The Land of the Free

Welcome back to the road and the Land of the Free. For the past 2 weeks, we have had The Great American Road Expansion Pack, to include another straggler (and sometimes another other straggler) in addition to the Original Two. Throughout this time, I have gained a little insight into why Americans like to think that their homeland as ‘The Land of the Free.’

Firstly, wildlife spotting can be undertaken, free of charge, any time of the day or night. I have seen bears, raccoons, marmots, beavers, eagles, deer, snakes and skunks. The first 3 were alive. I think that these sightings were free because they all come with the inherent risk of being mauled, having your food stolen and being hugely underwhelmed respectively. The last 5 animals on my list were dead on the side of the road, but a sighting is a sighting and I will take what I can get. Especially when it is free of charge.

Ponies on Assateague National Seashore

America is great because you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Including having three people having a nap under a single picnic table on a beach to escape the sunshine. This country is also free enough to allow us to walk up a hill for 4 hours (emphasis on 4 hours up) in the fog to get a fantastic view of fog in pursuit of a llama train, only to discover that the llama train had already been and gone. Not to rub it in our faces or anything, but walking up and down that hill with llama sign everywhere, and the knowledge that there were to be no llamas that fateful day, was pretty demoralising.

Foggy views from the top in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Because 'fog' is just 2 letters away from 'fun'

Camping in Shenandoah National Park

However, I personally feel that calling America ‘The Land of the Free’ is a bit ridiculous. This country is not free because I am not free to buy alcohol every day of the week at any supermarket or liquour store. If that’s not an infringement on my freedom then I don’t know what is. Further, this country has silly rules about little things – like the whole, ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service.’ Do they think that my wearing shoes has anything to do with the price of eggs? Unlikely. Apparently, I have been breaking the law one terrible rendition of the songs on my spotify playlist after another, because in the state of North Carolina, it is illegal to sing off-key. In some places, it is even illegal for me to tie my pet giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp. Not that I have a pet giraffe, but if I did, I would very much like the freedom to tie it to a telephone pole while I did my grocery shopping before I rode it home, thank you very muchly.

Water-falls

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

I think that a much more accurate name for this country would be ‘Land of the Almost Free.’ I say this because the other day we pulled up for gas, proceeded to buy $34 worth of fuel and receive $20 change from our original $40. When you get $14 off your $34 purchase, that makes America the worthy recipient of he title, Land of the Almost Free. The trend was continued when later that day, the Champion who worked at Dunkin Donuts took our order from $10.87 to $4.99 with a 99c ice coffee deal from 2-4 pm in the afternoons. Again, America, the Land of the Almost Free.

Welcome to Nashville, Tennessee.

I suppose I will give the American population some credit for their endless belief that one day America truly will be the Land of the Free. However, today is not that day.