Catching Up

I have actually been keeping a written journal on this trip, so that makes me feel less bad about how little I have been blogging. It turns out it is not so easy during my visits to get to a computer and sit and actually collect my thoughts. So... I think I left off in Indiana with my Grandma. Which consequently may have inspired to try to write a book where a woman (who would that be?) is taking some kind of important trip and stops by her grandmother's home first. As she road trips she contemplates the stories told by her grandmother while her own life is unfolding. A story within a story, I bet no one has ever done that :) Completely not based on real events or people of course. I remember that since the age of 12 I have loved my grandma's stories. I also recalled, once I started journaling, how quickly the details get lost in my jumbled mind. I have needed that tape recorder I left back home a couple of times now...
From my grandma's I went to the burbs of Detroit and visited a friend there. It was short and sweet and I found her pleasantly more happy than I have ever known her to be. This makes me happy. Then the real fun started as I headed out of Detroit and into Canada. My friend said, "Beware of lake effect weather" as I left and I thought, "yeah, yeah". Of course at first there were only flurries and shortly upon crossing into Canada I decided to get off the freeway to see the country side. Ha, right. I couldn't see a thing and even if I could I really needed to keep my eyes on the road. So I turned back after about 10 grueling miles that felt like 40. Back on the freeway things were fine and I continued on. As I crossed back into the US on the Rainbow Bridge I was able to see through the snow enough to glimpse the Niagra Falls. It was rather surreal with all the snow and the blowing and the falls and I had my windows down and I could hear them. It was just cool. Back in the US, in New York, it was awful. It was blowing, no one could see, everyone was driving slow. And of course I was lost. The snow was so messed up that one side of all road signs was covered, typically the side I needed to see. Anyway, a 5 hour drive took me 8 and I was much ready for the offered glass of wine when I finally found my way. I spent a couple of nights and the superbowl with my friend and her husband and baby. We went to her family's for the superbowl and her family is just so kind, and real. It was nice, I really felt like I could identify with them. Because it was so cold, blustery and typically evil out it was a very mellow couple of days (I see this region now has like 90" of snow, wow, good thing I got out when I did). It did snow the whole time I was there but was clear and sunny the day I left although like 15 below zero.
So far I have not hit any more weather, but I might start pushing my luck in the next couple of days. I went from the Buffalo area to Long Island where my friend from Korea lives, and I made it without incident. I stayed 5 nights. We ate good food, drank good beer, had good conversation, hung out in the city like 4 of those 5 nights. It was freezing, but it was good. The city did not intimidate as much as I had expected to. Neither did the lifestyle. I feel like I would need to make some readjustgments in order to live there, but overall I think maybe Korea cured me of my city fears. I think about this and have to wonder if that could be dangerous. Afterall, Korea may be one big city, but it was one big city without much crime. Over and over on this trip I would love to be doing it in the spring. Not only for the city, but also the drive to NYC. I found New York state and Pennsylvania surprisingly and pleasantly beautiful. I am still having a great time but my mantra has become "south south, I gotta go south". I was also, during my stay on Long Island, inspired to consider the law school thing again. My friend is going to Hofstra and lives on the campus there so I had 5 days and nights of law school atmosphere. There's a lot more to say about this stop, well, about all my stops, but as this is a "catch up" I will stick with the basics for now and go back as time and relevance dictate. Ok, so now I am in Boston with my friend Jackson from Peace Corps (see previous blog comments). I wasn't sure this stop would happen but here I am. I'm enjoying the randomness of my stops as this is the second time I have stopped someplace planning to sleep over and hit the road the next day and found my host pleasantly assuming I would stay longer. Both times this has happened I just pretend that "yeah, I'm staying until then" because I can and I love it. Boston is another city that has always intrigued and I'm not sure why. I think it may be because I had a teacher in high school who knew I wanted to go into law and she was always trying to convince me to apply to Harvard. Which, consequently, Jackson is attending on a part-time basis. Maybe too because it's old. Just intrigued for whatever reason. Ok, so now I am caught up on events...

I'm here with Jackson and we have been rehashing our Peace Corps (PC) lives and I did this with everyone else also and again on Long Island about Korea and its weird. But I think its weirder here because Jackson lived a close experience to mine in that he was on an outer island, and we were in the same state so we saw each other a lot. So when I see others I am often learning about their experience, but here I am just straight up reminiscing and longing. Its fun, but a bit sad also. Ok, I have to end here. There are things I want to say but the words just aren't coming out the way I would like right now. It happens. Besides, Jacko is bugging me to hang out with him (so needy) and I need to hook him up on myspace so he can reconnect with some peeps and also meet my pal in Long Island. I feel I should apologize for the shoddiness of this post so I do apologize and will do better next.

Oh wait, I'm heading to Maine next. My friend Chris gave me $20 and some self addressed stamped envelopes and asked for scratch offs from states I go through. Between Chris and my curiousity about a state that could host a mind such as Stephan King's, I have decided to head to Maine and stay a night or two. Who knows what spooky adventures that little side trip might elicit!