Road Trip Pictures

So here is where I'm going to post some more pictures from our road trip. It really was a great time. Our first day on the road had us passing through FIVE states and Washington, D.C. Oh, the loveliness and smallness of the east coast states! Virginia was so beautiful, and I unfortunately only got these two pictures from there, and they don't nearly do it justice.



I got a picture of the sign to show that we were actually in Virginia. Then there were all the bikers on the freeway. This was the only time I took pictures, but they were in every state we went to. I loved the greenness of the freeway--it's all surrounded by trees, which makes it feel like you're driving down a tunnel.

Our next state was Tennessee. We stopped at this rest stop to stretch our legs and they conveniently had this sign that we could pose next to, since it's a bit hard to get a picture of the state sign while driving on the freeway and it's a little silly to stop on the side of the road to get a picture.

We made two major stops in Tennessee, Nashville and Memphis, which I already wrote about. Both were great cities that I enjoyed just walking in. What I love most about traveling is experiencing a city, and the best way to do that is to walk through it. It's nice to just soak it in and feel a little like a local. I would love to spend real time in each of the cities--and every city I visit--so I could really feel like I knew the city and could catch its vibe and energy. It's hard to capture in just a couple hours, but I can at least get a little sliver of it.

Our next stop was in Conway, Arkansas, and I will admit that I chose to stay there because it's where Kris Allen is from. I somehow got sucked into American Idol this year and was quite glad when my personal favorite came out the winner. Anyway, we stayed at a Motel 6, and it's amazing what just $30 less can get you in the hotel world.

Then we moved onto Oklahoma. Our resting stop for the day was going to be Topeka, KS, and we could've gotten there faster if we hadn't gone through Oklahoma, but I wanted to be able to say I had been to Oklahoma. And it was just beautiful. The open land and the blue sky peppered with white clouds. The clouds and sky just went on forever; it was beautiful.



Staying in Topeka with Tom and Terry was great. They are just like family to me. I used to spend a month of my summers with them in Kansas and their cabin at the lake. I'm not sure I have a single childhood memory that doesn't include them and Terry's daughter, my best friend, Amber. I went everywhere with them and was like their second daughter. I can't believe how much time has passed since those summer days, but being with them now it felt as if it had only been a drop in the bucket.

And while I didn't take any pictures of people, I did go a little crazy with the cloud pictures. I just couldn't stop, it was SO beautiful!


I couldn't stop marveling at the vastness of the horizon and how it seemed to go on forever with no mountains to stop it. And maybe I've just been in New York for too long, but I even found Wyoming to be quite beautiful, even if it did rain on us most of the time.

Road Trip End

I want to give a big shout-out to all the people who let Emily and I stay with them while we were making our way across the country. We were on the road for five nights, six days and only had to stay at a hotel for two of the nights. My cousin Scott and his family were so kind to let us stay with them in Virginia; old friends Tom and Terry Blindt let us stay with them in Topeka, Kansas; and my cute cousin Rachel let us stay with her and her little family in Denver. I am so appreciative of and thankful for family and friends, something I've always thought but had reinforced ten times over while on this trip.

I'm hoping to get some pictures posted up tomorrow about the last couple days of our trip. I unfortunately stopped taking a lot of pictures after leaving Memphis, as I no longer felt like a tourist, so there aren't any of the great family and friends that we stayed with. But I will give you a rundown of what went down.

We made it back safe and sound yesterday exactly 10 hours after we left Colorado. Sorry nobody got a call that we had made it, but that's just my style. It was nice coming through the mountains as the sun was setting and the mountains and city were basking in the "magic hour" light. I just soaked it all in and felt like I was where I was supposed to be.

Walkin' in Memphis

We put on our (metaphorical) blue suede shoes and walked down Beale Street today. And even though I never felt like I was ten feet above it, and didn't see the ghost of Elvis (but did see his picture pretty much everywhere, from mugs to keychains to cds to clocks to shirts to oven mitts...), nobody asked us if we were Christian, and we didn't play the piano at the Hollywood, it was still pretty darn awesome. As much as Nashville is about country music, Memphis is all about the blues and rock'n'roll and is very proud of its history. Beale street was where it all started.



Memphis is also home to Graceland, which was home to Elvis. We didn't actually go to the home, as it was $28 for the cheapest, leanest ticket and $68 for the all-access ticket, and neither of us are huge Elvis fans, but we did go to the parking lot for Graceland. You see, visiting Graceland is just one big tourist trap. Before you can load up into the shuttle bus that takes you to Graceland you have a lot of free time to roam around all the shops with Elvis memorabilia. It's crazy all the things there are with Elvis' mug on them. I think the weirdest thing I saw was Barbie-like dolls of Elvis and Priscilla in their wedding attire. Who would want that?! The whole commercialization of the place just seemed wrong some how.

But the highlight of the day was definitely Emily falling out of the truck. I was taking a picture of the trolley car we rode in earlier when Emily called out to me from the truck. She leaned out and leaned a little too far. Her balance was lost and with her hand holding her Dr. Pepper she had no way of grabbing anything, and before I knew it I was watching her fall all the way down and roll out onto the pavement. It was so funny I almost peed my pants.


And I don't want to forget a Happy Birthday to my brother. Jared is now 30!

Music City

Our second day on the road has brought us to Nashville, Tennessee, otherwise known as Music City. Our first stop was to the Hard Rock Cafe, because we were hungry and because it's become a tradition to go (Em and I were counting how many we've been to; me 9, her 7). I told our waiter all I wanted was water. He assumed I had been drinking the night before and was trying to go easy. Nope, I said, it's just really hot outside and I'm dying of thirst. This is what he brought me. Everyone thought it was funny.


Then it was a walk down Broadway to check out the honky-tonks. You can walk by and hear live music coming out of every bar. It's very cool. Plus there's the many street musicians looking for your spare change. I can definitely see why it's called Music City.




I'm very impressed with Nashville. Everyone has been very nice, it's a very clean city, it's easily navigable, and just has a good vibe to it. Perhaps I'll stay, seeing as how Elvis has taught me all his moves.


Tomorrow is more road, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and perhaps Graceland. Stay tuned.

Goodbye New York

I

Heart

New York!

Detour Footnote

Perhaps my post about leaving New York was sorta vague. I had this great idea in my head how coming to New York was like a detour, something that had to be done because the direct route wasn't an option, but the words in my head didn't quite come out the way I wanted them to when I started typing. I'm not quite sure the idea and symbolim of a Detour came across. So now I'll elaborate on why I'm ready to leave New York.

When I came to New York I had these grand ideas of working in the film/movie/tv industry. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, just that I loved movies. And this was my basic problem, and something I came to realize while I was in New York. Yes, I love movies; I love learning about them, talking about them, and experiencing them. But I do not love making them, or having them be a commercial and business property when to me it's just art and entertainment. I knew that working in entertainment was not for me.

But what was I going to do instead? For a long time, probably since around last July, I knew I needed to do something to take my life and career in a different direction and to feel like I was progressing forward. Education seemed like the best route to take. I almost started an MBA program in Pennsylvania, but it just didn't seem like the right choice, and was made more out of a desperate need for something to happen than a logical choice.

What I needed to figure out was what I was passionate about, what could I do for a career and feel good about. It was no longer film and business just seemed like the wrong choice for me. This is when I realized I was interested in recycling, public transportation, city infrastructures, all things I became fascinated about because of living in New York.

I've been researching Graduate programs in City and Urban Planning, and if I had been a person more on the ball, and not distracted by things like Sundance and Tribeca, I could be starting school this fall. But all of those things happened for a reason, and I can now take my time and really do some research to pick the right school.

There are many reasons why it's better for me to be in Salt Lake rather than New York to make this transition, like not having to pay through the roof for rent while trying to save for grad school, being a less competitive environment with less people so I can get some experience in the field, Salt Lake has more room for growth while the MTA here in the city is facing huge deficits and raising costs of Metrocards, and the couple of contacts that I have in Salt Lake. And, most of all, it just feels right.

Dream Job

I was watching Jeopardy the other day when Alex asked one of the contestants what his dream job would be. The man replied, "Ninja." Alex seemed taken aback, but the guy said it was a dream job, and it doesn't get more dreamy than being a ninja. So, in the spirit of ninja-man, I declare that my dream job would be Vampire Slayer.

These would be the perks (based on the vampire slayer, Buffy Sommers):
--Scoobies to help me
--get to carry around stakes
--awesome quip and punning power
--amazing strength, agility, and cognitive abilities
--tortured love affair with a brooding vampire
--ability to save the world, numerous times
--leading an adventurous life
--dealing with Dracula
--wielding weapons
--a killer wardrobe
--making my own hours