Jim & Al's Excellent Adventure Pt. V

Al and I just arrived in Grand Forks, staying at the same hotel, greeted by our old greasy friend, Ole, the night auditor (he's the one with the elbow holes in his shirt)
As I chatted with him tonight, he told me he's been the night auditor for 25 years! Ole cow! (shoot me now!)

One of the advantages of driving all this way is that you see the United States in much more detail than if you just fly. America is certainly a different culture than Canada!

For instance, at stores you are asked if you want a ‘sack’; meaning a ‘bag’!
In a restaurant, when you’re drinking coke, you are asked if you want a refill on your ‘soda’;
and when you go to pay you’re given your ‘ticket’; obviously meaning your ‘bill’.

America loves really big signs. There are LOTS of enormous billboards, advertising everything you can imagine; if you’re ever hungry for some McDonalds, all you need do is look up into the distant horizon and you’re sure to find some golden arches, atop a pole that has got to be 75 feet in the air!

Americans also love casinos. They are everywhere, in all sorts of sizes, and it seems that virtually every city wants to have its own version of Las Vegas, with some manner of casino-hotel. (and yes, there are enormous signs everywhere, announcing each one!)

And of course there is beer. Everywhere. In every corner store and gas station you can get jumbo cans and bottles of suds, many of which are only slightly more expensive than a ‘soda’!

Speaking of soda, that’s one of the great things about America: you can get cherry coke everywhere, and I’ve been enjoying lots of it! (LOL) And for some reason I don’t understand the fountain ‘soda’ dispensers work perfectly! I’m so used to having to poor off the extraordinary excess amounts of carbonation bubbles, but here in the States, all you do is push the button and watch your glass fill perfectly to the top. It’s amazing! (It’s almost as if it’s the way it’s meant to work!)

I also discovered that Jiffy Lube puts all other Canadian car ‘lube’ places to shame. (who knew!!)
It was amazing. They cleaned all the windows by hand, vacuumed the car, drove the car into the shop for me and offered me coffee while I waited (a wasted offer for sure, but nevertheless). Jiffy Lube rules!

The humor highlight on the trip may well have been Al's discovery of the 'pickle in a pouch' for sale at a local gas station (it's a dill pickle in a sealed pouch, floating in juice). He couldn't pass up the chance to buy one for his dad as a gag gift!

Only in America!