Day 11

Barely slept (I doin't know why) then walked the National Mall all day. Deb dropped me at the Metro on her way to work. Began at the capitol, made a full loop, then did the length again to go to the Washington Monument and White House. Then dinner with the family and a night at Tom & Rita's. Leaving early tomorrow.

I have always believed that I have a wonderful family. I have now discovered that this includes my extended family. THEY ARE ALL WONDERFUL!!!

Here is my day in selected pictures:

Day 10

I slept like a LOG. A dead log. Charlie & Deb's place is SO nice and so are they!

They took me down to the National Mall, with a little driving tour along the way. Walked through the sculpture garden and hit the National Museum of American History.

DC is a beautiful city! I wasn't expecting so much grass! Saw the Iwo Jima monument and Mount Vernon. And DC is clean. It's quite lovely.

We didn't try to do too much, we had their 14-month-old with us, and my knee started bugging me (ice & vicodin while watching the tube now). But Deb will drop me off at the Metro in the morning and I'm spending the day touring around on my own. I want to hit the Air & Space Museum. Tomorrow night I'll be staying at Tom & Rita's since I have an early flight and they are closer to Dulles.

That's it for now....

Day 9

I'm sitting on the mezzanine of South Station, watching as Boston is inundated with rain and parking tickets. I think the rain has me feeling blue. Not homesick blue, but that empty melancholy that continues to haunt me here and there - when the world is gray, as it is today. Or maybe I'm just depressed about my impending 8 hours on Amtrak….

There seems to be more sad and/or lonely people in train stations than at airports. I'm enjoying traveling by train, though. I can walk about as I please, the seats are roomier, the air isn't as dry and stale, I feel less time pressure, and I actually SEE the places I'm travelling through. Many of the trains even have free wireless, although I don't believe this one does. I will do this more often.

It has continued to rain all day, without a break.

As much as I am feeling a bit down today, I realize there are wonderful people in the world: Joel the nice guy with Delta; Adam & Abdallah at JFK; Kyle at Enterprise in Westbrook, ME; the nice tollbooth lady; the Dunkin Donuts lady; Paula, Mike & Colin who took in a stranger for two nights; Shahin, Santi, Johnny, Freddy & Mark in Boston, sharing their already cramped quarters with me; The distant family meeting me tonight at Union Station in DC; and countless gas station attendants, grocery store clerks, and locals willing to advise. Why should I feel sad when there is so much kindness in the world…?

Why should I feel sad…?

Providence, RI: all spires and steeples stabbing at the sky through the trees.

Old Saybrook, CT: saw a duck flying along with the train. It made me stop. I don't believe I have ever, nor possibly had the opportunity to, watched a duck fly like that. It was quite beautiful.

Everything is all trees and grass and gray skies over the ocean.

Old, brick factories with broken windows.

Hey, Norwalk, CT has Mexicans!

Newark is not pretty. But that's a given, right…? The sky looks nasty and pale yellow.

It gets better close to Princeton, but nothing spectacular. Trees, blue skies & fluffy clouds. Standard idyllic fare.

Philly isn't quite what I expected it to be. Not better or worse, just different.

Faint double-rainbow in a gray sky in Delaware.

Maryland so far looks like a watered down New England.

Family picked me up, had dinner and now ready for bed. Very nice pad that I'm staying in. Charlie & his wife are letting me have the whole basement. I have my own little apartment complete with living room, bedroom and bathroom.

I've finished Fahrenheit 451. I'm trying to save The Little Prince for Tuesday's plane ride.

It was a pleasure to burn….

Days 7 & 8

Thursday

Slept pretty well. Shahin has to work today and tomorrow, but he made me a list of cheap places to go and waste time. I've been to Boston before and there's all of this Ted Kennedy business going on, so I have no need to go try to be a tourist. I'm just looking for ward to relaxing. I'll probably hang out in a park today and try to get through more of this book!

Had brunch at the Rosebud. Tuna melt & peddler fries - SO GOOD! The waitresses were two older Bostonians with blonde coifs and thick accents. They were so sweet. I bought a mug and sat there watching the Ted Kennedy funeral coverage. Right now he's on his way here from Hyannisport. I realized I don't know much about the Kennedy family. I'm just sitting in a cute little park by Tufts digesting my food. I love that I picked up this handy little computer before I left!!!

I tried taking some pictures of myself, but they didn't come out all that great. That's a skill I have not perfected. The weather is gorgeous. I saw some alterna-goth-chick layered in socks and skirts and sleeves and just thought, "it it that important to look the part all of the time!?" You just can't let image hang you up like that. I'm here from SoCal; if I'm not cold, you're not. I'm in the skimpiest tank I own, shorts & flip flops. Puh-lease.

I realize that I forgot to pack tampons….

I am so happy to be out of Cali for a bit. This is really wonderful. I know it probably doesn't sound like I am doing much, or at least anything very interesting, but this is awesome and I needed it. Grass, trees, parks, books, introspection; the ingredients for a happy healthy Brooke.

Unless I give in to the incredible urge to buy a pack of cigarettes….

Friday

Didn't give in to the urge to buy cigarettes, but bummed a couple while I tied one on with Santiago's roommates. Nice guys. We had a good time just shooting the shit. Of course, I'm a little hungover today. Cheap wine is just dirty. Passing the time hanging out in Harvard Square. Had some pizza before wandering around, checked out the old graveyard, etc…. I'm at the Coop for the moment, eating pasta salad after browsing through their comics and graphic novels. Picked up a copy of The Little Prince and a graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451. I'm kind of tired of reading Thoreau, although I've only Cape Cod to go before I'm finished with the book. We might go to Walden tonight when Shahin gets off work. Just to see it and maybe swim. It'll be an early night; I have a train to catch tomorrow morning.

I totally feel that a nap is in order….

I finished it! I'm done! I guess I'll be reading The Little Prince and Fahrenheit 451 until my calculus and linear algebra books meet me on Tuesday! YAY! My favorite quote from the book (The Maine Woods):

"We saw a pair of moose horns on the shore, and I asked Joe if a moose had shed them; but he said there was a head attached to them, and I knew that they did not shed their heads more than once in their lives."

No Walden - it's raining. Hanging at Santiago's playing poker with the boys and watching late night TV.

Off to DC tomorrow....

Day 6

Trouncer (the cat who once had a counterpart named Pouncer - cute duo) has a very large breakfast mouse this morning. Trouncer eats two a day (breakfast and dinner). I'm having ricotta & peanut butter.
For some reason, San Pedro Café charged $8.00 to my bank card two days ago. I haven't eaten there in two weeks, at least, and I'm in MAINE! My card is with me, too. How did this happen?
Well, my pal Ramon is working on it. No need to cancel the card at this point. Probably an old charge someone forgot to clear.
Left Paula's at 10:00 after breakfast. Drove down the coast then through Auburn instead of Augusta. The weather was pretty muggy once I got away form the coast. But south of Auburn there was a cool patch that was SO refreshing before I hit Portland. Portland was hot. And kind of ugly. And lots of traffic (again, I stuck with surface streets, no interstates). I'm so SAD right now to be leaving Maine! I love it here! How can a place so beautiful ever produce anything ugly or bad!?
Paula wants me to come back with the whole family (Dad, Nadya & Deb, at least) next summer or sometime soon. I'm totally down!
I have to say, I'm mostly into Northern Maine. Driving the coast from Paula's in Brooklin was pissing me off a bit. It's more populated and touristy. I love the mountains and trees. The water at the little beach by Paula's was so clean and clear and perfect. I did drive through some pretty woods south of Auburn, not dogging southern Maine, the north just has more interesting nature. But I never saw a damn moose.
Now I'm waiting to hop on the rain to see Shahin in Boston.
Oh my gosh, I feel like I am going to cry hysterically because I'm leaving Maine!!!
Man, I keep forgetting to mention that 7 people were swept into the water by a twenty-foot rogue wave at Acadia the other day. A little girl died. Crazy shit: http://www.myfoxmaine.com/dpp/news/maine/20090826_Rogue_Wave_Survivor_Recounts_Experience
Sitting here in the train station, I am getting nervous about school. Must definitely brush up on linear algebra before class. I thought I was done with math, but this ONE MORE linear class is supposed to help me with Quantum Mechanics. We'll see. Oh yeah, and I'm really frakkin' hungry!
An interesting thing I noted: Maine turned my eyes green. I think it was all of the trees & grass reflecting. Back to blue now. VT & NH made them gray - bad weather.
The train was FREEZING! Shahin met me at the station and we hit Redbones for beer and cheese fries. We are staying tonight with his friend Santiago. We have a futon in a total guy pad complete with foosball, darts, and a dirty bathroom. Perfectly comfortable! Aguardiente night cap and we're off to bed.

Didn't really take pictures today, but I found Paula's bathtub manufacturer interesting.

Also, her grandmother's amazing found object assemblages that were hung here and there in the house.

Day 5

Slept in super late - Paula said I needed it. Spent most of the day at the beach with Paula. She rocks! We are kindred spirits in Volvo & costume enthusiasm! WOOT!

The water at the North Brooklin beach was awesome. It was cold, but it was SO clean and clear. It didn't even taste bad when I got too much in my mouth. Like table salt and tap water - no funky redondo beach flavors. And it felt nice. I swam around and shot the shit with Paula all afternoon. Then we came back for dinner (zucchini-potato pancakes and crab deliciousness), drinks and some quoits (I've no idea if I'm spelling that right - some Eastern PA/Jersey game of ring toss origins). I tried playing lefty. Then went to the Lookout. Paula & Mike went home, but I stuck around with Colin & his friends having a few drinks and hagning out on some field by the ocean in the dark. It was more fun than it probably sounds. Mostly because I was trying to drunkenly explain relativity and I thought I was doing well. I was probably wrong...!

Overall, had a nice relaxing day. I'm sad that I have to leave in the morning. I want to stay in Maine. I think I need to come back and spend a whole summer!!!

Oh yeah. Stepped on a bee today. I thought it would feel good to be barefoot in lucious grass.

It stung. But no swelling, pain or anything else afterwards. I think this is a summer ritual....

Day 4

I slept HARD last night. I needed it. In the front seat of the car with a light glaring through the window and I slept like a log. It feels wonderful. Will I be in awe upon seeing the Atlantic from such a beautiful vantage point as I head down to route 1 today…?
Well, no awe. Some very nice scenery, but no awe. Apparently this part of 1 doesn't have that much of a view of the ocean. Oh well. And no moose. I really wanted to see a damn moose.
My knee is killing today. I'm thinking maybe I should do as the doc recommended and get an MRI.
Stopped at a lovely park to eat in Milbridge. There were some good waves crashing into the rocks, but I'm bad at photographing that stuff. I ate & climbed around for a bit. Now back to the road.
I've passed a few hitchhikers here in Maine; apparently hitchhiking is totally legal. I've mostly passed them by because I'm a chick travelling alone and I'm not going to be totally irresponsible. But I saw this very happy smiling skinny guy with his thumb out and picked him up. I had the time and his destination wasn't too far from mine, so I decided to kill time by taking him all the way there. We also stopped at swam at a great lake. The lakes here make my skin soft. Anyway, it was a good swim, he was a nice guy (shared his bread & seaweed with me and showed me where to pick huckleberries), and I got to see Mount Desert Island (where Acadia National Park is). There were a lot of people and a lot of traffic, though. I may not go back tomorrow as I originally thought. Headed straight to Paula's in Brooklyn. She's so cool and her husband son are nice. She does some crafts, sewing & painting, skis, ice skates & snowboards, and totally grows her own veggies (and etc). We went to see a steel drum band on Blue Hill. I was expecting maybe a 4 or 5 persona band. Dude, there were like 30 people in the band! Ranging in age, I swear, from 16 to 60+. The crowd was all ages, too. As the story goes, a Blue Hill local went to the Caribbean and learned how to play & make steel drums. He came back and taught more people in Blue Hill and surrounding areas. Now the thing to do is play steel drums. They compete against and beat Caribbean bands in steel drum competitions. WHO FUCKING KNEW!? Dude, they even somehow played steel drum techno and had all of the teens and twenty-somethings bouncing and waving their hands in the air. I might've even heard a disco call or two. Crazy! I just keep falling in love with Maine over and over. The landscape, the people, the water, the air, all of it. I'm having the best time. Next two night I'm hanging out in Paula's camper. She has a spare room for me if I want it, but the upstairs gets hot and muggy and she thought the camper might be more comfy and private for me. I have my own little apartment. THEY ARE SO HOSPITABLE!!! I'm trying to get Paula to come rollerblade Venice Beach. I may just hang around here and do some laundry and eat garden veggies and visit with the neighbors tomorrow instead of hiking. Everyone just seems so interesting and nice that I just want to talk to all of them. Anyway, I'll decide on that in the morning. It's after 1:00am here and I need to bed down. I want to get under the covers because the noseeums are going crazy on me. Although, I believe my mosquito immunity stands true. I have no welts or itching at all from those skeeters on the Androscoggin yesterday. Take THAT mosquitoes! Now if only I were immune to noseeums…!
And tomorrow I will hopefully get all of this online now that I can get an internet connection.
Which reminds me, I saw an internet café called the "Phish Net," which I found very appropriate for an internet café on the coast of Maine….

Day 3

I awoke at 4:19. The sky is just now lightening and the forest is SO quiet. I'll eat, read, and wait for the sun to com up a bit more. I opened the ricotta and, man, is it dense and creamy and smooth! It's SO good! In the dim and pale light of the early morning, Thoreau is growing on me.
On the road about 5:45. The Kancamagus is BEAUTIFUL. This highway runs through the White Mountain National Park. And I have it ALL to myself this morning! WOW! The trees are making it completely bearable, even pleasant, to be driving into the sun. This is all mountains and valleys and rivers with mist rising from every crevice.
Just need to see a moose!
Fryeburg, ME: "Sieg Heil, Frank!" (A local has his name quite large on the back of his truck, and when his friend waved to him, it looked suspicious.)
I am only at Bridgton and Maine has already captured my heart! The roads are a little less well-maintained, but somehow that seems to increase Maine's authenticity. Maine, thus far, seems less New England picturesque and more lumberjack rugged. I keep waiting to see Brawny, or rather his disheveled twin, come strolling out of the woods with a moose on his shoulder (Yes, I know they weigh too much for that, but c'mon, he's BRAWNY). Plus, I've seen a lot less wealthy douchebag yuppie tourists on bikes buying wine, cheese & ice cream.
I am slowly sloughing off the layer of Los Angles on me. At some point, I got a lot more comfortable with rainy dark roads and now, from my rented Chevy cobalt, I'm criticizing the way people in jeeps & trucks are navigating the gravel roads.
Dude, in one day I have been through Norway AND Mexico! Could've turned left at one point and hit Moscow, too.
Stopped to picnic alongside the Androscoggin. I'm all sexied up with mosquito bites now. Which is odd; mosquitoes usually don't care for me and I usually don't welt. Except in MN. I guess states that begin with the letter "m" make the mosquitoes more powerful…. Now I'm taking a break in Farmington. It's sunny and warm, so I'm getting sleepy driving. The sky is pale blue with lots of fluffy clouds. The weather is essentially perfect. I'm now listening to cicadas in the trees.
Made an unintentional turn which brought to a great lake or river that is just not on my Rand McNally. I ate some chips, threw on my suit and went for a swim. Oh man, the water was PERFECT! I'd been so hot driving this afternoon, on top of no shower since Friday morning! I air-dried and read some more Thoreau.
Dude, Maine has a lot of rest stops, in just the right places.
I'm thinking I need to either do my graduate out this way, or get a job out here after school. I want to spend an entire summer exploring, especially Maine. Missed a few scenic byways I might've been ale to do, but what the hey. Now I'm on my way to Millinocket; I'll be car-camping again near there tonight. Then heading through Lincoln to the coast and on to Paula's place for a night or two (oh, a bed and a shower!). I didn't hit Augusta on my way up as I had planned, but I'll hit it up when I head back to Portland to return the car.
I'd forgotten how nice it can be to travel alone. There are no wrong turns or inappropriate stops. I don't have to be anywhere. This has been AWESOME thus far.
I think there has been an ongoing battle between adventurous me and my aging, battered body. Thus far, the body has won. HA! But I will win the war!
Took a detour at Millinocket and headed north to drive through Baxter State Park. Stopped at Togue Pond to eat a sandwich. While standing in the pond, sandwich in hand, a bee landed on my hand, I freaked and the pbj went into the pond. Oops. I fished most of it out except for some jelly that I squished up with my toes. Then I figured since my sandwich went swimming, I should, too. So I did.
The 10mph drive through the park was less grueling and more beautiful. As a matter of fact, in honor of our recent karaoke evening, I have written my review of Baxter to the chorus of Master of Puppets:
Baxter State Park is full of neat things,
Twisting tree lines and meand'ring streams.
Blinding beauty is in everything.
Just go to Maine 'cause it's like a dream!
Baxter! Baxter!
The sun was setting as I drove out of the park and on my way to find my rest area for the night.
I saw the most beautiful blue sky I have EVER seen; all cobalt and lapis. I tried to take a picture, but the car was moving and I hit a bump, etc…. At least the color came out!
Made it to the rest area just before the rain.



Perfect.

Day 2

I was up early and cleaned up in the rest area bathroom, fresh clothes and all. Decided to stay off of interstates. Pretty much have the road to myself and I just saw a family of wild turkeys. I also passed by a couple walking through a park. They both had their hands behind their heads. I instantly began scanning the park for the executioner. Do I have morbid thoughts…?
Crossed into Vermont and drove all the way to Newport on scenic by-ways and back roads. Vermont is beautiful. It's all mellow, happy dogs (this is Labrador country) laying freely in their yards, old, weathered cemeteries, dilapidated barns, houses with cracked and peeling paint, and decomposing covered bridges. I'm not taking many pictures. It usually takes me a bit to get in the mood. Plus, I don't want to go slamming on my brakes if there's a car behind me. Thoreau was right; this whole area is basically dense woods interrupted by small meadows. And lakes. It's all trees and green and moisture. Everywhere you look there's mist rising from some unseen source in the trees.
I have fallen in love with Lake Willoughby and want to come back here to cabin or something one summer.
I've realized I want to avoid certain towns. They're TOO picturesque. Pukishly so. Newport was almost that way, and Littleton. And man, you should see how grotesquely adorable some of these places like Lincoln & Woodstock are. Ugh.
The rest area I selected form my Rand McNally is nowhere to be found. I don't want to continue through NH on my selected scenic byway for two reasons: 1. it's dark and rainy, so it won't be so safe, 2. Why would I drive a scenic byway when I can't see. I've driven into the national forest a bit and found a trailhead to park and sleep for the night. It is DARK. I'm a little nervous about park rangers, but whatever. A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
I read, listen to music, and eventually fall asleep.

Day 1

Up at 6:30, in the shower, and on the shuttle by 7:00. Things seemed to be going well. Passed the time paying way to much for breakfast a the airport.
I didn't make it on the 9:05. I went to the counter and the girls were nicer than those the night before. They confirmed me on a 10:00pm and gave me a stand-by for the 12:35. We'll see….
In the process of waiting for the 12:35, I started talking to the employee at the gate. She got me confirmed for the 4:25, but I was still standing by for the 12:35.
I didn't make it on the 12:35. I made some phone calls, did some stuff on my netbook (this experience alone has made me believe the purchase is justified), chatted with people. I had to mess around a bunch with my car reservation, as the rental location would be closed by the time I arrived. They were very nice. 4:00 rolled around and I was overcome with elation that I was finally going. We then sat, and intermittently taxied, for three hours. I started to finally read the book dad got me specifically for this trip. A collection of three Thoreau stories about New England places. Eight pages into The Maine Woods I sacked out for a good half hour. This was partly due to exhaustion, partly stress, and partly because I found Thoreau's prose to be repetitive and overindulgent - sort of a Mojo Jojo Thoreau. By the time we were in the air, I was into page sixty-something. I chatted with my neighbor while in the air.
I was handed my rental car keys at 9:00 pm on Friday. I should've been all over Vermont by now. I hopped in the car and jammed down I-95. I hadn't even been to the ATM, but the toll collector let me slide. Thus far, I have encountered a lot of very nice people. I can tell they are looking at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears, thinking, "What's with this yellow-haired kook…?" But they were still all smiles, friendly and helpful. The lady at Dunkin Donuts gave me free croissants. By the way, I think Dunkin Donuts OWNS New England. They're everywhere.
A little fresh air and my cough is already feeling better.
I drove until I found a decent rest area on 293 between Manchester and Concord in NH. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and got ready for bed (seemingly to the chagrin of the other ladies using the restroom. They must not travel on the cheap much). Read a little more Thoreau and went to sleep.
Oh, how I love and sorely miss being sung to sleep by crickets and locusts and other such insects!

Day 0

Slept okay, not great. Up early & had the cats at the vet for their annual vaccinations. Things actually went swimmingly and I was at LAX sitting at my gate by 11:00am - an hour and a half before my flight.
My Flight. It was LONG. I had to fly into JFK and change planes to continue on to Portland, ME. Well, we circled for at least half an hour; then sat on the runway for at least another half hour. My connecting flight was to depart at 10:00. We were finally allowed to deplane just after 10:15. But most of passengers had connections to make and, although stressed, figured the airline would hold the connecting flights.
We were wrong. By the time I got out (I was in row 39) it was about 10:20. I asked the Delta employee waiting at the gate where to go for my connection. He told me to run just a few gates down. No luck. It was gone. Utterly disappointed and dejected, I got in line for the information counter to figure out what was next. In listening to those before me, I discovered that Delta was blaming the FAA for the problem and not comping anyone on travel, hotels, even snacks. But everyone was getting flights out the next morning. My own experience at the counter confirmed what I had heard. It also confirmed that most people who work for Delta are heartless, soulless bastards. The girl didn't even look up from her screen the whole time she spoke to me. She told me she could have me on a flight to Portland Saturday morning. WHAT!? TWO nights spent sleeping the terminal at JFK!? And let me tell you, they don't turn the lights down for you at night. Her response: "Yes, if you don't have the money for hotel. You can stand-by for all of tomorrow's flights." She didn't even try to help me re-route. I slumped away in shock. The Delta employee that sent me running for the gate recognized me & asked what happened. In between all of his other tasks, he did his best to help me this way or that until about 3:00am. At 3:00, he had decided I had a 90% chance of getting on the 9:05 to Portland, and had snagged a hotel voucher from another flight (that Delta did accept responsibility for) and a drink coupon. In the meantime, I got chummy with some others from my flight, Abdallah and Adam who had been on their way to Jordan. They were stuck hanging out at JFK until 10:00 Friday night, then doing a six hour layover in Paris. They were nice and helpful, so when I got my voucher I offered to share it with them. Adam paid for the cab. By the time we settled in, it was probably 4:00. It took me forever to fall asleep (hotels) and I was back up at 6:30 to head over to the airport. At least I got a shower and Abdallah and Adam could relax in comfort before their awful trip (which was originally direct to Jordan from JFK).
I should have been snug in my motel in Portland by midnight, but at least tomorrow looked better. And the motel in Portland cancelled my reservation late without charging me for it.
This stress, coupled with the airport & airplane air, is totally exacerbating my cough.