the trip is over. i am heading out to the train station to embark on the final amtrak trip back to cleveland. there is so much to say. keep your eye out for one last post upon my return; it will ideally include concluding thoughts, reflections, memories, and expressions of extreme gratitude.
for those of you waiting at this final stop on the trip: i will see you soon!
Namaste.
04 November 2007
pennsylvania
as a perfect close to my trip, i have spent the past week with the lovely diana and her farm family in rural PA. i was lazy, happy, and extremely well fed. i explored, hiked, loved the animals, had weird dive bar excursions, cleaned horse poo, watched an amazing hindi movie, and all in all had a fantastic time laughing and being random with diana. i even had a long, full, rewarding visit with david while here! there's so much more i could write, but i am sleepless at 6am and have a train to catch soon. below are some pictures of some of the animals, me cleaning the poo in the horse stalls, and diana pushing the wheel barrow full of poo. it was invigorating. i'm going to invest in some overalls and change my name to bob.
30 October 2007
Durham, NC - Glen Rock, PA
my last few days in durham, nc were pleasant, spontaneous, and fun-filled! on saturday evening matt and i had an improv photo shoot with a chicken-head hat (photos will follow in a few days). on sunday amy, matt and i hung out, and i was introduced to the infamous "bojangles" fast food restaurant. bojangles had a menu of biscuits served about 15 different ways, and sweet tea that could instantly make your teeth fall out (pure sugar water... it was horrific). i just ate their delicious fries with bojangles seasoning. took two sips of the sweet tea... made a face both times, despite every effort not to react. later on in the day we went to cookout for milkshakes. mmmmmm... i have never seen a milkshake flavor list quite like theirs, and after a tough time making a decision i settled on the strawberry cheesecake milkshake -complete with chunks of crust and strawberries, it was the real deal. delicious. went back to matt's house and played "imagine iff..." (a very fun game other than the fact that matt and amy's brains overlap sometimes...).
on monday i was back on amtrak riding up to baltimore. diana was on the other end and we shared our first hug in our own country (we had only seen each other in india, tibet, and nepal prior to this visit). and now here i am in her quaint home in rural pennsylvania, surrounded by animals (horses, cats, dogs, roosters...), delicious food, and the sounds of roosters roaming outside. it is a beautiful place! tomorrow i will go for a walk again and take some pictures of the farm.
on monday i was back on amtrak riding up to baltimore. diana was on the other end and we shared our first hug in our own country (we had only seen each other in india, tibet, and nepal prior to this visit). and now here i am in her quaint home in rural pennsylvania, surrounded by animals (horses, cats, dogs, roosters...), delicious food, and the sounds of roosters roaming outside. it is a beautiful place! tomorrow i will go for a walk again and take some pictures of the farm.
24 October 2007
greensboro, nc
spent the last three days in greensboro hanging out with ken & his very vocal kitties. on monday evening he showed me around the gallery where he works (after hours! which meant i got to see it all with no one else there... just us and the art, pretty cool...). the current exhibit is spectacular and i thoroughly enjoyed taking my time soaking it all in. The gallery also has a utopian children's art center. i was absolutely giddy and officially declared that someday i, too, will have such an establishment to let children run crazy through. there were so many different things to do and stations for all varieties of art. i wanted to shrink myself to about 8 year old size, kick ken out, and play for hours. instead, we ate pizza in the park and talked each other's ears off contently.
last night he introduced me to an even more utopian art space. i have never seen anything like it. i fell in love immediately. elsewhere. i suggest you check out what it is all about on their site instead of expecting an explanation from me, for several reasons including but not limited to: the fact that i could never find the appropriate words to describe this place and you are tired of reading my over-usage of the same handful of adjectives, and the fact that i am honestly too lazy to try to build up the vocabulary to tell you about it. you forgive me, right? go to the site. do it. imagine me there, and you will understand. it's (insert over-used adjective here: -amazing, awesome, spectacular, fabulous, ....thesaurus?).
tonight? chill. movie and pizza and the sound of the pants buttons hitting the inside walls of the dryer. cats purring in laps and north carolina finally getting some rain.
tomorrow: back to durham and super hero extraordinaire matt steere.
last night he introduced me to an even more utopian art space. i have never seen anything like it. i fell in love immediately. elsewhere. i suggest you check out what it is all about on their site instead of expecting an explanation from me, for several reasons including but not limited to: the fact that i could never find the appropriate words to describe this place and you are tired of reading my over-usage of the same handful of adjectives, and the fact that i am honestly too lazy to try to build up the vocabulary to tell you about it. you forgive me, right? go to the site. do it. imagine me there, and you will understand. it's (insert over-used adjective here: -amazing, awesome, spectacular, fabulous, ....thesaurus?).
tonight? chill. movie and pizza and the sound of the pants buttons hitting the inside walls of the dryer. cats purring in laps and north carolina finally getting some rain.
tomorrow: back to durham and super hero extraordinaire matt steere.
22 October 2007
durham, north carolina
landed in north carolina on friday after a flight through all four US time zones, a little disoriented considering i also did not sleep the night before. there to greet me was the beautiful amy and her guy mike. it was so great to hug her! i love being welcomed by good friends!
we met up with matt and ate indian food, then moved on to a very cool coffee shop, francesca's (which happens to be where i am right now... ironically) and drank tea, ate cookies, and enjoyed each others' company. afterwards matt and i went back to his parents' house.... how beautiful!! surrounded by trees and gardens, a pond, and little outdoor kittens. their home is so welcoming and filled with love. his parents are amazing individuals, truly. they have all been so hospitable and welcoming and generous. i love them! and to be back on the east coast and amongst the green and trees and changes of autumn... ahhh, it is so nice.
on saturday amy and mike picked me up and we went to the state fair. what an experience! my goodness! southerners really go all out for their state fairs. this is no ohio berea fairgrounds deal.... this is southern culture at its finest. to begin with, it was HUGE, and there were so many people that you could barely move and constantly felt like you were being herded somewhere beyond your will. heavy southern accents amused me, mullet watch was in full force, and vendors sold everything deep fried. EVERYTHING. i am not kidding. here is an introductory list to what deep-fried foods were available (and this is the honest to god truth): deep-fried twinkies, deep-fried pb & j (yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches... deep fried), deep-fried oreos, df'd candybars (reeses, 3 musketeers, etc), df'd cheeseburgers, df'd coca-cola (yes, its true), df'd cookie dough, df'd cobblers (peach , apple, cherry, etc), and more. i didn't eat any of it (except french fries... if those count), but mike tried almost everything as i watched in amazement. it was an unforgettable experience that sadly gave me a migraine later in the day (despite the fact that i had a great time).
we went to amy's house afterwards and looked at photo albums of her as a youngin'. cuter than hell. i loved it! then went out for middle-eastern food with her mother and stepfather.
my migraine took over at this point, and as matt and i were driving back to his house i threw up my falafel in his guilford college tote bag, and it tasted just as delicious coming back up... which made things slightly less unpleasant. crashed in bed promptly upon arrival at the homestead, and slept the headache off. feel awesome and rejuvenated now!
on sunday, matt and i just hung out around the house, talked, played ddr, did tai chi, meditated, and eventually watched clash of the titans before going to sleep. a good day indeed!
we met up with matt and ate indian food, then moved on to a very cool coffee shop, francesca's (which happens to be where i am right now... ironically) and drank tea, ate cookies, and enjoyed each others' company. afterwards matt and i went back to his parents' house.... how beautiful!! surrounded by trees and gardens, a pond, and little outdoor kittens. their home is so welcoming and filled with love. his parents are amazing individuals, truly. they have all been so hospitable and welcoming and generous. i love them! and to be back on the east coast and amongst the green and trees and changes of autumn... ahhh, it is so nice.
on saturday amy and mike picked me up and we went to the state fair. what an experience! my goodness! southerners really go all out for their state fairs. this is no ohio berea fairgrounds deal.... this is southern culture at its finest. to begin with, it was HUGE, and there were so many people that you could barely move and constantly felt like you were being herded somewhere beyond your will. heavy southern accents amused me, mullet watch was in full force, and vendors sold everything deep fried. EVERYTHING. i am not kidding. here is an introductory list to what deep-fried foods were available (and this is the honest to god truth): deep-fried twinkies, deep-fried pb & j (yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches... deep fried), deep-fried oreos, df'd candybars (reeses, 3 musketeers, etc), df'd cheeseburgers, df'd coca-cola (yes, its true), df'd cookie dough, df'd cobblers (peach , apple, cherry, etc), and more. i didn't eat any of it (except french fries... if those count), but mike tried almost everything as i watched in amazement. it was an unforgettable experience that sadly gave me a migraine later in the day (despite the fact that i had a great time).
we went to amy's house afterwards and looked at photo albums of her as a youngin'. cuter than hell. i loved it! then went out for middle-eastern food with her mother and stepfather.
my migraine took over at this point, and as matt and i were driving back to his house i threw up my falafel in his guilford college tote bag, and it tasted just as delicious coming back up... which made things slightly less unpleasant. crashed in bed promptly upon arrival at the homestead, and slept the headache off. feel awesome and rejuvenated now!
on sunday, matt and i just hung out around the house, talked, played ddr, did tai chi, meditated, and eventually watched clash of the titans before going to sleep. a good day indeed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
