900 Miles of driving. 65 Miles of walking. 6 beds. 14 nights. It is time to go home.

Visiting the United States is always an amped up, diverse experience. We saw the Beautiful People in Miami Beach, the Party People in Key West, the Slow Life at my dad’s retirement community in Central Florida and the fast-paced, jostling populace in the Greater New York area. But when I came upon this sign in my dear friend’s Inwood neighborhood close to the Bronx, I knew Slow can be had anywhere. If you are in the right state of mind.

It is hard not to match the tempo of the general walking community whilst on the streets of New York City. Especially when the St. Patrick’s Day parade is happening. Then you have those same quick-stepped folks in glittery green, stumbling slightly from whatever drinks they are sipping from their plastic shamrock containers. And the standing-in-line patience we need when waiting to get, well, anywhere. The infinity steps that just opened a few days ago illustrates how we rush from one place to the next in an endless circle of activity. But do we really get anywhere in the process?

I’d like to think we would get places faster if we took on less and focused more. My love and I certainly got around these past two weeks. And we are moving toward one of the slower countries (Switzerland) next. Our time in the US was fun, fast and furious: it also served to remind me that slow is faster and fast? It’s merely exhausting!