Hello, I’m new in town.

As I came south down US17 (finally managing to work out the route that avoids passing through the main drag of Myrtle Beach and avoid the congestion), I decided to imagine that I’d never been to Charleston before.

I’ve obviously been to a lot of towns and cities over the last three weeks, and each time I’ve approached one, you always look for the early signs as you approach as to how nice it’s going to be.

There was a horrid, just horrid place in Pennsylvania the other week, where I came off to stop at a gas station just to use their toilet, and BAM! *every single* conceivable chain store that you’ve come to know and love/hate were there. Their huge day-glow neon signs polluting the skyline, to the point where what with the US style of traffic lights [stop signals] being strung across the junction on high tension wires clogging up the sky too, it was actually hard to see the sky & clouds above because everywhere I looked that was a sign for a business.

Days Inn, Holiday Inn, Super 8, Motel 6 - were all there. McDonald’s, Arby’s, Taco Bell and Waffle House - all there. And BP and Exxon and a couple of other chain gas stations that I don’t remember right now ere also all there.

I fumbled with my camera at the drivers seat to take a shot, but the light turn green, the car behind me hooted his horn, and I drove on … and then got the hell out of there, because I was slightly depressed at how characterless the town had been. It could have been anywhere. It was just rubbish.

And yet … strangely … that was my initial impression of this new town … ‘Charleston’ the I approached yesterday. You do of course get to Chuck south on 17 through Mount Pleasant. And they they all were .. the Arby’s the Wendy’s and the Days Inn, littering the side of the road like anytown USA. It’s not until you hit the bridge (and I tried to pretend again that I was new to town, and what my first impression of the bridhe would be upon seeing it for the first time), and cross it and make downtown proper that you quickly get tuned into Charleston’s uniqueness.

It’s odd being back. I’ve only been gone three weeks and it feels like longer. What will feel like when I return after being nine weeks on the road? Which is the prospect that now faces me. Car Battery flat and gear stolen from car? If that can happen in three weeks, what can happen in triple that time? Shudder.

Tech-wise, I’ve ordered a new camera which will get here hopefully tomorrow. A new video camera is also back ordered which is a pain, but i’m working on a plan to get it to me sooner.

Tomorrow is a day of getting my main PC back up and running, and trying to remember what the names of all the 4000+ tracks were that I had on my iTunes. That should be fun - not.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 11:27 pm and is filed under Review of the year, Underground : USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Share this post on Facebook