Saturday 07 March

Arrived at last! We rushed to Starbucks as soon as we had passed through customs (with our bags, if you can believe that they got here without incident) and, even though the fact that a Grande Cuppachino cost us $3.35 (sob), it was SO worth it. (And Grant publicly thanks the Drinkwaters for treating him to his first cup of America's favourite.) Printed on Grant's cup of brew was The Way I See It # 21: "People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world's diversity of languages, religion and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognise ourselves in others." We trust that it will prove true for this trip and for the people we meet.

As far as the flight was concerned: if any of us are ever given the news that we have 24 hours to live, we will ask to fly SAA to the USA, because it will surely be the longest 24 hours possible, and by the end, we know that we will be quite looking forward to death! Those planes must be bigger than they look, because we couldn't find a flight attendant anywhere. After settling in at a motel, we were treated to lunch at Applebees, a great little spot that was packed with a victorious junior high basketball team and entourage.

Sue and Ernie Bentley took us to Downtown Roanoke for supper. This older part of the city has a fantastically first-world atmosphere to it, and in parts, restaurant seating spills out onto the pavements. We ate at "Corned Beef&Co.", and all ended up ordering the same thing; smoked pork and pecan salad, which was monstorous in its proportions, yet so delicious that no-one failed to finish.

After dinner, we took a walk over the "Glass Bridge" to the historic Roanoke Hotel, a tudor-style beauty that, along with the ultra modern art gallery, dominates the area.