Sittin' on the dock of the bay

When we decided to come and explore the US I envisaged beautiful beaches, dramatic landscapes and exciting cities - and thus far we've had plenty of that. But I also imagined quiet little towns, country folk and in the words of Otis Reading, sittin' on the dock of a bay, wasting time.

Well now we're in Fairhope, Alabama and we have found just that. A sleepy country town by the sea, we've found some lovely people - never have I felt more like a celebrity than on the beach today, where the young local girls for whom British tourists are definitely not the norm, spent most of the day fascinated by our accents, quizzing us on England and One Direction - but we also found the most stunning dock.

And so today, I have been living by Otis  Reading's words:

Looks like nothing's going to change

Everything still remains the same

I can't do what ten people tell me to do

So I guess I'll just remain the same

Sittin' here resting my bones

And this loneliness won't leave me alone

It's two thousand miles I roamed

Just to make this dock my home

Now I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay

Watching the tide roll away

Sittin' on the dock of the bay

Wasting time

I can certainly think of worse places to be 'wasting time'.