Southern California is an exception in almost every case.
Elsewhere we found incredibly polite people. Sometimes we suspected this to be a somewhat shallow/insincere front but certainly every effort was made to please. Most people we met were truly genuine.
Many people asked us about the political position in Australia (about which we know very little - we were told we had a female PM but an American). They appear genuinely interested in us.
Not as many as on our previous visit, but certainly there is still quite a concern about what Australian's think of USA.
Motorists actually stop so you can cross the road! No need to be an assertive pedestrian! No evidence of frustration because I walk a little slower than many. Even in crowded Manhattan and Washington DC at peak hour not one person bumped into me or expected me to move out of their way. Somehow they manage to walk without collisions...
In every case I was given a seat in a bus or train. Young people immediately stand for anyone older than them and there is never any thought of leaving people without seats while they take 2 for their personal use. Buses did not move off until everyone was seated or stable.
Slower drivers will actually pull over to let others pass. This is expected.
The scenery is awesome. All National Parks visited were unique and stunning. Whilst cities are kind of a mandatory touchdown, it is in the countryside of USA that I truly find I am filled with an inner glow.
I have refined my gun policy. Where there is no likelihood of meeting a bear, cougar, moose, bison, wolf etc that is in a 'bad mood', then guns are not a requirement for life. Where these natives may become a real threat (ie not for hunting purposes), then I absolutely would be having a rifle on hand! I like Australia's policy -licence, responsibility etc. This is the case in some parts of USA, where to threaten or even point a replica gun at a person is an offence.
Up north we encountered responsible environmental talk relating to conservation of forests, animals, glaciers, waterways etc. In Montana, where forest fire is a risk, people take extreme precaution to protect their neighbour.
So, most of my observations are positive.
Just a few negatives:
Tipping. It seems to be a way of avoiding taxation and at around 20% (rounded up and down a little) is ridiculously expected or added in almost every situation where somewhere serves you in any way.
Tax. Prices look lower initially, but don't forget to add the tax because this generally does not show on the price tag. When staying in hotels, sometimes there is also a bed tax, a reservation tax etc etc, which is not mentioned to you when the initial price is quoted. Impossible to predict how much to get out of your wallet or how much will go onto the card.
'You're welcome'. I am sure this is genuine, but we got sick of hearing every time we said 'Thank you'. It seemed to lose meaning because it was so spontaneous and never varied. We would have loved to leave a greater influence with options such as "No worries", "That's fine", "Not a problems". Better still a few Aussie phrases that were a little more ambiguous. We found that in general our regular comments such as "Here you go", brought questioning gazes...."Go...where?". Very literal interpretations.
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