Can I get a Kauwfee?

My first day in America! Upstate in the town of Goshen.

A seven hour flight followed by a two hour drive from JFK through two of the five boroughs, Queens and then the Bronx. I glimpsed a sneak peak of the Manhattan skyline before we slipped out of the city and further into New York. The sky scrapers gave way for lush, rolling green fields. This is what suburbia looks like.

Jet lag reared it's ugly head... I managed to keep my eyes open for dinner with Dan's wonderful family before succumbing to the inevitable.

Morning came early. Half past four to be precise. We tried to dose before admitting defeat at six, and sitting on the porch with coffee, enjoying the day's first rays of sunshine.

It's very peaceful here. There are no fences between the houses, just wide open spaces and tall, tall trees. I'm on the look out for deer and skunks, but no luck as of yet.

We decided on a low-key, all American day.

We went to visit Dan's grandparents who live right down the street, where the smell of pancakes and bacon was already heavy and inviting in the air. The streets are lined with star spangled banners - 4th of July preparation or just general patriotism, I'm not sure.

Dan drove me through Goshen so I could get an idea of the place. It's a bit like being on the set of The Wonder Years, houses with wrap round porches and cheery mailboxes at the end of each drive. I haven't seen any little old ladies in rocking chairs yet but I hope it's only a matter of time.

It seems that going for coffee is the national pastime here, and me and the Osburn boys made a few caffeine stops throughout the day. Using my first American dollars was fairly thrilling - everything here is familiar but different, new and exciting.

Dinner was a traditional restaurant in a quaint little town called Sugar Loaf - a bit of an alternative to Woodstock - and we managed to fulfill two holiday goals on our very first day:

1)"I love your accent! Are you English?" - Cue a very excitable Brit.
2)We were served by a girl that used to be mean to Dan when he was younger. We indulged in a moment of Schadenfreude.

We're heading off to a lake for swimming and sunbathing and maybe a little hiking (I've been promised this just means walking) - It's ten past eight and 24 degrees. I could definitely get used to this.