Traveler

A Slower Day in Alabama

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I’ve been on the road for eleven days.  I’m enjoying it immensely, but I was craving a break.  Luckily, I am staying with my great-aunt Sue for two nights, and she works during the day.  I got to sleep in, lounge around lazily during the morning, then use Starbucks’ wifi in the afternoon!  I didn’t have to talk to anybody, do anything, or pay attention to traffic.

Aunt Sue is a wonderful hostess.  I woke up to notes on the counter encouraging me to eat everything she owns and also use the Steak N Shake gift card and $20 she left for me.  I LOVE BEING SPOILED.  She also bought a bunch of smoothie ingredients because Grandma told her I like them, so naturally, that’s what I ate for breakfast.   Continue reading →

Connecting with Family in South Carolina and Alabama

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While I was planning my road trip and living with my grandparents, they told me about two relatives who lived along my route. As a second cousin and a great aunt, I’d seen them at funerals over the years, but I couldn’t say I really knew them. When I reached out, though, they quickly agreed to let me stay with them for a night or two. Family is cool like that – you’re tied together in a web of responsibility and affection despite being practically strangers.

Bill is my grandpa’s nephew.  He and his wife Diane offered to let me stay with them in Spartanburg, SC.
Sue is my grandma’s sister.  She let me stay with her in Alabaster, AL.   Continue reading →

Traveling Alone: Day Trip to Asheville

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I don’t know exactly when I started wanting to visit Asheville. I think I heard it described as The Hipster City of the East. And I know it’s meant to be beautiful. So when I realized that Asheville was only an hour away from Spartanburg, I knew I had to check it out, despite the fact that I didn’t know anyone there.

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In general, I don’t mind traveling alone. I like the endless stretches of road with just me and my music (or audiobook). And while I really enjoyed my day in Asheville, I think I can pretty conclusively say that I would rather explore a new city with someone beside me. For one thing, it divides the responsibility for deciding where to go and how to park.

I found hourly parking downtown, and while I had made a list of places to visit, I had no idea how close any of them were to each other. So I wandered around, which was made infinitely better because the sun was out in full force. It was an absolutely stunning day. I visited the St. Lawrence Basilica, then stumbled across not one, not two, not three, but FOUR used bookstores within a couple blocks. Now that is a city for me. One was even a bookstore/champagne bar, but since it was 11:30 a.m. and I was alone, I thought getting a drink might seem a little pathetic.   Continue reading →

From Maryland to South Carolina: Off to See Stephanie!

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After five days in Rockville with Elizabeth, it felt incredibly weird to do laundry and refold my clothes into my suitcase. This first week was definitely more fun than fundraising (although I did make four new connections!), and everything in my experience told me that I ought to be going home. I worried a little, while fitting things back into my trunk, that I wouldn’t have the emotional energy to continue.

But then I got up at 6:30, fought the DC traffic, and escaped into the hills of Virginia. The open road brought all my excitement back. I miss hanging out with Elizabeth, but I’m really excited to keep going. It certainly helps that my eight hour drive was through steep hills covered in trees, some of which were just beginning to change colors. It was absolutely beautiful, and I was reminded why I had decided to have a road trip, and not just fly to see people (plus, obviously, the expense).   Continue reading →

Cookie Gets Blessed: The Feast of St. Francis

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Today is the Feast of St. Francis, and the Episcopalian church near Elizabeth’s house was celebrating the Blessing of the Animals.  We decided to take Elizabeth’s dog Cookie, and I loved the service so much.

There were around fifteen dogs present, two cats in their carriers, a guinea pig, a terrarium with hermit crabs, and one kid brought two of his stuffed animals.  We met in a church alcove, and for the first five minutes, chaos reigned as the dogs asserted their dominance and the owners struggled to quiet them.  The lovely thing was that no one cared – we were here for the animals, and their chaos is part of their character.

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Two reverends came out to lead us in a hymn and some responsive prayers.  One woman read Genesis 1:20-25.  Then came my favorite part, as we prayed collectively for the pets specifically and animals in general.  Continue reading →

A Harry Potter Festival in Chestertown, MD

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Every other event of my road trip will just have to fight for second place, because I cannot imagine a better day than today.  Elizabeth, her sister Natalie, and I drove two hours to Chestertown, a real life Stars Hollow that went all out to throw a Harry Potter Festival.  We parked on the outskirts of the cute bay town, and freaked out when we saw the “Hogwarts Express” sign on a train, with a Platform 9 3/4 nearby.  Little did we know what awaited us when we got into the town proper.

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The Hogwarts Express – compared to everything we were about to see, this was nothing.

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Dozens of local businesses participated in decking out their storefronts with wizarding goods, and the town square boasted a market of Harry Potter-themed foods and merchandise.  There were hundreds of people there for the celebration.  One of the things I love most about the Harry Potter fandom is that it is ageless.  There were kids, teenagers, young adults, and seniors there in varying stages of costume.  Families and friends walked the sidewalks, some with babies dressed up as owls.   Continue reading →

Book Day in Baltimore

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It’s been raining constantly for the past two days, which is….fine. I wanted fall weather. But my rainboots are not quite waterproof, and I have to admit the cold and the wet put a damper on Elizabeth’s and my Book Day in Baltimore trip.

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We started at the Peabody library, which was stunningly gorgeous. All the books are behind locked glass doors, which we agreed showed proper respect. You also weren’t allowed to go upstairs, which was kind of annoying. But let’s be real, if I’d been able to browse the five stories of library, we wouldn’t have done anything else.   Continue reading →

A Lazy Thursday – Excellent!

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After the glamour of yesterday’s DC adventures and the horror of waiting two hours to get into a locked car, today’s blog post will be pretty tame. Which is kind of the point, because Elizabeth and I both wanted a lazy day to emotionally recuperate. We are both introverts, after all.

Screen Shot 2015-10-01 at 12.44.31 PMThis morning was slow, and when we finally left the apartment, it was to take Elizabeth’s car into the shop. We crossed the street in the rain (finally, a chance to wear rainboots, a jacket, and carry an umbrella!) and spent three hours blogging and Internet-ing at the Asian Bakery Cafe. I had bubble tea, and we admitted we weren’t done with the Asian theme begun yesterday. We grabbed bahn mi (a Vietnamese sandwich) on the way home, and we almost crashed.

We rallied, though, for the all-important trip to….the library! I know, I know, we are such nerds. But this is why I love Elizabeth so much. A slow day culminating with a library visit is equally as satisfying to both of us. And what a library! Rockville’s is two stories, very fancy, and I immediately wanted to read everything. Instead, I simply got a children’s book on St. Francis, since this Sunday is the Feast of St. Francis and I love him.   Continue reading →

Japanese-Themed Day in DC (with a special guest star!)

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Yesterday Elizabeth and I ventured into DC! We decided to do a Japan-themed tour of the city, since Japan has been at the top of my to-go list forever, and Elizabeth went there last year. (Side note: I HIGHLY recommend this version of sight-seeing. By choosing a theme, your choices are naturally narrowed, and you don’t feel as much pressure to do and see everything.)

We started at the U.S. National Arboretum, which is so huge you have to drive to different exhibits. We were there to see the bonsai exhibit, particularly a tree that has been alive since 1625, and survived the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima. The tree’s caretaker later donated the bonsai to the United States in 1976 for our bicentennial in a symbol of goodwill. Walking around the bonsai trees, and listening to an expert describe it as “living art that is begun but never finished” made me much more appreciative of the practice. Plus they are so cute!   Continue reading →

Ohio to Maryland, With a Stop at Fallingwater

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Today was all over the place. On the one hand, Christy made me an egg and ham sandwich for breakfast, and soon after I left her house, I stopped at a Tim Hortons to buy a large coffee for only one dollar. I’d thought Tim Hortons was a Canadian thing, but I’m glad the U.S. is selling their brands – I loved it!

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Today’s drive was almost immediately different from yesterday’s. While I spent my first day driving through Midwestern fields and passing through big Interstate cities, today I drove through hills and forests, and probably half of the trip was driven on two-lane highways down back roads and through small towns. I even saw a lot of changing leaves! I tried to take pictures, but my iPhone (while driving) could not capture what I was seeing.

On the other hand (remember, today was all over the place), it rained pretty much the entire time I was driving. And there were tolls, bane of my existence. And then – road trip catastrophe! I was around big cities when my gas tank was half full, but I figured filling up wasn’t really necessary. When I hit a quarter tank, I decided to keep an eye out. Then my meter fell to two dots (very specific, I know), and I was in the middle of hill country western Pennsylvania, with nothing but trees and the occasional farm house in sight.   Continue reading →