(On the coach,
somewhere in Pennsylvania)

It is! Let's see how good my bumpy-writing has gotten!

My mum is napping with her sunglasses on, head lolling about while the bus rolls on. The couple behind us is from Cuba but at present live in Miami, Florida. They speak mostly in Spanish and are sharing chips. Two ladies up front hail from New Mexico. We are passing low clouds and stripey hills.

We were dragged up at 6am this morning, drinking store-made tea, then quickly decided what we needed to pack for this two-day tour and walked to 37th Street on 8th Ave to wait for the coach. It was drizzling lightly and we were all standing around with our luggage, but the driver just leaned against a fire hydrant, smoking and scowling, not letting us up, till a lady from the tourist agency arrived to take attendance. It occurred to me that it was the right thing to do 'cos there could be a fugitive attempting to hitchhike among us, but still. We left when our guide arrived. She is an elderly, sprightly lady with silver-blonde hair; her name is Margarita and she resides in the Bronx. She gives elaborate explanation about being on a train that broke down, hence her lateness. We pass through Hell's Kitchen - Alicia Keys' turf - on the way out of Manhattan.




We touch New Jersey again, then Hoboken, where Frank Sinatra once lived and sang, then a rest-stop where we buy postcards and mum tries to carry six cup noodles at once. It is nice listening to Elton John and Counting Crows sing about the places right before our eyes - NYC, Long Island, Chesapeake Bay. I see a store signboard that reads "Fountains of Wayne" (yes, after the band), and find elaboration online:
Fountains of Wayne:The band name was taken from the name of a lawn-ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey, not far from Montclair, New Jersey, the hometown of the band's bassist and cofounder Adam Schlesinger. (From Wikipedia)
What makes this even sweeter is a road-sign not too far from here proclaiming, "The Land of Make-Believe - next 2o miles."