On the build site
Christmas week has been a slow time for builders. Now that the basement floor slab has been poured, there is a waiting time until after the start of 2014 when the framing crew move in. Just as well, given some of the heavy weather we have been having recently, it gives the site a chance to dry out after the 4 inches of rain on Saturday/Sunday, and a further inch on Monday. There is some background work supposedly going on over quotations for the 50 windows, but we have largely left things inactive whilst we went away.
Away for the Holidays
We decided some time back to go away for Christmas. All of our Christmas decorations are packed away in boxes in the basement of Choctaw Ridge, and we felt that we would like to get away for the holiday season. So, Savannah beckoned. It was here that we got engaged, it was here that we went after our wedding in December 1998. So, we could combine a wedding anniversary celeberation with Christmas. We booked into the Planters Inn in the Historic Downtown area. Lucky we booked well in advance, this hotel featured on nationwide TV a week ago as one of the best 5 hotels in USA for Christmas. We called in on friends and family on the way there, including a pre-Christmas lunch party with Karen and Dieter.
Down in Savannah, we soaked up the holiday spirit, browsing round City Market, a Jolly Holly Trolley tour to see the lights and a gingerbread village, a candlelight tour around the Davenport House (built in 1820, one of the historic monuments of Savannah) and a dinner cruise on the Savannah River. We took the opportunity to eat out at some celebrated restaurants including The Pirate House (reputedly the oldest surviving building from the original colony, in the experimental garden) and The Olde Pink House (where we had a truly memorable Christmas dinner). On Monday evening when we arrived it was raining and we didn’t feel like going far, so we went next door to the hotel to The Olde Pink House’s lower floor candle-lit tavern where we might be able to get in without a reservation. We were lucky – we were ushered into the barrel vaulted wine cellar where there was a single table for 2 and we were surrounded by two thousand bottles of varying age and quality. Great food and great ambiance!
Robin’s Opinions of America
Continuing my weekly Likes and Dislikes section, here’s my personally opinionated thoughts for this week on life in USA. And the subject is television. You have already read my thoughts on advertising (and things don’t get any better as Christmas approaches). But here are thoughts on a positive and a negative aspect of TV here.
Likes
Licence plates
Going anywhere in America involves a drive. A long trip like Savannah means hours on the road. And what entertainment is there? The answer ought to be “I spy licence plates”.
Each of the 50 states has its own unique vehicle licence plate (and a few have plates front and rear which may be different, though Georgia is amongst the half of states which only have a licence plate on the back). Some are colourful (Maryland is a prime example of how gaudy you can get). Many have a silhoutte map. Backgrounds of rolling hills, forests and other local icons are common (Florida orange, Wyoming cowboy, palm tree from South Carolina, wire and cotton biplane from North Carolina) Georgia features peaches and a blossoming peach tree. Additionally, there may be a short tagline (North Carolina’s “First in Flight” explains the biplane, “Stars Fell on Alabama”, “Sunshine State”, “10,000 lakes”, “Land of Lincoln”, “Green Mountain State”). But some states have extremely plain plates – California springs to mind.
As well as that, there are all the special interest plates. If you don’t like the standard peachy plate in Georgia, you can select from about 100 special interest varieties. About half are for military veterans (by the time one combines all the permutations of which branch of the military, campaigns served, medals awarded and any disabilities, the possibilities seem endless). Add thirty university associations, support for sports teams, good causes (maintaining the Appalachian Train, caring for animals, fundraising for cancer research, preserving wild life (this one is reputedly popular amongst hunters as it features a buck deer), birdwatching and bicycle safety) and even amateur radio hams and retired legislators. Even an anti-abortion plate is available. You could drive all day long and never see a repeat.
On our drive to Savannah we watched out for different out-of-state plates and saw at least thirty. Some are very rare (we didn’t see Hawaii or Alaska), but there were plenty of North Eastern states like New York, snowbirds driving to Florida for the winter. There should be a game with scores for specific states, or even a reference book, but I haven’t found anything on Amazon.
Dislikes
Polystyrene plates
Many US hotels offer a breakfast buffet. BUT, unless you are in a fancy establishment, this is likely to be a buffet service with minimum staff and options. The same tired rolls, a hot offering of unidentifiable microwaved sausagey things and apparently eggless omlettes. Butter substitite and grape jelly. Extremely long life (possibly eternal) orange juice. The buffet is produced without the benefit of a proper kitchen, and so everything is designed for minimum space and staff. And no dishwashers.
The downside of this minimalistic approach is that everything is disposable. Crockery, cutlery, everything. And the disposable material of choice is always polystyrene. Polystrene cups. Polystryene plates. I’m sure that the knives would be polystyrene given a choice! But they are actually extremely flimsy plastic – I suppose anything more robust would destroy the plate.
I am increasingly of the opinion that the polystyrene mania extends to the buffet itself. There are bread rolls and bagels which seem to have adopted the same texture and taste as the plate. And though the plates may end up in a rubbish bin to save on washing up, rubbish is what they remain – this is not accepted for most recycling processes.
So, I say – boycott the hotel polystyrene breakfast buffet.
Please feel free to let me know of your own feelings about America – maybe this will be a place to give you my take on them!
Come back next week and find out if the building project is moving ahead again