100 Things I Love About the USA: Part 1

Now that I've finished the series of  100 Things That Make Me Happy inspired by my blogging friend, Charlotte, I'm again following in her footsteps by doing a series of things I love about the good ol' USA. Although, she did hers on England because that's where she lives, so there's that itty bitty difference. So, in no particular order, I begin!

#1. The vastness of America. From the wilderness of Alaska to the shores of Hawaii to the shores of our east coast and everything in between, we have a little bit of everything. An American citizen can go their entire life and still not be able to see everything, so we know it's just as tough for tourists from other nations to decide where to go and what to do. I mean, really, where do you start??

The Alaskan Wilderness. It's no wonder it's the "Last Frontier State".

A turtle in the Hawaiian waters.

An east coast lighthouse.

#2. America is a huge melting pot. Granted, people move around the globe these days so easily for jobs or they just want to reinvent their life. These days almost every country could be considered a melting pot of nationalities. However, the USA began as one - I mean, after white man landed on the shores and stuck a flag in the soil claiming the land as theirs even though it was already inhabited by Native Americans. I mean, besides that detail. Britain stuck a flag in what is currently Virginia, and from that moment on, it was never the same. Colonists came over, criminals were shipped here so that the crown wouldn't have to see them anymore, and eventually, mass immigrations changed what America was. To this day, there are people around the world who want desperately to become US citizens, for the promise of a better or different life.

Just like the mice in An American Tail who thought there were no cats in America, people from other nations hoped for better lives and less strife.

#3.   The Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was the launch site for every single American space flight since 1968. I would love to see a space shuttle launch one day. However, because they are now deemed too expensive, NASA has suspended them.

#4. We had the first man to ever set foot on the moon - Neil Armstrong. It was the ending of an era when he passed away in 2012. He boldly went where no man had ever been.

#5. The simple fact that in our culture, it's simply not okay to be 40 and have never left your parents house. In today's economy, many of us are moving back in with Mom and Dad til we get employment to pay off the few hundred thousand dollars in student loans, or the bank foreclosed on your house after you lost your job because your company went poof. Really, that's what family should be - supportive and helpful. I realize that in many cultures, one doesn't move out until married. I respect that. But I'm eternally grateful that our general culture says to move out around 18 or 20 - we need to become responsible.

Here's where I show you where I've possibly taken you within the USA. You'll see "me" in the Northern part of California. Kennedy Space Center is 3,000 miles away in Florida. That's either a few days of driving or 4-5 hour flight, if you can get a straight flight. This map will be used to help my readers who live abroad to picture where in the states certain things are.