Newfoundland

After 23 years of pronouncing Newfoundland incorrectly, I am incessantly practicing how to say it correctly in my head.  Frankly, I have also begun to speak in an accent.

Day 1: Flight from Newark to St. John's, An avid customs agent questioning me on things I had no idea about. A cousin waiting with a homemade sign. Switching hotels in the middle of the night.

Day 2:  A journery to Signal Hill. A few pubs at 10 in the morning. Cape Spear. A ride to Carbonear. SOO much cousin love.

Day 3: Rain. Walking in the morning rain. Jet lag. Experiencing Newfoundland shopping culture.

Day 4: A long ride along th Irish Loop including Bay of Bulls and Cape Broyle.  A boast ride w/LOTS of the cutest PUFFINS!!! I LOVE PUFFINS!!!! Buy me one. We also got lost a million times until someone decided to just let me drive... oh, and Bakeapples. Jams and bakeapples from the side of the road.

Three more days... and then back to NJ for a bit.

New Jersey!

Yesterday, I was in Baltimore, Maryland for the last day of the conference.  I ate lunch with a friend at the harbor and then made my way up to NJ by vehicle. The East Coast roads are so much busier than what I am used to now.

Today, I visited with my best friend. She's pregnant and about to burst with life any minute.   Spending the day with her made me remember what it was like to be a teenager and all the times that we had.  She is going to be a mom now. She seems ready.  I longed to also be a mom, even though I know I am not ready to have kids.  The one person I would have been willing to have children with isn't in my life any more. I wonder if I ever will have kids now.  She reminded me of that.

That kind of love where you buy socks for the other person and the comfortable and passionate kind of love. To know it is so close, but not be able to get that person's attention. Trying not to go, but wanting to so badly.

Quote of the DAY: "I can't believe it.  I'm singing and dancing in the rain, with white people." Exit made.

Oh, Baltimore you have brought me a wonderful conference and come run-ins with great college and high school friends.

Meep.

Pre-Conference Day: Check

I get to write a briefing and part of a curriculum. Woo.

Can't wait to go to Newfoundland next Monday.

Say Lou Lou

"Had a dream that I could teach you how to love 
My machine hired to reach inside your rib cage 
Flick a switch and you engage 
See the laugh burst across your face 
Had a dream that I could teach you how to love 
My machine hired to reach inside your rib cage 
Flick a switch and you engage."

Note to self

You were never good at settling for anything less than you envisioned. At times this quality is inconvenient, but you have accomplished and learned so much because of it.

If you feel like you are missing a vital aspect of life, you are allowed to settle at 30 but only if:

1. You've stopped traveling and are willing to set up shop in an abode.

2. You have fallen so ridiculously in love that you cannot function properly without the feelings of bliss you know is available to you. 

3. You've lost the ambition to push for more horizons.

These are entirely conditional and if you meet someone who doesn't necessitate settling, by all means, go full force.

Travel Blogs

Alas, I am not an award-winning novelist and am thus not qualified to write blogs about my numerous adventures. I am much better at writing short witty comments about my travel as it is happening.  Those comments are enclosed for all to see via my lovely and enchanting tumblr.  Here I can describe my travel in fragments...


Bus from Sacramento to L.A.: Finished a book with excerpts from pilgrimages that people have made
Bus from L.A. to Phoenix: Bus Driver was sassy and didn't allow anyone to talk. She also made us transfer buses at 2am. Due to my short hair, it was easier to stay under wraps.
Bus from Phoenix to El Paso, Texas: Uneventful, I think I listened to music and slept during this portion
Bus from El Paso to Dallas: Well, I woke up at Border Patrol, which means that we spent some time in Mexico.  That was not in my itinerary, however that's okay, I came out alive. No authentic enchiladas for me.
Bus from Dallas to Birmingham: Finished another book about women traveling around the world. Not pansy ones either... like actually going for it.
Then my last bus was canceled and a friend drove the last leg from Montgomery to pick me up. It was only an hour so it wasn't that bad. After three days of being on the bus and experiencing a wide array of sexism and homophobic comments, I was offered a cold pop and a night in some man's house. I declined.

Within the last two days I have been to Martin Luther King Jr's home and the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

Noteworthy: The Gulf of Mexico was extremely warm. I also used a friend's goggles and saw some large fish.  I knew I felt something by my feet.  The first kind I saw was like a mini-shark ( not trying to catch that -ish) but the second type was a beautiful fish with yellow. I tried to catch that one to show a friend who doesn't know how to swim, I was very unsuccessful.  Apparently, I can't maneuver as fast as a fish in water. Oh well, we had a blast.