It wasn’t far from Olympia to Tacoma and my navigator, finance director and social secretary decided we should ‘do’ animals. As you’ll have read then whale spotting proved a disappointment and apart from one spectacular close walk past by a fully grown male bison in Yellowstone in 2022 they have also proved quite illusive. So with low expectations we drove to the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park south of Tacoma. Well, frankly it was amazing! More bison than you can shake a stick at, should you want to wave wood, and then there were mountain goats, exotic sheep, bob cats, cougars, grizzly bears, owls, American Bald Eagles and my favourites, racoons. It was a zoo environment bar the drive around a reserve to see the animals they allowed to roam. These were all native animals to the North West.

As a travelogue I have to mention that when I first visited the USA in 1978 the cost of living seemed much lower and as a tourist over the years it has always had affordable accommodation, restaurants and generally cheaper prices in the shops. Little or nothing is a bargain now. The USA is expensive, by comparison, for a European. The average salary in the USA is c40% higher than the UK and may explain how Americans cover this. That percentage needs some analysis as it covers so many job levels from a Chief Executive to a more humble position making an average possibly less than revealing.

The minimum wage is very similar to the UK at just over £12 or $15 (Oregon). Added to these minimums are often realities of difficult recruitment and they can be nudged upwards. Whilst the tax burden is lower in the USA then in the UK health care is free at the point of delivery. In the USA it ordinarily isn’t and is something that low paid workers have to pay for. As a consequence tipping is now probably more important to low paid workers in the USA. If you buy a meal, in say Oregon, then you have to factor, over the listed price, the 10% sales tax and then the tip.

Anna and I have always tipped, wherever we are in the UK or world and 10% seemed fair enough. n the USA when the bill comes you can tip what you like but 20% seems the standard. For one meal this came to $50 for a person who frankly took the order, seemed personable and topped up our water. In hotels you now can tip the housekeeper who cleaned your room and made up the bed but you never see. My favourite is buying coffee at a counter; the card machine offers you the option to tip up to 25% for a team that passes notes to each other and works a machine and probably spells your name wrong on the cup! I should add that as a tour guide with American guests I benefitted from this largesse.

All of which suggest Americans should be pouring into Europe for their vacations, it’s so cheap!

In Tacoma we caught a short ferry to Vashon Island. We were keen to see island life and it coincided with their annual Strawberry Parade organised by their Chamber of Commerce.

Moving down a packed high street were elderly tractors, fire service trucks, teenage basketball teams, amateur dramatic groups, pet care volunteers, beekeepers and other heartening community groups. This merriment included marching bands and copious sweets/candy being liberally distributed/thrown to the many children captivated by this stream of colour, dance and noise.

What I didn’t expect was a group of activists wearing ‘Fuck Trump’ T-shirts and dancing ‘insects’ in front of an inflatable deranged Donald Trump. Now, like most folk I will look forward to his departure, in fact I know a few Brits who won’t travel to the USA whilst he’s still the President. I think his chaotic and emotional behaviour and mistakes outweigh anything positive he’s brought to the second term of his Presidency. Not least the extra £1,000 I had to fork out to get back from Australia due to his unwinnable war with Iran that cancelled my original flight and detoured me via Los Angeles to get home. Then don’t get me started on Ukraine and the unforgivable red carpet welcome for Putin in Alaska. Yes, there’s more, it’s a long sad list.

However, how were this group allowed to parade? I could never have the self confidence to be so overt in my politics and be so publicly partisan believing everyone thought I was right. What has America come to that this constitutes normal? In the UK we have divisions but at a parade if there was a float that had an inflatable politician and attendant marchers wearing ‘Fuck Farage/ Starmer/ Burnham’ we’d surely have lost the plot?

On our last day we were ready for home but had a day to spend first. Fortunately there was a car museum a matter of half a mile from our apartment. ‘Died and gone to Heaven’ comes to mind.

It was a large collection on three floors and most classic American cars and many foreign ones were exhibited. The attached history about the cars was excellent: informative and complete.

This brought me on to something that is evident as you drive around. The traditional American brands of Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Dodge, Chrysler, Pontiac et al seems to have disappeared or become as rare as hen’s teeth as regards saloons/sedans. They still can be seen as pick-ups and some SUV’s. The market is now supplied by Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Acura et al. I well remember the green Chrysler Volare my father rented on my first visit to the USA.

A consolation is the fact that these cars are built in the USA. The economies of scale that these foreign owned companies can achieve with their global sales means they can hit and live with prices that US manufacturers can’t.

In the UK our traditional, including European brands are in retreat to the same Far East manufacturers. Some manufacture in Europe, not all. Chinese EV’s are now seemingly flooding into the UK with low prices subsidised by the Chinese government. The sale of these cars, at giveaway prices, can only be viewed as an attempt to damage European manufacturers permanently. The US imposes a 100% on Chinese EV’s.

Our rental car had to be returned with a full tank and so we drove back to the airport sedately and thereafter sat in the lounge until called to board. British Airways improved on their earlier performance of not delivering four bags when we arrived in Seattle. This time, at Manchester, they delivered one! The next day the other three bags were delivered to York. If BA want a clue as to how improve profitability it might start with reducing their courier bills by loading bags onto aircraft.

So what a mixture of relatives, friends, hospitality, landscapes, bison, automobiles, aircraft, whales (sort of), fine dining and learning. Thank you for your company.