[tcsparky]

Dubaisis, if you had been there, and had visited rural Arkansas at some point, you would have been thinking the same thing I was!!! I certainly felt right at home in the gas station. My friend later explained to me that up until the AIDS epidemic, rugby teams would get in the hot tub to wash away dirt, blood, relax muscles, etc......and would occasionally invite females in to join them. Apparently the older generation still remembers this practice! I was told that now everyone just showers off and goes to the pub.

Now, most of the folks I met in Essex were, I assume, typically British. At least, I didn't see anything to make me think otherwise. I really enjoyed the trip. Hopefully I'll get to go in the summer some time and enjoy the sailing.