"In America you need a car". I've said it many times, and in this part of America it's true. In the big cities, probably not so true. The first task today is to pick up a car. Robert has done the leg work and sorted out some options. The first has a charge of 25 cents a mile. The second is Hertz, so we drive over to the other side of Auburn (which may not be geographically correct, but it was through the centre). They look at my International driving permit, my driving license, and ask almost no questions. I choose the expensive - high peace of mind - insurance option. We spend a few minutes sitting in the car under the canopy in the driving rain outside Hertz, fiddling with the GPS (sat-nav) before I realise that I have to put the City name in first. (Always read the prompts!). We then follow Robert back to their home.
Next stop Walmart - to get a couple of pre-paid, no contract cell phones. My mobile works here, but Robert cannot read the text messages, which may be something to do with his contract, but Jo's doesn't work at all. The Walmart website and store are quite different. I end up with TracFone.
Then we head off to the Hospital where Karen works looking after the babies of the workers. A nice tall red brick building that's easy spot in the 'low-rise' Auburn landscape. There's a little food kiosk in the reception area, and we choose toasted sandwiches and muffins. We sit at the table and chat and eat. Its good to be with Karen again.
After that we drive into Opelika and wander around. If I was to mysteriously appear in Opelika I would know I was in America. The grand City buildings, the large churches, the wide roads, the space between houses, the style of the houses, the number of pick-up trucks, and the fact that they are almost all reasonably new is just some of my evidence. We browse a few shops and stumble on the East Alabama Museum. What an amazingly diverse collection. From an Indian canoe (dug up in Florida) that is thousands of years old, to an X-ray machine for checking that children's shoes fit correctly, from a collection of dolls of British Queens, to the history of magnetic tape, from toys to military history and a working flood light from the WWII prisoner of war camp. We were the only visitors and got the unofficial guided tour. From a tourist experience point of view it doesn't get better.
On our arrival in the fog at Heathrow I'd remembered that I hadn't packed my medication. That's an expensive mistake I'd thought. I did have my prescription though, ready in case it was needed to get through customs. We inquired at the hospital pharmacy who suggested we go to Urgent Care. We arrived 10 seconds after closing time, but the receptionist pointed us to the nearest one - no distance away. Once there I had to fill in 7 pages of details - lots of repeats, then got to see a doctor. He confirmed my blood pressure was a little high and gave me a prescription. We talked about cars - Hyundai (who have a massive new factory in Auburn) and Toyota - more recalls. He chastised his assistant for not listening when he had to repeat the details, but it was all very friendly. A prescription was sent to Target, and we drove over there to pick it up. The medication and the visit cost about $64, which was much better than I feared.
It is now quite late, so we ordered food from Chilis which Robert and Karen collected. It arrived in huge polystyrene containers, which were only half full, but it was a nice meal, and there was plenty.
Things I like about America - so far - in no particular order
Up is on for electrical switches
Wide roads
Friendly, enthusiastic staff - who want to help.
Easy parking
Things I dislike about America - so far - in no particular order
Waste - too much packaging - too much throw away stuff
Over Friendly, over enthusiastic staff
No comments:
Post a Comment