16 States and 11 Countries Part II

New England, New England....certainly not a "new" England in my opinion, yet the name sticks. Sorry, but you have nothing on my brief home...

My Tree and I went off on another adventure! The freedom to simply go off after finagling schedules and planning at the optimal level - just enough to have an inkling of what we're doing with plenty of free time for exploration - is the best way to go!

First on the docket: Sleepy Hollow, New York, to pay homage to Washington Irving!

Off to Connecticut, which was more of a pit-stop. Traffic is the worst part of travel and it had me longing for efficient public transportation as my eyes began to water and my bum grew ever numb from sitting in the car for so long.

House of the Seven Gables

 Eventually we made it to Salem, Massachusetts. Traffic....that's all I'll say....Tree slept in the car which was a bit of a bummer because I would have liked the company since I had another person with me on one of my crazy adventures for once. My Sleeping Beauty awoke and his excitement only increased and strengthened mine, balancing the fatigue I kept fighting. For not doing much except for directing my small vessel of a car, it's often surprising how one can feel after several hours...

We lucked out and Salem had a grand festival going on. It was warm out, but beautiful and worth the long, winding drive through tolls and bridges. The views from the car were enough to keep me going.

Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
They've strung up a man they say who murdered three.

A late start, but we made it to the coast in Maine and hiked along the beach. Pretty flowers and sunshine tucked away in a little section of town. 7 hours until the homeland...

First Jail

La playa

New Hampshire and Vermont were my favorites. The trees seemed alive with their foliage gently swaying in the breeze, crimson and golden, both wholesome colors. I wish I had pictures of these trees to share, but I was a good girl and did not shoot [photos] and drive. As they say, half the fun is the journal itself.

Rudyard Kippling's abode

Onward and out to my hometown, or as I lovingly call it, Bumfuck PA. You can't change your roots and I call it such in an endearing way. Home is where one can take their pants off and feel at ease, as well as enjoy Buffalo Chicken Dip. Tree went to bed shortly after a late snack, but per usual, I stayed awake with my thoughts and woke up early. I find this a habit of mine even though I could likely use as much shut-eye as I can get....

<Borrowed pic of the iconic castle not too far away>

And so we made it. New England conquered but for Rhode Island. Plans are already in the making for a solo trip to this little state.

16 States and 11 Countries

Current travel statistics [counting my home state and country in there as well] with more to come...I'm quite sad I did not make it to Rhode Island during the insanely fast-paced weekend trip through New England, but alas, traffic was horrendous as we neared Salem.

[excuse my chubby knubs]

Many adventures taken this summer...I wanted to travel, and I did just that. In PA alone, Shartlesville, the church of the Blue Eyed Six, Gettysburg [I haven't been here since I was a wee lass], Bird-In-Hand, Intercourse [ironically enough, is a quaint little town], and Blue Ball.

On one curiously slow week, I packed a bag and drove up to Niagara Falls to see the beautiful World Wonder and all of her glory. 'Twas a chilly day down on the water, but a gorgeous day to explore and take in the sights. The drive across the bridge was a nightmare to get into Canada and they did not even bother to stamp my passport, to my chagrin.

However, I met some wonderful people and how could the night not have been something wild when the penultimate chapter of my night is: "we stayed until last call and the bar had turned its lights out, 2 Germans, a Brit, a New Zealander, a Canadian, and I?" Wanderlust temporarily satiated.

Adventure is out. Find it. Take chances. Live your life.

April Adventures (Flashback 10)

Perhaps these flashbacks are becoming superfluous, but 10 seems like a nice rounded number at which to stop...

In looking back, so much has happened, yet when placing words to pixelized screen seems a near impossible task, a summation so easily done, but not nearly as satisfying as picking my brain apart for memories, clues, ramblings...

April is always a busy time, true even now, a year after these initial endeavors were experienced....

April 2014 was no exception: hanging with friends in Baltimore to support their band, Sigma Alpha Pi induction, cooking for a new [this word does not feel right] beau, tears of joy and sorrow, VALLEYFEST, and almost getting a concussion [I mentioned my reckless behavior, no?].

Paradrei = drei Freunden und eine guten Nacht

When we kinda-sorta-maybe-just an inkling like-ish someone, we do crazy things, such as plan a surprise visit to a shady little garage in downtown York with the help of the aforementioned someone's roommate.

The night ended with: "we should probably leave, like right now, before we hear gunshots."

Fajer and I off on an adventure to the shooting range. The new 9mm packed quite the whollop of kickback...not that I'm complaining. The zombies on our targets never knew what was coming ;)

Love and Theft came for this year's ValleyFest and dang. Quite a lovely crowd - not too overbearing nor rowdy. I have limited country tastes but I have noticed that country concerts, while lively, are also contained and not as crazy as others...

Perks to being in this committee: being the runner for some hotties.

Sammy Arriaga and I became fast friends.

The end of the night ended with a meet-and-greet with the country stars. I'd call it a pretty damn good night.

<please don't touch me like that with your hand on your crotch>

Inner thoughts....Mike Stud was...bearable.

These are where my thoughts trail off...nothing too noteworthy, I guess, until Canada. However, friends are friends and are wonderful always.

End of the year VF dinner with my lovely co-chairman of Children's Activities

Luscious Nickove + Drop Out Julian

Kinda sorta maybe dating a rockstar

Sassy Sasquatch with Senioritis (Flashback 9)

In looking back at these first few weeks back, I was indeed, a wild child. Feeling as though I could sink no lower after wrecking my car [I now can identity with the expression of being hit by a Mack truck], I may have been a tad overzealous and none-too-caring for myself.

C'est ma vie.

Lovely came up to see EchoSmith(!) as part of the MTV's Artist to watch tour that started with last year's ValleyFest. VP to boot last year! Mega feels and nerves - he managed to bring me back down to that shy 13 yr old I was when I first met he when he grabbed my hand, the years of confidence I had acquired since being shattered like glass upon the cold, hard cement floor.

He was no knight in shining armor, but held me together as my happiness began to dwindle with the return to the States. Wobbly, sure, but at least the jelloid within my body stayed barred up with the stability our friendship brought.

Ring Pop Hubby

Now a self-classified chubby wubby, my confidence still faltered as I continued my plight against the ungodly weight I had gained from my travels. Running in the rain and in the cold darkness, a few trips in said darkness, and sore muscles seemed like a small price to pay in my effort to slim back down...

English girls reunited!

Making new friends and keeping touch with the ones who never lost touch despite the distance sure helped in with my acceptance that I could be happy in the States again...even without the haggis and Tubourgs.

The Italian Stallion.

Good friends are the crux of life and a crutch for the bad times. Grateful, happy for new friends, yet left with a nagging feeling of insecurity and uncertainty of what the future brings academically, professionally, romantically...

Bearded Girlfriend & Beardless Girlfriend off on a platonic adventure

Home is not a location (flashback 8)

After spending 3 months in the city about which I've always dreamed, I had no idea what to do with myself...it's similar to that moment after you've finished reading a prolifically profound book, fully engaged and wrapped up in its plot and characters, and have absolutely no idea how to feel or what to do with yourself.

How do I go on after having to leave London, a place that felt like home?

I realized, though, as I waited in customs at 1:37AM, texting Lovely and Mummy and announcing to the world via Facebook and Twitter that I had arrived back in the states, that maybe London was my temporary home and maybe London will be my future home, but home was waiting for me outside the gates of Newark International.

First US brekkie with Lovely since my return

Home was in the snow.

Home drove 7 hours in the snow in what should have been a 3 hour drive in order to pick me up from the airport... Home is not where we make it, but in whom we create it.

I had come back to the states and cried as I struggled in the snow with my clumsy, overly-stuffed suitcases and broken sewn-back-together laptop case. As soon as I hit the doors, I was frantically moving, not caring if I fell and ate the pavement. I saw his car, I was running as fast as my chubby legs and filled arms could carry move across the icy sidewalks.

This isn't a Nicholas Sparks novel, though. This is my life. While I think of my life as a comedy (and a far cry from the romantic comedy unless they're the ones in which the heroine discovers herself and her friends get the guys), this is no Hollywood film or scripted story. This night felt so damn right, though. We even grabbed McDonald's (what else is open at 2AM??) and shared a Rated-PG night at a Super 8, resisting the fatigue setting in after all of the excitement.

Life is grand, isn't it, when one is in love? As I have learned, you have to love and trust yourself in order to fully love another and it was this, and my disdain for my shortcomings and the sadness that ensued from leaving Europe and gaining so much weight that withdrew me from my old self and much of the world, struggling to see past the seemingly mundane when I had to go back and face reality at college without him there.

Rang in 2014 with the best

It sucked and resulted in me breaking up with my solid rock, only increasing my sadness, but also increasing my determination to lose the weight and find happiness here in the states by transferring my love of travel into positive energy (I swear I'm not a hippie).

Posts on summer travels to follow!! I finally surpassed number of states visited over number of foreign countries this summer!

Xmas markets are the BEST markets (Flashback 7)

My time in London draws near an end...only a few shorts weeks left.

Much to do, shopping to be done, things to see...running out of time, money, and the will to go back to the States.

There seems to be a lapse in my diary, made up for the numerous pictures which were taken despite the literary gap.

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men?

Kelsey and I saw Les Mis one night in the city and wow. It was beautiful.

Have you seen the film? Forget about it... not even close to comparison.

Yesssss, sir.

I've lost track of the number of food pictures I may or may not have taken...and by that, I mean I quite possibly have way far too many.

The Eye, all lit up at night...Kelsey and I had ridden to the top earlier!

So many fond memories, yet I find I must recall upon my own recollection as there is no written word.

Perhaps no written word was needed to describe the times we had together...the beer and friendship we all shared, and continue to cling onto despite not having the location of the magical city as our glue.

We have each other, our short months together, and a lifetime to remember and reconnect throughout our crazy adventures from different parts of the country, of the world.

Go big or go home.

As I recall, even at this point there were many tears to be had as we counted down the weeks until we must all depart. Tears over stupid boys and trivial things like class and wondering how our wallets are going to be at the end of our journeys abroad...

Thanksgiving was spent together. For most, it was our first Thanksgiving away from home; for the English, their first Thanksgiving ever.

So many fond memories which feel like yesterday. Yesteryear as it is called...yesteryear I was away, yesteryear is where my mind remains.

Haggis, neeps, and fried Mars bars for the hell of it. (flashback 6)

"Scotland was beautiful!"

Damn straight.

We traveled to Edinburgh and took the same train route as JK Rowling. On a scale of excitement from McKayla Maroney to seeing baby kittens a week after they're born, this tops out pretty close to the latter... Holy cricket, this is Scotland!

Made lots of friends, saw Loch Ness and stepped into the shallows to nab a rock, ate haggis, tried a fried Mars bar, and danced on the tables of the hostel during the great dance party with some locals. When in Scotland, you roll how the Scottish roll, which involves lots of stomping and standing on the highest bit of furniture which will hold your weight.

The following weekend took me to Amsterdam: 4 countries in a what seemed like one of the longest 12 hours... London to Dover, ferry to Calais (we all got seasick, joy), bus ride through Belgium, and into die Niederländer!

Edam and Volendam were nice little towns on Saturday morning. Much cheese was bought from our group... I was quite happy my Pesto cheese made it through customs at Newark Airport!

*Things I dare not post*

Thus concludes these adventures...with a plethora to come.