January in the City

WARNING: this is a really long post.
(So, go pee first, get a drink, and make sure your chair is comfortable.)

It was the infamous year, 2012, the end of the world as the Mayans knew it….or the Aztecs. Pssh, who cares, they blew it.

In honor of this gift of time, a road trip was planned. The destination? I’ll give you a few hints: the site of nearly every disaster/superhero/fashion/action…OK let’s face it, every cool movie.

Yep. The Big Apple. Good ol’ NYC. I’d never been frankly because I didn’t think it was going to be as great as everyone said it was. I know, blasphemy right? New York City is supposed to be the Mecca of all dreamers, dancers, actors, wall street-ers…

I thought I could live without it.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to. Because this place is incredible.

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DAY 1

For starters, we decided to shack up in Jersey and take the train in everyday
(to save $$ and avoid driving, and my sister brought her two dogs)
classic hotel myspace selfie

Times Square was our home base, aka Penn Station. I was overwhelmed at how alive it felt. It was pretty late when we finally got into the city, but there were gobs of people and cars. –I grew up in a town where everything closed up shop around 6pm.
We ate at Ruby Foo’s, which could’ve been a bad choice to some locals. But we thought it was pretty good! Naturally, we had to just take a peek into the four story American Eagle and enjoyed our 15 seconds of fame.

We walked around a bit, went to a bar called Rattle & Hum and called it a night. It was cold!! (we went in January remember?)

We were zonked out on the train home. Yeah yeah, we were rookies.

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DAY 2
So, New Jersey seems to be the ugly step-nephew of New York. I feel bad for it really. It’s like putting the prettiest girl in school next to the pimply chubster all year. Not cool man. I felt bad for Jersey, so I tried to find the unique beauty it had to offer.
Well I tried.

Back in the city, we thought we’d get a quick coffee before picking up our Tour Bus Tickets (yes, we are those people) and prepare to not have any feeling in our bodies the rest of the day.
-side note- We actually bought The New York Pass which for lack of a better word, is a Fast Pass for all the attractions in the city (Disney folk will get it).
It was icicle weather and we were going to be sitting on top of the bus, in the wind, happy as clams. Well, there’s no such thing as a ‘quick coffee’. The line at starbucks was freakishly long, and the bathroom was something I never wanted to experience. But here was our view as we sipped our brews.
And onto the bus we went.

PHOTO INTERMISSION
(these were all taken from a moving bus, hence the slightly askew angles)

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Our guide was Bruce, a true New Yorker (so they all say…) He really did know everything about the city though and he was funny! I think he told us he was a writer and his wife was a photographer. I gave him my card 🙂
THE FERRY QUEST

Ok, there was nothing noble or questy about it, just sounded better than ‘The Circle Line Cruise‘  — I don’t remember much of this because I fell asleep where it was nice n warm inside. It’s not my fault guys, they gave me hot chocolate, and I couldn’t feel my cheeks. I did snag a few shots before I passed out though. 

Lady Liberty was getting some major refurbishment so we couldn’t go inside to see if Mystique was one of the statues. Bet she was.

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DAY 3 ~ Fifth Avenue

We couldn’t leave without doing a few corny tourist stunts. First stop: Tiffany’s

Unfortunately, it was closed. I mean, even the windows were bare. Rude.
Didn’t stop this from happening though.

Next door was Trump Tower. Now, I get into some pretty ridiculous positions to get a halfway decent photo, but sometimes I can come across a little creepy. Apparently, this lady either thought I was drunk, or trying to look up her dress. Either way, her snooty glance fit perfectly in her surroundings.

And just a few blocks away was the grand, the majestic, the never-expanding Central Park. I planned to spend a good part of the day here, because there were just so many things I wanted to see, an overconfident, obese squirrel definitely being one of them.

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However, as beautiful as it was, we jumped in a cab about thirty minutes in. My bones were starting to frost over.

We popped back to Jersey to let the little pups outside, took a tiny rest and headed back in for one final night…..

Food always comes first. Everyone knows this. Heck, even Jesus knew better. Break bread first. —We ate at the highly recommended John’s Pizza. The line was long, like outside long, but it was worth the wait. To start, we had Garlic Cheese Rolls, followed by a classic Basil, Mozzarella, Tomato Pie, and finished it off sharing a Coffee Canoli.

By this time, I think the cold was getting to us. My brother in law tried his best to take a nice photo of us, but it was a lost cause.

It was a warm and welcoming place. Very family oriented. With full and satisfied bellies, we ventured out to see the city the way it was meant to be seen. 
The Empire State view was definitely better than the ‘Top of the Rock‘ (Rockefeller Center), but 30 Rock had other charms to offer, such as a tour through Jimmy Fallon’s studio (back when he was Late Night) which pretty much rocked my world. I almost lost it, almost.

It was a fast weekend. After all, we were only in the city two and half days, but we jam-packed it in! We had one last look at Times Square and headed back underground, back to Jersey, back to real life.

 

The Trees Are Actually Quite Lovely

Social Media has a sneaky way of telling you how behind you are in life. Well, society’s idea of what life should be like. Let me be a little less cryptic.

I feel like one of my friends gets engaged, married, or is having a baby every week. While I am happy for them, it’s a strange, “glad I’m not you” kind of happy. It’s complicated. I’ll explain later*

It was the upcoming wedding of an old neighbor/high school buddy that launched a road trip long ago, unlike any I’ve taken since. I wasn’t alone this time, and I wasn’t driving. Two things which are normally red flags in my ‘Travel Must Haves’ book. But, I let it slide since my companion was a dear friend whom I’ve shared most of my adolescence with. How bad could it be?

Well, for one. She’s a nervous driver. And two, it was icy on the pass. I distracted my white-knuckled, panicky self by photographing the white wonders outside my window.

My worries dissipated once the flurries flew away and the green trees came into view.

As we drove deeper into this moss and lichen-filled forest, we decided a detour was necessary. That’s when we saw this:

Also known as: The Fire Swamp (not officially, but I think they should consider it)

Since weddings were on the brain, my friend decided this is where her own ceremony would take place one day. Beautiful as it may be, it was a pickle navigating the twisty paths. I can’t imagine many mother-in-laws would enjoy that.
(they lucked out, she got married in Tokyo)

Being in such eerie and lovely surroundings, a quick photo shoot ensued.

She looked like she belonged there. Everything seemed to fit around her perfectly.
The wedding was short and sweet and the reception was on the highest hill I’ve ever driven on, (ok was a passenger on). But since, we didn’t know anyone in town, we had to leave early to drive back across the mountain before we lost our daylight. Nervous Driver + Ice + Nighttime = Stress on an otherwise happy friendship due to panic and annoyance and too many hours spent in too small of a car. But no worries, we survived, as did our friendship and  we were happy to see those familiar fields and great open spaces of our tiny town.

*I am excited for my engaged/married/future parental friends, but I am in no way jealous of their experiences. My timeline has much bigger gaps between life altering changes. I don’t plan to be a spinster, but I do not plan to get married anytime soon. I am simply enjoying my adventure, one day, or rather, one road trip at a time.

 

 

 

Titusville Number Eight

Before leaving the land of beaches, Miss B and I decided to drive down to Titusville, FL. (It may sound random, but it’s actually famous! I mean, it was in Men In Black 3. Ok, it’s where the NASA space station is.)

Fun fact? yes. Did we go there? Pfft. no way.

We went to see a little piece of heaven called Playalinda. This stretch of beaches is only reachable by bridge and a loooooong windy road that may or may not have reptilian predators prowling the ditches.

We went to #8, because the rumor is the last beach….unlucky #13 does not require…swim apparel.  And we just chose one with the least amount of cars. It’s for their sake really. My skin tends to blind the unprepared.

We had a pretty sweet set up. We’d taken enough beach days together to know the necessities: water, shade apparatus, towels, snacks, books, music, camera, incredible hotness.

While the weather was plenty warm for sun soaking (crisping in my case) we were getting harassed by torrential winds. (ok not torrential, but large, annoying gusts)

-speaking of harassment-

Birds not only tried to steal my chips, but they pooped on my towel. Unacceptable.

So, because of this troublesome breeze, wading in the ocean proved to be quite abusive. The ocean literally kicked my butt.

I had to crawl away from the shore I was so wiped out from just trying to stay alive.
(I exaggerate a bit, you know this)

It was a beautiful, relaxing day regardless. We had no time-table (we hate them).

I wish I could describe the quiet. We felt so far away from everything and everyone. Time didn’t really seem to exist there. That sounds a little deep, but I felt like I was on a faraway island, or The Island, or maybe just Hawaii. It didn’t feel like touristy, loud, horrible traffic, Florida.

 

 

 

 

We were sad to leave. But I could actually feel my skin cooking to a nice medium rare. Plus the birds were getting aggressive.

We said adios to this timeless pocket of heaven. Probably never to return, because I kind of want this to be a one time experience. Makes it better, I think.

California Pipe Dreams

San Francisco. Land of the 49ers, Giants, and Harvey Milk!

It was a warm day in the year 2010 that my roommate at the time asked me to venture down south in hopes of fulfilling dreams of being the next American Idol. I only had one condition. We stay for a week.

I’m a realist, or a pessimist, depending on your point of view. I figured rather than hinging the trip’s success on the chance of making it on the show, that staying a week to explore the city regardless of the results would be the best plan.

I let her hope for the best, while I planned for…well…you know, the rest.

We brought along our friend to help keep us awake, and she had no problem agreeing to a week in California. The drive down was beautiful, full of excitement and of course no radio was needed because we sang the whole way.

My exposure to actual ‘cities’ had been quite limited up until this time. Portland was about as big as it got. So when we drove into the heart of San Fran, I couldn’t help but love it a little.

I soon realized however that this was a cement city. Sure there were parks here n there, and they were pretty, but I need my grass, and trees and bushes, and moss. I just need it.

We ended up staying with a friend of a friend’s mom. You know how that always works out. It actually wasn’t that bad, if you don’t take into account the ‘house bunnies’. No there weren’t retired Heffner rejects lying around, there were free-roaming rabbits that needed periodical cuddling. Free is free.

Audition day wasn’t until the middle of the week, so we started exploring.

 

There was a local park tucked away in a tiny neighborhood that had a cement slide. It was terrifying. There were pieces of cardboard to slide down on, so you know, perfectly safe. A few had some great messages.

This city is known for its perpetual fog, which I honestly don’t mind. Makes for fun photos in my opinion.

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The local we were staying with took us to this fancy schmancy hotel claiming there was a special surprise inside. I felt like I owed money just walking through the lobby. It was incredible. We were led around a corner to a long row of elevators. There was a specific one and the elevator man knew exactly which it was. It rose quite quickly and as if a curtain was drawn, the enclosed space became windows and we saw the entire cityscape. It was beautiful.

The day came, or may I say, the very early morning came that we had to get in line for the American Idol auditions. We sat from 3am to let’s say 11 because I don’t actually remember. It was a while. And thank goodness it was just to get a wristband, because there would be no hope if I had to sing after no sleep.

 

And since we were already up, we continued to our next stop, the Golden Gate Bridge. As I said before, fog often obscures this incredible structure, but this day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun was shining bright.

Just a little walk from the bridge, we found a cave of sorts and some ‘ancient’ bath houses. Obviously we had to explore and model in them. We may have gotten a little too into it.

Near that were some typical tourist attractions. A replica of a palace in Versailles, a Camera Obscura, and that gorgeous California coastline.

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Audition day came and went. It was fun for the few seconds we sang in front of a producer. Not much to be said for the hours we sat in the Giants stadium. We didn’t let it ruin the day though. We were off to explore Haight-Ashbury, drive down the legendary Lombard street and do a bit of shopping.

Sure, it would’ve been great to meet Nigel Lythgoe and that Seacrest fellow, but we still had fun. I was just happy for a road trip, and to see my Oregon mountains again.

A Birth(day) Mark

Turning thirty is a pretty big deal. Big enough that it needs to be marked in your memory as ‘one of the greats’ in terms of birthdays.

I’ve planned my share of parties for people. I love making their day be as perfect as possible with all their favorite things. It may be grand and full of fun, but after all my hard work, it’s usually forgotten in a week’s time.

So, this year, my sister was turning the big 3-0 and I decided to throw out my fun manual and pull out the epic-remember-this-forever bible. She needed to love this birthday and never ever forget the time we had.

Obviously this involved a road trip.

We drove down to Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Norfolk and Gloucester. She and her husband lived there years ago, leaving tons of friends behind, along with her hairstylist and tattoo artist.

This was the first trip my sister and I had ever taken together, just the two of us. We couldn’t believe it had taken this long to happen. I mean we went all out. Shania Twain. 98 Degrees. Even Brandy made an appearance.

What is it about Girls and Guys and rest stops? I love rest stops. I know they all seem the same. Travel maps, gnarly bathrooms, strange people who seem to linger longer than necessary. But I like them. I like to stretch my legs. Look at the decorative tiling on the floor, and pretend that I’m ‘from the area’. Which is crazy, because you can’t be ‘from a rest stop area’. But it’s what I do.

First stop: Gloucester.

She got her son’s birthday on her wrist and we both got a matching tattoo. I was going to get a second one as well, but…well let’s just call it ‘artistic differences’ prevented me from getting it. Someday though.

Next we stopped in Suffolk to meet up with friends and get ready for the evening’s shenanigans. Then, on to Virginia Beach for Keagan’s Irish Pub (her favorite spot).

Last but not least, we stopped in Norfolk on the way home to get her hair done. Well, fixed really. (it had been butchered a month earlier by a so-called hairdresser)

Overall it was a great trip. Tattoos. Beer. Dessert. Friends. Hair. Road trip.
How’s that for having an indelible 30th?

The Hermit vs. The Spirit

Living in a city with quite possibly the worst traffic and road system ever, I hardly drive at all anymore.

I can go a whole month on a single tank of gas. If I use my car, it’s only on the weekends.

It seems that I am split into two people at times. One half of me never wants to stop going, traveling, driving…
But the other half, is a homebody. I love my books, and my blankets, and my bed, and writing letters, and sketching every now and then.

This would explain my blog title I suppose. For fernweh is my spirit, but my realistic mind wants to fight the urge and gain a ‘sensible career’ and have ‘reasonable goals’.

It is an ongoing boxing match within myself with an as-of-yet to be announced champion.

But I digress.

To avoid holing up in my basement with my books on my days off, I drive forty short minutes to see my sister and her family. I love those minutes though. I get to blast my music, which in this case was ‘My Humps’. (one of the most impossible songs not to car dance to at a red light) I reflect on my week, think about what to do with my sister and enjoy the tiny town of Woodwardsville that takes all of twenty seconds to drive through.

Today’s mission? My nephew was going to have his first swinging experience. He was a little skeptical at first, but after a pep talk in the car, he seemed ready to try it.

After a few tries, he decided he liked it.

But with three adults all asking you to smile at their phones and cameras, it’s gets a little old.

By the end, he was ready to go home, but pouty face aside, he still looked cute.

It’s a nice break from the city. Like a little quiet vacation every week.

Riding North

The time had finally come. Miss B and I were leaving Florida, for good this time.

She had lived there five years, I, only three. We only lasted as long as we did because of the incredible people.

So we said our goodbyes, cried all our tears, and began our journey up and out. First stop: Tallahassee.

 

It didn’t feel like Florida. The humidity was gone. The trees were huge. And the bugs looked normal. (not the crazy concoctions Orlando had)

Miss B had cousins in the area, so we slept in a a old fashioned homey home, deep in the middle of the woods. Yes, we did have thoughts about whether we were being led into a creepy cabin, to never see light again.

It felt very Cabin in the Woods-y…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Next stop: Marietta, Georgia

We stayed here with my cousins for the weekend. Watched U of O be awesome. And I met my cousin’s son Gavyn for the first time. Total bug. I am such an advocate for family. I grew up knowing my cousins very little since we’re spread out all over the US. I feel so privileged to be a part of their lives now. We didn’t want to leave, and my aunt decided Miss B was part of the family now.

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Next Stop: Tennessee to a little place called Friendsville

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This state surprised me. I had no idea how beautiful it was. The image of Tennessee in my head was a flat, yellow, dusty plain. After visiting, I feel like I could live here for a year and love it completely. It has a peaceful calm about it. It welcomes you with its trees, and rollings hills, and quiet rivers.

We stayed with the gracious Marcum family. We tried our first moonshine cherries. We watched The Walking Dead outside on the patio. We drank our coffee on the grass and watched the dogs run by the water. I cannot wait to revisit this heaven.

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From here we had a choice. We could stop in Roanoke, VA (and disappear forever, c’mon history nerds) or drive the 9+ hours and reach Maryland late that evening. This would be our longest stretch of driving yet. We tried to keep our destinations close to each other to avoid that. We ended up deciding to just drive, and see what the day had planned for us.

Not even two hours passed and we were bored. So we pulled off the highway and followed signs to a pumpkin patch. Sure, it could’ve been a psycho killer’s ranch of death, but we were ready for anything more exciting than the unending road ahead.

Also– I forgot to adjust the driver’s seat to Miss B’s height. Hence, the lucky duck got to be the permanent co-pilot.

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A few hours after that, we stopped in another remote town (which eerily reminding me of Oregon) following signs to a national park in hopes for something pretty to look at, or at least a short trail to get our blood flowing in our legs again. Unfortunately it was basically a campground with massively long trails. Regardless, it was a beautiful detour.

I didn’t think I could make it the whole day. My eyes were droopy and my brain was mush. We had been listening to a grisly British man read Game of Thrones to us all day and I just couldn’t keep it together. So we stopped at a McDonald’s and wolfed down some fries and the nastiest cup of coffee I’ve ever had. That did it. We got to my sister’s in Maryland a little before eleven.

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We had one day to enjoy Washington D.C. together before Miss B continued north to her final destination in Michigan. It was a beautiful day, not only because of the sun, but because it was the very day the Government shut down ended and all the Smithsonian museums reopened.

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We say the classic D.C. sites as well. The National Monument looks a little weird because they were still repairing it from earthquake damage.

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It was a wonderful trip. I couldn’t have chosen a more laid back person to come with me. Thanks Miss B for always being there for me and accepting my crazy on a daily basis.

Until the next time….

Miami in the Morning

I lived in Florida for almost three years and made many many trips to the various beaches. I had my favorites, but there was one that I had to visit before I left the state for good. Miami.

When I thought of Miami, I thought of clubs, beach parties, neon colored clothing and Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami. Naturally.

Miss B and I were trying to tie up all our loose ends before we embarked on our roadtrip up north to new lives, away from TouristLand. Our bucket list wasn’t too long. One last trip to Universal, watch at least one of the fireworks shows, drink around the world at Epcot, go to St. Augustine, and drive down to Miami.

She had already been there, but never for a girl’s trip. Which is entirely different.

In one day, it was decided that our dynamic duo (which had suddenly become a foursome) would leave at two in the morning on a wednesday, drive four hours down to Miami; to watch the sunrise on the beach.

Sure, it sounded romantic and mushy in all the right places, but unfortunately, Miss B and I had forgotten our plans to spend all of Tuesday at Universal and Islands of Adventure, two very large theme parks. As a result, I slept maybe two hours in those two days and was basically a zombie by the time we got to Miami.

The sunrise was pretty. We took our group shots and cracked open some coronas, but it didn’t quite make up for the homeless guys sleeping a few feet away from us.

We walked around, but as the day grew hotter, we started losing steam, fast.

We ended up leaving for Orlando at four because none of us had any energy to do much. Pathetic, I know.

Hey, not all road trips are great trips. But we still had fun. The drive there was a ‘blast the music to stay awake’ kind of ride  and I definitely snored on Conor on the way home.

2200 Miles in 2 Days Flat

Does my title sound a little far-fetched? Well, believe it. Forty eight hours exactly from Norfolk, Virginia to Redmond, Oregon. I guess a better thing to question was our sanity. Why would anyone choose to drive across the country in two days?

Growing up in my family, vacation was known to be a precious, precious thing that my parents enjoyed to its fullest potential. Which means, any place we went, there was an itinerary for every minute of our trip. No side stops, no deviations, no sleeping in or naps in the middle. There were things to do, sights to see, places to set up camp.

Now I’m all for having a plan, but a more, generalized, flexible plan that if need be, can be completely rewritten in the moment. My best memories come from things not going according to plan, so I plan…not to go according to the plan. Confused? I am.

Anyhoo. A little of this hyperscheduling must have been passed down to my sister and I, because we figured, to maximize our time with family back in Oregon, driving straight through, sticking to the turnpikes, was the best and most logical choice. 

I’d like to tell you that it was magical. That those many many hours spent driving, stopping only for gas and peeing, went by in a musical montage of laughing and rainbows. I really would like to.

We took turns napping in the back, drank far past the healthy amount of energy drinks, yelled at the GPS that refused to update and kept repeating, “bear left, bear left, bear left” in a British accent. It wasn’t all bad though. I listened to good music (this trip helped me discover just how much I love Of Montreal), took fun pictures, realized energy drinks and jerky bites do not mix well and that we will never EVER do this again.
(at least not this way)

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It was all worth it though once we reached home. I had never been so happy to see tumbleweeds and junipers in my entire life.

A Capital Trip

I couldn’t tell you the exact year I took my first road trip, but I do remember where I went. Salem, Oregon, my state’s capital.

I never had a car in high school, so getting a license wasn’t exactly high on my priority list. Sure, I wanted to drive like everyone else, but let’s face it, I was a book-reading, choir-singing, homework-loving, ceramics geek. (and it’s not like my budding ‘social life’ was suffering because of it)

I didn’t really mind it at the time. However, once I bought my first car, I had an epiphany.(a minor one, not too painful) It was like tasting pop (soda, fizzy water, whatever…) for the first time after nothing but tap water. I had no idea what I was missing and couldn’t believe I had been deprived for this long. (you will notice in the future, that most of my analogies are based on food. get used to it.)

Driving was freedom. I literally could go anywhere I wanted. Whenever I wanted.

So naturally, I started planning my first road trip. Two of my closest friends lived in neighboring cities over the mountain. One was studying at OSU (blech) and the other had recently married and was eager to host her first house guest. I was all too happy to oblige!

My parents were a little nervous, and to be honest, they should have been. I get distracted easily, turn my music up too loud, I’m kind of blind, (but not too bad) and may go a little fast on my turns.

It was incredible though. I was a little scared, being alone, in the mountains, with no real idea how to change a tire on my own should the occasion arise. I also kept imagining Dexter-esque serial killer scenarios, so I never EVER stopped to pee at the roadside diners. And there was that humongous pothole that I may have not noticed, until my poor car hit it at full speed. Which reminds me…

Thank you, Honda Accords from the 90s, for being so stinking durable, and solid, and having great gas mileage. Though, I’m sorry I never got around to fixing the windshield…

The trip was great, seeing my friends again was fun too, but my favorite part of it all was being alone, just me and my car, on the road, stopping whenever I wanted to take a picture, and no one to tell me to turn the music down.