When the question of to travel or not to travel is posed to me, I of course choose to travel! Which is how I ended up on my most recent of adventures: a 28 hour road trip to the good old (and very far) state of Connecticut. It so happened that my old roommate and great friend, Lauren, decided to bid farewell to all of us lazy westerners and take on the world of life in the fast lane. Quite literally--upon arriving in the East coast people were hurriedly speeding past us at 10, 15 and even 20 miles faster than the speed limit. We quickly realized those limits were more guidelines than actual rules (they're just like pirates out there). We early left on a calm and sunny Friday in Denver, Colorado after a teary goodbye exchange between Lauren and her mom and we were off with nothing but the almost 1700 miles of road between us and our desired destination. Lauren's trip was not one for business but rather in the name of love so she put petal to metal for every hour of the 28 to make it in a timely fashion. It so happens that her car was a stick shift which is ironic because that is the only car I can't drive. Fast ones, slow ones, big ones, little ones--those I can do. But stick shift...not so much :) Despite my initial worries, it actually turned out fine and we decided that as long as I wasn't sleeping I was doing a great job of just keeping good company. So we set of driving the first nine hours until stopping in lovely and incredibly exciting Iowa. The drive was less than thrilling--Colorado being the most boring of all with nothing but prairie as far as the eye could see. We ended out trip in the overcast city of Des Moines, our heads swirling with dreams of just laying flat on a bed. Miles and miles of corn really tuckers you out! Needless to say, I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow (well, kinda).
Day two was an 8 hour stretch and now that we were road tripping pros we only stopped twice the whole way through the Midwest. Our diet was top notch--all of the five star restaurants we could find--Dairy Queen, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, McD's, Starbucks, Steak and Shake. Really high quality places and you can imagine how good we felt after such feasts! I've never looked better. Our second night we stayed in a small town right off the highway in Ohio. We felt they were quite friendly as we passed through Wood County onto Cummings Road. I could tell this was gonna be a real stand up place. As soon as I walked into the room I knew I was right. They did not disappoint in Milan, Ohio. In the corner of the room was a giant, pink "whirlpool" tucked neatly in the corner. Oh, and did I mention this was the corner of the BEDROOM? Upon seeing such a surprise I did what you should expect me to do--cheer while I ran to grab my swim suit (I knew it would need it for something!). I figured I might as well take advantage of amazing relaxation while I could. Lauren was weirded out as any normal person would be, but she was a good sport and took a picture of me in this wonderful whirlpool to post on the worldwide web. I've never had the extreme luxury of watching TV in my own private hotubbathwhirlpool so taking advantage of that was surely a memory I will never forget. It was the perfect treat to relax after a tiring day of sitting.
The next day was our final stretch into the great wilderness and I have to say this day was my favorite. Getting out of the Midwest could have done it for me on its own but to top it off was the amazing scenery. It was as if the weather knew the state boarder line because almost immediately upon arriving in Pennsylvania the clouds parted and displayed hundreds of thousands of brilliantly beautiful multi-colored trees so crowded together it looks as though they were stacked one on top of the other. I tried to capture the majesty of this picturesque scene but my little Kodak camera did not do it a bit of justice. I felt like there should have been really inspirational road trip montage-like music as we drove to create even more awe with the breathtaking visions around us. We passed from a luscious and enchanting Pennsylvania into a rockier New Jersey then into a densely populated New York and finally into Stamford, Connecticut, Lauren's new home sweet home. All with the help of the AAA guidebook and our dear friend, Garney (yes, we named the GPS). Exhausted and relieved we made our way into Lauren and Brett's new apartment. It's hard for me to imagine what this would be like--going to an unknown place, walking into an apartment you have never seen that is your new home and starting a life with the person you love. I'm not in the place right now—no where close to it really, but being there made me me see what it would be life. It made me realize that in some distant way I'm excited for all of that. But until then I was really excited for them! So we wasted no time in setting up house and trying to make these empty rooms into a home. We ran crazy errands--lots of Target trips, Wal-Mart, the mall, the store. They bought stuff and lots of it and we were quick to put it in its rightful place. We explored town, took walks, tasted the local eateries, and even built a neat little desk and enjoyed a brew at a local bar. It was fun to see a glimpse of what their lives are going to be like and I was glad she let me be a part of it. But after almost a week it was time for me to shake the dust off my small town boots and put on my big city city shoes to stir things up in the Big Apple.
I took the express train from Stamford to New York and then the subway to meet my old pal, Alex. As soon as I got there, there was no mistaking it--I was definitely in New York City. It was almost a culture shock from the small town I was in just an hour ago. Since this was my second time visiting the familiars of the place all came rushing back along with my love for it. It's hard not to fall in love with a place like NYC, it’s hip and exciting, fast and fashionable, loud and dirty and you are constantly stimulated by everything around you. Maybe I don't know myself well enough, but I couldn't tell if I could live in a place like that. I don't know if central park would cure my outdoorsy itch or if I would miss the wilderness. I don't think I could live there forever, but maybe for a while in my young years. In all honestly I don't see myself moving there anytime soon so I don't think I even need to worry about it, but it is a vision that I think of sometimes. I couldn't get enough of it--the sights--especially the people, the smells, the vibe. It’s just so, well simply put, cool. The "ultimate melting pot experiment" as Alex's friend, Julian, put it. Throw together all types of people from all sorts of backgrounds all over the world-- construct a giant concrete jungle and tell them all to go play. Now, it’s not the nicest of play grounds but even with their disputes they seem to have some unspoken way of how they all can "get along". They don't always play nice and they aren't afraid to express themselves (yelling, honking...) but it seems to work for them and it works magic on me every time.
After Alex and I debriefed and caught up we wined and dined at a delicious pizza place not far from his apartment on the lower east side. We met his pal Julian for a few drinks afterwards and after reading the actual scripts from SNL (Julian works there) we decided to call it a relatively early night. Well, at least for New York standards.
Friday was spent walking which was what I wanted to do anyway. I just needed to take it all in. Julian and I went to the financial district and got to see the famous Wall Street and that huge bull that everyone loves so damn much. We walked to Battery Park to get a somewhat foggy view of good old Lady Liberty and a very clear view of Spongebob Squarepants himself. We meandered to and outdoor food/shopping pier to meet Alex and his co-worker for lunch before heading to Brooklyn Bridge. I snapped some pictures of the city and the water around us, yet the camera did not to the magnificent city justice. Once again. It was a hot and muggy day so around five we decided to head back to the apartment after grabbing some delicious gelato from "El Labratorio"--a past favorite for me. We relaxed until we decided to head back out--this time across town to meet New York local and long time friend of Alex's, Tomas. Alex and I hopped on the subway and took the long ride across town, stopping once for a quick Chipotle fix. From there (and after watching a chunk of one of my favorite flicks--Slumdog Millionaire) we hit up a few bars back near Alex's place and danced deep into the night. The End. Just kidding, that just sounded really corny. But it really was deep into the night--clubs and bars shut down around 3:30 or 4 in the morning--just the time I would normally be actually falling asleep from a night out. So you can imagine after closing, the loitering, the eating of hot dogs, bedtime is almost at sunrise. Gotta love it.
Saturday we got up at the ungodly hour of noon and made our way to a bar to watch the BC football team get stomped since Alex and Tomas are such good alumni. Afterwards Alex and I walked around taking our time, stopping to sit on a bench to listen to some jam band from Oregon if just lazily relax in the park, basking in the mid afternoon sun. We walked up to Times Square and weaved our way through the masses before meeting up with one of his friends for a drink. Later we feasted on Indian good--a taste that has been missing from my life since Japan. It was a good reunion for my taste buds. After we showered and watched the Rockies win we took a cab to Brooklyn for an apartment fiesta with Tomas and his brother.
Now, this was no normal apartment gathering. From the outside it looked pretty nice and quiet but when we went in the fancy elevators and slick floors made me think this was not just any old apartment. When we got to this guy's place we were greeted by friends of theirs and offered too much food. There was a living room with bedrooms on each side with a big window that opened up to a nice view. But it was up the swirly staircase that was really the amazing view. He had a deck that overlooked all of Manhattan and at that time of night it was absolutely brilliant. The cameras we had didn't reach the city lights so I could only hold this shot in my memory. There is just something unbelievable that something like that was built by the hand of a man. Don't get me wrong, any nature view could out-wow me compared to a city view, but the view of New York from far away is on the top of my breathtaking city views just next to Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo.
After we had our fix of viewing, eating, drinking and chatting we took a cab back to Manhattan and hit up the clubs once again. We danced until the last possible minute the club was open and probably crawled into bed just a little before 6 am. The next day was a leisurely one, we walked around the apple street fair, eating and watching the crowds. I love street markets so I was heartedly enjoying this one. Plus the apples and apple juice were among the best I've tasted. Must be why they call it the Big Apple! I also got a very trendy NY looking hat and some nice, big, red sunglasses. Later we went to a bar and watched the Broncos lose as we battled our way through three giant plates of nachos. The part of town really came alive at night and on our walk home I was extremely entertained with the people all around us. As well as my own company, we had a great time.
Alex walked and rode with me back to Grand Central and we waited on a staircase for my train. There is a reason they call that place Grand Central--it really is grand. The ceilings are so tall that after a while I can't even really tell where they begin. They are covered with beautiful paintings that arch and turn with the curve of the building. After Alex and I said our goodbyes, I took the train back to Stamford where Lauren and Brett picked me up and took me back to their even more furnished apartment. In my absence they had an extremely productive weekend!
The next day Lauren and I just hung out before she took me to the airport that was actually in New York, but closer to CT. We had a teary hug--saying goodbye never gets any easier. This time was different because although we have somewhat become more accustomed to goodbyes, we always knew when the next time we would see each other would be. This time it is a mystery. I did feel better knowing that her journey was going to be an exciting adventure and she has been waiting a long time for this!
My journey home was a long one--a layover in Atlanta with a delayed flight and by the time I finally got home, sleep was heavy on my mind. Since then things have been a whirlwind. I started packing since I signed a lease on an apartment near wash park (!!), and I tried to get back in the swing of subbing, working out and friends. We had a game night, the last night of Denver Cruisers (ski in ski out theme) and the big weekend move. I literally spent all weekend shopping, packing and organizing to get everything moved over by Sunday. My goal was complete with the help of four of my best friends and of course my parents. By the time nine o'clock Sunday night rolled around I was comfortably sitting in my new apartment, everything put in its respected places and boxes stacked to the ceiling. My main tasks this week will be decorating and running. Lots of running. I signed up for a 10k a few months ago thinking I would be ready. Ha! Funny how time just slips away and somehow there it is--the date you thought was so far away is right in your face.
Laying in bed last night I couldn't help but just feel excited for life. It took me forever to just fall asleep because my mind wouldn't turn off. There are so many things I want to accomplish and I feel like this move finally revved my motivation into gear. The year after Japan was an interesting one and although there were times where I felt extremely stagnant and frustrated with myself, there was also growth going on that only my older self can look back and see. Japan expanded me, made me grow in unimaginable ways and just because I was home and not learning something new everyday doesn't mean that I wasn't learning at all. I was taking in the relationships around me, molding them into something that could last the rest of my life. I was learning how to deal with uncertainty and most of all learning how to know and feel good about myself. Of course I wavered, of course I lost my footing at times, but if I did not I would not be human. I feel I am in a better place now than I was six months ago and I just hope to continue to grow so I can say that six months from now.
It seems the real reason I couldn't sleep is because I cannot wait to see where the road ahead takes me. I am elated because so far it has taken me on a pretty amazing and wild ride. Now that, my friends, is a good reason for not being able to sleep!
