BIGGER

When Steven said a few months ago that he had the opportunity to attend a conference in America this Easter and that I could come along I was quite excited. I've never been to the USA before and a few days of sunshine sounded like a great idea.......

....yet, as usual it seems we brought the weather with us!


On Friday before we left home I was feeling anxious, the longest flight I've taken before is probably about 3hrs and here I was contemplating an 8 or 9 hour flight, plus a shorter one for the transfer from Atlanta to Savannah. Plus, I've been away from the kids for a night or two but the furthest was Paris which is pretty much as easy to get home from as most places in the UK. By the time I'd been sitting on the plane, on the tarmac, for an hour, waiting for some paperwork to be signed off I was really beginning to doubt my decision to come along at all! 16 hours later when we arrived and I felt more tired than I ever have in my life I realised that travelling is not for me.....but too late as I have no choice but to journey back again........

There's not too much you can do in three days (especially if your children give you a shopping list as long as ours did) but we have managed to visit Savannah twice... 'Historic Savannah' that is - I think some of it dates back as far as the 18th Century(!)

although we are staying at Hilton Head which has an amazing beach..

One thing I have discovered is that what people say about everything in America being bigger really is true. The beds are bigger, most of the cars are bigger, the food and drink portions are bigger (and so are a lot of the people!), even the gap under public toilet doors is bigger which is particularly disconcerting! I have never seen so many places to eat in my life, every 500 yards along every road there seems to be some sort of eatery and or motel. But, bigger is not necessarily better, less can be more and all this show-offy excess is peppered with really obvious poverty and a huge class divide. I think I like small...well, perhaps with exception to the bed - I may just pop into Dreams the bedshop when I get home!