Author Archives
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God Bless America part 3
My third month in this crazy country is underway and I’m about to embark on a road trip that will take me further south and west than I have ever been before in a car. I’m looking forward to lots of… Read More ›
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In the steps of Daniel Boone
I spent a lovely couple of days exploring the tiny town of Cumberland Gap tucked at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains where, if you listen carefully, you’d swear you could hear the creaking of wagons and the sighs of weary… Read More ›
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Bye Bye Blackbird
Dear Blackbird Bakery, For the last three months you’ve been a welcome refuge for this Kiwi who is far from home and in need of coffee and cakes and company on a daily basis. You’ve become my home from… Read More ›
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Always something to celebrate
Americans really really love celebrating and I like that. We need to recognise and appreciate positive and good things so that we don’t get lost or overwhelmed with the bad things that are all too often greedier for our attention. The… Read More ›
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The Magic Kingdom in bite-sized pieces
Disney World in Florida can be an overwhelming experience. So much to do, always too little time. I had one evening and one day and the advantage of being with my niece Ms J who knows her way around very well… Read More ›
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Believing in Bristol
Yesterday, there was a movie being filmed in Bristol (Virginia not England) on the street outside the Blackbird Bakery where I was working. One of the production assistants told me that it’s a Christmas movie called Believe and he… Read More ›
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God Bless America part 2
So it’s been two months since I arrived in the US and the novelty of many things – snow, supermarkets, shopping 24 hours a day – is wearing off. Other things have come to my attention however, perhaps less significant than the outcome of the… Read More ›
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“Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got”
When I met my neighbour for the first time we both had to slow down. She is from east Tennessee and I am from New Zealand and our ears needed time to tune into each other. Cheryl lengthens her vowels… Read More ›
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Wrong numbers
When I came to the US, I swapped my NZ sim card for an American one. After taking advice from my well travelled niece, it seemed like the best option and it has been great. I have an American cell number that… Read More ›
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Asheville: The coolest little city you may not have heard of
Welcome to Asheville. Population 87,236, small by American standards but blessed with more coolness than Leo winning his Oscar … finally. Asheville makes it onto all the ‘best of America’ lists: happiest cities, best mountain destinations, best southern cities to live in, most… Read More ›
