Travelogue From America

America is a huge country, as one of its songs says, "from sea to shining sea." After landing in La Guardia Airport in New Jersey, our trip took us straight into the heart of Manhattan. New York City is truly the city that never sleeps. No matter what country you call home, you'll find a neighborhood that seems familiar. We began our travels in the city by visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We headed uptown towards beautiful Central Park, and had lunch on Fifth Avenue. Supper was in Chinatown, and after a good night's rest at one of the city's fine hotels, we headed for less-crowded parts of America. Two hours from the booming city, we drove into hilly and green Pennsylvania, with its Old World charm. We lost our directions, but stopped at a town store where someone set us on the right route again.

After traveling south along Route 81, we entered the state of Virginia, and then into Tennessee. Too bad we weren't closer to the coast, or we would have visited America's beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, we glimpsed the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. The friendly American southern states can't be matched, and their food is worth sampling.

We hopped onto Route 40 in Tennessee with its rolling hills, we saw the tall piney woods of Arkansas, and then into the legendry state of Texas, the second largest state of America. Large cities, but also wide open spaces between towns. One enjoyable stop was the Fort Worth stockyards, where we watched a reenactment of a cattle drive and saw how America expanded through its ranches and farms long ago. Some of those ranches are still operating today.

After a day's drive through Texas, we entered New Mexico with its vastness. We saw towns featuring Native American handicrafts and pottery, but one of our long-anticipated destinations lay ahead of us in Arizona--the Grand Canyon. A truly breathtaking sight, it again reaffirmed to us the largeness and diversity of America. But our trip was not yet complete without a drive through the mountains and into the state of California, which is also as diverse as America from its northern mountains and redwoods, to its vibrant and warm southern half. We made sure we found the end of the famed Route 66 and stopped at the Santa Monica pier and the Pacific Ocean.