Nice people. Nice people. All I have met are nice people. I wasn’t expecting it.

So far on this adventure I have traveled from Maine to the southern tip of Florida. Sailed to Cuba; spent a week there and sailed back. Now I’m working my way up the west coast of Florida.

Before starting out I expected to see people throwing insults and rocks at each other. People with their hair on fire. That’s the negative image of Americans I had from watching the national TV “news” and listening to the angry clowns filling the late-night talk-show slots. (The last thing I want to hear before going to sleep is anything about politics from either side of the divide!)

So, that is why I have been shocked that literally everyone I have encountered along the way has been helpful, pleasant, and positive. America is still America.

Sure, I could have a different experience tomorrow. But this has been my experience so far on my journey traveling America -- especially outside the big cities, where the real America is. People are living their lives, making ends meet, focusing on family, friends.

They're who I want to focus on. That's why I no longer watch news or political jokesters on what my long-departed aunt in Mississippi called the "idiot box." (She also called the radio the "chatter box.") I've even turned off the news alerts on my phone. Instead, I read. If I need a TV fix I watch Netflix. Usually documentaries. Sometimes I binge-watch a series.

And I strike up a conversation with someone. Maybe the server at the restaurant. People I encounter going about my day. Just a “How’s ya day going?” Maybe it just brings an “Okay, how's yours?” Maybe just a nod.

That's the real news. The American Spirit is still alive and doing well in the real world. You know, the world outside the idiot box. The real world. The real America.