The Beautiful South and Washed Out in Washington

So swing back to the Peruvian Jungle episode and you may remember that we met some folk from North Carolina while we were all staying at the Wasai Lodge. We'd told them about our trip (like we tell everyone as they all ask) and when they heard that we were to be coming up the east coast of the USA they immediately gave us their email address and told us that we should visit them when we pass through and they'd take us to their beach house, feed us southern food (including the mysterious "grits") and generally show us a good time. Nothing could have prepared us for the level of hospitality they really had in store. For reference there are three couples you need to know about - Jennell and Frank Harris, Margaret ("MC") and Stig (yes he does know about "Top Gear") Egede-Nissen and Jim and Connie Strickland.

We arranged to meet Jennell at the Greyhound station in Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina and when we did, she already had lunch waiting for us in the car. This was the famous North Carolina "BBQ" which is BBQ pork in a roll served with sweet potato fries and two vinegar-based sauces (the make-up of the sauces varied across the state). After a 14 h bus trip this was extremely welcome and we fair wolfed it down while Jennell drove. It was a 200 mile or so journey and on they way we chatted about life, the universe and everything, sorting out the state of US and UK education along the way. We eventually arrived and Frank and Jennell's beach house in Shallotte on an estuary off the North Carolina spot. It was a stunning spot and a really lovely house which they'd had built about a decade earlier. After staying in hostels in Florida it was quite a contrast with a gorgeous room for us with a double bed, clean sheets and a bathroom with a properly powerful shower, also welcome after some of the cold, dribbly affairs we'd encountered in Latin America. We were able to have a shot kayaking on the estuary (with Charlotte falling in!) before Frank arrived with Annie and Zach, their two springer spaniels and Zach's "security raccoon". Dinner was a great clam chowder accompanied by an amazing ham which Jennell had cured herself and various pickled things (see the recipes section for these and other North Carolina gastronomic feasts!) and we were plied with plenty alcohol including some single malt which made us feel properly at home. After much chat and more putting the world to rights we eventually crashed with great promise for the following day.

Morning was broken with an amazing breakfast of crispy bacon, eggs (over easy - I hadn't seen that done before) and warm Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Charlotte had mentioned these after trying them on a previous visit to NYC. They were amazing (so much better than Dunkin' Donuts!) and we now need to seek out a branch so we can sample more. After breakfast we all jumped in the boat and headed down the river to a beach area. The whole place was stunning and was peppered by some seriously big houses, most of which were weekend retreats so it boggles the mind to consider what their permanent residences look like. The day before Jennell had baited the crab pot and lo and behold, we had a clutch of crabs so Charlotte and I watched eagerly while these were boiled (they went from blue to pink) and then we all assisted picking the meat out the shells. Jennell made the white meat into crab cakes (another recipe we collected!) and the brown meat from the claws into a dip for a later occasion. Frank then drove us back across the river to the fish market where we bought 25 lb of shrimps. Don't be afraid though, most of these were to last the winter so they were bagged up and frozen but a few were kept for the evening. The final finishing touch was put to the main course when Frank suggested that we go out fishing using some of the shrimp as bait. I'd never fished before so jumped at the chance. Frank got Charlotte set up with rod and bait and showed her how to cast. He then set me up, showed me how to cast and within about 30 seconds I was reeling in a monster (beginner's luck I suspect). I chopped it's head off (my first animal kill, I was proud!) and Frank helped me de-scale, gut, clean and fillet it. It was added to the menu along with the shrimps, crab cakes and cheesy grits (a cous-cous- like grain that we'd only previously heard of). An amazing meal resulted finished off with some shortbread that was the tiny and only contribution from Charlotte and myself. We learnt loads about southern cooking and played Jennell and Frank some tunes and sang some songs that evening. Charlotte got the comedy award by walking into a closed screen door - doh!

Frank drove us back to Burlington the next morning (after more lovely eggs, sausages, doughnuts etc etc!) where we were handed over to Stig and MC who hadn't been able to join us for the weekend. They live with their two dogs Max and Schubert in a crazy house on a lakeside with loads of bizarre nooks and crannies, one of which we were staying in which contained a luxurious double bed, our own bathroom and a couple of other spare rooms too. We chatted (more setting of the world to rights - always fun!) and they took us out for dinner at the local golf club where they sometimes play. We all ordered burgers as they told us that it was unique in that you could specify how you wanted your burger cooked (rare, medium rare etc). Most restaurants are too worried about health and safety for that. You could also specify sides or mixtures (fries, onion rings, salad, slaw etc.) so Charlotte and I both ordered a half and half combination of fries and onion rings. There was little room left for dessert so we ordered an ice-cream-pie and shared it round. I couldn't imagine anyone eating a whole one after that amount of main course. We lit a fire in their fire pit back at the house - alcohol was drunk, tunes were played and songs were sung. We were loving it.

It's election time here in the US and both Stig and MC were working the next day at the polling booths. Unlike the UK, they allow a week or so of voting so that everyone has a chance. Stig went early but MC didn't start until 10.30am so was able to make breakfast for us - eggs again but this time accompanied by another southern delicacy, biscuits. Before you start thinking that that's really odd, a biscuit here in the US is actually a savoury scone type object and can be filled with bacon, ham etc. It was a great accompaniment to the eggs certainly. Up to this point we hadn't been able to meet up with Connie and Jim, the third couple from our jungle experience as Jim's father had just died so they were tied up dealing with that. Connie phoned that morning though and we managed to arrange a lunch outing with her and their kids Brandee and Taylor who were approximately our age. This was taken at "Mellow Mushroom", a pizza joint that had recently opened in town. They had a great selection of ales (surprising for the US) and Taylor was the expert in the local brews and helped us make a selection. All were lovely and reminded us very much of home. Pizzas were bought and shared out (mine was the best though!) and more of the world was set to right. A lovely time.

When we arrived back with MC we jumped in her car and she took us on a wee mystery tour around Burlington. They have a really lovely university campus which looked especially lovely with the leaves on the turn. We were also particularly interested to see the fraternities and sororities, something we really don't have in the UK so we picked MC's brains and tried to get our heads round that. There was also a really nice area (called "Glencoe" bizarrely enough) where there were converted cotton mill houses. Apparently, no one thought they'd ever be any use once the mills had closed (and when we saw one pre-converted we saw why!) but someone converted one and the whole things snowballed. They're allowed to build as much as they like provided that the front of the building remains intact so all of them had massive back extensions. They made lovely residences and you could see a couple that were in production. Dinner that eveing was shrimp and grits, another southern classic followed by a pear pie made mostly by Charlotte. Stig and MC had invited two of their friends round so we had a great evening chatting, sharing stories and playing some more music. Jennell and Frank dropped by as well so we could say cheerio as we were on the early Greyhound to Washington DC the next morning.

We were especially sad to leave our North Carolina crowd as we'd had the most amazing time with them. They were the most generous and accommodating hosts (MC even made us a packed lunch for the bus journey) and we were staying in beautiful houses eating fantastic food. We would never had thought to go there if we hadn't met them in the jungle but we're so glad we did and it's certainly changed the southern US steriotype for me. It actually makes me want to investigate more of the southern states so maybe we'll do that on a future occasion. I really hope that sometime we'll be able to return the favour by welcoming them to Scotland.

MC dropped us off at the station the next morning where we were due to catch a bus at 8.00am. It turned out to be running late so we sat in the station chatting to the station manager and a taxi driver waiting for possible business. They were two black guys and I'd noticed posters on the wall celebrating the "Freedom Rides" when a bunch of black and white civil rights campaigners boarded Greyhound buses in 1961 to challenge the segregation of the time. It was fascinating to quiz these guys about it as they were old enough to remember segregation and told us crazy stories about how there'd be four toilets in a bus station, two for whites and two for blacks and how black would always have to go round the back etc. It's funny how we think of the USA as being a modern country now but you don't have to go too far back to find some pretty hellish nastiness. The bus eventually arrived and we headed north.

In Washington we were staying with Gil and Nancy, two lovely Couchsurfers with extensive experience (we were surfers 211 and 212 approximately). We chatted with Nancy for a bit before Gil arrived and within about 5 minutes, we'd identified a common love for Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and classic British comedies. We went out to a CS meet up down the road and met (amongst others) a guy who'd lived in Glasgow and a girl who'd lived in Edinburgh. We spent a good bit discussing the relative merits of the two cities and reminisced about Kebab Mahal and the Mosque curries. I felt a touch homesick...

After chatting with Gil and Nancy about our itinerary, we decided to have an early start as we didn't have long in Washington, DC. We headed straight for the Mall and wandered up and down visiting as many sites as we could including the Congress, Vietnam, Korean and WWII Memorials, the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, one of the Smithsonian Museums and the White House - there was so much to see! I think the highlights for me were seeing Barack's House (we took a photo with the EYG bag and gave him a wave but he never showed his face :-() but also, seeing the spot where Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was amazing to look as he did over the reflecting pool to the Washington Memorial and imagine it full of civil rights campaigners at such a turning point in history. We did get absolutely soaked mind as the heavens opened in tropical-storm like fashion. We managed to escape into the museum where we saw the Star Spangled Banner that inspired "The Star Spangled Banner" so that was a bonus - luckily all the museums in Washington, DC are free.

I'd read on-line about a legendary place that did chilli dogs and was a place that the then president-elect Barack Obama ate before he was inaugurated in early 2009. We managed to seek it out and had the chilli dog, fries and pink lemonade. It was fabulous - a chilli dog is basically a hot dog with mustard and onions in a bun smothered with chilli sauce (no beans - yaay!) and I can't imagine how anyone would eat one as a take-out. Back at Gil and Nancy's we had a bit of a jam session with Gil on his slide dulcimer. He caught on to the rhythms and chords pretty quick and we had lots of chat about Scotland and it's music and culture (more mild homesickness for me). We left the next morning feeling sorry that we couldn't stay with them longer as they were lovely people but all the Scottishness was making them fancy a visit across the water so hopefully we'll be able to welcome them to our home sometime soon.

The following morning was another day and another Greyhound to somewhere I was particularly excited about. The Big Apple!