Sunday Oct 30th - Homecoming

Since my last blog in LA Thurs 27th pm I did the following :-

Thurs 27th - returned to hotel after completing blogging. Stomach not good, so ate very lightly and drank water. Read "EON" by Greg Bear - an absorbing novel about an invasion into the Earth's history from a parallel universe. Some of the maths concepts are too complex for me; need to get William (my son) to read it to explain.

Fri 28th - had a very light breakfast. Stomach still not right. Packed up and checked out - my bag is just under the critical 23kg ! Drove through suburbs just south of Downtown LA, then onto Interstate 5. By sheer fluke Interstate 10 (which I was trying to find !) was the next turning, so headed down there to Santa Monica and up to a nearby beach. Sat at the edge of the beach killing time most pleasantly until going to the airport in the afternoon. People were playing frisbee football and doing workouts on the beach. Had a very light lunch, then drove to the airport. Some good Christian teaching on the radio while I was stuck in the traffic going south on Interstate 405. Reached the airport and found the drop-off point for the car, and then went via a free bus to Terminal 2. Upgraded to premium economy as not feeling too great with my stomach and had some spare dollars, so I could have a bit more comfort on the flight. Long wait as plane was delayed, which I passed by doing some Sudokus (couldn't find any Killer Sudoku books which are my preference - this is obviously not popular in the US), reading, and looking round the gift shops. Stomach started to get notably better - clearly some of the trouble was tension re wanting to get home (I had really had enough by the end of the final week). Found the novel a bit heavy for the situation, so bought a copy of Keith Richards' autobiograhpy and started reading that instead (a bit decadant as I have this on my Kindle, but the Kindle was packed). Really enjoyed it - it is very well written and Keith has fascinating insights on life in Dartford after the second world war. Eventually got on the plane at about 21:30 US time.

Sat 28th - took off from LA at 22:00 US time (or 6:00 AM in England). Flight was very smooth, and the upgrade to Economy Premium certainly paid off. There was lots more leg room, and the seat tilted right back so I could sleep quite well. Read a bit, then slept/dozed for a few hours. Then played music on my MP3 - "Exile On Main Street", "Green River", and "Cosmos Factory". These are all classics of American rock and roll. Then had a full english "breakfast" (it was about 14:00 English time by now) and read through the descent into Heathrow. Got off the plane at about 16:20, and was annoyed to find both sets of toilets closed during the long walk through to Passport Control. The Americans who were with me were not impressed ! Had quite a queue at Passport Control - we're getting almost as slow as the Americans at admitting people into the country. My baggage, however, popped up immediately I got to the reclaim area; this has never happened to me before ! So I was at the exit just before 17:00, and was met by my friend Anna Pisani who had kindly agreed to bring me home. Very thoughtfully she had bought me some basics - eggs, milk, bread, butter - that was great as it saved me having to go out again. Got home, and after an initial feeling of anti-climax at coming back to an empty flat after all that excitement I got cracking and did the unpacking, got the storage heater and the hot water going, and hung my new shirts away. I then stayed up reading as long as possible, put the clocks an hour back, and went to bed.

Sunday 29th - Slept about five hours. By 5:30 AM I was wide awake, so made tea and watched "Match Of The Day". I've really missed the Premiership ! Then went through my Sky Planner and recorded stuff for the next week - looking forward to watching the World Series Play-Off decider between Texas Rangers and St Louis. Loads to do today - store all my photos on the computer, do the washing, the accounts, and some shopping. Then get ready to go back to work tomorrow.

Overall I'm so thrilled that I managed to pack everything (and more) in to my journey. My planning really paid off, and nothing of note went wrong apart from the Travel Agent's mistake with my final hotel reservation in LA. Impressions of America :-

1.I love the place - it's so exciting and positive. There's a real pride for the country wherever you go.
2.The people are really friendly, especially in the South. I really enjoyed my week in Texas (Dallas / Austin / Lubbock); whenever I went to a museum or place of interest the people there were so pleased at my interest in and knowledge of their musical and political history.
3.The scenery can be monotonous but also amazing - the drive on highwary 71 from Austin to Llano and then Brady was very beautiful, especially the hills east of Austin. Then the drive West from Albuquerque through to the Grand Canyon and LA was very spectacular - huge sandy rocks and mountains. The Mojave desert was sparse and unforgiving.
4.I loved all the cities apart from LA. Admittedly I was road-weary by the time I got there and was also struggling with a cold and tummy bug, but LA just isn't that attractive a place. The downtown area is very impressive but has no patches of green to sit down in and have a read and a sandwich. Hollywood is exciting to visit but not very enticing architecturally, and Sunset Strip is a dump. Right by this decrepit area you get the plush exclusivity of Laurel Canyon and Beverley hills - plush mansions, high security, closely-cropped grass. The opulence of this area juxtaposed with all the poverty on its doorstep is revolting. LA is built totally around the needs of the automobile - you get a very narow window to cross these huge boulevards, and the "walk" sign starts counting down from 20 the minute it comes on. The drivers are very unforgiving and will never let you change lanes. They sit there in the traffic hooting pointlessly at no-one in particular.
5.The commercialisation of America is shoved right in your face - constant ads for medical insurance plans. It is clear how far Reaganomics has taken the country from the care and concern shown by Kennedy and Johnson in the sixties. But then it is the country that elected Richard Nixon and assassinated Martin Luther King and the two Kennedys.

I feel as if I really know a fair bit of America now. Obviously there's loads I still haven't seen yet, but I have covered all the bits I'm interested in. My lifetime ambition of drving right across the country has been fulfilled. I also had a great chance to think through my situation at home and decide how I want to move forward. So now I've got to face the great English winter, which is predicted to be as harsh as last winter. How tedious...