Happy Independence Day!

Hello everyone,

Of course today is the major American patriotic holiday of the year - Independence Day (4th July).

I may not be American yet, and despite having never celebrated this holiday (I've never even been in the US visiting when it's the 4th), it is inevitable that in view of my current situation, at some time in the not too distant future I will probably be celebrating the 4th July as an American!

Jon and I have had lots of adventures across the US since we have known each other, so I thought I would share some of those with you here.
(I of course had adventures in the US prior to knowing Jon, but the point of this blog is about my immigration to the US having met Jon, so pictures of my travels with him are decidedly more appropriate!)

Oddly enough, Jon and I don't tend to get pictures together very often, so most of my pictures below are of me that Jon has taken.
If I'm not in them, then I took them.

Here goes!

The first time I ever went to Washington, D.C, it was gay pride! How convenient! I couldn't write a 4th July post on my gay immigration blog, and not have some gay pride pictures!




I also got to visit the White House, and many of the other famous monuments around the capital city.







We've been back to DC many times since. My favourite time of year is Christmas, with the National Christmas Tree, and all the smaller States trees.
Here's a selection of pictures from my various other adventures in DC over the years.








A rare one of Jon and I together, taken by our good friend Louise.
  
We have also visited New York City several times.



We have visited Philadelphia, PA a couple of times.



My all-American tour wouldn't be complete without some of the country's famous theme parks, including Hershey Chocolate World and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.


Then of course there's Disney and Universal. Jon and I visit these parks frequently, and I have literally tens of thousands of pictures. Disney is our life. So instead of re-posting all those here, visit our own Disney website, and take a look at everything Disney (and Universal) we've ever done!

We have also visited Williamsburg, VA and Jamestown, VA to visit Pocahontas's origins.



A random fact for you... I actually live just down the road from the 'sister' statue to the one below, depicting Pocahontas. The one below is of course at Jamestowne, VA.
The statue where I live sadly marks the place she is buried.

 

We have visited to Great Falls, VA.



Luray Caverns, VA is another cool place.



The National Air and Space Museum in VA is neat.


We've seen the bright lights of Hollywood!



We've been to a Renaissance Faire in Maryland.



The MD city of Baltimore, and the MD State Capital Annapolis are nice. Annapolis has old world charm.



We've been to the Civil War battlegrounds in Gettysburg, PA (admittedly not the most heart stopping thing we've ever done, and not somewhere I'd rush back to!).


San Diego is a beautiful city, and somewhere I want to go back to when I get the time.



We have been on many more adventures of course, too numerous to count really. But I thought that those depicted above, summed up our highlights of the last 5 years.
You may have noticed a running theme, that where possible, I tried to include little nods to British things.

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the holiday and summer fun!

Dan.