John Robb

Tonight as the sky grew dark I walked through China town and observed a man playing Auld Lang Syne on a Chinese Erhu violin. It made me smile, it made me a little melancholic. It felt the same thing yesterday as I found a moment to review all the images in my point and shoot camera – a little condensed history of all that has happened in the previous 34 days of my 35 day voyage.

There have been some experiences:

The Vastness – Walmart has everything that can fit into the boot of a car under one gigantic roof. It tends to be a bit disorientating and a touch impersonal – I don’t think I like the concept.

The Old and Venerable – On the upper levels of Macy’s in New York City the escalators are built out of wood. The sides and the steps have a wonderful patina that only comes from have seen decades of shoppers pass by.

The take your breath away – When you drive out of Jackson Hole and head north you don’t see the Grand Teton mountain range until you crest a gentle rise in the road. It takes all your concentration not to swerve off the road as your jaw drops at the sight.

The take your breath away 2 – Flying into New York’s La Guardia airport at night means a low level pass along Manhattan – from my window seat I got a view that will forever be in my memory.

The Huston we have a problem – My shiny new 2010 Mustang rental developed a misfire in the middle of a very remote part of the USA. It started to come up with several warning messages and finally died – thankfully after a cool down it got back into action and limped back to civilisation.

The deal maker – Walk into any hotel and just ask for the best price in person – always far better value than any other method. People are staying home this holiday season in the USA and hotels are hurting a bit.

The deeply saddening – I have never seen so many homeless people in my life. In a country that can spend hundreds of billions on military spending I can’t understand how this can happen.

The OH S#%T this could be bad – My Camera and its tripod toppled over and hit the ground whilst shooting a waterfall. I thank the divine forces from above that all that the damage tally was a small mark on the camera body and a smashed lens hood.

The smiling faces – the National park rangers were always a happy sight at the entrances to the places of wonder that dot the USA. I universally met Americans that were always glad to help out and lend me their local knowledge.

The warm hearts I made a few good friends on my travels and I’m glad that I have. No doubt we’ll keep in touch and swap stories in the future.

Now there is sadness in leaving but there is also some happiness in coming home – I get to catch up and hug good friends and sit down and tell tales. It will be good to come home, it will be sad to leave – there will be assorted feelings.

See you soon.