In Which I Feel *gasp* Patriotic

I have been an ex-pat in the making since the third grade, when I decided that I wanted to move to Switzerland when I grew up because it was always neutral. And because I wanted to be Heidi. In the early drafts of my senior thesis on travel writing, one of my friends kindly reminded me that my line of argument could  not be that we should all move to Europe. In short, I am not the most patriotic American.* I don’t like Toby Keith songs. I’ve finally come around to liking apple pie, but I think that’s my sweet tooth more than a latent sense of nationality exerting itself.  

So it was with mixed feelings that I approached Independence Day (which one of my friends referred to as “Traitor’s Day”) in Washington, D.C. It being the first July I’ve spent in our nation’s capitol, I knew that I had to go see the fireworks on the National Mall, along with everyone else and their brother. As my friends and I found standing room at the Capitol, I was sceptical, especially when I saw a rather drunk (or maybe the heat had just got to him) gentleman waving an American flag and trying desperately to lead a sing-along of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Francis Scott Key was probably rolling over in his grave at that.

It’s hard to feel disenchanted watching twilight steal over the Mall, however. The white stone of the Capitol was rosy in the setting sun, and the haze made the avenue stretched in front of us deep purple. In the distance, the red lights of the Washington Monument blinked like two eyes surveying the scene. It was beautiful.

Then, the fireworks started. Watching bursts of red and gold silhouette the Washington Monument while strains of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” drift from the other side of the Capitol was something else. I started to remember other Fourth of Julys with my family when I was younger, my brother covering his ears because he hated the noise and my parents’ friend telling us to look really hard for the black fireworks, because those were the best ones. As I let myself get swept up in the moment (and what a moment it was), I thought that maybe this country is alright. Yes, it has its fair share of problems, many of them centred in the building that I was standing next to, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

In honour of this reconnection, here are some of my favourite aspects of travelling in America (you’ll just have to excuse the less than American spelling, I’m afraid. It’s just second nature now):

Road trips – The love of packing into a car and driving for an endlessly long time for pleasure seems to be a distinctly American concept. We’re a country of drivers, and we feel threatened if that individual mobility is limited in any way. I think that’s one of the reasons that public transportation hasn’t caught on here like it has in other countries – we love driving too much. I remember my friends in England being dumbfounded that I drove six hours to get home from university. To them, three hours was an incredibly long trip. But I love driving. Getting behind the wheel with miles of open highway stretched out in front of me, turning up the radio – it’s a great feeling. And it’s a great way to see this beautiful country of ours. Except on I-95 in New Jersey. There is nothing beautiful about that.

It’s huge – To go along with my love of road trips, I love how big this country is. That may seem strange, but it’s really amazing to me that the continental United States alone is home to the beautiful woodlands and sea shore of Acadia National Park in Maine, the rolling green hills and fields of Pennsylvania, the stunning Rocky Mountains, the glaciers of Yellowstone, and the towering redwood trees of California. It’s incredible, and we’re so lucky to be able to see all of those amazing places without needing a passport.

Manitou Springs, Colorado

The world’s table – The diversity of landscapes is matched by the diversity of food here. After spending a year abroad without access to good Mexican food, I’ve come to really appreciate how you can find any type of cuisine here. This doesn’t hold true for everywhere, of course – where I grew up you could either get pizza or Chinese take away – but in Alexandria alone I have an astonishing array of choices: Indian, Irish, English (they’re different), Italian, Japanese, Thai,  Ethiopian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, the list goes on and on. It’s wonderful, and I love that I can give my taste buds a vacation without going anywhere. Also, America is the home of ranch dressing and maple syrup, two of my favourite things in the world. I realize that Canada can also claim maple syrup, but I am a New Englander born and raised, and we get our syrup from farmer’s markets in the summer and sugarhouses in the spring. And maple fluff? Be still my heart.

Ice cream, you scream – Not all ice cream shops are created equal, as anyone who has ever tried to buy ice cream in the United Kingdom will know. And America knows how to do ice cream shops. It has to be hard, it has to be scooped out, and there need to be more than two flavour options. I love trying different ice cream flavours when I travel, especially when they’re unique to the particular establishment where I find myself. Perfect example? Cornbread ice cream at Leo’s in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It shouldn’t work, but it really does.

NPR – Why is this on the list of things that I love about travel in the United States? Well, mostly because I love NPR. But I also love that I can tune in anywhere in the country and get the local station while keeping up on my current events. It’s really a wonderful thing. And on those long road trips, it’s nice to have someone talking to me. It breaks up my terrible singing along to my iPod.

What are some of your favourite aspects of travel Stateside? Where are some of the best places you’ve visited in the fifty states?

*Just to clarify, I fully support our armed services and have nothing but the utmost respect for those men and women who have heeded the call of patriotism and chosen to serve their country.