now how do you spell that?

7/17/2014 Cayuga Lake State Park, New York

A weird grinding has developed in my right jaw. It is hard to eat apples. I could Google symptoms but then I might just get worried. Hopefully it will get better and just be a temporary weird thing, and not get worse and force me to book it for Washington to get dental work done (i.e. if I can’t eat solid foods at all). I feel like I can’t open my jaw as wide as I could, but then again I can’t remember how wide I could open it.

So! I’m in New York! Caroline can host me a day earlier in Toronto! Hurray! So tomorrow I’ll go to Buffalo and stay two nights with Janet, then go up to Toronto! Woohoo! I spent today driving a nice scenic route through upstate New York. I left Rollins Pond along 3 West, which took me out of the Adirondack Mountains and up into 1000 Islands. The parks were plentiful, but not much privacy was to be had, so I decided to continue on to the Finger Lakes region and stay at Cayuga Lake State Park. I love the big fluffy clouds that plop right on some level of the atmosphere. I love rolling hills that get patchy under the clouds, so some are dark green and others are more faded. I was almost sad to stop driving, I felt like I could have gone for many more hours. I have the urge to cover more ground, whereas a few days ago I had the urge to stay in one place. Previously that desire was thwarted by bad weather (it did rain my last night in Vermont, so at least I was right in not setting up my tent), and now I am thwarted by the schedules of others. I’ll be happy to be on my own calendar again.

I ended up not staying at the Rutland, Vermont Walmart. It was in the downtown, and had signs warning against parking longer than 3 hours. Not good signs. The Mega Walmarts that are open 24/7 that are located outside of towns are my ones of choice. So I crossed the border into New York and stayed at Glens Falls. Glen Falls. Glen…it’s an hour north of Albany just outside of the Adirondack Mountains. I forgot that Brynne gave me a contact in Albany. Oops! Had I remembered I would have just gone there from Burlington (provided I could stay). New Hampshire & Vermont being all rainy and me having to drift about has thrown me off. I wish I could have camped in both those states, and they seemed very beautiful, but alas it was not camping season. I’ll have to come back because New York has many lovely locales. Could easily spend a few weeks just up here, though having a kayak with me would be primo. Lots of lakes.

I topped off my tank going into the Adirondacks and got some food and off I went!  Over hills through green mountains aplenty. There were hikers setting off every which way, and signs directing to snowmobile paths. I went up to Saranac Lake, which is by Lake Placid, where there have been two Winter Olympics. The ski jumps loomed; these odd monolithic structures that could not be more out of place in the summer.

The visitor’s center provided me with park listings and I chose Rollins Pond due to plentiful campsites and free showers. Hundreds of sites, but there were plenty of people. Still, I had my choice and I went with 27. Nice shade, right on the water (almost all the sites were on the water, though some were moreso than others). My neighbors were the Reids, and Jason came right over and offered to help me with my tent, I declined as it is just a two pole tent that I’ve got a pretty good handle on setting up. We got to chatting about travel and this and that. Really nice fella! He gave me a few mountain tips.

I didn’t feel up to a 5 mile hike, so I did the Baker Mountain summit, which is one mile up, one mile down. Except if you are me then you will lose the trail and climb up rocks that you think are the trail and wonder why it was so difficult! And how did those kids coming down early in the hike ever do it? But oh what a lovely view! There are six mountains around Saranac Lake, and if you summit all six of them you get to be part of a club, but…I’m not going to do that. I don’t have all week to climb mountains. One is good enough. I got pictures (and I got excellent cell reception). Going down I found the actual hiking path, which was easy and relatively flat with minor rocks to scramble over. How I missed it, I’ll never know. But hey, make your own loop trail!

I drove into Lake Placid because I wanted to get a picture of the ski jumps. Seemed like a nice low-level tourist place. Not totally busy as it was a bit off season, but still had stuff going on. I wonder how it is in the winter. I made use of the shower upon returning to Rollins Pond. I used the new conditioner I bought (ran out of the last bottle) and my hair is so soft! It’s some of the best it’s been in a while. I also used several leave in products…but yeah. Gave it a good clean.

The Reids invited me over for s’mores and salad and brewskies. We sat around, I told stories of my travels, I got stories of their travels, Jason is going to do a sojourn into Maryland, which will be amazing I’m sure. It’s so nice to have consistently met nice people on this trip. Just friendly “hi neighbor, come on over if you’d like” invitations. And they let me use their kayak! So at the end of the day, Jason and I paddled around on the lake and star gazed. And wow every star was out, as was the Milky Way. These are the skies where you can really see how people came up with constellations. All that detail, all those stars, all that glory. That is why one ought to go out to nowhere near no development. Nature isn’t just trees, it’s the sky and earth.

At Cayuga Lake I updated my atlas, marking where I’ve been sleeping (little x’s) and I’ve covered so much ground, and still have a ways to go. So many more landscapes await. Badlands National Park, Yellowstone, Tetons…I want more parks and landscape. There are not many cities remaining that I want to see. Chicago, Toronto, Butte…I’ll have to consult the map.

It’s comforting in a way to know that I could do this trip again on an almost entirely different route. There is so much to see everywhere I go, that if I miss things then I don’t feel so bad, because I am missing things everywhere. So much will still be here whenever I come back, and what I’ve experienced is mine and it’s wonderful.

7/18/2014 Dunkin Donuts off 20 West

My indulgence in mochas has switched to the number 1 at Dunkin Donuts: medium coffee (with crème) and two donuts. I kinda like DD more than Starbucks in terms of décor. It’s much brighter with its pink, orange, and browns. Maybe not as high fallutin. Starbucks also seems to have “destination mugs”. I like my Florida DD mug. It has space ships and flamingoes on it.

I’ve started thinking about retrospective illustrations. Best rest stop, best shower facilities, the best states, cross referenced by the length of stay. That’ll make for a good series. I have plenty of notes to source from.

I had such a good sleep in my tent. It’s been great being able to spread out. My legs get cramped sleeping in the car. I can’t stretch out. But in my tent I can sprawl as much as I want. And with an 11am check out, I can sleep in for a very long time. It only takes me around 30 minutes to break down my camp, and that is if I go slow. Everything has its place in my car.

On the advice of the office worker, I drove down to Taughannock Falls State Park. I parked and ate some bagels with crème cheese and salmon that Jill & Darrah gave me. I relocated to the beach and read in the sun for a while. It’s a gorgeous day once again. Sunny, warm, with those fluffy clouds I keep mentioning. I drove down one road and up another. The lakes are lovely. There are oodles of wineries, but I’m not a wino so I haven’t checked any of them out. That one in Rhode Island to get a thank you bottle for Darrah was enough.

After I do the rounds here, I am off to Buffalo! Got a few hours of off turnpike driving to do, but oh the weather is perfect for the scenic route.

xoxo Trillian

sweet tooth

I'm sitting in a Dunkin Donuts in Rutland, Vermont. I'm charging my phone and mp3 player and killing time. I want to camp but the weather reports haven't been good...but it hasn't been stormy. I think if the weather looks good, I'm going to camp tomorrow night somewhere in Vermont. It's a beautiful state, I'd hate to dart through it. I'm meeting Caroline ... oh I already mentioned that. But yeah, I have a few days to spend in the area. After Toronto, I'm looking forward to doing some more long distance driving. Listening to stuff, covering ground. I'm getting tired. I don't like being on other people's schedules, though of course I respect their time. I'm the guest.

Okay so after Plymouth, I continued south to Manchester, where I oogled books in a used book store. Except the books I really want (Edan Lepucki's California, Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation, Jojo Moyes' Me Before You) are all brand new and not second hand...yet. But cheaper on my Kindle. But I have other books to read already! The Goldfinch! N0S4A2! Biographies! I'll just add them to the Christmas ISBN list...

Okay where was I? Yeah I went to Manchester. Nothing really made me want to stick around, so I drove to Lebanon, where Dartmouth is. I dried some of my wet camping stuff at a 24/7 laundromat. A little girl gave me one of her Skittles that she got from the crank machine. One of her precious Skittles! She was only allowed a quarters worth and she gave me one with no prompting. I was originally going to sleep in the Walmart parking lot in Dartmouth but they had a no loitering sign and it was a smaller one, so it didn't seem as open as other, larger ones. So I continued into Vermont! 33rd state! I grabbed some brochures from the visitor's center and continued on to the Walmart near Montpelier and slept there. I went in in the morning to use the bathroom, but this lady was like "what are you doing? can I help you?" turns out they weren't open! Well then why was their door open? She was grumpy but the other employees weren't fussed. So I drove on into Montpelier, and used the bathroom in the City Center building and changed and sat in the little coffee shop and worked on my journal and woke slowly up.

Montpelier is so cute! Just a few streets of cute shops. Not a whole bunch of goings ons, but it is tucked in a nice bunch of green mountains. And it does have a cute little movie theater. My kind of little town! I surveyed the local books shops. Walked about. Then got in my car and went to the maple farm nearby. I tried all the maple syrups. 100% pure good shit, aww yeah. And the maple creme. I didn't buy anything to take home, because home is my car for the next two months or so...I've done a pretty good job of not buying souvenirs! I have a shirt from the Museum of Osteology, a bunch of crushed pennies, a Dunkin Donuts mug from Florida...yeah. And a few other odds and ends. The main thing are the stickers and those are going on my cooler.

And the memories.

After the maple farm and the maple creemee (sort of a soft serve) I continued North about 30 minutes to the Ben & Jerry's Factory. It was a lovely compound. Well painted and decorated. They had food, a tie dye stand, and cut outs to stick your head through. Cut outs are sad when you are by yourself because you have no one to take your picture...or no one to take your picture with.

I took the tour. Only four bucks! Though the tour is just a video, an overhead view of the production plant (which is relatively small scale, I think this is just a smaller batch one to show tourists), BUT you get to try an ice cream flavor at the end that is exclusive to the Waterbury location. This one was strawberry ice cream with white chocolate and a fudge swirl. Delicious! I didn't have any more ice cream after that because dang, a creemee and a sample size! That's already a lot for one day.

It was starting to rain. I drove towards Burlington and stopped at the rest stop and ate a bagel and tried to think of what to do. I continued on to Burlington. I saw the World's Tallest Filing Cabinet (it's pretty tall, but it's just a bunch of cabinets welded together, but I also guess any taller and the structure would break). I swung by the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory and got a crushed penny and a picture of the VERY CREEPY teddy bear made of hay that they have there. It's all falling apart and...very creepy looking. I got my oil changed. I ended up in the college area of town. It's amazing how readily obvious those sections of cities become. Flyers for concerts, more mixed crowds of people, gutter punks, upscale trendy coffee places, more little restaurants.

I headed south on 7 to Rutland. Beautiful drive through more rolling hills. I arrived at the Dunkin Donuts. Ray, a customer, gave me some camping tips. There is a Walmart nearby, so I'm off to there. It is raining. Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow.

lovely spot of camping/horrible spot of camping

7/12 8:12 PM Peaks-Kenny State Park, Maine

Oh typing up my blog in a tent far away from electricity and wifi, how I’ve missed you! The last successful tent camping was in Georgia. If you remember, rain hindered my enjoyment in Shenandoah, and since then I’ve been staying with people (Dan & Anita, Carly, Wilson, Darrah, Elnora, Kathryn) or sleeping in my car. It’s great having a roof and a bed and a shower and company and conversation, but wow I’ve missed just being cozy in a tent and being in nature and long drives and spectacular vistas and actually making use of my cooler.  Cities have city stuff. Museums and food and variety, but cities are costly and busy and just…they get to be a lot to deal with. So I’ll be camping for a few days more. I don’t know if I’ll camp another day in Maine. Find a spot near the Maine/New Hampshire border maybe. But I’m many days ahead of where I left you, dear readers, so let us go back to Massachusetts.

 I left Gloucester in the midafternoon, after washing my sheets and eating. It was a great day for driving. It was just a bit cooler than it has been (low 80s) so I didn’t have to run the a/c. I drove North on 95, or was it East? Either way, I went up. I stopped in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at my beloved Trader Joe’s and stocked my provisions. I am going with bagels and crème cheese instead of PB & J, because my bread keeps ending up soggy before I can finish it, and that is a waste of food. But I know I can eat six bagels. Also carrots and apples and string cheese. My staples. Amy, the cashier, was so into the trip that I am on, that she have me a few flowers! I turned a waterbottle into a vase for them, and they are sitting pretty in my car, if a bit wilted by now. I don’t want to chuck them, because they were such a wonderful gesture.

That brief sojourn across New Hampshire was state 31, and then Maine brought me to 32. First time I’ve seen a distance sign that had three cities in three states on it, with all the distances being under 40 miles away. That little bit of MA, NH, & ME is not big at all. But going to Bangor and then down to Acadia…that is another story. But it was a nice drive, with good roads and nice rest stops, and reasonable tolls. I listened to podcasts, I admired the trees and woods that just go on and on, and wow Maine is lovely! It’s nice to be away from big cities and development and old money and just, all of that. It really is. I’ve missed the long drives. I got into Acadia before sunset. The whole island isn’t a National Park, just the good bits. There are roads that ring around the island, and it’s all very quick and easy and easily marked when it comes to getting around. I drove a bit, finally located where a campground was, and signed in for the night. Only one night unfortunately, but hey it’s the weekend. It’s to be expected. I couldn’t find my hammer at all, so I borrowed a mallet to pound my tent spikes in.

It was a nice night to be in a tent. No rain, no massive breeze, not too hot. Just very nice. I finished reading Edward St. Aubyn’s Lost for Words. It was a gentle, silly book. It felt like it was missing a few chapters, like they got edited out. Another thing that happens when I tent camp: I read more. I’ve missed the reading in my tent for several hours, because once it gets dark and you have no fire, but at not tired, what are you going to do? Yeah, I’ve missed this.

Check out was at 10, and I was outta there at 9:45. I went to the visitor’s center and got my stamps. Saw  the informational video. I drove on the ring road and went up to the Cadillac Mountain peak. I sat on the flat rock and read and basked like the sea lizard that I am. I’ve done a lot of basking in the past few days. It’s been nice. I drove some more. The ocean air brought tears to my eyes; I’m not ashamed to admit. I didn’t know how much I missed that smell, but it is so specific. The fresh air, the sea weed, the salt, the…everything!

I sat on Sandy Beach for a while and wished I had packed a two piece swimsuit, because my legs and arms are getting tan, and the top of my back, but not my stomach. It’s all very patchy. What’s the point in spending months getting a tan, if it doesn’t happen evenly! Well, as long as I don’t burn. I spent more time on Sandy Beach today and I am right on the cusp of being pink. My back should be a nice tan in a few days. I’m not giving off that heat that happens when you burn, but I think I have such a nice base tan going on, that a few hours won’t lobster me like it would if I were my pasty Pacific Northwest self. It’s kinda fun doing the tan thing. I’ve got 26 years of pasty good skin care, I think I can take a few months of controlled exposure.

Anyway, Acadia! I went downtown in the evening and got an Italian soda, which was refreshing. All the seafood prices were cha-ching so I forgoed the local samplers. And who knows how local it even is?  If I’m going to have Maine seafood, I’d like to know that it was alive and snipping in the sea not too long ago, and not too far from where it died.

Bar Harbor (pronounced Baa Haa Baa by a few) was like any tourist harbor. Imagine … uhhh Friday Harbor? Is that the one on San Juan Island? Orcas Island? Anyway, it’s like that. Cute shops, lots of little food places, lots of higher end food places. Just that stuff, but with less nautical looking tourists. I didn’t have a place to camp that night, but there were a Walmart in Ellsworth just 30 minutes away from the park! It was the safest looking lot thus far, and I settled in. I bought some coffee and doughnuts from the Dunkin Doughnuts in Walmart, and a mallet and some fuel injector cleaner from the Walmart, and that was my day. I remembered to drink the coffee and poor the fuel injector cleaner in. That would have been a bad mix up. The mallet is for the tent spikes, and it has already proven itself a worthwhile purchase (it cost less than $3 but still). I drove around the left side of the island. The less parky and populated side. I went to the Seur le Mons (or suchlike) garden and got my stamp. Then I returned to Sandy Beach. I hiked a little bit, but I wasn’t feeling up to the very vertical part of the trail, so I went back down, put on my swimsuit, and hit the beach. I’m reading The Goldfinch and it is doing a very good job of holding my attention just enough to keep reading, but it isn’t exactly enthralling me.

After the beach, I drove  on a bit and parked once again and this time sat on the flat rocks and read there. I found a great spot where the rock chipped away enough to make a comfy seat, and there was a rock to clean against. Perfect. Sailboats went by, the surf crashed up on the rocks below, all was well and awesome.

From there I departed and decided to go north instead of further east. I stopped at this antiques place and browsed while talking to Ma & Pa on the phone. They were due for a good long conversation. I continued on to Bangor, a less than an hour drive. Almost everything in the part of the city was closed at 4pm! Except for the comic shop, but I have the latest issue of Lumberjanes and Sandman, so whatever.

Another hour north found me at Peaks-Kenny State Park. I got one of the last spots. Only being in a tent and only staying for a night gives me a good leg up on RVs and long term campers. My tent was set up in seemingly record time thanks to the mallet making the peg pounding a much faster process. I put my swimsuit back on and went down to the beach (this park is on a lake) and got a sunsetting swim in. The water wasn’t all that cold. The hills were green and rolling, with the ones in the distance that atmospheric blue color. The sky was blue and the sun was shining through mottled clouds. This campground has free showers! I’ll wash my hair in the morning if it feels like it needs it. I gave myself a good “if there are any ticks they better be off” soapy scrub.

I guess that is one benefit to having a husband: someone that’ll check you for ticks after a hike. The last person who found a tick on me set me on fire. So hopefully that won’t happen ever again.

And now I lay me down to sleep. I begin to go west tomorrow. The return begins. I’ve come so far, it’s time to go back to what was but will be different for I am ever changing.

7/14 3:09 pm, Plymouth, New Hampshire

I've got 30 minutes left on my meter so lets get to it! 

I left Peaks-Kenny at noonish for Mt. Blue State Park. It was a nice drive, took me through Skowhegan. Only a few hours. I swung by a hardware store to see about getting some slime to repair my tire that has been loosing air, and the dude in the store advised me to go to a local shop and that it wouldn't be that much for them to repair a puncture with a plug (he estimated $20). I figured what the hell. I drove down to the garage he indicated, and the guy was available to help. Jacked my car up, got off the tire, and well there was a screw embedded in the tire! A long one that was really stuck in there, which is probably why it wasn't going flat in an instant. Really tight in there. He patched it with a plug and the cost was $6! I've spent more than that on air keeping the tire inflated since North Carolina. Dang! Well, happy I set off to go camp. I got in to my spot at 4pmish and the park was far from populated. Got my tent set up and ate my bagel and...it started to rain. And it kept raining till sunrise just about. I made sure my tent was closed all the way and took a walk in the rain with my umbrella. My tent was not flooded upon my return, but it was leaky. It is classified as "water resistant" but not "water proof". It comes through the stitching and the mesh if the top cover is soaked enough. I kept a towel in the tent and wiped down the leaks, but eventually it just rained more and more and I just gave up and slept in my car. Nothing got wet outside of my tent and the towel, because I learned a valuable lesson in Shenandoah! Still, ugh a wet tent. And more rain is predicted for New Hampshire, which is a bummer because I want to camp more! I love camping! But I can't do it in the rain. I could if my tent were waterproof, but it isn't.

So I packed up and left relatively early. I took a beautiful scenic drive through the White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire. Just quality winding roads, rolling hills, mountains blue in the distances with clouds coming up behind them. Just lovely. I don't know what I'll do with myself. Maybe drive down to a city and go to a used book store or something. Get some A/C. I'm eating in a little cafe in Plymouth. Charging my phone and laptop and mp3 player. I'm due to meet Caroline in Toronto in a week. So a week to explore New Hampshire, Vermont, and up state New York. I think I'll skip Montreal. I'll contact Janet in Buffalo, maybe go hang with her for a day or so. I need to find a place to try the inside of my tent. Place being rest stop.

I really like being dry and getting a good night sleep. Sleeping in my car just wears me out as I seem to wake up fairly regularly to adjust my position.

Allonsy!

risdiculous

I'm heading out to Maine tomorrow! Going to go over New Hampshire. I'll get to there and Vermont on the way back and up to Montreal. It helps to actually look at maps.

I drove down to Providence, Rhode Island. I'm officially up to 30 states! I don't like calling states I cruise just over. So Maine will be 31, then New Hampshire 32, and Vermont 33. So close to 40! I still have a ways of travel left, but I'm almost heading west. Returning to the Pacific. I have a lot of ground to cover, but it's ground going to where I am from. I'll back to distances and camping. And there are a few more people to visit with. BT, Tibby, Megan, Caroline.

So! Providence! I found parking on the hill in the midst of Brown University. It said two hours, so I set my phone alarm. Brown has a lot of nice buildings, all up and down hills with winding climbing stairs. I like houses stuck higgelty on a hill like that. Not all gridded out on a plane. RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) was also there, but I didn't feel like paying to see their museum for a short bit. I did feel like taking a picture of their personal emergency vehicles with RISD vinyl wraps. Vehicle wraps are costly! It looked so silly, and then RISD alumni retweeted my photo! Did they know I was making fun of them? What kind of school has that?

I checked out the little anthropology display, and this historical house. But I wasn't really feeling Providence, so I continued on south and east. I cruised out to Sakonnet Vineyard to buy a bottle of wine for Darrah as a thank you & birthday gift. Getting to the vineyard took me back and forth between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Kinda funny that Rhode Island even bothers being a state.

After the wine was procured, I returned to Gloucester. My GPS took me through Boston and I was reminded that I was only there for one day and I didn't see so much of the city, but I did have fun. Boston will still be here. It's a big city. I'm not too fussed that I didn't spend more time there. I'm excited for nature and being on the road and knocking off states and seeing a bit of Canada.

Darrah made a tofu and veggie dinner. Now it's time to sleep. Tomorrow I head off. Gas & food and northward ho!

the road most traveled for years

These past two weeks I've driven the least of the different 2 week chunks. When I have a chance to rest and stay over, I certainly like to take it. Averie is going to be in Boston soon, not for long, but I am dragging my heels. Right now it is six more days, but that is so long in road trip time! But I suppose I could go up North, camp, and come back, instead of home basing it, which is what I have been doing. Darrah is very kind to have me. And Jill, who is also staying here. Both very kind, lovely ladies!

Now I'm finding things to do in Rhode Island. Yeah, I think I will go camp up north for a few days. I miss camping. Except there are tick warnings and I don't have anyone in my life that could check me for ticks. Decisions.

Well, whatever happens will happen. I don't want Lyme disease though. That isn't something that needs to happen.

So on Tuesday I drove down into Connecticut, nice and proper this time so now I can count it in my state count: 29! Rhode Island will bring me nice and neat to 30. Then it is 18 to go, and that is hardly any number! I want to get to Butte before BT leaves.

I got a medium morning start on driving, but it was still a bunch of driving. Several hours. But it went well. Lots of zigzagging to avoid tolls. I wish telling how much tolls will be was a readily available part of Google Maps, because it just warns of tolls but doesn't say how much. Will it be 6 bucks? 17? 2? If it is 2, I'll pay 2, because I burn more gas driving around, but it if it's a lot then well, screw that.

So I drove to New Haven, where Michael recommended going for art museums, and Yale's art museum was FREE! So that is a done deal. There was street parking readily available, and it was only a buck fifty an hour! But limited to two hours, but that only shaved half an hour off my time at the museum, because parking was covered till 4:30 and the museum closed at 5. They even had free lockers! So I could stroll with just my notebook. And it turns out ~2 hours was perfect for the collection. They had a nice Stubbs, I really dug this Winterhalter. They had a few Eakins as well. I guess Eakins is very East Coast. There was a west coast exhibit with some Thiebauds. Love his work. There was a collection of miniatures and they even provided a magnifying glass to really peer at them. So cool! I love miniature portraits so much.

I drove a couple blocks and parked again and went to the uber Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. A pleeb like me couldn't touch the books, but I could walk around their glass enclosure and look at a Gutenberg Bible and Audubon Folio (also behind glass). It was a very cool building. The exterior was made with some sort of marble that didn't let light in, but sort of glowed in the sun. Very...epic.

I got an iced green tea from Blue State Coffee and sat and read for a bit, then I drove to Mystic, and walked around the seaport a bit. Unfortunately I couldn't get near the wooden boats without breaking and entering. But it was a nice place to watch the sunset. It was an easy drive back. I'm getting an earlier start today.

On Sunday I caught a matinee of Snowpiercer, which was all dystopian and neat and claustrophobic, though it had some shakey cam. Good casting with Alison Pill, Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, Ewen Bremmer, Jamie Bell, Luke Pasqualino, and others. There were pancakes and chicken too. And we went out for fish and chips on Monday. It was a big platter type meal, instead of individual plates. The sunset in my eyes, but it was still pretty. It's nice out here in Gloucester. Quiet, yet established. It doesn't feel empty like so many towns I have driven through. These East Coast towns are too close to establishment and money and work. Schools.

So. 10am. Rhode Island. But first I must shower.

bawston

Boston! Boston was super fun. I popped around and had lots of ice cream and took the subway and saw fishes and... I guess you'll want more description than that.

Darrah loaned me her commuter pass, which was all trains and what not included! So I could do the bus or the train or whatever with no worry of cost. How great! And it covered the train ride in from Rockport, which was an hour and some change to North Station, Boston. I read and wrote in my journal and watched the scenery go by. Very nice and effortless.

I opted to wear pants, which was a gambit because it was due to be warm but not 90 degrees. I could have probably been fine in shorts, but I wanted to wear pants. And I was fine! Got a bit hot here and there, but nothing too bad. With the pass and the public transit option in Google Maps, it was easy to get around town. I hopped on the subway to the aquarium, and thanks to a free pass Darrah gave me (Darrah is all kinds of great) I went through the shorter pass line and was in lickety split! The New England Aquarium was crowded, but - oh! I forgot a bit.

The subway let me off near this square where there were food markets, just a row of indoor stalls a block long, so I went up and down it and went with chicken teriyaki and ate that on the steps. THEN I went to the aquarium. Which was crowded. But of course it was. It was Saturday on a holiday weekend. Lots of families. Lots of accents. I don't think I've seen a bigger density of tourists than in this part of Boston. Even New York I think they were stretched out. Or maybe less obvious.

Anyhoo! The penguins sure were cute. Lots of different kinds all sitting about. And they had good fishes in the tanks. I really liked the big central aquarium and I spent a lot of time watching the fish go by. There were some big ones. And one fish pooped and another fish at the poop. And a scuba diver in the tank accidentally thwapped the turtle in the head with his fin, but the turtle didn't seem fussed. After an hour of navigating crowds, I left to get ice cream!

A guide pamphlet listed two places: Picco for well known flavors done right and Toscanini's for funky interesting flavors. Picco was a bit closer, so I hopped on the subway once again, transferred, and bam! Picco! I got the caramel swirl and it was indeed tasty. I ate it while walking about, and sat in the park and read for a bit while watching people in swanboats go about. There were a couple violinists dispersing music through the air. It was a very nice day. Perfect warm weather.

I got back on the subway and headed up into Cambridge for Toscanini's. I overshot the place and ended up at MIT. There was a bit fancy building with columns. I debated hanging around to procure a husband, but I think I was wearing too intimidating of a shade of lipstick, so I continued back and got to Toscanini's and their array of flavors did not disappoint. I went with the Gianduja, which is chocolate and ground hazelnut and it was some of the best ice cream I have ever had. And I've had a lot of ice cream! It was perfectly smooth and edible and good and mmm. Good choice!

Sated, I set about returning to North Station. In the subway this musician, Sergei, was playing some low tempo synthy stuff that gave the wait this amazing soundtrack. I gave him a dollar. Life and travel can have some interesting soundtracks.

I only had to wait 20 minutes to board the train back. A good thing because they left just bout every hour and if I had missed it, I would have been sore. I read mostly on the way back. I had parked at the station, where there was free parking, and my car was unmolested. Though the only stuff that is visible are camping supplies. No bags or wallets. A bonfire was burning to the right as I drove back into Gloucester. What a lovely day! I've never spent much time on subways. Getting the hang of it. It's easy when you pay a flat fee/have a pass to get into the system. I don't know how I'd deal if I had to pay for tickets that depended on the number of stops I had to take (i.e. Japan if I recall correctly).

This morning there were pancakes and I sat out back and read. I don't think I'll go back into Boston. I'll just relax up here.

into Brooklyn. into the storm.

I'm in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Oh how I move around! But it's easy when you chug it out of one place to avoid city traffic in a storm. And it's easy when the states are so much smaller.

So Carly stayed home whilst I went out to explore Long Island. I've found that I miss the long drives. The time to settle in and snack and listen to several podcasts in a row and not think about turns for a while. It was nice to drive out to Montauk point and see the lighthouse and the ocean and avoid the bushes because there were tick warning signs. Not camping in tickville, that's for sure! Just had some time to myself to drive and all that good stuff. But then it got dark and rainy and lightningy. And Carly said I was welcome another night, so I took her up on it! And her dad bought us breakfast when we all eventually woke up. What good, kind people! I hung around for a bit and then plugged in Elnora's Brooklyn address and headed off hoping that free parking would be available and the traffic wouldn't be a nightmare. And while it took me a while and it was slow in some parts, it wasn't heinous, and the Park Slope area of Brooklyn had plenty of street parking in neighborhoods. And free parking! It just had some street sweeping restrictions, but I parked on a Thursday, and Thursday was the day for that street, but it had already happened. So hurray! And being residential, I felt that my stuff was relatively safe. And with a thunderstorm going through the night, I'm sure no one would bother breaking into a car. Still I covered up my stuff.

It was 91 degrees and humid and oh how I melted. I got some legit shaved ice, where they shaved the ice off a block and flavored it (I went for plum). And walked around the area. And went to the Brooklyn Public Library, which had a nice exterior, but inside wasn't anything to write home about (except that is exactly what I am doing right now). I ended up taking a bit of a nap in a second floor vestibule.

In the library I was able to cool down and hydrate and rest, and then I set out for Prospect Park! And it was lovely. Trees and paths and a big rolling field. I sat under a tree and read The Goldfinch, but then I overheard someone talking about a thunderstorm warning, and when I checked the weather report on my phone, sure enough there was a warning for one coming up! So I returned to my car and packed up my backpack with over night supplies. I wasn't sure if I was staying overnight, but if it were an option, I wanted my stuff. And my umbrella.

I wandered around some more. I grabbed a fancy burger at Burger Bistro in Park Slope. The menu had all these options you ticked off, so I went with sharp cheddar, caramelized onions, lettuce, and medium done. There were more, but I had to control myself. It hit the spot but didn't stuff me. Then I was off and walking again. Park Slope is nice. A little posher, but more neighborhoody. Lots of brownstones and brick buildings all sharing walls and crowded in on each other. I kinda like that set up. Elnora lives in an apartment in one of these, so I get the added bonus of being able to go into one!

Elnora is my friend from way back when I took the PNCA Pre-College Program. Haven't seen her since. She is such a snappy dresser, perfect for New York. And it was amazing to catch up and reminisce. We got a brewski at a nearby bar and played indoor bocce, as one does in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

The rain was just starting to come down as we returned, and it came hard not soon after we were indoors. Her apartment is on the top floor and lacks AC, so it was stuffy. It was okay for me to stay the night, so I slept on a pile of blankets on a section of the floor. Better than driving in a torrent and sleeping in my car somewhere unknown, that is for sure! And it wasn't so bad. My tent in Florida at that one campsite was much stuffier.

It was great to see Elnora. We had good talks about life, and she suggested hanging in places for a month, like subletting to really stay and see what's going on. Which would be an awesome option...if only my stuff wasn't in storage. But it's a good idea for when I am done with the trip. I'd like to spend more time in Philly and Durham. New York and Brooklyn are great but just so big...Philly is big too but a little more walkable.

I want the weather to improve so I can camp. Camping is no good in the rain. I would have gone to Connecticut and Rhode Island and camped, but tropical storm Arthur is making everything all kinds of rainy, so I called Darrah who lives in Gloucester, and headed on over. A good 5 hours of driving, but to go across 3 states in 5 hours ain't to shabby. Well from New York, across Connecticut, and into Massachusetts. I set my GPS to "avoid tolls" and "avoid ferries" and it only added about an extra half hour to the trip. Not too shabby! So I went up to 91 and 84 for a bit, instead of 95 and the turnpike. Or whichever.

I'll be needing spell check during my stay in Massachusetts. Yup needed spell check for that. Darrah has a nice home in Gloucester. I settled in and showered and Darrah put some sausage on a salad for me, and that was tasty. So I'm taking it easy right now. Want to go into Boston and check it out. Get some fancy ice cream. It'll probably be my last major city for a while. Want to camp and hike and sleep in my tent again!

But also Averie is going to be in Boston on the 14th...

New York, New York (and Long Island)

Where do I start to describe New York? Well no one pooped in the street, so it has that up on San Francisco.

I left Philly at 4ish, and drove towards New Jersey. Crossed the border and gas dropped a quarter, so I filled up and continued on a scenic route towards Atlantic City. Not much of a drive, about an hour tops. It really isn't a big state. I parked near the boardwalk (for free, points to Atlantic City) and strolled up and down it. There was a triathlon finishing up and there were some tired sweaty athletes, and lots of cheering families with sponsor logo cowbells that they jangled in support. It was hard to find a neon sign at the Trump Palace Whatever that didn't had a letter burned out. Lots of the neon was partially burned out. I recently heard a story that Showboat had closed down suddenly. I guess Atlantic City isn't doing so well.

After dark, I cruised up the Garden State Parkway, which was a toll road but the tolls ranged from seventy five cents to a buck fifty, which isn't bad at all compared to some that are six bucks for an hours worth of driving. Then BAM bridge toll into New York: $13!! Dang! And I got turned around and hit another bridge toll (there was construction on one bridge) (and it was actually the Holland tunnel, not a bridge, and I was deposited into New York, but it was 2:30am so it was mostly vacant streets and I just wanted to get outta there, but I got onto the Queens Bridge or something like that) and just all of it was bridges bridges bridges. When you go to an island, you gotta cross a bridge. But no more tolls! Hurray! I camped out in a Wal Mart and then in the morning I went to Carly's house (after dropping off my parking fee from Philly). Carly, like many, lives with her parents. But her ma Jeanette and pa Jim were very nice. Jeanette treated us to diner food even! I gobbled down some eggs benedict. Carly took me to Sunken Meadow State Beach Park Place Thingy and we walked along the beach and boardwalk. Then there was much lounging at the house and watching TV. Tomorrow we went into THE CITY. NEW YORK CITY. THE BIG APPLE PLACE.

8:30 get out of bed to get to the train station for the 9:30 into the city. It is a longish train ride on the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road), with a transfer in Huntington. They need a bullet train. And to think many people make this ride every day as their commute! But I drove from San Francisco to Santa Cruz for a few weeks....but that was until I moved. Most can't move into New York.

So! New York! We arrived at Penn Station, and it was hustling, but Carly lead the way and we met up with her friend Thomas who then lead the way. And being lead around New York is great, because people generally know where they are going and then you aren't just standing and looking at a map and wondering and trying to figure stuff out. A sense of purpose goes a long way. So we were lead onto the street, and in describing New York I can only really say it was a big city. Big buildings, lots of cars, lots of people. We went through a bit of Chinatown and there was a fishmonger with live crabs getting shuffled about in their basket, and a live lobster too, but not in a tank. And people selling toys from stalls, and souvenirs, and fashionable people were everywhere! Lots of ladies in dresses and men in suits. I was wearing my Arizona necklace (this nice one I got from a stand on the side of the road in Arizona), and a black tank and a bit of makeup, so I wasn't totally a ruffian, but still way outdressed by the hoi polloi.

We met up with a fourth friend, Denise, and we all went to Joe's Shanghai. Though there was some subway taking. Down into the subway! Metro card purchasing! Going through the turn thingy and going on one train then transferring! How exciting. And easy because Thomas knew where we were going. Joe's Shanghai was a crowded place and our six person table had two more people added to it, but that is fine. We ordered dumplings and some noodles and food and gobbled the tasty dumplings down. I burned my mouth only a little bit. The restaurant had photos of the owner with famous people who had eaten there: Jake Gyllenhaall, Jessie Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Cera. A very nummy experience. Juice was procured, though I opted out. We stood in Jamba Juice for a while enjoying the A/C. New York was hot today. High 80's. Though not as bad as Florida. Nothing will ever be as bad as Florida's heat. How can people stand it? My bug bites are still healing, but are almost gone.

Denise was walked to work and then we parted ways. One more subway later and we were at The Met! Which is an awesome museum because hey: suggested donation admittance! We each paid a buck and that was that. Oh what a museum! Thomas left at 3:30ish and Carly and I were ushered out at 5:15 at closing time.

I saw George Washington Crossing the Delaware, more Eakins and Homer, more Van Gogh, Matisse, Sargent, I discovered the work of Lilly Martin Spencer. Yay for a new lady in an art museum on top of the old regulars. We also saw some funny ugly renaissance babies. The Garry Winogrand exhibit was happening, and I saw the art book from the exhibit at Wilson's, so that is another example of repetition and foreshadowing in this journey of mine. It's building upon itself! The museum was even bigger than the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but with cheap admittance one could easily return many times...provided they live in New York. But yeah! I was happy I got to see that.

We got some snacks and walked around. Went into Cental Park for a bit and I was all "I'm in Central Park!" Though it didn't really hit me all the way that I'm in New York. Maybe because I was visiting with the confidence of my companions, so that it didn't feel so daunting and huge. It was still huge. I'll be back, but hopefully when I'm famous and invited to a convention or something.

On the way back both our phones died, but we knew enough to know where to get to a subway station and based on a map which routes to take, and then we undertook the 9 block hot trot to the LIRR station from Times Square. The train back left every hour on the :20 and last time we checked a clock was a while ago, so we weren't sure if we were going to miss it, or if we had half an hour. So yeah, we did a medium job to the station and arrived sweaty and hot and frazzled and it was 8 o'clock! And the train was delayed till 8:40! So we had plenty of time to catch our breath, grab some food at the station, and then call home via payphone to let Jeanette know what train we will be on. Trial and tribulations and it all worked out, hurray!

At home we sat and sat and then slept and slept. Jeanette went to a bakery and brought back this chocolate epic chocolate thing for me! I just said surprise me when she was making the order and she sure did. Later on we got McDonald's. Now Carly and I are going to drive out to Montauk and see whats up with there. It's a nice day for a bit of a drive. I'll be seeing Elnora soon. There might be some camping tonight. Or some sleeping in car... either way, I'll figure it out.

I've now seen a part of John Wilkes Booth's thorax

My laundry is tumbling in a dryer upstairs. Once it is done, I shall fold it and put it away and ride off into the day...to a gas station.

I had a big day yesterday! Lots of walking around and enjoyment. I opted to try public transit, as Kathryn's house is near a train station, so that's pretty much the easiest and surefire route to get anywhere. Clearer stops and all that. And with my smart phone, I could Googlemaps public transit options. The train was more train than fancy light rail. I grabbed a spot and waited for the ticket taker to show up so that I could pay. I bought the all day ticket, so I could take any transport at any time with no worry. It was a very pretty ticket, with shiny logos and lots of colors and the date punched out. I love seeing the bonafide ticket punchers, it's so...well almost archaic now with everything being scanable and digital. So I got my pass, and got off downtown and walked in circles a bit before I figured out where I was going.

The start of the day was all about the Mütter Museum. It was a collection of medical artifacts, tools, preserved medical oddities, and just all around... gross stuff. There were many deformed fetuses in jars, fetus skeletons, a whole wall of skulls, an impacted colon, several skeletons including one with a very rare bone disease where the guy spent 15 years pretty much in the same position in care. The artifacts were preserved in a sort of sickly way. They looked more real and organic. Not very dried out and polished. All the bones in the Museum of Osteology were pristine looking. These bones were...not. And the jarred specimens. You just can't get past a cycloptic baby in a jar. Yeah. It was ... gnarly. But I enjoyed it! Because that is how I do. I did need a breath of fresh air in the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden. And I caught the Brothers Quay weird art film they made in the museum.

From the gross glory of the Mütter, I walked to the Rodin Museum, which I got free admission for with yesterday's Philadelphia Museum of Art ticket. I checked out all the bronzes and admired the handiwork. Then I was getting hungry so I knew it was time: Philly Cheesesteak time.

I decided to go to Geno's, which I guess is the tourist option. It was a walk aways, but I had my walking shoes on and my mp3 player full of tunes, so off I went! Philadelphia has a pretty good assortment of shops. A lot of times when walking for miles through a city, it seems like once you get past a street it just drops to residential and then that is it. My path went through food stall streets, and upscale shopping streets, and just restaurants and smoothie places and galleries. It was a really nice variety, and I could see myself spending much more time here just eating and checking out art. Philly, parking aside, is great. I like it more than Austin, that's for sure.

So Geno's was across the corner from Pat's and I guess they have a rivalry? Each place has a long line, but I assumed the lines moved fast. Which they did. I struck up a conversation with the lady behind me in line, and she said I was her hero for taking this trip. A hero! Me!

I gobbled down my sandwich on some person's doorstep stairs. Very tasty, though the cheesesteak I had from that vendor in Portland was better I'd say. Then I plugged in the Reading Terminal Market into my GPS because I wanted ice cream, and I grabbed a bus nearby and waved my all day pass, and boom off I went! But oops the market closes at 5 as it turns out. So I just got on the train and headed back, because my dogs were majorly barking!

The train was different from the one I went in on, and it dropped me off at a different Jenkintown stop, so there was a moment of panic of "oh my god please let me be on the right train, please GPS don't have lied to me!" but I got there all right. No problems with public transit whatsoever! And it also made me aware of my skillset of just taking trains and dealing with schedules and all that stuff. I didn't grow up with public transit, so it's all been stuff I've learned in the past 7 years. Anyway, it's good to have a sense of capability, I think.

At the house I snacked and watched TV and slept pretty well, though I slept on my arm weird. It's fine now, but there was a painful bit of it just being sore and stiff.

So I'm waiting on laundry. Guess I'll start loading my car and packin' it up. I'll head off to New Jersey, but I'll try to avoid toll roads. Just go to the beach or something. Princeton's art museum is free, and only an hour away, but it closes at 5 due to it being a Sunday and it's 2:30 now.

Philly bucket list

If only I hadn’t gotten so lost in a meandering way, if only I hadn’t stopped to get something to drink, if only I hadn’t swung by Ross to get a replacement pair of cheap flats…I may have gotten to my car 11 minutes earlier and not gotten the $36 parking ticket for the expired meter! Damn Philadelphia, I was liking you but your parking is ridiculous and expensive. The downside of city visiting: gotta pay if you wanna park near & safe. Oh well. Could be worse. Philly is nice. Has a lot going on and tons of museums. I spent all day today just at ONE museum and there was still more I could see. Tomorrow I’ll go to the Mutter and get that Philly cheese steak, and then that is that. I’m staying with Kathryn, one of Celia’s friends. She is out of town for a bit of my stay, but I can still stay here! How nice is that? Very nice. I’ve also met her daughter Clare and her son Eamon. Their house is very nice, with tons of pretty rugs and nice tapestry on the couches and monkey wallpaper in one of the bathrooms. I love seeing all these houses.

It was an easy drive out here from Marietta, though I did have to pay a toll, though not the costliest of tolls. I sat at the house and hung with Clare and Eamon for a while, before heading downtown. I went to Reading Terminal Market, which was a block of food stalls under one roof. Tons of restaurants of all sorts, and the place smelled great. Very hustle and bustle. I eventually decided on artisanal grilled cheese. A brie and pine nut and cranberry grilled cheese. It was so good. And I finished it off with some fudge. I then wandered down to Mostly Books, a used book shop with other used stuff. I rifled through the antique photos. I sweated. And as I mentioned, after all my wandering and shopping I returned to my car just a bit too late.

I didn’t linger in the evening. I just went back to the house and showered and chatted and tucked into bed early. Big day tomorrow!

All day was spent at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was HUGE with a massive collection of essential fine art. I parked in their lot and used my Olympic College ID to get student discount. I peeled off the “fall 2011” sticker first. I have my PNCA ID, but I look younger in that. If I’m going to cheat the system, I might as well use the less obvious cheat. And it worked! Hurray!

I started with the prints and drawings. They had some WPA prints which were lovely, even if their registration wouldn’t have passed my standards. Then I went into the American Art section. I totally missed The Gross Clinic on the first go around, but I returned to it at the end of the day. Yes. The. Gross. Clinic. By Eakins. I’ve seen so much fine art in person now. And some of it was stuff I’ve seen when it was on tour at Portland Art Museum. I saw Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the European Art wing. Saw a bunch of Winslow Homer, who I didn’t know existed till now but damn I love him. In the Modern and Contemporary Art wing I saw a massive Alex Katz, instantly recognizable out of the corner of my eye.

The museum had the mandatory women artists: Alice Neel, Mary Cassat, Judith Leyster, and Berthe Morisot.

Duchamp had his amazing section at the end of the wing. I grabbed a selfie with Nude Descending Staircase. I think Duchamp would approve. There was The Bride Stripped Bare by her Grooms, Even in all its shattered glory. And a recreation of R. Mutt. And just tons of stuff I’ve seen in art books, but there! I didn’t know they had that much in one spot, but damn there it was. And Etant Donnes was there. Duchamp’s final piece. 20 years of work. It’s an installation that you have to approach. There are these bar doors and you peek through a hole in the door and you are looking at a reclining nude woman holding a glass lamp. It’s a sculpture in the scene, though as much as you lean over, you can’t see her face. And the figure is laying on a bed of sticks and the whole scene is painted in the background. It’s a bit pervy, amplified by having to peep at the art. I learned about this piece years ago and knew I’d have to see it one day. Philadelphia has been on my list for ages. Seeing this piece was on my bucket list. Was. I’m accomplishing on this trip things I’ve wanted to accomplish for so long. I’ll have a short bucket list when I’m done. I still can’t believe I’ve seen it, though I was pressed against that door for a good long while, gawking.

There is a Picasso Minotaur print exhibit. That was nice. I do like his line work and intuition. And a photography exhibit devoted to the use of flash in the medium. At the Perelman Building was a Patrick Kelly exhibit with lots of his fashion on display. Utterly delightful! I was starting to flag but getting outside and eating a bagel got a bit of pep in my step for the last leg of it. The museum was open late, but my energy ran out at 5. 6 hours!

But I’m not even done talking about the art that I saw. You see why I’m so tired? I like to take my time and look. There was a kid who powered through the Eakins gallery just snapping a picture of each painting and moving on, not even looking. And there was a cluster of loud German tourists. And a kid that was whining to his mom and wanted to go, even though it was like… noon so the kid couldn’t have been there long. Brat!

Saw an epic Rubens. The galleries have some exhibits that are set up like old rooms. Old Flemish rooms, Dutch rooms, Victorian rooms. So you can see some of the stuff in context instead of behind glass. I saw Frans Hals and a Vermeer, which was authenticated because the canvas came from the same bolt of cloth that another Vermeer was painted on. That is s ome CSI shit right there.

Here is a list of artists I made note of: Antonio Fransconi, Alfred Bendier, Jacob Eichholtz, Winslow Homer, Sir Frederick Leighton, Charlemont, Vuillard, Kay Sage Tanguy, Noel Mahaffey, Kamisaka Sekka, Collin Son(Sun?), and George Stubbs.

I feel like I’m forgetting something. But damn it was an epic wander of art. I got back to the house at 6 absolutely pooped. Now I’m just going to chill. Tomorrow: Mutter & Cheese Steak. And then probably more chilling. And then Sunday will take me to New Jersey. Taking my time. Eight weeks! I keep forgetting to reset my odometer, but I’m not putting on too many miles these past few days, so it shouldn’t throw the next two weeks count all that much.

Pennsylvania

Eight weeks on the road! I'll reset my odometer before I head out this morning, but I think I've been rocking 45mpg this past stretch. I've got less than 2 hours of driving to do today, but it looks like there are some tolls. Boo.

So! Yesterday! Got up at a respectable hour and Wilson took me to the Royal Restaurant, which is a diner that is his usual morning haunt. We talked matters of things that matter and took pictures with our phones and then we returned to the apartment. I packed up my stuff, got a tip on where a free air pump was nearby, and headed off. Wilson gave me the scenic route map, so that I could avoid the tools going up to Pennsylvania (i.e. by not driving through Washington DC).

So I took the scenic route across Maryland towards Gettysburg. I didn't stop at Gettysburg as I wanted to get to Marietta to meet Anne and Terry (Rainbow's parents) and say hi so they knew who I was as I'd be crashing at their place. So I arrived at 3ish and said hello and met Anne. Then I drove on down to the riverfront park and had a nice chat with Ma & Pa. Gotta call the parents every once and a while, ya know? Can't just blog into the void.

I got back to the house and Rainbow arrived soon after and it was awesome to see an old school pal! And I haven't seen her in longer than I have other people, because she graduated in 2009 and has been abroad working. She is the same delightful person though. She treated me to Chipotle and then we went to the park where a free summer concert was happening, the concert in question was 7 Bridges, an Eagles cover band where every member looked like they belonged in a different genre. I bought a funnel cake. There were people dancing in the front and I met Bob and Brooke and... uhh I forget the name of Bob's son, but Bob was a friend of Rainbows. We got a spot in the main seating area (it was pretty full). Unfortunately the concert ended early due to a storm coming in, but they got Hotel California out so that's something.

The thunderstorm coming in was beautiful. One side of the river would be dark, the other light from reflecting the remainder of the sky. Just such punctuating contrast and colors. Really nice.

We both retired to bed pretty early. Well I stayed up on my computer and mooching wifi, but I did get some sleep. Had the porch door open (I was in the guest bedroom which had a porch) to let the air circulate, because it was stuffy and hot. Still hot, but every now and again a breeze would come through. But there was also the lightning and rolling thunder. Very nice.

In the morning, Rainbow, her 7k+ skydiving jumps Dad, Chris, Maddy, and Maddy's mom and I met up for breakfast at Gus's. Maddy is maybe going off to college and got a barrage of advice about life decisions. It really is so complicated how many decisions have to be made at such a young age, and how much debt and stuff is foisted onto kids. It's not right. There should be more time between high school and college and it should be cheaper and accessible and all that.

Yeah.

So now I'm off towards Philadelphia! I've only got about 2 hours of driving, so that's nice.

brutalist architecture

Had a very nice day going about. Being driven in an unfamiliar city is awesome. Had a nice rest. I'll be sleeping under roofs for the next few nights! So awesome! This is the social stretch of my journey, I suppose. Anyway, we had oatmeal for breakfast and Wilson added marshmallow cereal which gave it a nice nudge of texture and sweetness.

From there we went into DC and I am SO GLAD I didn't drive in it! Lots of weird turns that send traffic in odd directions. Parking was expensive in a garage but we managed to find a spot on the street. But uhg, yeah if I had to drive in DC I would just just forked over the 20-something for the first garage I found and legged it from there, and even then I probably would have spent oodles of time in traffic getting agitated. I'd like to visit again, because there was only meter time for one museum and there are so many!

But you know me, so the museum we went to was the American Art and Portrait Gallery museum. They had an awesome photo exhibit going on about coolness in America. Just great photos of iconic cool people through the years. A couple Halsmans. A really nice assortment. And there were a couple great Sargents. And those huge majestic landscapes. And oodles of Catlins. Even with the hours spent, it was still just a taste. Could spend several days going around to all the museums. If only I didn't have to drive...

Shake Shack was lunch, with locally sourced food and they pay their employees well and all that good business practices. I had the blondie concrete (like a shake but deluxe or thicker or something) and this hot dog with fried shallots on it. Mmm! Wilson had a burger and a float and confirmed they were also delicious. My treat in reparation for Wilson paying for parking and heck, driving!

Fully fed, we walked around downtown a bit. Saw the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building which is FUGGGLYYYY!

Back at the apartment, a nap was had. Then there was some lounging by the pool and I read Lost for Words. Then in the evening there was an outdoor hang out with some of the people in the neighborhood. Heard Bigfoot stories, and stories of the wheel coming off their Land Rover, and travel suggestions, and it was just overall a nice night to sit and hear about wacky antics. This whole being randomly social is so foreign to me. I love it!

Tomorrow I think will start with a diner visit, and then I'll head north to Pennsylvania.

Anita & Dan & Delaware and Wilson & Marc & Virginia

6/22/2014 7:48 pm Slaughter Beach, Delaware

I'm in Delaware! Number 23! Well 24 if you count Maryland, but I'm not quite counting it just yet, as I just drove straight through. After McDonald's I got in contact with Dan and Anita, who are in Delaware, and so I just was like "yo can I kick it at your place?" and they were like "yeah!". Dan and Anita had me over for Thanksgiving. Anita is Ryan's sister. So four hours, a bit of rain, the sun going down I was in Milford, Delaware! Driving around Washington DC was a trip. Just a ring road skirting it with lots of lanes and cars and everyone not going anywhere near the speed limit. And Maryland's state flag is totally an odd one out.

Anyhoo, I got in at 9:30ish and met them at Abbot's and met their friends and had a pint. It was nice to chill out. After long drives, I always have a bit of energy to come down from, so I'm all jittery when first talking. Jittery or hard to focus. Dan and Anita are spending time between this beach out that is being repaired and Dan's grandma's house (grandma lives in Santa Cruz). So it's two of grandma's properties and stuff. I forget all the specifics, but the point is one house has an eclectic collection and the other is being remodeled and we are split between both of them kinda... sleep at one, shower at the other. So after hanging at the eclectic house, we went to the other to crash for the night. I got the fold out couch and just conked out and it was amazing.

In the morning we went to the Starlight Diner and I got scrabble! And eggs and toast and home fries. Very filling and I did not consume it all, and priced pretty low for all that food. Scrapple. I mean scrapple. That is what I had. Regional food!

Then we caught a matinee of Edge of Tomorrow, which lacked shakey cam. And I didn't know it was going to be the kind of movie that it was. A neat scifi film. Hurray for more original scifi! Well made. Emily Blunt is awesome and Tom Cruise went against casting at the start of the film (played a bit of a coward).

Now we are back at the repairing house. I put my tent out earlier in the day and it was dry upon my return! I've got my tarp out now. So hopefully I'll be able to pack up my car in the old organization system.

Tomorrow I'm meeting my friend Wilson in Alexandria.

6/23/2014 7:55pm Wilson & Marc's apartment

I'm in Alexandria. Which is in Virginia. I can't break free of this state! But today has had awesome weather thus far so yay for that.

So last night in Delaware, we just sat about watching True Blood and eating food and having a good ol' time. Dan and Anita are fun company. We all talked at length about Orange is the New Black. In the morning we went to the Milford house and had our showers, then parted ways. I filled up my tank and went south to Alexandria. Easy drive, just really dense with traffic. Wilson is online friend #4 on this trip, and not a serial killer, just like the others! He is a reenactor and works on a boat and is a photographer and might go to Mongolia in a few years on a language expedition. Basically a cool, well traveled person. And he (and his boyfriend) are letting me crash here tonight and we (Wilson & I) are going to DC tomorrow!! Yaaay!

Wilson took me out for a little drive in his motorcycle. I sat in the sidecar! I've never been in a sidecar before and now I want to go again! We drove down GW Parkway and it was beautiful and perfect and I saw trees and we sat by the river and talked about travel and how to make travel work in different areas and that stuff. I need to get a sidecar so I can have someone drive me around in it. So much fun.

Look how cool I am!

Wilson, Marc, and I got food. Mmm big burger. Now we'll be hanging out and tomorrow Wilson and I are going up to DC!

Shenandoah is nice, but Virginia can suck it

6/21/2014 a rest stop in Virginia

I haven’t written anything since leaving North Carolina! I just ended up doing a lot of car camping, and not taking the time to sit anywhere, and when I would have had the time, circumstances blocked me. But now I have the time. It’s 1pm, I don’t know where I’ll be tonight but I’m near Washington DC. Well near being within a couple hours drive. I need to make calls and get in contact with people. I need to readjust my sense of space. Florida really messed up the way I consider distances.

So. Last day in North Carolina:

I slept in. I set an alarm but I hit snooze many many times. But the epic sausage, beans, bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs breakfast Stephen made was still warm! I swear I’ve never eaten so well. I should be their nanny. Seems like it’d be a good gig. Ha. I packed up. Showered. I also signed up for Couch Surfer. I set up my profile, I haven’t really used it yet, but I like that now I have it as an established option. I did shoot out a message when I thought I’d be going to Charleston WV, but it was too short notice for them (she seemed really nice) and I ended up not going there anyway.

We hugged goodbye and when I got- oh! My car tire. It had lost air, but not much. I’ve been keeping an eye on it and it is losing air slowly. I’ve just been filling it up every other day. Dunno what’s up with it, but I’ll keep an eye on it.

Anyway. I headed west towards Asheville, North Carolina. I got there during sunset and put change in a meter thinking it was 6pm (the time my watch is set at) and not well past the time you need to put change in the meter. I didn’t put too much change in before someone clued me in. Ha. I went to Dobra Tea, at Erin & Stephen’s suggestion. I got a pot of a gentle green tea. Well a daiwan thingy. So a pot of hot water which made about 6 little cups of tea. Mmm. It was tasty. I sat and drank and read Lost for Words. It’s a very funny book thus far. Lots of literary and writer jokes within. I walked around downtown for a bit. Asheville reminded me of Santa Cruz a bit in terms of age of residents, but also the Pearl District of Portland in terms of posh boutiques.

I drove North and stopped just across the Tennessee border (what a long state!) and spent the night at a rest stop. It was a very quiet rest stop. This wasn’t the most busy of interstates. The mountains were full on misty in the morning. A nice site. This day I knocked off two states. I’m still hovering at 22, but soon I’ll get to the halfway point and then it’s go go go!

Hold on a second, my tarp is dry so I need to flip it over. It’s all drying much faster than I expected it to! There is a nice breeze coming through and it’s not insufferably humid. Once it’s all dry, I’ll make myself a sandwich. Still trying to think about what to do today.

Where was I? Oh yes! Virginia! Oh shit. It started to rain so I had to hustle to relocate under a covered picnic table. I got it all under just in time but damn this sucks. Now I’m trapped waiting for the rain to stop. My tent is dry enough. I know that I’ve packed it up wetter, but I don’t want it to get rained on while I’m folding it up. Argh. Come on Virginia, give me a break!

Okay my computer is getting moist, I’m packing it away.

AHHHH!!!! I don’t usually swear here but come the FUCK ON! Are you fucking kidding me! The weather went full on rain storm. And it was going sideways. I got my bags into my car and the important stuff is dry. But my tent got wet! Not saturated like it was but I’ll still need to dry it out. And properly roll it up as I couldn’t do that in time. It’s just shoved in a garbage bag right now. Argghhh come on. But at least now the rain has stopped. I’ll give it a bit (and change my clothes, as just getting to my car and back soaked me).

My attitude right now is one big “fuck this”.

So Virginia. Uhhh. I keep getting waylayed in writing this blog post. I cruised right through Virginia to West Virginia. I went to the New River Gorge National River. I did a little loop walk in the forest. It was nice. Humid but nice. Not a National Park, but they did had stamps. Generally anything National has a stamp. Which is why I went way out of my way to the National Observatory Something Something. Which wasn’t park of the park service as it turns out and doing a tour cost money and I didn’t feel like doing that. It was a nice scenic drive up. Very Olympic Peninsula. But just annoying to drive so far but not have it be what was expected, but still. It ate up time. I got back into Virginia and got food provisions at a Walmart. And then drove to the “sleeping in their car” section of the parking lot, finished the last episode of Orange is the New Black, and went to sleep. I just put on my shoes and left in the morning, and changed clothes at a rest stop.

I cruised on up to Shenandoah National Park. Nice to get an early start on a park, and even better when camping is only $15! Shenandoah is highlighted by Skyline Drive, which winds along the ridge. Very high up and scenic with overlooks aplenty. After I got my stamps at the visitors center, I went down to Lewis Mountain and set up tent, not noticing my flat wasn’t closed all the way. The door was, just not the flat which blocks the elements from getting through the mesh.

Looking over the map I made my choices for the day: check out the visitor’s center once again, drive up to the center on the far north part of the road, come back down, take a hike, then go see a ranger program. Driving up north took a considerable amount of time, what with the winding road making for slow going. Still, beautiful. Probably even moreso in the fall when the colors change. I got a guide to tree identification, but I’m still figuring it out. The terminology mostly. What is a “leaflet” and all that. I did identify a Dogwood though, so go me!

I went for the Rose Creek Loop, which is 3ish miles and it goes to the Dark Hollow Falls. I like loops, because it’s all new terrain through the whole thing, but dang once you get past the half way point and you are tired and you don’t know if it’ll be rough uphill or easy downhill…yeah. But the hard part was getting to the falls. Lots of rocks and inclines and uphill uphill uphill. The river was nice. I had three little PB&J sandwiches (little because the bread I bought was little) and an apple and some carrots. The falls were nice, though not as big as I was expecting considering they are called Dark Hollow. The rest of the trail was a fire road, so gentle and easy. There was a cemetery too, with some old graves. Shenandoah used to be populated by settlers who had to booshdonku when the government made it a park.

The ranger talk was at Skyland. There were these twin boys at the talk who were just so precocious. When the ranger said she was from Buffalo New York when they were from New York New York, they said “same state same pride!” and they were so confident in their talking. They’ll be a pain in the ass in 10 years, I can tell. It started to rain at the end of the talk. The fog was heavy on the ride south to the campground, so I took it very slow. Some parts it would open up to just mist trickling across in a very “here there be werewolves” sort of way. It rained moderately on the way back.

And when I got back to my tent, I opened up the door and stepped in a puddle of water. The flap I neglected the shut had leaked. The corner that had the most water lacked any objects in it, and thankfully the only containers of stuff in the tent were plastic. But my mattress pad was still wet. As was my hula girls comforter. And my sleeping bag. My yellow bunny blanket was safe, but my tent was utterly waterlogged and no amount of towels could have mopped it dry (well maybe 100 towels, but I only have four on this trip). So I pulled the half wet stuff out and rearranged my car to accommodate the wet tent in the morning. Everything would have it’s little wet section, and I went to sleep in my car frustrated and upset and pissed off. I like sleeping in my tent! I could sleep in my car anywhere! But at least a campground is quieter.

A camping neighbor, Ray, helped me fold up my tent, and he even gave me a trash bag to put the wet stuff in. I drove out of the park on 33 (thankfully there are a few cross sections on Skyline Drive, it isn’t just North or South entrance). I found a laundromat in Charloteville (or some such place) and got to work. My pillows and sleeping bag dried quick, and my comforter soon followed. The towels I used to mop up a bit of the water took a while, but they in turn got dry. I also did my regular clothes, because why not, I was at a laundromat. It took less time that expected, but I still had the matter of the tent, but then it came to me: I’ll just set it out to dry at a rest stop and boom! Dry!

With a full tank and full tires, I got to a rest stop and it was warm and there was a breeze and it all dried much faster than expected… then at 95% dry…it started to rain. And I think you know how that worked out. So I guess I’ll just try to find somewhere else that is dry…or just roll up the tent as is, and let it dry fully at my next spot. Or I dunno. It’s all up in the air. I’m going to change clothes now. Fish out my umbrella first. Then change.

4:30pm, McDonalds.

Washington DC plans are proving difficult. Person #1 is unable to host me, trying to get in contact with some others. Meanwhile I might go hang out with Anita and Dan in Delaware. Only 4 hours away! That’ll give me some time to rendezvous. And I can just cut back into Maryland. There is backtracking like driving the length of New Mexico to get to Texas after Colorado, and there is driving two hours west to get to DC from Maryland.

So now I’m in a McDonalds trying to coordinate. And eating a burger. And a mocha frappe. Just wanted a regular mocha but I think I ordered it wrong. No biggie.

tired

I finished drawing my east coast map, and in one of my little notebooks I gave each upcoming state its own page. I ordered them in the rough order in which I'll visit. I'll cut across Virginia and do West Virginia, then come back east for the coast once again. Then DC and Maryland and Delaware and New Jersey. New York too, but the coast part. Buffalo and Finger Lakes on the loop back. Some states have nothing on their page, and some have many high lights. Just have to Google and ask around. Tomorrow I head off for Asheville. I'm excited to be heading out again, and to be getting some more locations done. This was a rest rest in North Carolina. Easy driving, good food, company.

I stuck around the house today. Got ice for my car. My rear driver's tire was super low though. Like, 15. No reason why it should be that low. I'll check it in the morning (Stephen helped refill it) and if it is low again...well I guess it has a leak. The back tires are in need of replacement. But still. Whats up with that? Dad, I'll give you a call in the morning.

Erin and I went to Locopop and got yummy popsicles. I got the "mojito madness" which was minty and tasty and hit the spot on the hot day.

Dave, Stephen, and I went to Wimpy's and got burgers for breakfast/lunch. Tasty, tiny place, not elegant burgers. Mmm.

I spent a lot of time sitting doing computer stuff and working on my list. Organizing my contacts.

Dinner was a three course extravaganza. I didn't know it was three courses. But oh wow Stephen knows what is up with cooking. First up was this egg spinach frittata on this slice of eggplant with crumbs. Delicious. Then salad with avocado and celery. Very green and I had several plates, not aware there was a third course (like I said). Which was sort rib that has been marinating and rice with spinach stems sprinkled on top for presentation. Like seriously, damn good! I ate it all with relish.

Now it's late and I have more Orange is the New Black to watch, as well as some prep to do.

Here is hoping my tire is fine!

Beca & Jackie

A day with Beca, 6/15:

Zahri aka Beca aka the third online friend I'm meeting up with on this trip of mine. And thus far I'm three for three for awesome, easy to talk to people! So after breakfast with Erin and Stephen, I headed out west to Greensborough. An hour west of Durham. I got to Beca's before Beca, so I just sat on the stairs and watched Orange is the New Black on my phone. I met Beca's girlfriend Candice who was awesome. A very nice couple, but I can't threaten Candice to be good to Beca because Candice plays rugby so any threat...well I'm not threatening. Still, I waved my finger. I'm protective of my friends. I want all of their lives to be awesome and lovely. And I want to live the good life with all of them. And thus far I've sat back and reflected on how this just really is the good life. I've got food, I've got company, and everything is well in the bubble I am inhabiting for that moment.

Beca, Candice, and I acquired hot dogs and beer (a 12 pack of Yuengling) and went to the pool at this apartment complex Candice had access to. No kids, and yes beer was allowed. So we spent hours swimming and drinking and eating and kicking back and soaking up sun and talking about this and that and Dee (a mutual online friend of Beca and mine). After we had absorbe'd more than enough sun (I'm a bit pink but not burned) we went to Cook Out and I got treated to a burger with cheese and onion and bacon, and a side of slaw and onion rings, and a big thing of sweet tea. Mmmm MMMM! Amazing. Candice returned to the apartment and Beca and I walked around downtown Greensboro. Borough. Boro. Uhh. Whichever. Not much was open on a Sunday, but we got to peep in some windows. But. BUT cheesecake was open. Cheesecake shop. So we splint a slice a cheesecake, my treat, and it was amazing. Like I said, meeting people I'm online friends with has been a good experience. All are people I've met through mutual nerd interests, so we have the baseline of "yeah we are nerds" to bond us all.

Back at the apartment we played Wii Mario Kart and both of us weren't so good, so it was an even game! I was sad to part, but oh what a lovely day!

A day with Jackie, 6/16:

I went to Japan in 2005 as part of a group through Experiments in International Living. Jackie was in my group, and we've kept in touch. She lives in North Carolina. I'm in North Carolina. And she is only 30 minutes east in Carrboro! Easy visit. I met her fiancee Mike briefly, and then we were off! First up was ice cream at this nice little ice cream place. I had the caramel crunch something ice cream and mmm MMM! She works at the Weaver Street Market and they have this special zoning thing where you can drink a beer outside at their little outdoor area. Just one beer. Their outdoor area had tables in the shade and a place for live music, which wasn't happening when we were there but it does happen. Jackie said she often hangs out after work, and that it's a place where everyone knows everyone. Which became evident as the day went on. I had a bottle of Fullsteam Brewery's Carver, which was a sweet potato lager. If you think that sounds delicious, it was.

So we had our beers and sat in the shade and talked about life and relationships and Japan and growing up and change, and all those topics adults talk about when they last saw each other as teenagers.

From there, we went downtown a bit more, to wander up and down the street that happens near any college campus. Restaurants, comic shops, book stores, little hole in the wall music shops. I bought the first three issues of Lumberjanes at Chapel Hill Comics. Lumberjanes is an all lady comic production, and it's been selling super well, so I felt like I should add to thank because viva lady comic makers! It's a hard hustle out there for women in the industry, so we gotta support each other often.

We ran into Jackie's friend Larry, and we all commuted down to Southern Rail aka "The Station" which was a bar that was old train cars and several different bars really. And Ishti, who I met at the porch party, showed up for this open mic that was happening later and he knew Larry. Lots of people knew Larry. Everyone knew everyone it seemed, and they all confirmed that it was the sort of place you can go by yourself and you'll know someone there. The last time I experienced that was Yur's in Portland, Oregon. There needs to be more places like that. Ishti remembered me and gave me a hug and played a song he was working on for Nathan's going away. US won their game, which was evident by after an hour of silence there were loud cheers from the bar area. It was less hot than Florida, so I was doing swell. Still hot and humid, of course. I sketched a bit and Larry and Andi (another of Larry's friends) were pleased to be immortalized in my sketchbook. And the sky was beautiful with perfect hued clouds.

To be somewhere where people are friendly and eager to talk. Where people know one another and remember you. Where comic shops have lady comics and local breweries make damn good beer. I'll be coming back to Durham.

Now Stephen and I are going to head out to a bar for a bit.

on a porch at night in Durham

What a lovely relaxing day. It's nice to be with friends and to hang out. It seems like a nice place, Durham North Carolina.

Slept in a considerable amount and there were pancakes! Love pancakes! And I got to have a full proper shower and all that good stuff.

6/15/2014 11:10 am

I was starting to write but then I got super tired, so I retired to bed, watched a little Orange is the New Black, and fell asleep for 9 glorious hours.

So! Yesterday there were pancakes and morning conversations. Stephen played a guitar duet with the sounds of the washing machine going shugga shugga. He's such a talented musician! But that is known already. I think we met the second night I was in San Francisco, when I moved to look for work and saw Odd Owl play with their new band members. That was April 2012 I think. A lot has happened in two plus years, but there was a lull in the middle where Santa Cruz was getting me down, when I hoped it would be a place for me to be. But now I'm on the road seeing new places and just enjoying my own company and the company of rad cool people.

We met up with four (well five) rad people and drove down to Eno Beach. The other people were two couples ... whose names escape me now in the dawn of morning, but there was a baby in the bunch. Baby Josie was was just a few weeks younger than my journey has been. A well mannered baby that didn't cry and was sung to by Stephen with his ukulele. It was a nice stroll to the watering hole. I swam a bit and sat and drew Erin and soaked up the sun. We took a different route back, flatter but longer, and I talked with Josie's mum, who was very sweet. Everyone I met today was nice!

I rinsed off at home and then we went to a going away party for this guy named Nathan who was road tripping to Vermont in a week! Everyone is on a journey this year. Also at the party was a David a Dave and... more names I've forgotten. I used to be so good at names, I'm not putting forward the effort like I used to. Anyway, we all sat on the back porch and ate pasta salad and drank beer (except Erin of course) and they sang songs and Nathan played the cello and Dave played the violin and Stephen played the guitar and it was amazing! There was singing and improv and just a lovely flow of everything happening. And it's these kinds of nights one yerns for when on the road to anywhere. Random kind people and good times.

The neighborhood was nice. Just rolling hills and plenty of trees and cute houses all a bit different.

We returned not so late but then I got really tired. Today I'm going to meet up with Zahri (another online pal of mine) and we are going to hang out. Should be fun!