My Last Serenade: A Bittersweet Symphony

Hey there folks!!

I gotta say, it's pretty odd writing this from the warmth of my own house! Yes, i'm now back in the UK and (almost) entirely jetlag free! Is it 'odd' in a good way or bad way to be back home?? A bit of both to be honest... as i'm sure you could guess! I like being home to see my friends and family again, but i really do miss everything about the US (except for Salt Lake City... naturally) - from its people to its sights... just... wow.

So why am i writing this when i'm back home? Simply because every good story (and this is an AMAZING story, as i'm sure you'll agree!) deserves a good ending - which this will be! I'm writing this purely to recap over what i've done and discuss in a Big Brother-esque way "what i've learned". Consequently it was refreshing to spend a summer free of BB - who won it by the way?? More importantly... does anyone even care anymore? Thought not. This will be my catharsis for dealing with my return to reality.

So... what were the highlights of my trip? As i mentioned in an earlier post - it depends upon what i'm looking for! Geographically, for hedonism it's New Orleans and Las Vegas - just because it's all out chaos and oodles of fun! However, if you're talking about raw beauty you're not going to beat Alaska and Yellowstone - ever. Sure, the Amazon can give you a load of trees, but do you get glaciers and geysers? No, and you never will (nor will you have trees if we keep logging them by the way!)

The people i've met along the way (Sarah, Louise, Sarah, Alex, Brooke, Olof, David, Allan, Mike, Brianne, Vanessa, Amy, Cassie and countless others whose names elude me at the minute!) - they're all awesome, and i'll be doing my best to keep in touch with y'all regardless of whether you're living in Georgia or Sunderland! I'm sure i'll run into you again at some point in the future!

A question i've been asked now that i've got back is whether i learnt anything whilst being over in the US for the better part of 2 months, and the answer is yes. I didn't need to venture into the Himalayas to meditate for a week to learn stuff, or trek into an isolated jungle. I learnt a lot about the US and their society - particularly how much they ADORE their country and how much we should love ours too. You don't appreciate so many things over here - the NHS being one huge institution. Everyone bemoans it at the first opportunity - but imagine it not being there, as in the US - paying £80 to go and SEE your GP. Not cool is it? You do that for free (yes i know about NI contributions, but it's not £80 a pop!), whilst US folks have to pay! Next time you go into A&E (as i did in the US!) remember that ok?

Here's the pressing question - did i learn anything about myself over there? Well... yes actually. That i can't stand Greyhounds - ha! I jest, although they were particularly brutal at times! On a serious note I've always thought that i'm quite happy in my own company, being a single child 'n' all. But this trip has taught me that i really am a social vampire - i need people to feed off! Hell, i need some outlet for the seemingly limitless stream of words that pour out of my mouth! It seems i'm never happier than when chatting to someone! This is perhaps why Hollywood was so cool for me: having all those folks in the hostel to chat to and have a laugh with. To flip that around, Texas was possibly the loneliest time ever, as my motels were in the middle of nowhere with few guests to talk to. That, coupled with my mystery illness, made for a pretty crappy time, which thankfully wasn't to last!

I've also had it re-affirmed that i'm not a shy kid anymore (i'm sure quite a few of my post-school mates are laughing at that, as they know that to be true - i'm the extroverted one saying outrageous comments), which i was at school - i'll talk to anyone, regardless of how mentally unbalanced you are / look! Unless you're talking about salting the ground of Europe or throwing scriptures at me... you're going over my head then! Oh, and if you snore - never, EVER, sleep near me ok?? I can't be held accountable for my actions!

A quick numerical recap:

Number of Miles travelled within the USA: 13,875
Number of States visited: 27
Number of Countries visited: 2
Number of Greyhound buses taken: 15
Number of Snorers encountered: 6
Number of Nights with no sleep: 6 (+ Greyhounds)
Number of Hurricanes encountered: 2
Number of Days without wearing shorts: 0
Number of Toes severed: 1
Number of Hands of Poker won: 0
Number of Animal Species eaten: 14
Number of Times hassled by pimps in Mexico: 8
Number of Attractive Girls Encountered: ∞ (infinite)
Number of Amazing things i've seen: limitless

I really do urge everyone NOT to overlook the US as a place to travel, it really is an amazing country that i've defiinitely fallen for. Whether it's New York or New Orleans - it's an awesome place that really does merit a visit or 15!

I guess that's it then. Being back home really is a bittersweet experience... but if nothing else, this journey has given me a taste for exploring and travelling! So where to next? Well, i'm pretty sure that for my next expedition that i want to travel to Iceland and Greenland - a bit of coldness never hurt anyone... except for those that die of hypothermia... and everything that went extinct in the Ice Age...

So that really is it folks... until that next blog, that may be a couple of years off yet! No more reading for you 'til then! Unless you want to read a book - but what's the point? They'll make a film of it eventually, so wait until then...

... who knows... you might see this as a film one day... definitely... maybe... definitely maybe...

Take care folks, and i'll literally talk to you in person soon!

Aaron! x