A love affair with Uncle Sam

Something I've never been able to explain, but ever since I was a little girl, I've had a minor, no, let's face it, a major obsession with America and all things American.

I think it started with Little House on the Prairie - I felt I had been born at the wrong time and in the wrong place. My siblings laughed. Of course they did.

It wasn't until I was 20 that I finally got to visit. And that was for 45 minutes when I had to transfer 'planes at JFK airport.

When I broke up with my ex, and got some profit from our house sale, I decided to blow some of it on a trip to New York for 4/5 days with my 3 best friends.

I was rapturous, and fell hook, line and sinker for the country all over again. I love the people (I was always looked at oddly for wishing people a nice day in the UK), I love their fascination with our accents, and I love the brands, the stores.

But most of all, and I think, where my love affair really began, was finding about the country, its history, the geography, the melting pot of cultures. When I was 20, again, I borrowed my sister's "History of America" and spent my daily commute devouring information about the country, its people, presidents etc. I'm ashamed to admit that I remember very little.

The geography fascinated me the most - the idea that one country could encompass mountain ranges, desserts, canyons, glorious coastlines, breathtaking waterfalls intrigued me (the UK is TINY in comparison). I think just the sheer sense of SPACE and untouched land, the seemingly endless roads, and the ability of some people to live in near isolation really appealed to me.

When I met my husband, he could appreciate where I was coming from - his sister had a similar love affair, as have his parents. Since we met, we have been to New York once (going again in December), Florida for our honeymoon, and spent 2 weeks travelling from Canada through the Adirondacks and New England to Boston.

Next year, we are planning 3 weeks travelling from Denver to Vegas, taking in Aspen, Durango; and then on to San Francisco, with a stay over in Yosemite.

There are products I love there that you can't get here (Mint Oreos, Kelloggs Maple Frosted Wheats), products that are much cheaper (Benefit make up etc!) which all find their way into my suitcase.

There's the baseball - probably my favourite sport to watch, and which I still don't understand fully (not helped by the fact that we get NO coverage in the UK), but I want to learn more about.

But most of all there are the memories, and the photos, and just the experiences that you just don't seem to get in my part of the world.

I have so many great recollections of our holiday last year, and most of them are about the people we met who shared their stories with us - like the couple we met in the S&P Oyster House in Mystic who we chatted with for nearly an hour, or the Inn owners at Lake Saranac and Taftsville.

The hospitality we have been shown at the B&B's we have stayed at has been phenomenal and we always want to return, but there are so many other places to go first.

At least I know the country and the people aren't going anywhere and will be there for me whenever we go back.

One of my best friends got the chance to live in New York for 6 months last year. While I was happy for her, it also threw me into an envious funk. It has always been my dream to live there, but a dream I suspect will have to wait until retirement, and only after we ensure we have a good health plan in place!

I think my love affair with Uncle Sam will never end...