Love it or loathe it?  Either way it’s been a long time since we last visited.  We always felt that America was one of those destinations which could be easily travelled if we developed any issues with mobility and compared to the adventurous travel we have been doing it might be a tad dull.  However, we needed to change our original plans at short notice and ended up in America by default as it was one of the places with good weather and air miles flights still available. 

Our trip began in New Orleans, a top destination and Mardi Gras gave it such a party atmosphere.  Our accommodation was superb, people were friendly and the food was delicious.  The tour around Florida was great especially The Everglades, The Kennedy Space Centre and the rocket launch.  Georgia and South Carolina were well worth the long drive and Orlando and Tampa were just what they should be……..lots and lots of fun for kids just like us.

So, what did we like?

It’s easy travelling. No language problem and generally a similar way of life.   Finding something to do wherever you were was easy.  The National Parks were excellent.  Plenty of clearly marked trails & wildlife spotting opportunities, well maintained and extremely good value.   

Towns with any sort of history and heritage were very keen to show off.  Place like Beaufort and Savannah had the town clearly marked with tourist walks and places of interest.  Sadly, in Savannah we missed the St. Patrick’s Day Parade which is, reputedly, one of the biggest St. Pat’s parties in the world.  However, we did notice that every fountain was filled with green water!

The USA is generally clean, tidy and dust free.  The people are very friendly, albeit extremely loud, and happy to chat at every available opportunity.  We had some very interesting conversations with all sorts of people including a Moldovan taxi driver.  We didn’t meet any Trump supporters, and most volunteered the information that they were not big fans so we quickly agreed that if they didn’t mention Brexit, then we wouldn’t ask about Trump!!

Fuel is about a third of the cost although you lose some of that saving due to the slightly less economical vehicles.  Parking spaces are huge so there’s no worries about dents on your car doors.  The roads are wide and easy to navigate and well signed.  Drivers are very considerate to pedestrians but that’s probably because they fear an expensive law suit if they mow you down.  Accessibility for all is a high priority with chair hoists for swimming pools, ramps and moving platforms on buses and everywhere within the adventure parks….we really liked this aspect. 

Most restaurants, and all chains, have the calorie count of food on menus.  There’s also a reminder that an average adult shouldn’t consume more than 2000 calories a day.  However, on one menu we found one starter that was over 800 calories alone and most mains were well over 1000, and that’s before you add on your options for extra cheese, larger fries and extra ice cream scoops on your desert. 

Supermarkets are numerous and well stocked making catering in very easy.  We did this a few times just to have some variety and ensure that we got plenty of salad and decent protein like quality blue cheese, chicken and salmon.

We tended to book hotels in advance, but we probably didn’t need to as you’re always close to some sort of hotel/motel.   They were generally of good quality, but not as cheap as we had expected, and most offered only a coffee maker and no kettle.  Chai Wallah Neil soon learnt how to make the morning tea in a coffee maker!

What’s the downside?

Being environmentally aware isn’t high on the agenda in the US.  Cars and pick-ups are big and gas guzzling.  It’s a very throwaway society with hotels leaving lighting and the A/C full on and cold enough to make you shiver.  Everywhere you go you get single use plastic cutlery and plates for breakfast which are just ditched.  There’s very little recycling and supermarkets hand out plastic bags like confetti.  We bought some reusable bags while we were there.

The food wasn’t great.  We soon realised that we had been spoilt in New Orleans where we had access to the independent restaurants in the French Quarter.  On our tour as we don’t drink ‘n drive we were limited to the major chains located near to our hotels.  The food quality was just OK but often too salty unless you make the point.  Most sell the same sort of stuff, steaks, burgers, ribs etc which became very dull but they did offer some good deals on food and drinks.  We managed to get salad and vegetables in most eateries although variety is limited.  Everything comes with cheese unless you say ‘no cheese’ which we did as it’s tasteless!  Whilst the ‘meal deals’ were good value they did encourage you to eat too much.  We always found a table with lots of little hungry people to give our ‘free’ oversized desert to.

Another irritation, and we couldn’t work out why, was that menus for drinks didn’t include prices so you have to ask every time.  If you don’t ask and just order a G&T you’ll get an expensive premium gin and the same applies to wines.  However, premium and diet tonic water has yet to hit the States.  The only tonic was on tap so was sweet and flat in a couple of minutes.  Cheryl was not impressed.

The obesity problem is truly shocking.  The vast majority of adults are overweight and a significant number are clinically obese.  We also saw a number of young adults, teens and kids who were so big they could hardly shuffle towards the ‘make your own giant waffle maker’ at breakfast.  They needed assistance to make it back to the table once they piled on the toppings and picked up enough bagels, muffins, cakes and pastries to keep them going until snack time.  Along with the bad food options on offer another contributing factor has to be the reliance on cars for everything so that Americans hardly walk anywhere.

Driving standards on the interstates were poor at best and sometimes idiotic probably not helped by the law that allows undertaking.  Otherwise, the driving was very conservative.  We came within a few inches of being totally wiped out whilst doing around 70mph on an interstate from somebody undertaking.

Finally, what was very different?

Just one thing that we noticed, petrol/gas stations have a different colour scheme on pumps.  Diesel pumps are green and unleaded are black. 

Now for the verdict

We really enjoyed it and got to experience a great variety of sights and activities and met a lot of lovely people.  We didn’t expect great cuisine, so we weren’t too disappointed with the food.  The weather was great, not too hot to do some good walking and exploring, and not too cold to enjoy the waterparks and wet rides at the theme parks.

We still want to do Route 66, Vegas, New York, California and return to Chicago.  We would also like to spend more time in the National parks especially places like Yosemite and The Rockies.  

We’ll be back in the USA.