"If I were to live my life over again, I would be an American. I would steep myself in America, I would know no other land."
Quote by Henry James
I have not travelled much in my 32 years on this planet. The odd holiday to Europe throughout my childhood was wasted on me, as all I wanted to do was go home and sleep in my own bed. I found the whole ordeal of traveling a bit of traumatic. Humans are not meant to fly! I hated waiting around in the airport and I hated airplane food. However, it wasn't until I wasn't able to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic that I finally realised that I had missed out on so many opportunities to visit wonderfully diverse and interesting countries simply I saw it as an inconvenience to go in a plane for a few hours.
So, when I recently was offered the opportunity to visit America, I decided that I would definitely go, especially seeing as I would be visiting someone I am very fond of. I'm still not a fan when it comes to flying on a plane, but some people are worth facing your fears for. I would be visiting Cape Cod, which according to Wikipedia is "a hook-shaped peninsula of the U.S. state of Massachusetts" best known for its "historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months." Sounds rather lovely, shame I would be visiting in the middle of winter...
Despite it being too bloody cold to actually walk along the beautiful beaches of the Cape, I did get a chance to briefly explore and came across the most gorgeous sunset one evening. (Note, I don't claim to be the best photographer out there but some of the photos I took on this trip did turn out rather nicely).
This photo is rather deceptive as on first glance, you would assume that it's a nice sunny evening. Trust me, I nearly dropped my phone as I was shivering so much trying to take this photo!
A couple days later it actually snowed. And, when I say it snowed...It SNOWED! Here I am marvelling at how much snow there was! In the south of England (where I currently live) we barely get any snow, so this was rather exciting for me and I had to venture out of the nice warm cabin where I was staying just so I could take some photos!
I was a little disappointed that I couldn't visit many Lighthouses whilst on holiday in the Cape. I did stop off briefly to look at Nobska Lighthouse which was rather impressive, but I didn't get a chance to go inside as it was closed...boo!
Places being closed due to the winter season and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic seemed to be a pattern whilst visiting Massachusetts. Although, I did get to go on-board the USS Constitution, which is also known as Old Ironsides. It's quite an impressive ship, being a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. And, she happens to be the world's oldest ship of any type still afloat...She's looking good for her age!
Boston was a lot of fun! I really found the city to be full of lively bars, interesting museums and great shops. The people of Boston seemed like a really cool and laidback bunch. In fact, everyone I encountered during my trip to the States were really friendly and kind natured. I never felt unsafe or unwelcomed at any point. It felt like my home away from home. I absolutely loved visiting Faneuil Hall Market which was full of delicious food stalls and still had it's Christmas tree up, which looked so impressive that I had to get a picture of it.
The only place that seemed a little odd and out of my comfort zone was Salem...Of course, Salem is going to be a little spooky as it has a reputation it needs to live up to. There was one shop that I visited that claimed to be selling real human skulls and candles made out of human fat. Of course, I didn't stick around in there for too long and I certainly didn't purchase any skulls or candles (can you imagine trying to get that back through customs!).
Although I wasn't able to explore as much as I wanted to, I did get a chance to sample some of the country's food. Breakfast in America is something else. I am not a big eater in the morning, but I became obsessed with home fries. I visited a few wonderful diners, including Betsy's Diner which looked like it was from a 1950s Teen movie. It was just the coolest place ever!
I even got the chance to visit a Walmart. I know that people joke about Walmart stores, but when in Rome and all that! I was shocked by the size of the store, which seemed to go on and on. I could have easily spent an entire day there just walking around and just did some people watching. Yes, I am that person who went to America and got a photo of them standing outside a Walmart to prove it!
So, what are my concluding thoughts about my visit? Well, I loved the States. I didn't even mind the fact that the American's drive on the wrong side of the road, and can't make a decent cup of tea to save their life! Even if I had to face my anxieties and travel 7 hours on a plane, I am glad I travelled to the land of the free and got to experience my own American Dream. I hope I will get the chance to return there very soon and I also hope that I'll be able to visit more of the United States of America and other wonderful countries as well because life is too short to sit around at home waiting for the world to come to you.