Wyoming and Colorado

Wyoming was less than an experience and I didn't even hoop there. I figure I'll need to get to Yellowstone and hoop with Ol Faithful sometime.

Just fields, then when I got to Cheyenne a huge lightning storm attacked me.

In Boulder, CO I stayed with my friend Kat's mom who was hilarious and we talked for hours and hours about life, travel, jobs, languages, and more. I secretly teared up, being so happy to talk to someone so special. What a spirit she was, with stories and dreams still to live. I could tell where Kat gets her stunning personality and stellar listening skills.

A comfy bed did me some good and I found places to hoop in Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo.

I did not like Denver. I did not feel safe. Lots of homeless lots of gross. Man on bike...
"You want to work your hips? I'll give you something to work your hips on!" Disgusting.

Garden of the Gods I got rained on hard. Seven Falls was fun and I climbed lots of stairs.

I got home to Santa Fe and ran in circles around our living room, waking G&G up and we went food shopping at Walmart at midnight. Went back to Colorado with them for a weekend for Gerard's best friend's wedding in Ft. Collins. I danced all night. It was a beautiful time and I felt blessed to have these two in my life. They lift me up so high.

South Dakota: Rush No More

The Enchanted Highway led me South into South Dakota and I grew very tired from my blissful sleep in the back of my car. As I drove through pastures green I started crying in weariness. There's nothing in Northwest SD. Pulled over for a nap that made me more tired. Cried and cried until Sturgis, SD where I found the nearest Super8 in all its motorcyclist glory and passed out for 12 hours.

It was the day. When I was 4 or 5 years old, I had a dream that my Bubby was driving and as I looked through the windshield from the backseat, I saw Mt. Rushmore up ahead. I knew that this day when I finally made it to Mt. Rushmore, I would be with her again.
I loved it there. All the silly tourists with their awkward pictures and the old white guys with their asian wives. In my own world, I hooped and walked. A cute little asian girl told me "that was like the cupid shuffle! Left left...right right...around and around..." Hilarious.

It was at Crazy Horse, my next stop, that I committed to a billboard I saw. Rush No More. I've been so stressed that I'm not traveling the country correctly. There was really no reason to get home, except for to get home. Rush No More was a motto to take it as I wanted to take it. I did not have to do things in an order. Being on my own, I could make every choice. To eat here, see there, listen there. No rush. Just be.
I was sure to hoop with Crazy Horse, as it may be many more years until it is complete and it will be cool to see the difference.

Keystone, SD is a place I certainly want to return to. Though touristy everything, those things are freakin sweet! I wish I would have stopped some more places - movie sets, funlands, and more. I also want to explore the Badlands when I am in the right mindset.

My lowest moment of the whole trip...

I decided to see one monument of the Black Hills before exiting the state. Jewel Cave National Monument seemed on the way so I put it in my navigation and drove. Siri took me onto a dirt road and I thought...well...it's gotta be, if it's a natural cave thing...
I followed the rocky dirt road for a few miles and it got more and more narrow. Shit...ok...Rush No More...
The area looked like it had been ripped apart by a bad storm or a fire. Weird dead trees...hey look a cow...hey look lots of cows...hey look...

A fricking red gate. In my narrow road. To my left...a ditch of cows. To my right...a wall of rock. Forward...cow and red gate. Behind...rocky road that scraped the bottom of my car. Stuck in the middle of nowhere. No phone service. Gonna die and get eaten by cows.

I did an Austin Powers thing and did maybe 48 tiny turns, scraping my car on the rock as to not fall in the ditch of hungry-looking black cows. My poor Prius.

I didn't die...just incase you wondered.

North Dakota

I drove into Fargo and was again disappointed by the similarity to any old town (this one - Haddonfield) in New Jersey.
Where's my frozen tundra of the North?

I got out to stretch in a Walgreen's parking lot while I decided if I could hoop before dark. While reaching for the sky, a little blonde girl, maybe 7, approached me. "This is for you," she said, and pulled out a long-stemmed red rose from behind her back. For me? Why? I thanked her and waved in gratitude to Mom in the minivan. Spirit. It's still on the dash of my car.

It was dark and I just wanted a drink, so I stopped in BWW for a Captian & diet. Asked the bartender what there was to see or do in Fargo, and he said "nothing." Another waitress did advise me to drive thru North Dakota to go West rather than thru South Dakota to get to Keystone (Mt. Rushmore).

I slept in my car (terribly).

I stopped in Bismarck with the Capitol, New Salem with a big cow, and down the Enchanted Highway. Hooped with some live cows while flies invaded my car.
I'm so sick of large steel animals and objects. No more modern art, please.

Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Chicago

When I finally got into downtown Chicago without dying (traffic was a bit much for me), I realized I had done no research on the city. I paid too much for parking and walked 2 miles to Millennium Park and hooped all around with the big blob mirror thing and stuff. While I was setting up a shot, a long-haired young man came up to me and interrupted. In my annoyance with how much I just walked carrying a heavy tripod and hoop, I replied in an snappy voice, "I'm recording!" He apologized and continued saying that he was an artist and he was having a rooftop party "next Friday night" for lots of local artists and he asked if I would come and share my art. (my hooping/video). While of course I could not, I was really flattered that he called what I was doing "art." I like it.

Milwaukee

The only reason I turned to go to Milwaukee instead of just driving on thru Madison was because remember Rugrats? Angelica says, "She moved to Milwaukee. Everybody walks there."

I again found parking and then decided to find a local to tell me where to hoop. I walked annoyed and hot again. Found a guy that looked of respectability and asked him "What's something that's very Milwaukee?" He replied, "Getting drunk." Thanks but no thanks.

I hooped with a statue of the Fonz from Happy Days.

Madison

Is it weird? I knew that Madison was a young hipster town, but omg was it. Is it weird that I'm intimidated by young hipster kids? I walked thru the cute streets and the college town, down to a lake/river/inlet/something where tonnns of hipsters (I mean...the neon sunglasses, the short-shorts, the we're so cool personality) were partying it up. I hooped real quick, and while a girl walked by and said "good job" with a really nice smile, and a boy said "you look beautiful," I still felt like I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Like in high school when I thought I wasn't cool enough for anybody. Then as I was walking back to the car, I saw two buskers. One young man with a guitar and a nice voice, and one guy bucket/rock drumming. You better believe I hooped with them.

I stayed in a hotel in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where I cried about my life.
The next morning I took advantage of their beautiful outdoor swimming pool for a good workout.

Minnesota

I wasn't happy with my trip. The lack of planning (which is usually how I like to travel) was making me feel like I wasn't traveling "right." I kept trying to remember that it's about the journey, not the monuments or museums you see, or time you spent in a particular place.
Something magical made me feel better.

I stopped in Woodbury, Minnesota because of the namesake (I'm from Woodbury Heights, NJ) and decided to have a full lunch to feel better at the Potbelly which is delicious. I sat inside because there was a handsome young man singing and playing guitar and harmonica. He sang with soul and feeling, mostly with his eyes closed. I was moved by his "coffeeshop" performance. I clapped alone after each song, gently harmonized with him, and gave him a dollar after. He smiled at me as he packed up and said, "Thank you. I really appreciate you clapping along."

Because of this 9-minute human being interaction, my trip is perfect. Not because I visited this many cities or historical markers, but because two lives were changed in the support of the arts and the soul. I cried on my walk out to the car. This is it. This is life. There's no right answer.

I didn't care about St. Louis and Minneapolis. Same cathedral different city. Hoop and begone.

Kentucky, Indiana with Andie, Michigan, Deidre

After waking up 4 lousy hours later in my car, I kept driving. The rest of the drive in West Virginia and then Kentucky was thrilling. Rolling hills and beautiful sky. Beautiful grass and castles and great neighborhoods.

I hooped in Lexington where I found that humans aren't that bad. A woman left her place in line at Starbucks to come open the door for me (I was carrying my hoop and tripod/camera). I scooped down to Lincoln's birthplace and peed outside because right before I entered the little bathroom cabin, I saw a lizard crawl inside. I hooped in the little house that was supposedly still made of logs from the Lincoln's neighbors and then I hooped by the creek that Lincoln almost drowned in as a little boy. Is it true Lincoln is so strongly affiliated with Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois? Boy moved around.

I drove north thru Louisville, which was cute but I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos. Hooped with the giant Louisville Slugger and some Michaelangelo's David remake.
Drove into Indiana and made it to Andie's dog-sitting house before dark. The 5 dogs were ridiculously neurotic and barked at anything that happened. Andie does well with them though. We went to her high school/church's festival and ate pizza and drank beer with some of her friends and parents. While things aren't the same with her and I pretty much cried myself to sleep - it's just nice to see that she's alive and well. Maybe someday it'll be okay. I liked that there were still pictures of us in her house. The next morning she took me to the Indy 500 track to hoop and we went to breakfast with her parents.

I drove north again. Up to St. Joseph, Michigan. Beautiful views. I was trying to rest my voice so I wasn't talking or singing. Then I turned to my first sight of Lake Michigan and my mouth just dropped and said "damn." Pretty parks pretty town.

I drove west. Made it to Deidre's in the dark. We laughed, caught up, and she made me delicious dinner. It's amazing how she knows me. And it's always without judgment or holding back. She's one of those. Amazing women of the world. It's cool to have friends all over the country and world.

Maryland and West Virginia Take 2

While I already have these two states under my belt, or my hoop, I wanted to get even better shots.

I started out the trip "behind schedule," (a recurring theme has been that I'm behind schedule, though there is no schedule) because I let myself sleep late, which is because I was out having fun with Lexie and Gabe.
Dad and Anna made me breakfast and packed me lunch and I cried as I got back on the rainy road.
The sky cleared up right about the time I saw a "Washington National Monument" sign, and D.C. was much behind me. Somehow it called me and I wound up hiking some of the Appalachian Trail in my Nike sporty flip-flops and black cotton dress. It felt so good that I had worked for one of my hooping shots. Made the day so special.

My goal was to make it to Kentucky that day and get a hotel, but that didn't happen (deviating from the non-plan again).

It was getting dark as I got to Charleston, West Virginia. I decided to stop at The Empty Glass, a bar with a reputation, for a drink before I found a hotel. It was a little sketchy but the bouncer made me feel alright, saying he'll walk me to my car later and make sure everything's okay.

I had one drink and talked to the bartender who broke the ice by shining some sort of flashy light in my eyes. He poured me a 2nd drink as I shook my hands in the air and said "no!" but it was bought by an obese gentleman to my left. I guess that was his breaking the ice. We discussed Cake Boss. It took a while for him to get the hint...I had a long talk with a lady named April, 41, who's on her 3rd husband and leaves his old butt at home while she goes to The Empty Glass, the best bar in town. She told me once she went out in a blonde wig and bright green dress and named herself Loretta. "Loretta had a lot of fun." Bartender Terry's babymama girlfriend showed up later and complimented me by saying I look 23 but hold myself 27. Nice.

Bouncer man walked me to my car. When I asked what his story was, he said he had none. When I demanded that he tell me or I would not leave, he said he works out and trains people, and he likes to see that everybody's alright.

Then I drove to a hotel parking lot and slept in the back of my car. The End.

New Jersey

"Life is big adventures, small moments, and the perfect cup of coffee."
- Caribou Coffee sign.

I spent almost 3 weeks in the NJ/NY/PA area. While I had hoped that I would go down to Dad's Wildwood trailer and do nothing for 3 weeks, I wound up driving all over the place every day. I got to see everyone, which was great, but I do wish I had scheduled in some "nothing" time.

Still, it was a beautiful 3 weeks. Big adventures included gay pride in NYC with my brothers and Wildwood trips. I had life-altering conversations and enjoyable moments with so many friends and family members (Dawn and family, Colin, Brittany...) down the shore and at Aunt Lesley's 4th of July BBQ. I also had the perfect cup of coffee down the shore made by Jessica (Warchal-King), sitting with PopPop, Jessica, and her husband Justin.

I spent the most time with Lexie. We discussed a trip up the West coast for next year - Summer 2014. Lexie immediately started asking questions and wanted to plan to the day. That boggled me as I have hardly ever travelled that way. Even in Peru it was like "hmm...let's go to this bus station and see if it can take us to ______." So, maybe I'll learn a thing about planning and she'll learn a thing about going with the flow.

I'm thankful for a place to call "home" even though I don't really consider myself having a home. It seems like this is going to be a thing, too...