diner food (real ones, not chains like denny's although i'll settle for denny's if i must)
walking in the snow at 3 AM
winter/fall weather (soooo looking forward to the first real winter/fall i'll be in manhattan)
snow cones
4th of july... shooting off bottle rockets at unsuspecting pedestrians, going on rides at carnivals and eating cotton candy and winning my little nieces a homer simpson doll (and winning myself a giant kermit the frog)

I also like how each city seems to have a famous dish you have to eat at least once.

Chicago: chicago dogs or deep dish pizza
Pittsburgh: Primanti bros sandwich
New Orleans: Cafe Du Monde Beignets (also all the amazing cajun food which you haven't had for real unless you've actually eaten it there)

julian, did you go to mother's in new orleans? best gumbo ever....i was actually kinda disappointed with most of the food however...its good, but kinda over-rated for all the hype it gets...those beignets were pretty great too....ill admit...

pie

apple pie and vanilla ice cream on 4th of July

I was there for a few days in my teens with family. I don't know all the places I ate at. Just remember Cafe Du Monde.

I remember going to one cajun restaurant and having really freaking good jambalaya. And my brother ordered alligator sausage and it was great.

I loved New Orleans in general though, well the French Quarter that is.

I like the East Coast/ West Coast beef that is neverending.
The scenery,
The people,
The Fairs
The literature

I've only stepped briefly on to USA soil, and it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

Things I remember.

Rude thuggish and aggressive security staff.
Incompetent and rude immigration officials.
People so fat they had to be moved around an airport on electric trucks
Paranoia, fear and racism.

I won't be going back.

Not even as a transit passenger.

It's a shame. I used to have the same misty eyed romantic notion of what it must be like to live in the 'land of the free' as most of you Americans, based mainly on films like 'American Grafitti' and ' Car Wash'.

But since Sept 2001 I have watched from afar as your country slips into a kind of totalitarianism by stealth.
For all your bravado about how you saved the world from the Hun, valid or not, and your espousal of all things related to 'freedom', you seem to have handed over your own freedom pretty meekly, and not to an invading power, but to your own Administration. Where are your revolutionary leaders now? Isn't anyone going to fight back? Or are you just going to let your government do what bin Laden couldn't and have you living in fear for the rest of your lives?

What do I like about North America? Mexico and Canada.
The USA lost my admiration and respect just over 4 years ago.

well if you judge a country by its airport security, then youre an idiot. sorry...if we are talking airports, then yeah, some US ones really suck...but its mostly because of the extra security, which is necessary because terrorists know we stand for freedom/money/power...

the wildlife and the variety of habitats

Next time fly into Pittsburgh international airport ;)

I don't know where are revolutionary leaders are now. It isn't as easy as they made it look in the 1770s.

Two words - 'First Impressions'

I don't know which one of you two is saying the wrongest thing. Let me think....

Airport staff are douchebags everywhere, it's undoubtedly stressful to have to process thousands of people a day in and out, in and out.. neverending..- no excuse to write off an entire country, a hugely diverse one at that.

'first impressions of an airport' ?

-How weak their dollar has become.
-Freakishly big pickles (I got won when I was 10 at Disneyland)
-a bunch of Adult Swim shows
-ghost ridin the whip
-baseball
-Bill Hicks
-Big Red gum

wow, an aussie who likes Aqua Teen and baseball? cool