Like Delia, I just got back from some far-flung American travels and was aglow with national pride (and OK, yes, kind of a sunburn) upon return. My trip was to the Pacific Northwest and California coast -- land of cooler temperatures, stronger coffee and People Who Seem Very Happy With Their Lives (I live in New York City). Herewith, my Top Five Reminders That I Am Not Giving Up My Passport Anytime Soon:

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1. People Who Seem Very Happy With Their Lives: Is this redundant? Look, I eat arugula and chuckle at Chris Matthews every so often, so I guess that makes me a self-hating liberal. As such, it will come as no surprise when I say that it's refreshing to realize that most of America is not populated by overworked office decoys shuttling to and fro in subterranean tubes all day long, but instead, filled with people who are moving, yes, slower and yes, above ground, and who also have time to play basketball after work and ask you how you're doing with the intent of actually hearing the answer and/or not getting a tip just for asking. Smiling! Who knew?

2. American Wine: I know that Carla Bruni and Michelle Obama have some sort of Dior Détente, but there's no reason we can't continue to push a modified Freedom Food agenda and nail the French on wine. Oregon and California have some serious grapes these days, fellow tipplers. Pinots, Sauvignon Blancs, even some Italian grapes we apparently stole from Tuscany -- which, like pizza, we have vastly improved upon.

3. Awesome Roads: A serious high five for American infrastructure. Maybe it's because I'm one of those moles traveling in a pneumatic shoot to work every day, but wow, has there been some sort of innovation in asphalt technology in the last three years? Roads out West = black ice! (In a good way). I think you actually could have skied on parts of Route 6 .

4. Crazy Animals: Have you been on safari? I have not and have no real interest -- hot, expensive, potentially life threatening. But did you know that some actual Jurassic fauna is roaming around this great country of ours? I saw a green slug the size of a shoe, and a bird whose feathers quite possibly glowed in the dark. I took a swim in the Pacific Ocean and there was a sign posted about Great White Shark attacks. Yes, this falls under "potentially life threatening" and therefore "not interesting" to me as a serious vacation option -- but still, what a charge!

5. The Land: Have you greeted a morning on the Oregon coast lately? The mist is drifting off the pines, the waves are rolling onto a broad beach filled with powdery white sand, and the mountains are covered in a growth I can only describe as Fern Lush. Were there unicorns here? Somewhere, yes.


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