America the Beautiful

Yes, America the Beautiful. One of our great songs. Some people even confuse it as our National Anthem because of its stirring words.

It also makes a great title for traveling in the United States. If you live in America, the news is mostly about its problems. And like all places, there are plenty of those to discuss. But there is also an immense amount of Natural and man-made beauty to see. America the Beautiful does exist, not only with the physical things but also with the people. To see it, you just need to go out and visit it.

My wife and I recently took a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. We had never been there before. We rented a house for a week outside the city in the mountains. It gave us a wonderful view every morning. Of course, we visited the Biltmore house there. It was fun to see what rich Americans built 100+ years ago. Again you can argue about the inequity of those riches, but you can still enjoy the beauty of it. It is just a coincidence that the house was built at the time as the song, America the Beautiful, was being put together.

Asheville is one of dozens (probably hundreds of American towns and small cities) that have a certain ‘Americana’ charm to them. Because Asheville has become a bit of a vacation location, the smaller towns around it, like Hendersonville, have also seen fit to fix up and rejuvenate the main streets. It is fun to explore them. And there are always stories and legends to go with them.

While we flew to Asheville on this trip, road trips all over America will show all different kinds of American beauty. The Golden Gate Bridge is always fun to see. Give a five-year-old some hot chocolate and you have a wonderful moment to share.


The Lone Cypress, the icon of Pebble Beach. Yes, it is not just the logo for a spectacular golf course, it is a real tree in a stunning location.


Beautiful sunsets all over, almost everywhere – this being Hawaii over the old native fish ponds next to the ocean.

And America’s most precious beauty, its children doing something together with all the parents trying to capture a moment which passes by all too quickly.