Disgracefully did a very poor job of taking photographs on my November 2016 voyage, but it was a fun one. Visited IKEA for the first time (and found St. Albans Cheese at the Paramus, NJ Whole Foods), walked/ran with lovely dogs, and watched Zootopia (again!) in New Jersey. Went to workout class, ran and ate amazing salad in Pennsylvania. Had a stopover in Nashville, where apparently there is an actual size replica of the Parthenon. Who knew?
Sorted and organized my friend's apartment, classroom and papers, went to IronTribe and ran my fastest 5k ever (recorded on my running watch) in Memphis (where the fire hydrants are silver and "someone got drunk and planned" the street grid, according to one of my friend's coworkers)
Much driving to get home for town band! Including books on tape, Radiolab and many school busses in Canton, NY. Facebook summary of driving events:
Musings from my multi-state road trip: Why are there so many fireworks stores by the interstate? Do they think that we have an urgent need for them while driving? It would, I guess, make it more interesting. Flea market named Flea World. Really? SOOOOOOOOOO many trucks, and dead deer
:-( and other dead things. Also, people pulling over to the side of the road at really weird places... and abandoned cars get these stickers on them apparently, maybe tickets? I thought it was a scavenger hunt! Saw a goat in Kentucky just chillin' on the interstate, no big deal. Can America make up NO original place names? I drove by Scotland, Glasgow, Sparta, Verona, Seville... who knew I could do that in America? And finally, some states have really pretty names/labels on their roads that pass over the highways. Not boring like Vermont! Safely made it to visit dear friends in 3 states!Then I was off to London after a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner to witness my friend's wedding (they let Americans do that!?!), go ice skating
watch some Gilmore Girls and run before my flight home. Overall read some good books and felt very loved visiting so many friends.
Today I have almost 100% (waiting on one Airbnb confirmation) planned (in my incredibly anal pre-planning Ellen kind of way) eight weeks of travel starting in Montreal on January 4th at 8pm and finishing in Burlington on March 1st at 3pm. I am sure there will be bumps in the road, and I am sure there are more authentic ways to travel that would result in me finding/knowing/realizing/discovering more things, but for me and my anxieties this is the only way to go, and no matter what it's going to be an adventure. I am excited to see many friends and get my backpack good and christened with a whirlwind tour as only a Stanley is capable of! Upon arrival at home I anticipate sleeping for several weeks and starting to make some more concrete life plans. I will try the best I can to keep everyone updated here and hope for a smooth a trip as possible! Holiday love to one and all!
