.

Continuing the strong restaurant theme of this blog, we ate that night at Morton's Seakhouse. Although a chain, the meal was superb, the service excellent and it rounded off the holiday in style.

Next morning, some shopping for various folk at home (with the exchange rate as it was the temptations to buy clothes were strong). A last lunch in an Italian restaurant then it was time to collect the bags from the hotel & get a cab back to O'Hare where the whole American adventure had begun.

Right at the beginning of this ramble I said I'd give my impressions and note the changes that I've seen over the years, so here goes:

There seems to be an enormous paranoia gripping America and its population that most definitely was never there before. 911 and the wars in Afhghanistan and Iraq have clearly taken their toll, though having lived in Britain through a much longer period under terrorist threat it certainly seems to me to be a massive overreaction.

The divisions between rich and poor seem greater than ever. I saw more people begging on the streets than in any previous trip, and more people sleeping rough. America may be the land of opportunity but the treatment (or lack of it) of those at the bottom of the pile shames an otherwise great and generous people.

American insularity remains as great as ever - though US newspapers seem to have a little more world news than I recall from earlier visits. But still precious little authoritative comment on foreign affairs.

Overall I still love visiting the USA. Although I'd vowed I wouldn't go whilst the idiot Bush was president, the opportunity was there and the pull too great and we had a wonderful two weeks. No doubt we will return (to quote a phrase!).