Four seasons in one day

I am being blown away by the friendliness of people in North Carolina. I've made so many new best friends! And I have had my first "Ar jurst lurve yer cute accent!" Well, I love your cute accent too, honey. Tell you another thing I've noticed about people here. They are so much more patient than British people. At a four-way junction where the traffic lights had broken down everyone waited patiently whilst each road in turn had one car go across. That would have been a proper scrum back home, everybody trying to bully their way through. Same at Talledega on Sunday. Trying to cram 200,000 people into a stadium took a bit of time but all the people just waited patiently and took their turn to get through the gates.

On the roads too drivers are so much more courteous and tolerant of each other. Christan thinks it might be because this is a land where picking an argument with another driver could be picking an argument with a man with a gun. In the same way that nuclear bombs actually seem to have made the world less dangerous so maybe the proliferation of guns here actually makes it calmer and more relaxed. Just a thought.

The Cherokee museum yesterday was pretty much what I expected - glad I went but wouldn't feel the need to go back there. We were busting for a pee when we got there so headed to the toilet straight away. We were both stood there doing what you have to do when some Indian music started up. I've always known they have their war dances but didn't realise they had their "Make you giggle whilst you piss" music.

From there we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway. For you Brits I need to tell you this road is described as the most scenic in south-east America. It is absolutely stunning. No trucks allowed - 45mph maximum - no advertising hoardings allowed - just mind blowing scenery. All the travel guides warn of heavy congestion on the road and there was one time when it got really busy - one car in front of me and one behind . . .

It's the end of April, we're in the warm southern states so the choice was simple. Tee-shirts, shorts and flip-flops it was then. How cool did we look in the falling snow! And how come we failed to realise we'd be driving on sheet ice? Englishmen abroad - they shouldn't be allowed.