New Hampshire and Vermont

Sometimes you arrive at a place and have no expectations of it whatsoever. That is how I found myself, driving from Manchester airport in New Hampshire towards the town of Lebanon, on the border with Vermont, being completely overwhelmed by the vastness of the place and overawed by its beauty. The time of year might have played a big part because instead of the usual rain found in these parts the cold had ensured that the countryside was now blanketed in thick fluffy snow.

New Hampshire is one of the few States in the Union that doesn't have state income tax, and is therefore quite a desirable place to live, but here on the border with Vermont (a state which has one of the highest sales taxes) it seems that the residence have the best of both worlds. They get to earn money relatively tax free and spend it in convenient shops, and then when they want to get away from all commercialism they can merely drive ten minutes away into Vermont and be free from all chain restaurants and shopping malls. These chains tend to stay away from Vermont because of the high sales tax, which instead leaves us with small family run businesses and local restaurants serving local food. Absolutely idyllic. Not being able to wait for the weather to change is the biggest problem with being somewhere for so short a time and I awoke to grey skies. Being un-perturbed I had a hearty breakfast and set off in my large gas-guzzling AWD, being very thankful for its extra grip and brute power. I had planned a route which took me along a road that ran alongside the Old River heading towards Hartford, away from the White River junction. I was hoping that the extremely efficient snow removers had at least left these roads covered and I was not disappointed as I carved and slid around each curve with ease, and a poise I couldn't have dreamed of if it had not been for the superb vehicle I was driving. I stopped along the way to take pictures and followed the road through to Woodstock and the excessively named Marsh-Billings-Rockerfeller National Historical Park, which in turn led me down to Windsor and my ultimate goal: The Harpoon Brewery. I was either too late or too early for the official tour, but was allowed into the factory part of the brewery to take some pictures, which took all of about 5 minutes, and then left me with plenty of time to sample some of the goods.

Having driven, I was forced to limit myself to two glasses and so I had to choose my beers carefully. The bar maid was very accommodating and allowed me to taste a shot sample of whatever I liked before I decided. I chose the Harpoon Winter Warmer to start with, and a fine choice it was too: very hoppy, smooth with a hint of vanilla, cinnamon and a touch of clove.

A very friendly local builder who it appeared had had a million beers already, tried to persuade me to try the Dunkel. I know ordinarily, when a strange gentleman offers you the Dunkel, you might find it appropriate to politely decline, but on this occasion having had my wits dampened by the Winter Warmer I accepted the advice. I am very glad that I did as this one off, Oak Aged ale brewed in the style of beers from Dunkel in Germany was quite simply stunning. It had the smoothness of a Balvenie whisky, with all the character and honeyed sweetness that goes with it, but was refreshing and delicate at the same time. I just hope that when they make another batch they can remember what they did. All in all this was one of the best days I have ever had on my own. Cannot wait to go back.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

As Prefab Sprout once sang, "Hotdogs, Jumping frogs, Albuquerque". I didn't actually see any hotdogs or jumping frogs, but Albuquerque was definitely as bizarre as the song. Such a wonderful mix of eclectic buildings, sensational backdrops, fascinating side streets and superb food should make Albuquerque a number one tourist destination. Sadly though, it is all a bit run-down, and one of America's poorest states certainly needs to pump a little bit of cash into this little gem of a city before it crumbles completely. I did have a wonderful two days here though, a particular highlight being my visit to the Petroglyph National Park, home to many rock drawings, some of which are claimed to have been drawn by aliens. I think being so close to Roswell has gone to some people's heads. Another highlight was a quirky little New Mexican restaurant set up in an old clothes shop where you can eat exceptional food, drink some good imported mexican beer and receive excellent service, all for as little as $8 per person.

Scottsdale, Arizona.

Denver, Colorado

Winter Cities.

(Photos:Rochester(2), Chicago(2) and New Haven(4))

It has been a busy couple of months and a combination of hectic travel and extreme laziness has meant I have not kept you all up to date with our travels. Well, I

am here now and

ready to regail you with exciting tales ranging from the various sizes of hotel rooms across the continent to the most effecient airport security in the business. Please don't disappear, I was only joking. Well mostly joking anyway. I have visited a total of 15 different cities in 11 seperate states over the last two months, spending an average of 1.4 days in each place (mathematicians do not despair, I am not including Chapel Hill in this little calculation, where we have spent the majority of the last month) and has meant I have not had the time to explore and research each place. This unfortunatley means that I will not be able to give you my usual in-depth, analytical and wholly accurate view of cities spread out amongst the states of this fine Union. It will however provide me with the oportunity to give a completely inadequate, prejudiced, lightweight, and possibly offensive opinion of the places we have visited, as I am never one to let sheer ignorance get in the way of all that I have to say.

Our first stop was Hartford, Connecticut: a city founded by Samuel Stone and Thomas Hooker, who named the town after Stone's birthplace: Hertford, England. Clearly they had poor memories, were illiterate or the person who made the first sign was guilty of a severe typo when they replaced the 'e' with an 'a'. This was, however, a mere trifle and only partially ruined my visit to Connecticut. The other two things that completely ruined my visit were the weather (which was very grey and very torrential) and the absolutely ridiculous hire car I had been forced to rent because it was the only thing available. Enterprise, in their deeply flawed wisdom, had decided that an armoured military vehicle, painted in white and adorned with chrome, would be the perfect thing for me to spend my day in. To add to my misery it appeard that the previous user had taken all of the suspension out of my H3 (some variation of a Hummer) and replaced it with rubble. So as I bounced uncomfortably along the highway in the most ostentatious of cars, trying to keep my head below the steering wheel so that I might not be recognised by anyone (yes, I know the chance of that happening in a random State is next to nil, but I wasn't willing to take the risk) I tried to think of anyone I knew who owned one of these wretched things. After about ten minutes I could only come up with Governor Schwarzenegger as a current owner. The vehicle was so bad that I wondered what Jeremy Clarkson would say about it if he were reviewing it on Top Gear, then I wondered what it would be like if Arnie' himself were a Top Gear presenter, and the ensuing impressions were enough for me to entertain myself all the way to New Haven. New Haven is a 50 minute drive (or bounce) from Hartford and is quite lovely. There is a real sense of character and history there, which is often absent from other American towns and cities, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to take pictures of the coast and another lighthouse. It is also the home of Yale University.

The next stops on our interview trail were Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix, Rochester, Denver, Albuquerque and then Worcester, MA.

As I said before, I didn't spend enough time in any of these places to do them justice, but here goes anyway:

Chicago: Over-rated urban jungle with bad drivers, rude people, bad service and awful pizza. Bloody cold too.

Detroit: The most miserable and depressing place I have been to since I had the misfortune of driving through Luton.

Phoenix: I have already said everything there is to say about Phoenix. Love it.

Rochester: Not the most glamourous city and not the friendliest either, but its familiarity did make me appreciate it more this time.

Denver: Stunning scenery, polite and welcoming people and the worst drivers I have encountered so far.

Albuquerque: Bizarre mixture of buildings from Westerns and dramatic snow covered mountains in the background. Very quirky, is Albuquerque.

Worcester: Pronounced 'Wuh-ster' and not 'Wor-chest-er'. Take note simpletons. Pretty place and quite nice. Probably wouldn't go back though.

And so concludes my analysis. I thank you.