ROAD TRAVEL STATESIDE

I arrived home on Monday after spending 3 weeks in and around Washington D.C.. During my last weekend I took a road trip up to Boston with Make Travel Fair Researcher Fariza Ibrahim, to visit some family and also to experience road travel stateside.

ENVIRONMENTAL
Petrol Prices in the USA are around $2.30/gallon for unleaded/regular. In the UK we pay about £0.88/litre for unleaded. If the USA paid the same for their petrol as we do in the UK, it would cost them nearly $7.00/gallon (1 US gallon is equivalent to approximately 4 litres). If we paid US prices our petrol would cost us roughly £0.30/litre. Is it any wonder that so many Americans drive around in trucks rather than cars? Who doesn't like the security, independence and comfort offered by a large vehicle? The New Jersey Turnpike even has 2 separate lanes for trucks and buses!

I watched an article on the NBC Today show a few days ago titled 'Green cars, not the colour'. It was a good insight into the future use of Hydrogen to power cars and nice to see the topic taking such a prime time slot on TV. Although it'll probably be a good 10 years before any large scale shift to cleaner energy takes place, it is good to see the subject being aired.

Our road trip from Washington D.C. to Boston covered a distance of some 450 miles. Road tolls totalled nearly $24. Journey time was 8hrs. Petrol costs were less than the price of a full tank in the UK.

FOOD
I couldn't help thinking whenever we pulled into a rest stop/services, just how good it would be if instead of the Burger King, Cinnabon and Popeyes Chicken outlets, that there was local, traditional, regional food available. So many states have their trademark dishes. Interstate road travel could be made so much more interesting and educational this way. Maryland Blue Crabs, Boston Clam Chowder, Philly Cheesesteaks...a Burger King Double Cheeseburger just doesn't seem to encourage you to appreciate your new environment and all it has to offer. Food can be exciting and connect us socially, environmentally and economically with our surroundings and other people. I guess some Americans might argue that Burger King and Popeyes Chicken are traditional foods.


Since returning home I have begun to resume building the website. I hope to add Conservation and History sections to the site soon together with a food directory and photo galleries under several topics. Learning about the history of people and places is an important part of the travelling experience, and is central to us being able to take a sensitive and responsible approach to a new destination. It is also vital to helping us become aware of our own traditions, where we have come from and where we are going to.

STILL MAKING HISTORY

'Still making history' is the slogan of Alexandria. There always seems to be something to celebrate or commemorate in this suburban city, six miles south of Washington D.C. Alexandria was founded in 1749 and by 1753 it had become a thriving port shipping tobacco, grain, wheat and produce to England and the Carribean. I've been spending a fair amount of time in this area recently to escape the urban jungle of downtown Washington D.C.

When the federal District of Columbia was created in 1791 Alexandria was included in the boundary, however after receiving little financial aid and no voting rights Alexandrians became dissenchanted with being part of the District of Columbia and in 1847 voted to return to Virginia. Residents of the District of Columbia only gained the right to vote in presidential elections as recently as 1964 and continue to be subjected to taxation without representation.

The land of present day Alexandria was purchased by a Scotsman, John Alexander in 1669 for 'six thousand pounds of Tobacco and Cask" and the town of Alexandria was founded in his honour by a group of landholders and businessmen led by Scotsmen John Carlyle and William Ramsay. There is still evidence today of this early Scottish influence. The City's mascot is a Scottish Terrier and they host an annual 'Virginia Scottish Games' during the summer. There is even a Scottish tobacconist on King Street.

SOCIAL & ECONOMICAL
The Old Torpedo Factory at 105N Union Street, was built during WWI for the manufacture of torpedo parts and then reused again during WWII as a munitions factory. Today, it is an Arts center dedicated to nearly 200 artists and craftpersons who sell their work directly from their studios. The strong sense of community and pride over local products is a refreshing contrast to the impersonal and lonely streets of downtown Washington D.C. It is also an environment seldom preserved these days. If you are an out-of-towner the tourist office will make you an honourary citizen for the day, and provide you with 24hrs of free parking in order to enjoy their town. There is a huge Whole Foods supermarket in the town and free WiFi access available throughout the Old Town. It's no wonder Alexandria is ranked as one of the best places to live in the country. The town is no wizz-kid but it has clung on to the fundamentals for a building a strong community and is proud of it.

ENVIRONMENT
I saw Al Gore on Jay Leno last week talking about his documentary 'The Inconvenient Truth'...any positive work that encourages debate on important issues and that raises awareness has to be beneficial.

PRODUCTS
I noticed a great example of an environmentally insensitve product being sold in the popular 'outdoors' store LLBean. They are selling cardboard boxes containing bulbs that have been grown in the Netherlands and flown over to the USA for people to purchase. Does the USA not have it's own variety of bulbs for people to buy? Does a bulb grown in the Netherlands make for a a better flower?

MOVE OVER THANKSGIVING, HELLO CHRISTMAS

The man across the road has replaced his giant inflatable turkey with an equally giant Santa Claus. The house next door to him has been busy rigging up fairy lights all weekend. The leftover turkey has all been eaten and all of a sudden Christmas is in the air. It seems that the last weekend of November is when the festive season truly begins here.

I visited The National Geographic Headquarters briefly yesterday and then spent most of the morning in Lafayette Park across from the White House talking with "Connie". William Thomas and Conception (Connie) Picciotto have been holding a 24hr anti-nuclear peace vigil across from the White House since 3rd June 1981. They sit all day, every day, homeless, surrounded with placards, posters and news articles. Even tireless work by the National Park Service police to make life as miserable as possible for them has not broken their vigil. Connie has been arrested countless times, strip searched, physically beaten, and often has abuse hurled at her. Still the vigil remains. I will be posting an article on the website about my talk with Connie once I return home. Since arriving in Washington D.C. I have also witnessed three separate demonstrations regarding labour disputes, often workers calling for better wages. It is good to see that public protest is still very much alive in a city renowned throughout history for it's voice and people power.

You can read about the vigil at http://prop1.org/

PRODUCTS
I was impressed to see a general purpose store here called "Target", (the same as those in Australia) had an end of aisle display featuring Seventh Generation products. They produce a range of non-toxic products for the household including toilet paper and kitchen towels: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/. For ecological detergents and cleansing agents try http://www.ecover.com.

FOOD & DRINK
Fair trade coffee is available in Starbucks although not in espresso form. I guess the idea of paying coffee farmers a decent fixed amount for their coffee might affect Starbuck's profits and ruthless expansion! I had to wait whilst they brewed a pot of their featured fair trade coffee.

Following Jamie Oliver's quest to make school dinnners healthy in the UK, a similar mission is underway in the USA with one of their celebrity chefs taking the reins. It seems that as well as dumping excess produce from their subsidised crops on poorer nations, the USA also find a home for it in their schools across the country. Excess corn is converted into corn syrup which then goes into soft drinks and canned fruits that are given to the schools by the government.