I recently returned from a short business trip to New York City.  I usually travel to the Big Apple at least two or three times a year, and I love it.  It is a huge vibrant metropolis with an immense selection of entertainment and cultural diversions. I like to attend one of the Broadway, or off-Broadway shows, to visit the museums or the other tourist attractions, to eat in one or more of the huge variety of restaurants and to just absorb the vibrant atmosphere of the city.  Like most US natives that do not live in New York City, I frequently say, "New York City is a great place to visit, but I would not wish to live there."

The reason that I and many other non-New York residents, do not wish to live in the city is mainly due to the cost.  It is a very expensive place to live.  Houses, condominiums and apartments typically cost two or three times the price of similar accommodations in most other cities. The hotel rooms are typically double the price of similar accommodations in other cities.

It has always been a challenge to find decent accommodations at affordable prices in New York City.  After numerous visits to the Big Apple, I was finally able to find a few secret bargains at lesser known but nice hotels.  Every time I went there on a business trip, I stayed in those affordable hotels near the heart of the city in Manhattan.  Recently, it has become much more difficult to find such bargain accommodations.  Most of the inexpensive-but-nice hotels have either disappeared or have raised their prices to the point where they are no longer bargains.

The average price of decent hotel accommodations in New York is now about $300 per night.  There are still some Manhattan hotels in the $200 range but they are typically the less-desirable ones.  The under-$300 hotels are usually older, a bit more dilapidated and often in the inaccessible or insecure neighborhoods. 

For the past year or two, New York has been blessed with a healthy number of visitors vying for a limited supply of hotel rooms.  Most hotels filled up.  As their occupancy rates approached full capacity, the hotels began charging premium rates.  For the past few years there have been almost no "last minute" bargains.  The best prices were to be found only by booking well in advance.  Once any hotel neared full capacity, it usually began charging "last minute gouge the customer" prices. That may now begin to change due to the current economic meltdown.

On recent trips to New York City, I have been forced to look in other areas for bargain hotel accommodations.  Here is what I found:

If you stay outside of Manhattan, it is a bit less convenient, but you can still find bargain accommocations.  When I drive to New York City, I usually stay at hotels in the Secaucus New Jersey area.  This unremarkable little community amidst the commercial and industrial suburbs in New Jersey offers a nice selection of hotels with spacious rooms, free parking, modest prices, and easy access into Manhattan.  Secaucus may not be beautiful, but the accommodations are affordable  and the neighborhood is relatively secure.

Another bargain area for accommodations is the neighbohood surrounding Newark NJ Liberty Airport.  This area is likewise not beautiful but is affordable with easy access into Manhattan.  The commute from Newark to Manhattan is a bit longer than it is from Secaucus. 

I have also stayed on the other side of the city in Brooklyn and Queens.  Most of the affordable hotels in Brooklyn are located in the vicinity of JFK Airport.  These hotel rooms are typically more spacious than those in Manhattan, they are significantly cheaper and parking is much less expensive, but the neighborhoods do not appear to be very secure after dark.

I prefer the accommodations in Queens which are mostly located near La Guardia Airport.  The hotels in this area are typically more spacious than in Manhattan, the parking is cheaper and the neighborhoods are a bit more secure.  A few weeks ago, I stayed at the Wingate Hotel in Flushing New York less than two miles from LaGuardia terminal.  The neighborhood is oriental with Chinese Restaurants, Korean Barbeques, Japanese Sushi Bars and Noodle Houses on every block.  It is a relatively safe neighborhood even after dark.  My room was spacious, clean and in excellent repair.  It cost only $139 and parking was a mere $14 per day.  A similar room would cost $300 in Manhattan with parking adding an additional $35 per day.

I ate dinner at Joe's Shanghai Restaurant just two blocks from the hotel.  It was rated as the best restaurant in that area by Trip Advisor.  This modest establishment was crowded with local residents confirming it as one of the most popular restaurants in that area.  Wow!  It served some of the best Chinese food that I have ever tasted.

After nearly a year of incessant political campaining culminating with a frenetic last few weeks of countless television harangues from the two presidential candidates, the people of the USA have finally chosen a new president.  They elected Barak Obama as the first Afro-American president in the 200+ years history of the USA.

His impressive win included majorites of the voters in many states across the USA.  It included a broad base of support from white, black, asian and hispanic voters.  It included support from urbanites in the major cities and from citizens in small towns and rural communities across the land.  It incuded rich and poor, highly educated and less educated voters.  Such a decisive win indicates the widespread dissatisfaction with the policies of the current political administration and with the thirst for a change in the direction we are headed.

I hope and pray that he can deliver it.

I have been traveling to Europe at least once a year for the past decade.  I know that most of the Europeans that I met were never hostile to the USA nor resentful of it.  They idolized our principals of democracy and freedom. The USA was long viewed as a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world, as the champion of the poor and the opressed, as a protector of human rights and as the shining example of a working democracy. 

Over the past eight years, that image was badly tarnished.  My European friends grew increasingly disappointed.  They saw "preemptive invasions", secret detention centers, condoned torture, imprisonment without trial, and government spying on its own citizens.  "What happened to our beacon of hope?"  "Where is our shining example of freedom and democracy?" they cried.  I understood their disappointment.  Many of us in the USA shared their disappointment.  We yearned for a return to the principals of freedom and democracy that our fathers had long enjoyed.  Our country was primed for a change. 

Yesterday, Barak Obama was chosed as our instrument to bring about that change.

Today the world looks at the USA in admiration and says "If a black man can rise up and become the leader of this great land, then perhaps it is a real democracy after all!"  Most of us in the US share this sentiment.  Today, we are proud to be part of this great country.

We are now into autumn once again, and the annual changes are beginning.  I happen to live in the northeastern part of the USA.  Autumn is a great time of year in this part of the country.

The weather is typically very dry with bright sunny days and cool nights.  You can still work or play outside in short-sleeved shirts and short pants.  In the evening, you can enjoy the cool breezes.  In the night, you can sleep comfortably under a warm blanket.

The grand spectacular annual autumn leaf show will soon begin.  It typically starts in the far northern states like Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire around the first week in October.  The date cannot be accurately predicted, because much depends on the weather and climactic conditions.  The show moves south from there,  In Pennsylvania, we get it around the middle of October.  Further south, it may begin as late as the end of October.

Unfortunately, the far southern states miss out on the annual extravaganza.  In Florida, California, Arizona and Texas, they get milder winters without all of the snow and ice that we experience, but they completely miss the great leaf show every autumn.  In those warm southern states, their vegetation typically turns brown during the hot summers, then green during the cooler, wetter winters and springs. There is no kaliedoscope of colors during the autumn changes.  Many southerners get on tour busses and drive north just to witness our wonderful leaf show.

 All of the northern states experience this autumnal change when the leaves on the trees turn from green to other colors before they drop from the branches. In the northeastern states it is the most spectacular.  We have forests of mixed hardwood trees including maples, ash, oak, cherry and walnut.  Each variety produces a different range of hues during the autumn change.  The various varieties of maple produce a vibrant array of bright reds, yellows and oranges.  The oaks produce shades of carmine, brown and cordovan.  Sumacs turn flaming crimson.  Some of the trees even retain their green until the end of the show.  Together, they make a kaliedoscope of polychromatic vistas that completely envelop the hills and valleys.

Unfortunately, the show only lasts a few weeks.  In the beginning, the forests are predominately green with a few flares of red or yellow from individual maple trees.  Within days, the color spreads to include more and more trees, until the whole forest is a profusion of color with bits of green from the last holdouts scattered throughout.  By the end of the second week, many of the leaves have dropped to the ground, and the remaining colors are beginning to fade to shades of brown and tan.  Eventually, all of the leaves are on the floor of the forest and the trees sadly display only naked branches and twigs.

If youi want to see this spectacular leaf show, plan on visiting the northeastern states sometime during October.  Vermont is a popular tourist destination during this time of the year.  It has rolling hills and lofty mountains all covered with mixed hardwood forests.  The leaf show is extremely picturesque in that state. I would plan on visiting during the first or second week of October.  The show should be well underway at that time.

If you visit Pennsylvania or New York, you should time your visit a bit later in the month.  The show should reach its peak around the third week in October.  In West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, it will probably peak by the end of October.

I recently drove from Las Vegas Nevada to Death Valley California.  This is only a short drive of about 100 miles, but it takes you over the mountains and through the barren Sonoran Desert.  It turned out to be a very interesting excursion into the picturesque countryside of the still wild West.

I drove through the Amargosa Valley, a vast expanse of dry sand and rock strewn flats able to support only widely scattered brown shrubs and a few cactus.  The bare lifeless mountains that deliniated the sides of the valley were visible miles off to the side of Interstate 95.  In this country, you tend to watch your fuel gauge as towns, service stations and other signs of civilization are few and far between.

  I noticed the occassional dirt roads that extended straight across the valley floor for miles until they disappeared into the mountains.  They were guarded by wire fences with signs warning away visitors.  We were at the periphery of the Nevada Test Site, a government proving grounds for all the secret weaponry being developed far away from prying eyes.  This was also the proposed location of the controversial Yucca Mountain underground radioactive waste depository.  Across those mountains in the most inaccessable parts of this desert landscape lay Area 51, that top secret retreat where the US government had purportedly secreted captured alien spacecraft and the bodies of alien creatures.

At the turnoff to the Death Valley area, our map indicated a small town.  What we found was a few widely scattered mobile homes parked in the desert, one boaded up restaurant, and a combination service station, general store, diner and brothel. The convenience store part of the big dilapidated building had an array of nearly empty shelves, the restaurant in the back claimed to serve hamburgers, fries and sandwiches, but no waitress was anywhere to be found.  The old bearded man at the cash register was on the telephone the entire while we were there, and only bothered to glance up to take our money.  The nicest part of this desert waystation was the neatly painted double-wide mobile home in the back with its big bright sign proclaiming it to be the "Cherry Patch II" house of prostitution.

Route 373 went through more desolate landscape occasionally interspersed with an oasis of green mesquite trees and a few houses indicating a local supply of water.  Other than one modern casino inconguously located in this god-forsaken land at the end of the civilized world, there were no amenities such as service stations, restaurants or stores to be found. The road eventually brought us to Death Valley Junction, an almost ghost town at an isolated desert crossroads.

The Amargosa hotel was the most impressive building in this nearly deserted community.  A long low white adobe building with an inviting shaded veranda along its whole length was the only well maintained structure in the town.  The remaining cottages, stores, and industrial builings were in various states of disrepair and ruin.  We met Richard, self appointed mayor, sheriff and one third of the population of Death Valley Junction.  He explained how Marta Bennett, a ballet dancer from New York City had come to the deserted town in 1967 and decided to make it her home.  She refurbished the old theater and reopened it as the Amargosa Opera House. 

For over 40 years, Marta has produced theatrical productions in her opera house.  She constructed her own scenery and lighting, her own costumes and stage props.  She even painted the walls of the opera with elaborate murals of an appreciative audience.  Marta used to dance ballet, but at 80+ years of age, she now restricts herself to singing and acting.  Marta still lives in Death Valley Junction, and she still performs her show every Saturday evening to guests who come from around the world just to see this opera in the desert.  Marta is a unique character, but the desert seems to attract unique characters. 

Death Valley is a starkly beautiful but severe landscape with an extremely challenging environment.  The temperature reached 120 F (47 C) during the middle of the day.  The heat was oppressive, and I clung to the shelter of any bit of shade I could find.  The gleaming white salt flats nearly blinded me with sunlight reflected from its burning surface where temperatures were hot enough to fry an egg or bake a cake. 

I could easily understand why they named this place "Death Valley".  I had more difficulty comprehending how prospectors and miners could ever have lived in such a severe environment.  The thirst for gold and for riches from the mineral deposits must have been very compelling for anyone to brave such conditions. 

On the way back to Las Vegas, I passed through the thriving desert community of Pahrump.  It has shopping malls, restaurants, casinos and even a bit of industrial development.  It is most famous for being one of the maverick communities that has permitted the legalization of prostitution.  Brothels are scattered around the outskirts of Pahrump. 

It is here that Heidi Fleis, the notorious Hollywood Madam who ran an escort service to provide prostitutes to movie stars and other famous movie executives until she was arrested, has taken up residence.  With plans to open a Brothel, named "the Stud Farm" that catered to women customers, she took up residents in Pahrump and began a long feud with the existing Brothel owners and with the local authorities.  Heidi never opened her brothel, but she still lives in the local desert with dozens of parrots, Macaws and other tropical birds.  Another desert character.

In tales of the old times, the wild west was a very inhospitable place populated by many strange and interesting characters.  It hasn't changed much. 

We call them eighteen wheelers.  They are the large tractor-semi-trailor rigs that haul goods across the USA on the network of Interstate highways.  The front part of the rig is the actual truck or tractor, while the back two thirds of the rig is really a semi-trailer attached to it. The tractor part has ten wheels, two on the front axle for steering and eight more configured as four sets of dual wheels on its two rear axles.  These immensly powerful tractors usually pull a semi trailer that is supported by the tractor on the front end while the back end rides on eight wheels distributed as another four sets of dual wheels on two axles.  The entire rig is typically over twenty meters long and has a combined total of eighteen wheels.

If you drive on any interstate highway in the USA, you will see hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of these eighteen wheelers.  Typically, the majority of them will be long-distance haulers.  They might be hauling steel from Chicago to Los Angeles, or hauling fresh fruit from Florida to Boston, or hauling tanks of industrial chemicals from New Orleans to Denver. These "big rigs" transport much of our industrial, agricultural and manufacured goods across long distances.

Some of the eighteen wheelers are company owned equipment operated by employee drivers, however the majority are independent owner-operated rigs.  The independent operator is someone who has borrowed sufficient money from the bank to purchase his own expensive tractor.  It typically costs the driver more than the home he lives in, and is usually his single most valuable possession. 

An owner operator of a tractor usually contracts with one or more freight companies to haul semi-trailers from one destination to another.  He gets paid by the mile.  Out of the haulage fee, the operator must pay for his own fuel, maintenence, insurance and traveling expense. 

You can easily discriminate between the independently owned and operated rigs versus the company owned ones.  A company owned truck will usually be a dirty drab affair with very little added amenities.  An independantly owned rig will normally by a bright clean shiny truck with beautiful paint, lots of chrome plated accessories, numerous marker lights and possibly an elaborately painted name and picture on its door.  The independant owner-operator values his truck very highly, and takes great pride in its appearance.

Truck stops are special refueling stations catering to the needs of truckers.  They can be found at various locations along the interstate highways.  In addition to widely spaced refueling pumps and a huge parking lot, most truck stops also feature a restaurant, a convenience store, restrooms, bathing facilities and specialty shops offering all sorts of trucker paraphenalia.  You can visit a truck stop even if you are only driving a little "four wheeler".  If you visit one in the late evening hours, you will typically find many big rigs parked in the lot while their operators rest or sleep in their rigs. 

If you carefully stroll through a truck stop parking lot, you can admire the beautifully painted and highly decorated Macks, Kenworths, GMCs and Peterbilts. Most independant truckers are very friendly.  They will proudly show you their beloved rig and will tell you about their life and career as a long distance trucker.  They may even show you the interior of their truck.  Most independantly owned trucks are equipped with an array of amenities to make life on the road more bearable.  They will likely have a great music systems, two-way radios, navigation systems, computers, and in the back sleeper section, televisions with DVD players.

These guys spend three fourths of their life on the road in their truck.  Yes, they are mostly men, but there are some women drivers as well.  A few young truckers, are even accompanied by their spouses.    

Truckers communicate with each other via citizens band (CB) radios,  You can purchase a citizen band radio, install it in your car, tune it to channel 19 and listen to the truckers' conversations on the road.  If you learn a bit of the jargon, you can even communicate with the truckers.  They have a quaint and colorful way of speaking on the radio.  A "smokey" or a "bear" is a police officer. A "picture taker" is a policeman with a radar speed gun.  A "plain wrapper" is an unmarked police car.  When you hear a trucker say, "I saw a bear rolling east and advertising at 334, and a plain wrapper in the grass taking pictures at 385."  It means he spotted a patrol car driving east with lights flashing near mile post 334 and an unmarked police car with radar gun in the medial strip of the highway near mile marker 385".

If you come to the USA and do a bit of driving on your vacation, stop at a truck stop along the Interstate highway to see this bit of unique US culture.  Just look for signs at the interchanges that advertise "Petro", "Flying J" or "Travel
Centers of America".  These are just a few of the national truckstop chains.  There are many others.

I frequently receive e-mail questions concerning driving on extensive road trips across the USA and about buying a car to drive around the USA.  Here are a few things I have learned after many years of driving in the USA and a few tips on how to best plan a driving vacation in the USA.

First of all, you must understand that the USA is a large country.  The 48 contiguous states of the USA cover a land mass that is 4,000 km wide from east to west and nearly 3,000 km from north to south. The huge seperated landmass known as the state of Alaska lies over 4,000 km north of the other states.  Driving across the USA or between widely seperate sites can be quite a daunting task.

Driving along the East Coast from New York City in the North to Miami Florida at its southern tip is a typical journey for vacationing motorists.  The trip is about 2,000 km long and requires nearly 20 hours of continuous driving.  It can be done in a single day if you forgo sleep and stop only for refueling, eating and restroom breaks.  Some adventuresome people, such as carloads of students on Spring Break during March, have done this, but it tends to be a grueling and exhausting pace.  Most people take two days to complete the trip with an overnight stop near the midpoint.  It still requires two days of extensive driving.  If you are on a leisurely vaction, and prefer to see many of the attractions along the way, this becomes a three-day drive.

Driving cross country from the East Coast to the West Coast, such as a trip from New York City to Los Angeles, is a 5,000 km journey that requres at least 50 hours of continuous driving.  Theoretically, it could be done in little more than two days, but most people would spend at least four or five days to complete such a journey.  If you are on a leisurely vacation and intent on seeing some of the attractions along the way, you would make it a two week journey.  Few residents of the USA would attempt such a journey.  It requires too much driving time, and you would spend most of your vacation behind the steering wheel of the car with little time to enjoy your vacation.  US natives would rather take an airplane from New York to Los Angeles, then rent a car to explore the West Coast.

Some overseas visitors write to me saying, "I want to see the country and to meet the people by driving across the USA".  I personally have seen much of my country and met many of its people.  I believe we have many wonderful thing to see and to do in the USA, but not every part of our country is very interesting.  When you drive across the Great Plains of the Midwest, and you have spent ten hours staring out of your windshield at a road that stretches straight ahead until it disappears on the horizon with both sides lined by mile after mile of monotonous grain fields, you will eventually say, "Why am I doing this?"

If you really want to see the USA and to meet the people, just choose an interesting part of the country and spend a week or two in that area,  Then, hop on an airplane and go to another interesting area of the USA and spend another week or two exploring that.

People constantly ask me about the feasability of buying a car in the USA to explore the country, then selling it.  Here is my succinct response:  "Do not do it!"  It is not difficult to buy or sell a car in the USA, but it is very difficult to obtain the necessary permits to drive that car.  If you are not a resident of the USA with a permanent adress in one of the states, it can be nearly impossible to register a car and legally drive it.  I know that renting a car for an extended period can be expensive, but it will be far easier than trying to drive a car that you purchase.

Other people ask me about buying a car in the USA to ship overseas.  This is a much easier task as long as you do not drive the car in the USA.  You could fly to New York City, take a bus or drive a rental car to the largest Corvette dealer in the USA near Atlantic City,  purchase a new or used Corvette in less than an hour, have the Corvette delivered to the seaport in Newark New Jersey or in Baltimore Maryland, and have it shipped overseas.   All of this could easily be accomplished in one day.

Next Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day in the USA.  This federal holiday is annually held on the last Monday in May.  It was originally instituted to commemorate all the US soldiers that died in battle.  Now, it has many meanings for the citizens of the USA.  It is still a day of rememberance for our fallen soldiers.  It is also a day when many people visit the cemetaries to plant flowers on the graves of their deceased friends and relatives.  For most people, it is the official beginning of the Summer vacation season.  Schools all over the USA begin their annual Summer vacation breaks soon after Memorial Day.  In the northern states, swimming pools, amusement parks and other vacation attractions open on this day.  For many people this is an occasion for the first picnic or outdoor party of the season.

Cities and towns across the USA hold commemoration ceremonies and parades on Memorial Day weekend.  One of the most poignant ceremonies on this weekend is held in Washington DC at the Vietnam Memorial.

The Vietnam War was a deeply devisive event in modern US history that occured between 1959 and 1975.  To this day, many people believe that it was an unnecessary conflict that sacrificed over 50,000 US soldiers for an ambiguous and useless cause.  To this day, many other people believe that the Vietnam war was an essential battle for freedom and democracy angainst communism.

The Vietnam Memorial was completed in 1982 to commemorate those who fell in battle during this long period of combat.  It is a monument of simplistic design located near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. It is composed of two 75 meter long walls of black granite forming a "V" sunken below ground level.  Each wall tapers from 20 cm to 3 meters at their junction. Each wall has 72 highly polished black granite panels engraved with the names of the 58,256 soldiers who died in Vietnam.  The names are arranged chronologically by the date they fell.

The monument itself was born in controversy.  Many Vietnam War veterans thought this simplistic design was too insignificantt, that it demeaned the memory of their fallen comrades.  They called it "the wall of shame" and "the black ditch".  They demanded a more traditional war memorial monument.  The planners compromised by adding a bronze statue depicting three Vietnam combat soldiers near the wall.  A few years later, a second bronze statue depicting three women veterans was added in the vicinity.

From the moment it was completed, this monument proved to be the most emotionally inspiring war memorial in the USA.  At first, some of the Vietnam veterans were afraid to approach it.  They stood in the trees one hundred meters away and stared at the monument for hours.  Other veterans came to the wall and searched out the names of their fallen comrades.  When they found the name, they touched it and wept openly.  Friends and family members came from across the USA, sought out the names of their loved ones and made tracings of the inscription.  They began to leave mementos at the base of the wall.

The mourners left flowers, cards, letters, photos, death notices and press clippings. They left flags, hats, items of clothing, military medals and patches, toys, dolls, stuffed animals and every imaginable personal item.  They even left packs of cigarettes, bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey, packs of playing cards, cans of food, and all sorts of items that had special significance to their memory of the lost comrade.  A group of veterans from Wisconsin left a Harley Davidson motorcycle decorated with the names of all their MIA (missimg in action) comrades.  At first, the National Park Service kept the items in a storage shed.  Now, they routinely place items in an historical archive and display some of them in a hastily constructed museum near the monument.  The NPS plans to construct an underground museum to house and display this growing archive near the Vietnam memorial.

In May 1987, several motorcycle riding Vietnam War veterans suggested a way to commemorate their fallen comrades and to raise people's awareness of the prisoners or war and missing in action (POW-MIA) that remain unaccounted for.  They organized a motorcycle rally for the memorial day weekend and named it "Rolling Thunder".   Every memorial day since then, Washington DC has become the destination for tens of thousands of motocycle riders on the memorial day weekend.

This weekend, motorcycles will be on the highways from all across the USA.  They will come by ones and twos, by groups of a dozen or more and in packs of hundreds.  All of them will be heading to Washington DC.  As many as 50,000 motorcycles will converge there for the weekend.  On Friday evening, they will hold a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Memorial.  On Saturday, they will attend concerts, and outdoor barbeques.  On Sunday morning, the motorcycles will assemble at the Pentagon; then precisely at noon, tens of thousands of motorcyles will slowly ride to the Vietnam Memorial.  Many of them will be flying large US flags and black POW-MIA flags.  Washington DC will truly hear the sound of Rolling Thunder.

There will be speeches and ceremonies commemorating the fallen and missing Vietnam War dead.  That is the typical fare of memorial day ceremonies.  You can find that in every city. 

If you want to see the real poinancy of war and remembrance, just go to the Vietnam Memorial anytime during the Memorial Day weekend.  You will see the grizzled veterans with their gray hair and their long gray beards, dressed in combinations of Vietnam era uniforms adorned with medals, combat fatigues covered with military patches and black leather motorcycle attire decorated with Vietnam War scenes.  They still go to the wall to touch the names of their comrades fallen over forty years ago.  They still weep openly.  
 

With Spring weather approaching in the Northern States, some of the usual Summertime activities are starting once again.  One of these typical summer activities is the car cruises.  They are popular all over the USA, and they usually occur on weekends.  Every town seems to have at least one weekly rendevous spot for car cruising.  The larger towns and cities have several.  Usually they take place at a local drive-in restaurant or drive-in ice cream shop.  Sometimes, they convene at an old drive-in theater or even at a local baseball field or parking lot.

Local residents come to show off their cars.  Some of them have classic cars, or old-time antiques.  Some of them have hot rods, street racers or modified stock cars.  Some have muscle cars or simply stock cars that are particularly fine.  It is not uncommon to see hundreds or even thousands of cars at some of the larger cruises.  Typically, they line up their cars in rows, then open their hoods to reveal their souped up, crome plated, decked out powerhouse engines. 

Sometimes, the owners of similar vehicles cluster together in a certain area.  You may see dozens of Corvettes lined up on one side of the field.  There will be new ones, older ones and some real classics.  They will be in every color, even some with custom candy apple red paint, pearlescent glow or metallic sparkle paint.  Some will have modifications of the engine or even the body of the car.   Their hoods will be open and the glow of chromium plated engine components will glitter in the sun.  The proud owners will be sitting in lawn chairs next to their vehicle or will be hovering over it with a cloth to keep the dust from dampening the sheen of their baby.

There are usually numerous muscle cars and plenty of old classics like the 55 Chevy, the 56 Ford Thunderbird, any model of the Ford Mustang and the GTO.  You can even spot some rare classics like the old Nash Rambler, the Henry J, or the Hudson.  The Hot Rods will be there, especially the modified 32 Ford Coupe and the old Pickup Truck.  There will be chopped and channeled 49 Mercuries and severely modified classics from the 50s and 60s.  The owners of these old-time, classics and hot rods will typically be middle aged or greater with gray hair. 

Most of these older car afficianados have lovingly restored these old classic cars of their youth, and they bring them to the car cruise to show them off to their friends and their neighbors. 

The younger crowd will also be at the car cruises.  They will typically bring big wheeled trucks with massive off-road tires and chrome decorations, or they will bring low riders and souped up street racers.

Most of the car cruises are very informal affairs.  Everyone sits around and drinks beer from their personal cooler, or wanders around visiting the other car owners and sharing drinks.  Radios or boom boxes will be playing music at many locations.  For the classic car owners, the preferred music is usually old time rock and roll and pop music from the 50s and 60s.  The younger crowd usually prefers rap or current hit parade music.  Some folks will be blaring country and western.

Guests are always welcome.  There is typically no admission charge.  You can park your car on the sidelines, unless it is really fine; in that case, you line it up with all the other beauties.  You can walk around, take photos and visit with the car owners.  Most owners are more than eager to show you their pride and joy.

When visiting the USA, if you are in a town or city on a weekend, just ask around about local car cruises.  If you search hard enough, you will likely find the location of one or more car cruises that take place on a regular basis.

When I travel about the USA, I like to taste the special foods that are typical of the region that I am visiting.  Many of the regional specialties that were once unique to certain places, are now available all over the USA.  You can find Philadelphia Cheesesteaks, New England Clam Chowder and Buffalo Wings in restaurants and fast food stands in every state.  Other items like Cinncinatti Chili are seldom found far from their home territory.  None the less, the best quality and most authentic regional food can usually be found only in its original home.

We have a type of sandwich that is popular all over the USA.  It typically comes on a large soft bun shaped like a small loaf of bread.  It is often called a Hoagie or an Italian Hoagie, but is also known in some cities as a Submarine Sandwich or simply a Sub.  In the New England States it is called a Grinder.  In many of the Southern States it is a Poor Boy or a Po Boy.  This sandwich comes in many different varieties with special regional adaptions.  As you travel from state to state, it is interesting to sample the local variety and compare it to all the other regional adaptions.

The most common Hoagie, Sub, or Grinder is the Italian.  It consists of a variety of luch meats and cheeses usually including ham, salami, capacola, provolone cheese and possibly pepperoni sausage.  Sometimes it is baked until the cheese melts.  It is typically dressed with some fresh tomato, shredded lettuce and a bit of oil and vinegar seasoned with a bit of dried oregano. Every city and town has many local shops and pizza parlors that serve Italian Hoagies or Subs, Each shop has its own way of adding a touch of variety to this old standard.  The local residents all have their opinion on who makes the best Italian Sub in town.

Another common variety of Hoagie is the Philadelphia Chees Steak or Pilly Cheese Steak.  This too is served in towns and cities in every state with many variations and local enhancements.  The best place to find the original authentic Cheese Steak is in Philadelphia.  Pat's and Geno's in South Philadelphia are the two most authentic cheese steak restaurants in the USA.  Pat's reputedly invented this sandwich, but Geno's has also been making them for almost as many years.  There are dozens of other restaurants all over Philadelphia that make similar Philadelpia Steak Sandwiches with Cheese, and each one offers its own slight improvement on the recipe.

A regional specialty that has become very popular across the USA is the Buffalo Wing.  No, it is not something made from Bison meat.  It consists of fried chicken wings spiced with a fiery hot pepper sauce, and it was invented at the Anchor Bar and Grill in Buffalo New York  History tells us that the Anchor Bar ran out of snack foods to serve to its customers one busy evening, and all that was left in its refrigerator were some chicken wings.  The cook decided to fry the chicken wings, then douse them with some hot pepper sauce and serve them to the customers.  It became an immediate success.  The Anchor Bar has been serving them ever since.

Now, Hot Wings or Buffalo Wings are served as snack foods in bars and restaurants across the USA.  They are a favorite snack for sports fans watching football games or hockey matches.  There are endless varieties of Buffalo Wings served in various eateries.  The original Buffalo Wings are still the fiery hot ones, but restaurants typically offer Mild, MNedium, Hot or Super Hot wings.  They offer Honey Mustard flavored wings, Pamesan flavored or Barbeque wings.  The traditional accompanyment with hot wings is typically celery sticks with ranch style salad dressing.  This was originally designed to cool off your burning tongue after you eat some of those fiery hot original Buffalo Wings.

When I travel about in the USA, I like to find these regional specialties and sample them in their home territory.  When in Cincinatti, I search for Skyline Chili, served over spaghetti and topped with onions, cheese and diced tomato.  In Chicago, I love the deep dish pizza and the loaded hot dogs.  In New York, I sample the thin crust brick oven pizza, Nathan's hot dogs, bagels, cheesecake, and the myriad of foods served from sidewalk carts.  In New England, it is the clam chowder, fried clams and lobster.  In Baltimore, the crab cakes.  In florida, key lime pie.  Barbeque comes in so many varieties, that one must taste it in North Carolina, in Texas, in St. Lous, in Memphis and in Kansas City to appreciate some of the many culinary possibilities. Tacos, Burritos, and other border Mexican specialties are best in the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  The USA is so large, and there are so many regional foods, that one could devote a lifetime to tasting them all.

I happened to be in Miami, Florida a few months ago.  It clearly has the most Latin American atmosphere of any city in North America.  As you walk down the streets in the entertainment districts, you constantly hear the fiery throb of salsa beats emanating from the nightclubs and restaurants. Spanish is spoken almost as frequently as English.  Cuban cuisine is served in many of the local eateries.

Miami Beach is situated on a narrow spit of land bordering the Atlantic Ocean.  It's broad sand beaches are fringed with an array of high-rise hotels and condominiums.  These upscale resorts draw an international array of vacationers as well as the jet-set party crowd.  The southern portion is known as South Beach,  It has many smaller boutique hotels with art-deco architecture, classy restaurants, trendy bars and exclusive shops. On a Saturday night, the cars are backed up bumper to bumper along the main beachfront drive.  The sidewalks are jammed with well-dressed young people seeking food, drink and entertainment.  At least half of them are speaking Spanish.  And the throbbing Miami beat permeates the air.

The Intracoastal Waterway separates Miami Beach from the mainland and downtown Miami.  Along the convoluted channels and bays, one sees lavish yachts and high-speed motorboats.  It looks like a scene taken out of the Miami Vice movie set. 

Downtown is a bit more sedate.  Amidst the lofty office buildings are an assortment of hotels and condominiums.  They attract the more budget minded tourists expecially those awaiting departure of the cruise ships parked in the nearby harbor basin.  Inland from that commercial center, a vast array of lower buidings spreads westward into miles of suburban bedroom communities, shopping complexes and business parks. Beyond that, begins the jungles and wetlands of the great Everglades.

South from Eighth Avenue, also known as "Calle Ocho", is the area commonly called "Little Havana" because of its huge population of Cuban immigrants.  In the neighborhood, there are two famous restaurants, "La Carreta" and "Versaille" known for their authentic Cuban cuisine.  I ate lunch at Versaille.  I was one of the few customers that spoke any English.  Even the waitresses spoke amost exculusively in Spanish. Families with Children all chattering in Spanish were seated at many of the tables.  This was definitely a Cuban hangout.

 Across the room, I saw a middle-aged gentleman impecccibly dressed in a white linen jacket, with a black silk shirt, black necktie and black handkerchief in his lapel pocket.  He sat quetly sipping his coffee and staring directly ahead through dark colored glasses.  He looked like Al Pacino playing Carlito or Scarface.  Ahh, this was Miami.

I was in Dallas this week and I finally had a chance to visit Dealy Plaza.  This is the place where president John F. Kennedy was assasinated. 

The young charismatic president of the USA was shot while visiting Dallas Texas in 1963.  He died in the Parkland Hospital a few miles from Dealy Plaza.  His alleged assasin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested a few days later in a Dallas movie theater, and was subsequently shot and killed by Jack Ruby while in police custody at the Dallas police Station. Kennedy's death shocked the whole world.  The circumstances surrounding President Kennedy's murder and the subsequent murder of Oswald created a cloud of mystery and suspicion that fostered many conspiracy theories.

For the past forty years, there have been numerous investigations, hearings and reconstructions attempting to explain the exact circumstances of the shooting.  Many theories have been proposed that implicate other gunmen or accomplices in various conspiracies to assasinate the president.  Books, movies and television programs have presented the evidence and analyzed it in many ways to prove or disprove the various theories.

I remember the circumstances of the shooting.  I have seen many of the movies and television shows analyzing that incident.  I have read about and heard the various theories.  I know that President Kennedy was riding in an open car in a motorcade through Dealy Plaza in Dallas when three shots rang out.  Lee Harvey Oswald, was positioned in the sixth floor window of the Dallas School Board Book Repository Building overlooking Dealy Plaza.  He fired the shots that hit president Kennedy in the neck and shoulder. 

Afterwards,  conspiracy theorists speculated that Oswald alone could not have possibly accomplished this assasination.  They spoke of a mysterious second gunman positioned on the grassy knoll to the right front of the motorcade.  Numerous investigations and research could find no evidence to support those theories.  Nevertheless, I have seen images and reconstructions of this assasination portrayed over and over again. 

It was facinating to go to Dealy Plaza and see the exact spot where President Kennedy was shot.  I could see the Book Repository Building and its sixth floor window overlooking the street.  I could walk up the grassy knoll where the mysterious second gunman was supposedly positioned.  I was even able to enter the Book Repository Building and visit the Sixth Floor Museum, now preserved as a historic site.  The museum provided recorded audio tours of its exhibits featuring the presidency and the assasination of John F. Kennedy.  The most emotionally moving experience, for me, was just standing at that sixth floor window looking down on Dealy Plaza just as Lee Harvey Oswald must have viewed it though the telescopic sight of his rifle on November 22, 1963.

If you are old enough to remember John F. Kennedy and to remember the day he was assasinated, you should visit Dealy Plaza in Dallas.  It will bring back many old memories.

I know that the reputation of the USA has gotten a bit tarnished in the past few years.  Our political leaders have done some stupid things that have disappointed our international friends and have increased the discontent of our detractors.  I am not going to defend our national policies nor join in the criticism.  I just want to assure everyone around the world that the people living in the USA are still compassionate, caring and hospitable to foreign guests.

We are a nation of immigrants.  Our parents, grandparents or forefathers came from many nations.  Our society is composed of people of many races, many religions and many ethnic backgrounds.  We have learned to accept diversity.

When you come to the USA, I cannot promise you that you won't encounter a few rude people, but I can assure you that most of the US population will welcome you.  Friendship and hospitality are traits that can be readily found all across this land in every state. 

I often journey to New York City on business.  That crowded metropolis of teeming masses is noted for its assertive unfriendly inhabitants.  They walk down the sidewalks at a swift pace, speaking to no one, avoiding eye contacts and only offering curt retorts to anyone impeding their progress . 

Yet, I have seen a family of Japanese tourists, meekly intercept one of these truculent New Yorkers to ask for assistance in finding some destination. The stern visage of the New Yorker melts instantly as their concern and compassion takes over.  The stolid native may even deviate from his own destination to walk many blocks out of his way to assist the tourist family in finding the way.  This is a scene that I have seen repeated over and over again in New York City.

The Southern states are known for the polite gentility of their inhabitants.  Any and all visitors can expect to be greeted with excessive politeness and gracious hospitality.  That is the way of the South.  In the Midwest, the folks are friendly and accepting of all guests.  Friends and strangers alike are usually wecomed into the home and heart to be treated like members of the family.  On the West Coast, life and social intercource is very casual.  One can escalate from stranger to trusted friend in a matter of minutes.

If you come to visit the USA, I think you will be pleasantly suprised at how graciously you will be welcomed by the people.  I don't mean to imply that all of the government bureaucrats that you encounter in the airport will be so friendly and polite.  Nor, am I certain that all of the vendors trying to sell you tourist stuff will be so gracious.  Once you get away from the tourist traps and meet the people living in the towns and cities across the USA, you will see how wonderful they can treat a stranger from another land.

Last week, I drove from Baltimore Maryland to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.  I used Interstate 68 across the Maryland Panhandle and Route 40 into Southwestern Pennsylvania.  I have driven this route many times.  Occasionally, I deviate off of the new Interstate 68 and drive along the old Route 40 that still parallels 68 across the Appalachian Mountain Chain, known locally as the Allegheny Mountains.

 Unlike the newer Interstate 68 that sweeps through the mountain ridges on spectacular road cuts and soars over the valleys on lofty bridges, Route 40 labors its way deep into the valley bottoms, crosses the mountain streams on narrow bridges and snakes its way up the slopes of the mountains.  It takes much longer to drive along route 40, but the scenery is beautiful.

As I slowly wend my way through these beautiful mountains, I always recall that Route 40 used to be called the National Road.  Before that, it was known as the Wilderness Road or Braddock's Road.  Even earlier, it was known as Nemocolin's Trail or the Wilderness Trail.  This road has a great history that extends back to the mid 1700s and before.

The old Wilderness Trail, as it was called by the early English colonists in the 18th century, probably existed for hundreds of years before any European settlers came to the American Continent.  It was a warrior's trail that traversed the Appalachian Mountain Range from the Eastern Seabord to the Ohio Valley of the Great Mississippi Basin.  Indian hunters and warriors used it to traverse the mountain range.  Nomadic clans used it to migrate across the mountains.

In the early 1700s, British adventurers, fur trappers and traders used the Wilderness Trail to penetrate the Appalachian Mountains and enter the great Ohio River Basin beyond.  It was one of the main portals to the wilderness lands beyond the great mountains.  In 1752, a fur trader named Thomas Cressap along with a Delaware Indian Chief named Nemacolin, blazed a trail that followed the old warrior's path across the mountains.  This quickly became known as Nemacolin's Trail.

In 1754, a young Lt Col. George Washington led a small army of Virginia Militia across Nemacolin's Trail to force the French forces to abandon their Fort at the Forks of the Ohio, the present site of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.  An incident involving the killing of a French officer precipitated an attack on Washington's forces at the Great Meadow where he had constructed his tiny Fort Necessity.  The subsequent defeat of the Virginia Militia was a great embarassment to young George Washington and is considered the incident that precipitated the Seven Years War, known also as the French and Indian War.

The following year, 1755, General Braddock was dispatched from England with two regiments of British soldiers and a detachment of artillery.   His assignment was to construct a military road accross the Allegheny Mountains and to sieze the French Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio.  He was accompanied by George Washington and a company of Virgina Militia as well as Thomas Cressap, Daniel Boone and many other renown frontier explorers.  They began to expand Nemacolin's Trail into a full road capable of transporting wagons, cannons and troops across the mountains.  It took a great deal of effort, but Braddock succeeded in completing the road all the way from Maryland to the Ohio Valley Basin.

On July 9 General Braddock, with over 900 British army regulars, several cannons and several hundred colonial militia approached the French Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio.  Nine miles to the east of the fort, he encountered a small French force of less than 100 soldiers accompanied by nearly 700 local Indian warriors.  In the ensuing battle, the British forces attempted to use standard military tactics, while the Indians fired upon them from concealed positions in the forest.  It was a catastrophic defeat for the British.  General Braddock was mortally wounded and nearly 500 Britsh soldiers were lost.

The remains of the British forces retreated along their newly constructed road, and General Braddock died near the site of the ruins of old Fort Necessity in the mountains.  He was buried in the middle of the Wilderness Road where wagon tracks would obliterate all trace of his grave, to prevent the Indians from digging up and mutilating his corpse.  Thereafter, Nemacolin's Trail become known as Braddock's Road.  It was later improved and became known as the National Road and finally as Route 40.

As I travel Route 40 today, I can see the route taken by Braddock, by Washington, by Nemacolin and by countless Indian warriors over the ages.  I follow their footsteps.  I pass Fort Necessity and Braddock's grave.  There are historical markers at the various camps where Braddock's army paused during their road building forray.  This old road is a history lesson of the early colonization of the North American continent.

The great circus is returning.  2008 is the year of the grand presidential circus.  In the USA, we hold state and local elections every year, and national elections every two years.  Presidential elections occur only every fourth year.  The last one was in 2004 when president Bush amazingly won his second four-year term in office.  This year, we once again choose a new president.  It is shaping up to be a very interesting circus.

President Bush is not allowed to run for another term. Even if he could, his popularity is so low that even Mickey Mouse could garner more votes.  The majority of the people in the USA are tired of this unpopular war,  they are concerned about the state of the economy, they are disappointed with president Bush's performance and they have no confidence in his policies.   They thirst for a change.

The Republicans Party has a bit of a problem.  Half of them would like to disavow themselves from President Bush's policies and promise to bring about changes, but they cannot appear too disloyal to a president that came from their own Republican Party.  The more conservative half would like to continue this unpopular war and the unpopular policies of our president, but that would probably guarantee certain defeat.  They need to heal this schism within before they can take on their Democratic rivals.

The Democratic party is making history.  They are about to nominate the first woman presidential candidate in the history of the USA, or the first Afro-American presidential candidate in the history of the USA.  Either way, this will prove to be a historic milestone in the progress of our country.  Since they are unencumbered by loyalty to President Bush, they can both promise to bring about drastic change.  This historic president and this enthusiastic rally for change has invigorated masses of young people to join the political process in record numbers.

The actual elections will take place in November.  The chosen Republican candidate with compete against the chosen Democratic candidate to see who can win the presidency for the next four years.  Between now and then, the circus will become very interesting as the various cadidates will be positioning themselves and trying to convince the voters that they are the best choice as their party's candidate.  The republicans will be attempting to heal the schism between the conservative wing and the moderate wing of their party.  The Democrats will be determining if they want to make history with the first black candidate or with the first woman candidate.

 Meanwhile, all of us voters will be bombarded with countless television and radio advertisements.  We will see the same candidates interviewed over and over again.  We will hear the charges and the counter charges as they each try to discredit their opponents.  We have an old joke that says,  "How do you know which political candidate is lying?"  The answer is: "The candidate whose lips are moving is lying!"

 Actually, I am not that cynical.  I believe this is one of the most positive elections in many years.  Usually, we have several tired old political candidates to choose from, and we try to decide which one is the least objectionable.  This time, I think all of the candidates are intelligent, articulate and pragmatic.  Each of them offers certain strengths.  Each of them exhibits certain weaknesses.  Any one of them could probably become a decent president.

I have been to Las Vegas in the winter, and I know that the weather is usually cool and pleasant, but I have also seen it rain in the desert at this time of year.  I was not suprised when our pilot said that the weather in Las Vegas was overcast with rain showers.  As we decended through the clouds, Henderson and the southern suburbs of Vegas became visible.  I was puzzled to see a sizable river flowing through the community.  There is no river in Las Vegas?  I slowly realized that the dry riverbed that wends its way through these suburbs with little or no water in it for most of the year, was now a full-sized river.

 Las Vegas only receives a few inches of rain every year.  It had just gotten about one fourth of its year's allotment of precipitation within the past 24 hours.  The mountain peaks surrounding the desert valley in which Las Vegas is situated were sugar coated with white snow cover.  This beautiful phenomena typically lasts only a short while before the desert sun returns to make it evaporate.

Building cranes punctuate the horizon of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip.  Old casinos and hotels are constantly being torn down and newer, bigger, more spectacular casinos are incessantly replacing them.  High-rise condos along the Strip are the latest fad.  Just behind the giant casinos, tall buildings housing expensive luxury condominiums are sprouting like weeds. 

The Monte Carlo Casino just suffered from a roof-top fire that devastated its top floors.  Fortunately, no one was injured, but the guests from its 6,000 rooms were evacuated and the hotel was closed.  Smoke stains still soiled its top rim.  The local newspapers reported that every guest in the hotel was relocated to other hotels within hours,  All reservations for incoming guests were diverted to other properties before the fire was completely extinguished.  Only in Las Vegas with its 150,000 hotel rooms would such a feat be possible.

The Alladin Casino on the Strip has now become the Planet Hollywood Casino.  The old San Remo just off the Strip has been refurbished and resurrected as the new Hooters Casino.  The frontier has been demolished and construction will soon begin on another new mega-casino.  Near the heart of the strip, a huge swath of businesses and hotels have been cleared and construction begun on the new City Center business/hotel/casino complex.  This city of Las Vegas never stops re-inventing itself,

I drove out to Summerlin for dinner at the Red Rock Resort.  It is only 14 miles from the strip to this suburban bedroom community in the Northwestern quadrant of Sin City.  You can even take the new six lane freeway most of the way.  It should take no more than 20 minutes to get there.  Yet, if you go during rush hour, and there is any sort of auto mishap along the way, you can get stuck in traffic for an hour or more.

The Red Rock Casino is one of the newest off-the-Strip properties.  It was completed only a year ago.  Like its couterparts on the Strip, it is huge.  Unlike the on-the-Strip casinos, it is surrounded by vast landscaped grounds and beautiful golf courses.  It only offers 800 rooms, but they are suposed to be spacious.  The casino is gorgeous.  Every one of the thousand or more slot machines has a high-backed padded leather chair in front of it.  The restaurants are excellent.  There are no crowds of tourists at this casino.  It is quiet and somewhat empty.  Local Las Vegas Natives have learned to avoid the Strip and its crowds of tourists, so they come here to gamble.  Visitors from surrounding states that wish to avoid those same tourist crowds, book accommodations in this hotel and enjoy the relatively quiet atmosphere.

There are a thousand or more restaurants in Las Vegas, including some of the finest dining establishments in the USA.  Sure, Vegas is known for the all-you-can-eat buffet, but that is no longer the only option available.  Today, some of the great chefs from around the world have opened restaurants along the strip.  You can get every type of food immaginable from Japanese sushi to French haut cuisine.  You can even get gourmet foods at some of the buffets.  No, not at the all-you-can eat-for-$8.95 buffet.  Those inexpensive buffets are usually located in the less popular casinos or the out of the way casinos off of the Strip.  They provide copious quatities of food for cheap prices just to entice you into their gambling establishment.

The buffet at Bellagio costs a bit more ($27 for dinner) but it offers a plethora of gourmet cuisine.  More than you can comfortably eat even if you only take a very small portion of each.  The buffet at Paris provides a sampling of French cuisine from various regions of France.  It is one of the better buffets.  If you are a seafood lover, the buffet at Rio offers a magnificent spread of various foods from the world's oceans.  (It cost about $30 but is well worth it to a seafood lover.)