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2010 Skate the Planet Skateboarding Blog Article
September 2010 Skateboard Blog Post
- 9/26/10
- The Amazing Race to the Stonehenge Exit Ramp
I've never seen Stonehenge firsthand nor have I been to the UK. I have however seen it a zillion times on the History Channel and various documentaries. Or so I thought...
I always had the impression that it laid on a grassy bluff far from the hustle and bustle of modern life. It seemed to rest majestically for those daring enough to venture out to find its site.
Then I saw those twits from the Amazing Race TV show fly from Boston to the UK in search of their first destination - Stonehenge.
After the contestants realized that the steering wheel really is on the right side, they delved into maps looking for the Stonehenge exit. WAIT!
The what!?! Yes, the exit off the highway for Stonehenge!
Every picture you've ever seen of fucking Stonehenge is just like a bad travel brochure. It looks beautiful and picturesque until you arrive at the "resort" and wonder how the hell they managed to get that one angle that made the place look like a resort, not an hourly dive. Welcome to Stonehenge. I'm sure when this Amazing Race episode is re-run, I'll notice the t-shirt stand and the "Eat at Al's" billboard that wasn't entirely edited out in post.
With cameras o'plenty both on the ground and in the air, The Amazing Race producers treated us to views of the highway that delivers tourists to the site as well as the large parking lot they use as they peer at it... from behind a fence.
Funny how those documentary filmers don't pan over to show their large cargo van, full of equipment, parked 10 feet from the camera's tripod. Then there's the mystical music they always overlay as they display video of the mighty majesty of Stonehenge. Little did we know they remove the original audio so we don't hear cars racing by honking their horns.
Panning out a little further we see that the modern world, of UK commuters, drive past Stonehenge regularly and must find it as annoying as Orlando residents find Cinderella's Castle at Disney World. "Been there done that."
I guess it shouldn't surprise me that arial views of Stonehenge could be mistaken for a drive-thru or that film makers try to perpetuate the mysticism of the site, but that doesn't excuse NYC residents who've never seen the Statue of Liberty!
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