| Dat 10 (or 11 I lost count) |
[Jan. 20th, 2009|10:39 am] |
Dear Kev,
Thank you for all your hospitality in Taos. We would not have appreciated the town without you and your friends showing us around. The recycled houses known as earth ships they have out in the mountains are fascinating to me and I hope to build one some day. We also appreciate that you sent your friend Dan to show us around on the first evening. He took us dancing and even I took part, although I definitely need a few salsa lessons. I know that Meghan and Erin had an exceptionally good time for they took a trip to the hot springs and loved the hike and the moon that surrounded them. I unfortunately passed up that opportunity because 11 degrees was too cold for my liking and I did not have the proper clothes to feel comfortable being outside. However Meghan and Erin definitely enjoyed the glittering crystals in their hair.
Thank you again,
Rachel, Melissa, Meghan and Erin
I love the southwest. It was definitely a different world with adobe architecture and a flat landscape. Everything was relaxed as well and people smiled at you wherever you went. After New Mexico we drove up to the grand canyon, paused in the petrified forest, and did some sight seeing. The world we live in is so beautiful and it was good to see the natural wonders. (Although I have to admit having to pay to see earthly wonders is a bit ironic). At this moment we are staying with my friend Marina who I met in Barcelona last year in Santa Monica and are to go to Santa Barbara later today. I am excited for the rest of the trip because the next few days we know everyone we are going to stay with and have lots of fun plans ahead. We are also extending our stay in each of the next few cities. I suppose it is time for me to start figuring out what to do next and I hope to find a job that suits me because after this trip I will have a hard time focusing on something I am not passionate about. |
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| Day 7 |
[Jan. 16th, 2009|01:25 pm] |
We had a bit of car trouble, we had to replace the shoes and the brakes on the rear wheels of the car which meant an extra day in Austin, which means we lost the band because they had to move on without us. I loved Austin however, I was surprised to find I felt I could live in Texas. I had such a movie view of it (scold me for stereotyping please.) It is definitely my favorite city so far. We stayed with our friend Ross who took us on a hike along the greenbelt which is a dried up river bed. It was beautiful and much needed after so many hours driving in the car. His mom told us amazing stories about how she lived in San Francisco in the 70s right in the Haight. She is definitely a hippie. It was fun to talk to her and her friend about their travels, we thought "perhaps we'll be telling the same stories someday." His parents have a company down in Costa Rica where they built bamboo beach houses. From the pictures it looks beautiful.
Because of the car troubles we were unable to stay in Lubbock and an hour before we arrived found out that we were going to have to extend our drive to Santa Fe. We ended up in the car for about 12 hours. Santa Fe is beautiful however. It is the first city where the architecture is so different. Texas had the terracotta roofs they have in Italy and it was more desert than the other states we drove through but Santa Fe is by far the most unique. It reminds me of my mom because she loves this style. I keep picturing earrings and clothes she has that reflect this area of the country.
Right now I'm sitting in a cafe with Melissa, thinking perhaps I could live here too. |
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| Day 5 |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|03:32 am] |
New Orleans: Proud to Swim Home.
We have just arrived in Austin, Texas after a lovely evening with the wonderful Jon Lambert in New Orleans. I'm not sure I have the words to describe New Orleans, a friend of mine described it as very post-apocalyptic and I feel that may be the best way for me to describe it as well. Jon told me a story about a waiter who served his customers, then dove over their table into the street and killed himself. The police cleaned it up in 30 minutes and it never even made the papers. "That's just the way things work around here" he said. He had stories about things you find under the floor boards because he worked in carpentry for a while. "always marbles" he says, and things you find in the courtyards, "you can't dig anywhere without finding bones." The crime rate is so high that most people don't even notice.
The band played at a squat in the middle of the ghetto. It was a neat place, they had a collection of house pieces in the backyard and one girl had built herself a small house behind the larger one. It was inspiring to see what you can make out of things you find in the streets. Granted the streets of New Orleans have more leftovers than most but still, one never knows what is out there.
I've been thinking a lot about living off the land this trip. I read an article about a woman who moved down to Hawaii and grows all her own food and built her house. She and her partner live off $5,000 a year. I do not feel that I have the knowledge to do that yet but would be interested in learning more about fending for myself and how to get the proper nutrients in different climates.
The drive here today was stalled because we had to fix our left blinker. We stopped in a town called Lafayette so Melissa could see the University she is considering for grad school. Fixing the left blinker turned out to be more trouble than it was worth. Three hours and three mechanics later the Ford dealership actually broke part of the light but they only charged us $2 and did us a favor by taking us today at all.
Quote of the day:
Erin: "Can't you just break the light bulb out and put some duct tape on it?"
Quentin, Mechanic #2: "Ya'll are from Pennsylvania but you sure do sound like a buncha rednecks." |
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| Travelling Take Two |
[Jan. 11th, 2009|10:14 am] |
So this is the trip across the country take two. Half of the original team remains and three girls have added on to the process meet the co-opers Meghan: a read headed hippie who loves hula hooping. Erin: a brunette who lived in a Buddhist monastery for 9 months and Melissa: the TV replacement whose witty side comments make the ride go faster.
We decided to take the south Route to follow the band Polka dot dot dot which consists of Jordan: our former roommate, searcher of dream spaces and all things orange and purple, Onyx and Colleen: two Olympians of creative musical and rhythmic talent and funky style.
And so we have arrived at the summary of day one. Where we met up in Philadelphia and headed south to Durham North Carolina. I do not know if I can think of any words to describe Durham except for ultimate sketch. The band played on a shady street that concealed a small bike co-op which felt to me a bit like home. I am pretty sure I can safely say that they blew everyone away. They decided not to use mics and everyone was silently listening to them, completely enthralled. We stayed at Erin's uncle and aunt's house in Raleigh where their three year old son put our energy level to shame. We woke up to a breakfast of waffle's and sausage from another aunt's farm, delicious way to start the trip.
The second and third days we stayed with Erin's friend Kylie in Athens Georgia. She made us a traditional southern meal which was a pork roast and side dishes of black eyed peas and collard greets...all made with pork fat. Poor Melissa broke her vegetarianism twice and had more pork than I've probably eaten in the past six months. Athens was interesting, a lot like State College only with a mix of townies and college students and less sweat pants/more drunk people. Almost every bar we passed in the evening had women dancing on the tables.
The most interesting thing about Athens was the plantation houses that are still around. Driving past them was like driving through a movie set. It is strange to see these things actually exist, and weird to see that they are mostly frat houses and law firms. At the same time however I would feel strange about living in a plantation home seeing as they have such a terrible past. |
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| July 9 |
[Jul. 9th, 2006|03:14 pm] |
It's been a long time since we have last updated. Work has been taking up most of our days. The kids are the most spoiled we've ever met. They've out travelled us at age 5. The host family our friend is staying with even owns a private jet. Emma had to go on her first overnight where tents were not an option. She was attacked by raccoons and is still catching up on sleep. We finally made it to fisherman's wharf yesterday with our friends Maya and Brianna. It was a little too touristy but the clam chowder was good. Overall things are busy and cold but we're having a good time.
a video from our drive across the country |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 16th, 2006|03:20 am] |
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After a long hard day of CPR and first aid training, and Bjork sightings we are proud to announce that we made friends! (amazing, we know). Tonight we went to a comedy show put on by one of the counselors, Jay, from camp. It was "innappropriate" as Emma says, but what comedy isn't? After the show we went out with Maya, Bianca, and Nicole. We went to the marina, sat by the water, drank out of brown paper bags and peed in skeezy toilets. The pictures we have so far aren't very good but ( here you go. ) |
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| Day 8 |
[Jun. 12th, 2006|11:27 pm] |
We had our first day of training today. It was nice to actually interact with human beings. Everyone seems pretty nice. Emma is a designated "floater" (i know i know, the name is rather amusing and brings forth some beautiful mental pictures). She works with all ages and is the go-to person for medical problems, cpr and such (interesting, considering her own amazing lung capacity) . Rachel is working with the youngest kids, at least for the first session. We have training all this week and then camp starts next Monday. Tomorrow is "CIT speed dating," so we can get to know the high schoolers (intimately) helping us out haha.
This past weekend we finally got to Haight-Ashbury. Lucky for us it was the Haight Street fair. It was like Bonnaroo in the city combined with arts fest. Seeing as we're low on money, Emma just bought a few sweets and Rachel bought a flower.
( pictures ) |
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| Day 6 |
[Jun. 10th, 2006|10:40 am] |
so after four days in the car, we finally made it to san francisco. the apartment is a lot nicer than we expected the only downfall being the lack of a dishwasher. the city itself, although cold, is beautiful. we walked 6 or 7 miles around the city today, stopping in two cafes and at delores park.
we're both exhausted so these pictures should explain it all. they're from our drive and san fran. bear in mind, we haven't decorated our room yet.
( people love their dogs here. and we love them too, or at least looking at them ) |
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| Day 2 |
[Jun. 6th, 2006|11:37 am] |
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In a 90s pop-music themed car, we made our way over another 650 miles. That gives us more than 1200 miles under our feet. We're about halfway there. We stopped at the worlds biggest truck stop and Emma bought the worlds saltiest burger. We drove through a lightening storm (which made Rachel more than nervous, and stopped at Days Inn. It was a nice hotel where we met a nice professor from Stanford who told us about his travels from Chicago to California and stories of his mother. |
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| Day 1 |
[Jun. 6th, 2006|12:52 am] |
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today we left from pittsburgh to start our adventure across the country. we were planning to stop in chicago, but instead we drank a couple of red bulls, some americanos, pushed through the plains and rachel's bad reactions to caffeine and spent the night in davenport, iowa. our hotel was right on the mississippi river, of which we did not notice until the next morning. rachel also had her first taste of steak and shake. all in all it was a good first day and we got 630 miles under our belts, or wheels. |
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