Well, I made it. Over 4,300 miles. 12 stops. 38 friends and family seen. And 1 speeding ticket (eff you Silverthorne, CO). If you include the East Coast trips I made before leaving CT, that’s 6 more stops (Boston, Orlando, West Palm Beach, NYC, Philly, and Washington DC) and 25 more friends/family. Finally, I’m back in San Francisco. Got back here last Sunday.
A massive thank you to everyone who provided a bed, couch, or floor. Everyone and their friends were so welcoming. I had a pretty fantastic time everywhere I went. Along the way, I realized that my travels were showing me a cross-section of my life. I have to say, it’s been pretty dam good. I’ve bounced around a bit, but somehow have been lucky enough to have a fantastic group of friends everywhere along the way. On my trip across the country, I stayed in motels only 2 nights, so that tells you a little bit of how sweet of a situation I have. I do have to give myself a bit of credit for keeping in touch with folks, but yeah, once again, thanks.
A quick summary of the final legs of my trip. In Portland, I stayed with Taylor, and had a couple of dinners/happy hours with soon-to-be-married Alex and Janina as well as Mckenzie, all former UPS Loggers like myself. Also squeezed in a dinner with cousins Raina and Kelsey. Had an interesting night out at a burlesque/fire dancing show one night, and everything came full circle when we saw one of the dancers out bowling a few nights later. I stopped for one night in Philomath to see my Dad’s dad and sister, who are always fun to talk to. Then went down to Sacramento. Had a fun night out dancing at a club with clientele described by my friend Chris as “about 70% gay, 30% straight”. The next day the group of us went floating down the American River followed by a barbecue. A few beers, a few laughs, and good times all around. Pictures from these final legs along with the rest of the trip will be posted in a Facebook album shortly. But again, I failed to take that many good pics.
Over the past month I’ve had many a conversation about the differences between the East and West Coasts and everything in between. And here's what I have to say about it: Yes, the East Coast is a little more fast paced, and the West is a little more laid back. But overall, I think the differences are over-hyped. You do notice little things, but it’s only when you add these things up that the differences become apparent. You’ll see more tight jeans in Portland. You’ll see more polo shirts in New England. You’ll see more organic food in California. You’ll see more “Praise Jesus” signs in Middle America. But you could swap 2 people from any of the places I visited, and neither of them would necessarily stick out like a sore thumb. For the most part, we’re all just pretty normal, and there are all different types of people everywhere. Now, the people I associate with (wherever I am) tend to be of a certain type, so that may have something to do with my assessment, but like I said, I think the East/West Coast differences are a bit overblown. I don’t know. Ask me again after I’ve lived here again for a while.
So now it’s all about getting my life sorted out here. I’m living with my dad for now. That’s a pretty sweet cushion to land on. But hopefully it won’t be too long before I find a job and a place of my own. The other thing I may decide to do is go to Europe or somewhere for about a month. As the saying goes, when you’ve got the time, you don’t have the money, and when you’ve got the money, you don’t have the time. Well I’ve got the time, and I was able to save up a bit of money while working for Pratt & Whitney, so I think I’d like to blow a good chunk of it traveling around while I’ve got the chance. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.
Musical insight of the day based on what I’ve been listening to on my drive: I think Offspring’s album, “Smash”, is one of the best ever. On the drive, I listened to their two most recent albums, “Conspiracy of One” and “Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace”. For the most part, these albums are multiple levels below the high standard set by “Smash”, as has been the case with all of their albums since their 1994 juggernaut. But what I find interesting is that there are a few songs on these recent albums that would fit right in with “Smash”. So they clearly have not lost the ability to write these types of (awesome) songs. Apparently, they choose not to. Now, I get that artists tend to change as their careers move along, and if they don’t, people tend to lose some interest (see: NOFX). But it just frustrates the hell out of me when they alter their style in a way that is so clearly inferior. Evolve, don’t devolve. And that's all I have to say about that.
Thanks for listening.
