USA Unfiltered

Things we LOVED …

Artichoke & Spinach Dip
Flavoured Philly Cheese (WHY don’t we get it in Oz??)
Clam Chowder in Monterey
Solar Farms near Death Valley and Mojave (Nipton Solar Power Towers) – Australia REALLY should be doing more in this department
Corn Nuts
Funyuns
Right turn on red after stopping (at traffic lights)
Helpful little diagrams on the road at roundabouts 😊
Entire country set up for RVs
Sign at Texas campsite exit “Y’all come back”
Texans DO say “y’all” – all the time!
The people we met at Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome – both the hosts and the other travelers.
Safeways – the best grocery store by far (sadly mainly only on the west coast)
Trader Joe’s
Melatonin available EVERYWHERE and cheap too!
How organised and friendly everyone in Vegas is.
Motorhome we rented was GREAT. New, clean, reliable and the slide-out made it quite palatial.
Despite me nearly taking cars out on at least 3 occasions – never heard a horn honked, at us or anyone else (except for me honking at others after a couple of weeks! 😊)
The further east we travelled, the friendlier the locals got – can only imagine how wonderful,  welcoming and friendly New Yorkers must be 😊
A lot of people with disabilities in the workforce

Not So Much …

Trying to get a SIM card with data
Walmart
Such limited options for lollies and chocolates. NOTHING to get excited about. What the hell??? WHY???
Gordon Ramsay has taken over Vegas and the quality (at his fish & chip place at least) did not look good.
Not only no pay wave – but you have to SIGN every time you use a credit card?!
Some places you have to show ID to use a credit card (irrespective of the amount)
Fuel consumption in motorhome
Took me a month to find MILO – shortly after I bought it, we hit hot weather, then had to evacuate. Tried explaining to a Texan in 30 seconds what it is and how to drink it 😊
The trucks on motorways – tail-gating, speeding, trying to overtake each other and blocking all lanes, pulling in right in front of you and flinging up stones to chip your windscreen
Drivers that refuse to let you in, even when you’re running out of road and YOU’RE DOUBLE THEIR SIZE!!
Tax not included in prices in supermarkets, restaurants etc
Tipping
Ribs – especially disappointed that Texas failed to deliver!
Food portions/servings are massive.

Scratching our Heads ….

Chicken Fried Steak – had it, still not sure what I was eating though 😊
Petrol price variances – $4.59/gallon in California, 20miles down the road in Arizona – $2.54/gallon! (Gas Buddy App saved me US$50 on ONE fill up). Texas – US$1.70/g
Roads re-tarred on either side of painted mid-line only (so that lines don’t have to be repainted) ?!?
Pavement = road ?!
No number plates on the front of cars (some states)
No matter how small the town we were passing – hundreds of cars and/or RVs for sale. Never seen so many RVs for sale (and on the road) – WHO is going to buy all of those AND they are still advertising that they want to buy more!?!

Jaw-Dropping …

Freight trains that are KILOMETRES long (measured one at 8km)
Prices of Cirque du Soleil Tickets (even our nose-bleed seats)
Prices in Vegas
Broadway prices
The miles, and miles, and miles, and miles of basically nothing

Made us Chuckle …

Apparently you can smoke from birth according to this helpful sign in a petrol station in Texas 🙂

Not trusted to fill up with petrol and then pay inside – have to pre-pay before filling up (I get the feeling they are not very trusting in the USA) 🙂

Loving Gloves (?!?!) – at the campsite shop in Pismo Beach.

“Xing Ped” – road marking. Comment below if you can figure it out …. Americans, you aren’t allowed to play!

The multitude of “Better Call Saul-Type” billboards (Hit by a Truck?, Call Chuck”)

Drive thru ATMs and Drive thru Pharmacies

WHAT the hell?? On a menu at DFW Airport, Texas …

Wondered about this oddly deformed bathroom door in the motel in San Francisco ….

All made sense when I closed the door from the outside 🙂 Would not have been surprised at this in Africa, or Central Amercia but in the US of A?!

We seem to have a knack for being in the wrong/busiest place at the wrong time:

Monterey – PGA Golf Tournament (Big Sur was fully booked – had to stay up North for 2 extra days).

Death Valley – Washington’s Birthday long weekend – parking areas full at most sites/hikes and people everywhere ruining our photo ops 🙂

Vegas – couldn’t understand why there were so many people on the streets – turns out TRUMP was in town, arrived a few hours before us for the Republican Caucus being held the same time we were there!

Corpus Christi – were due to arrive there at the same time as Spring Break (ie: millions of college students on the beach, drinking and partying 24/7).

Texas – Tornado watch issued 24 hours before we were due to fly out to England.

I’m sure there would have been more, if we hadn’t left half way through our trip – we seem to have great timing! (Let’s not forget the riots at the start of our trip in Santiago, Chile).

Road signs:

Speed Monitored by Aircraft (with picture of a plane)
Correctional Facility for next 25 miles, do not pick up hitchhikers
Rough Roads May Exist
When Flooded, Turn Around, Don’t Drown
Stop signs with flashing red lights around them (in Vegas & White Sands)
Diner on Route 66 – Caution: Men Cooking 😊

Lastly, my personal favourite …