Home - 30 degrees less and no ocean
I could be on the coast for a month and still be depressed that I'm home. I'm never the type to get homesick, although I distinctly remember one occasion at a rest stop when I was 9 where I was suddenly bitch slapped with homesickness. That is the extent of my homesick stories. I always say that moving doesn't solve anything - there are problems everywhere, but I'm starting to wonder at least how nice it would be to have problems in an environment I would enjoy! I really hate the mid-west.

Regardless of all that, I had to be amused with our crazy country. We stopped by the tavern across from Monticello. I thought this would be a great place to get a beer, and cool that is was built in the late 1700s. Not only did they charge you $9 a person to get into the tavern, no alcohol was allowed on the premises. More than the principle of charging us $20 to sit in a tavern relatively young by any other world standards, they don't even serve beer, a LARGE aspect of the place!!!!

So I sat outside, looking at it, and considered the joy of sitting in the first pub built in Dublin (1500s) and having a pint of beer for free (except the beer) - walking the amazing gardens at Versailles for free - sitting in front of Da Vinci's resting place for free - walking Stonehenge for free - walking the extensive catacombs in Malta for free - sitting on Palatine Hill eating a sandwich in Rome for free (except the sandwich), etc...etc...etc. Suddenly I had to laugh at the US' desire to protect these relatively young establishments and charge decently high fees to visit. I don't want to suggest there isn't good history here, but that doesn't discount the history elsewhere either.

Granted, there are expensive historical areas everywhere, but it's ironic how the US has a special knack for it.