I love America. Yeah there is a lot to hate about the God-forsaken place, but some of the best moments of my life have happened here. If nothing else, that is a good reason to come back.

Standing on the deck of our apartment back in January 2005 listening to the snow falling is one of the great memories of being here. Who would have thought snow hitting the ground could make a noise? And that it could be so peaceful and nice? I stood for hours in the freezing cold listening to it.

Or how about going back to the night Gabba and I snuck out of the apartment while the kids were sleeping to watch the Northern Lights together. I want to go back to spend that amazing time with her again and I want go wake the kids up to see it too. Bloody hell, what if they never get to see them? I was 36 before I saw them.Too long.

Of course that has to be balanced with driving here. Today I drove around familiar streets, but the whole time having to remember there was more of the car to the right of me and remembering where I'm supposed to be on the road.

Today we went for a walk in Governor Dodge State Park. If ever there was a place that needed the Commerce Commission to come down hard on them for false advertising, it would have to be the Govt dept that is responsible for the signage in the park. There was a sign with a spectacular waterfall on it. And there was other helpful informational signs that told us abotu the most diverse plant and animal life in the world. About how we could see woodpeckers and all sorts of other wildlife. There was even a sign that warned on the Poison Ivy. All of it was complete bollocks. The waterfall was a dribble, there was no birds to speak of, even the poison Ivy was no where to be seen near the sign. And my chest hair is more diverse than that
bloody bit of forest.

Despite the pure lies on the signs, it was a most pleasant walk in the woods.

The Photo

On the way back from the park, We stopped at a roadside "Pumpkin Selling Place" for the great American tradition of placing huge orange pumpkins on the front door step. I have no idea why the pumpkins need to be on the front door step, but everyone has one, so it must be right. See this other photo to see the scale of the pumpkin selling place. The photo is of a baby pumpkin plant that has sprouted to life, probably from the seeds of a less than door step worthy pumpkin.