I’ve enjoyed your ruminations and summaries. My experience is limited to my one week in Tx (Wordpress refused to publish my comment with the full state name - very curious!) recently, and your comments seemed apt from that limited experience.

You say “An experience in total contrast would be a trip from the northeast to the South.” I read a book about a guy who did just that. Finished college, felt lost, decided to go on the classic “road trip” to find himself, and “walk across America”. So he did just that, walked from northeast to N’Orleans where he found a wife and Jesus, and wrote up his experiences in a fascinating book titled “Walk Across America”. He later completed the second leg with his new wife, from N’Orleans to Oregon - also interesting, but slightly less so. Recommended.

You haven’t put a time dimension on your comments - i.e. this is what it’s like today, but is there any change in the offing? For example, Houston in Tx, where we stayed, is one of the most spread out cities in the world, with the highest petrol usage - see my blog inner and outer space - and virtually no public transport. So the question is, what is the future for the bloated, gas-guzzling Houston? When the oil runs out, or even becomes very expensive, how will the city run? Or will technology, electric cars, or bio-fuels (which take food from hungry people to make fuel for rich people) allow this lifestyle to be maintained? The same questions could be asked of all America, and Australia too, but seem most pertinent in the sprawling cities of the southwest.