Boston, Niagara, New York and Chicago...

Well folks, it's been awhile. To tell you the truth I have been avoiding the computer at all costs. But it has been a month and to tell you the truth, my XD card isn't that big. Ive been constantly deleting pictures on my camera to take new ones so I figured it was time; time to log on, blog on, and upload. I haven't had much down time since the last installment and here's why...

After leaving DC (wow, that was a long time ago, lets see what shape my memory's in), I made the toll booth infested drive up to Boston. I had no idea that the East Coast highway systems operated on tolls. Tolls, tolls, tolls and more tolls. So annoying! I think it cost me around $25 dollars to get from DC to Boston--ouch, thats almost a full tank of gas. Anyhow, I made it to Boston by abouth 10:30 that night and met Conn at his friends Ben and Meg's apartment. We went out for a quick drink and I immediately fell in love with the city--or maybe it was lust. I could immediately feel the energy there and it was just what I expected. The streets were teeming with loud Celtics fans pouring out of the Garden after the 6th match against the Bulls, the restaurants were crowded with friends and families dining on hearty Italian meals, and the Firemen were standing around BSing in front of the station. This would probably piss a Bostonian off but I felt like Boston was just like how all the movies portrayed it--alive and loud!
The next day Conn and Ben and I went for run and they showed me around the part of the city. Once the run was over Conn and I set out with intentions to hop on a train and go exploring but the previous night's drinks got to us and we barely made through lunch before we decided to just head back to Ben and Megs and hang. As more and more of there friends showed up to the apartment, we moved on the roooftop and just kind of sat in a circle and chatted until we decided it was dinner time. Dinner was fantastic--all I remember was red wine and lots of mussels, and it was fantastic. When we got back to the apartment it was drunkenly decided that I was going to crash the wedding that they were going to the next day. Haha, I was ok with it but I needed to come up with a story: who was I and why did I belong there?
The following morning we all got up early to do make the drive up to Ludlow, a scenic little town about an hour and a half northwest of Boston. Once we all arrived at the reception it was pretty apparent that no one was going to notice that I didn't belong--there were abouth 400 people there! The reception was a blast, there was an unbelievable amount of food and alcohol being consumed (and spilled) and the dancing lasted from like 2pm to well past midnight. My kind of wedding.
After the festivities wrapped up we all headed back to our hotel rooms. Some chowed down on fast food, some drank more, but me, I decided to crash. I had a long drive to Niagara falls the next day.

2 days later, I finally made it to Niagara Falls, NY. I decided to take a night to chill so I set up camp at a local KOA, went to the supermarket for some snacks and supplies and built a campfire and did just that; chilled. The next day I took my time getting up and packing up camp and then headed across the border into Ontario where the view of the falls is from the fron and much better than the American side. I checked into a Days Inn, showered and set out for the falls. Breathtaking. It was absolutely breathtaking, so I just took my time--and lots of pictures--and just walked from one end to the other. I stayed one more night and just enjoyed being in such a beautiful place. The town itself is a little freaky--think circus meets Las Vegas but a gazillionth of the size. You would not believe the amount of neon lights and funhouses they can pack in a 3 block radius, yikes! I just walked right through it all though and enjoyed being in front of one of the 7 wonders of the world.

After crossing back over the border i was headed back from my major detour to New York. I was so excited rolling into New York. When I got to Gils apartment I was definitely ready to park my car and leave it for the entirety of my stay. I loved that about New York--no driving! It was a much welcomed change.
If I thought I fell in lust with Boston, I knew immediately that I fell in love with New York City. I think I was there for a night before I was staying in my own apartment and looking for a job. Haha, ok not my apartment but my friend Gil did let me stay in his vacant apartment next door to where him and his girlfriend lived. It was so nice having my own little quiet oasis right outside of the city.
Some highlights of New York were Gil, Kath and I's 20 mile bikeride from Queens down to the financial district, walking around Williams burg and the East Village, and being lost on the trains and meeting life friends. One night I had been riding the train for an hour--drunk, by myself, and lost--when a girl stumbled on the train and sat down next to me. The details are unclear but I think I asked for directions, we exchanged numbers and the rest is history. I met Maria the next night at this bar alled the Lazy Catfish and met a bunch of her friends and ended up hanging with them the rest of my trip. There were confetti parties in the park (litterally, we found this giant bag of shredded paper on the sidewalk and left paper trails all over Williamsburg), chick-flicks, lots of Andres and Milwaukees best, limbo contests, Princess scooter rides and spills, and tears. Tears when we watched movies, tears when too much alcohol had been consumed, and tears when we said goodbye. I miss Maria, Rebecca, Lana, Sarah, Amanda and Fiona already but it's nice to know that I now have friends in NYC so I can go back to visit :)

Saying goodbye to the city was hard but I was ready to do some camping! 7 hours after leaving New York I found myself at the Loleta campground in the Allegheny National forest in western Pennsylvania. Beautiful, beautiful country out there. It was so nice just playing solitaire and reading by the campfire for two days before heading to Chicago to meet Rose.

So that brings me to today. 2nd day in Chicago with Rose. So good. So windy. So glad to be heading west.

♥Yours Truly

Making my way up the East Coast....

Last Thursday I woke up hungover. It might of had something to do with the girls night out...or quite possibly it had to do with the booty shaking contest I somehow got roped into recruiting guys for at Paddy Murphy's. Regardless, I woke up with a hangover. Brady and I spent a good part of the day running around and preparing to leave Naples. After the world's most frustrating oil change (apparently my drain plug was stripped), Brady and I left Naples for Miami around 4:00PM. Since one of the main highways in Florida was shut down due to a major fire, we were forced to take the slower more alligator infested route over to Miami. Yay! I finally got to see gators--and about 3 dozen more than I expected!
Once we arrived to Kirsten's we walked down to Cafe Versailles where I had my first empanada. A perfect ending to a perfectly stressful day. Ahhhhh...sleeeeeeep. Kind of.
We all arose bright and early--well dark and early really--so I could get Brady and Kirsten to the airport by 5:00AM. Yuck. When is a 6;30AM flight ever a good idea? Well at least it got me up and after a nice shower back at Kirsten's house I was on the road to North Carolina by 7:30. Boy was I tired. So tired in fact that I gave my body something it hadn't had in years--an energy drink. Bad idea. Although it did the job and got me to Greensboro, NC in time for a baseball game, by the time arrived I felt like I was coming down off of a hard drug (not that I would know what that feels like but I can imagine). After the game I checked into the scariest motel on my trip to date--and yes it beat Fort Stockton, TX due to the fact that I din't have Rose there with me. A broken dead bolt, a powerless phone and a toilet paper-jammed peephole--what kind of crap hole had I paid $41.75 for anyhow? Fortunately I eventually passed out and woke up breathing in the morning. After a load of laundry and a soggy waffle I was out of there--off to Virginia Beach to meet Danielle. I spent a night with Danielle and then stayed acouple more nights on my own in order to catch a front row spot at the Kings of Leon concert in Norfolk Monday night. I really couldn't have been more in the right spot at the right time. Seriously guys, I was front row--sweat-spray distance from Caleb Followill. Kind of a dream-come-true for this girl who's ga ga for lead singers. Anyhow, good show followed by a couple rounds of cut throat with new found friends at a nearby bar. I should probably mention also that my pool game is significantly improving--I beat Stevin and his brother. No big deal though.

The next day came in another wave of heat as I set off for Washington DC. I arrived around 4 o'clock, checked into my hostel and then drove down to Chinatown and the epicenter of my first experience with hockey fans. The level of enthusiasm over here when it comes to sports really is quite impressive--a lot different than West coast sports fans. I ended up in a familiar pub (Fado) watching the Capitols/Rangers game, eating chicken pot pie and washing it down with Smithwicks and Guiness. I made lots of friends that night, oddly enough all with the last name Ovechkin printed on their backs--apparently he is the Michael Jordan of hockey. When I arrived back at the hostel I spent some quality time with Rashad and Tom who were on duty that night. We swapped stories and youtube sensations as we laughed well into the night.

So that brings me to today when I oh so naively decided to drive into the city to do museums and sight seeing. Lets just say I saw more middle fingers than exhibits as I only made it to one museum after like 2 hours of driving through the most stressful traffic I've ever experienced. East coast sports fans have my vote, East coast drivers do not. RUUUUUUUDE!!! Once I got into the Sithsonian Museum of Portraiture and American Art I could finally breath deeply and relax a bit. I especially enjoyed the Alec Soth photography and found myself in front of his portrait of a young French rollerskater for more time than what a quarter would put on a DC meter. It was the most serene part of my day, for shortly after that I was back in the mess of traffic on my way to Georgetown to catch a movie. I went to see Duplicity but the projector was broken so I saw The Soloist instead. It was a good movie--intensely moving, but it left a little bit of conflict inside that I am still trying to sort out. Good though. I followed the movie with a bowl of Soupe de crab at Cafe Russe and then headed back to the hostel where I am now--typing away and hopefully not boring you all :)
Tomorrow I head to Boston to meet Conn and some of his friends in the city. Very excited to be on my way to a new place and a familiar face!

♥ Yours Truly

There's so much to tell...

And unfortunately I don't have the patience right now so I'll have to take another go at it tomorrow...

♥ Yours Truly

I'd like to welcome Spontaneity back into my life.

I've been out of the technology loop lately and back into the partying loop. Oops. Last weekend Brady, Tara, Kirsten, Josh, Aaron and I went to Miami and I experienced the flavor of Cuban cuisine followed by the flava of South Beach. It was quite an excursion. We saw a Flo-Rida music vid being filmed on the beach and then on the way back to the car we spotted one of Americas favorite punch lines: Rosie O'Donnell. Wowa.
After a star-studded day in Miami we headed back to Naples and started taking shots. One shot led to two, two to three and three to a flight back to New Orleans. What? Yup. I got on a plane sauced and woke up three states away leaving my car and a brief note to Brady back in Florida. Whoa! It actually felt great to do something impulsive and completely irrational. Tom, my friend from California and his buddy Josh were on their way to the Louis Armstrong International Airport to pick me up by the time I landed at 9:55 the next morning. Ha ha...and then came the the world's greatest nap and once again, Bourbon Street. Hello 64oz beer. Hello Hand Grenade. Hello inebriation. I had to keep up with the boys though.

The next day--Easter Sunday--we ventured out for breakfast and mimosas before hopping on the street car to the famous cemetary off St Charles and Washington that is supposed to be haunted. Of course we never found out because it was locked up when we got there. We considered breaking and entering but decided that it would be unfortunate for our Mothers to hear that we were thrown in Nawlin's jail on such a holy day, so instead we set out in search of a different kind of spirit and ended up in a bar shooting pool all day.

After a solid night's sleep we arose Monday morning, toured the ninth ward again and then I set out for the second time in 2 weeks, back to Florida. We arrived in Orlando at the boys's friend's apartment around 10 and hung out for a bit before hittin the sheets. The next day it was once again stormy so we went looking for some indoor fun. We had an epic day of bowling, beer and billiards. Man by now I am really starting to like this game they call pool. I've never been a good player but I found out if you keep doing something you get better at it :) So after 6 hours I can honestly say that my game was definitely improving. I do owe a lot to the boys though for coaching me.

Another day down and one more to go in O-Town before we were to head south to Miami. We ventured to downtown Disney for lunch then came home and had a serious game of basketball (I literally ran circles around the boys), and then we ate burgers and watched Lost--which I am very behind on by the way. Miles hears dead people, what? Will he be able to talk to Charlie? Anyhow, it had been another good day.

The next couple days were spent in Miami exploring South Beach, Coconut Grove and the Hard Rock Casino near Fort Lauderdale. There was a lot of mimosas, good food, swimming in the ocean and playing pool. There was even some vomittong out of the car on the freeway but I'll never tell who. Fun fun fun with the boys but like all good things, it had to end. I hopped on a bus on Saturday and with a tear in my eye was on my way back to Naples. I'm not sure if it was a happy tear or a sad tear but it felt great to have a moment to myself to cry. It's been strange not having any alone time for the past month. I think it's time to venture out alone and get some thinking rather than drinking done. Where in the world shall I go?

♥ Yours Truly

The Sunshine State

Naples has been a blast so far! I've just been bumming around with Brady really--running around, going to the beach, the pool, enjoying the 90% humidity. Ha! You who all know me know that I do not fare well in the heat, but I have been doing pretty well--I just  carry around my Shamwow to towel off periodically :) 

It's been really great to see Mary as well. She's been working a lot but we got to go out last night and dance with old people at the local Irish Pub. Seriously, this fella named Skip came and asked Mary to dance and it wasn't long before we all three were "getting low." I am not joking, while I was complaining about my knees, this 80 year old man was twisting all the way to the floor! Wowa, it was pretty cute though.

So after a fun night out,  we are all preparing to go hop on a friend's boat for the day to do some snorkeling and just chill out. Aaaahhh. Sunshine, the ocean and good friends--what more could I ask for?

♥Yours Truly

Made it to Naples! Headed to the beach with Dartanyon the warrior, aka Brady :)

4 states in 12 hours...

Hey everybody! I arrived safely in Florida early, early Sunday morning after a long and horrendous drive that began on Saturday afternoon. After 12 hours of being on the road--the last two of which were extremely stressful with that stupid storm chasing me and all--Aaron's bed felt like a dream. It felt so good to be out of my car!
The last two days in New Orleans were great. Brianna and I explored a bit on Friday. Aside from taking 3 wrong street cars where I became the pillow of a very drunk and very stinky woman, we ventured to the French Market and had a scrumptrulescent dinner at a restaurant called Tommy's. After dinner we met Tony and one of his friend's out at a bar called Lucy's that was a bit off Bourbon Street (thankfully). We chit chatted and had a few Fireflies (this delicious sweet tea flavored vodka drink) before I spotted a hula hoop hanging from a hook high up on the wall. Boy did that open up a can of worms! Who knew I could still hula hoop my neck? It really was hilarious then watching other bar patrons trying to hula hoop :) After that little escapade we slipped out and headed down the street to the RedEye, this crazy, dark club where we danced for a bit before Briana and I once again tried to make our way towards Pat O'Brians--one of the famous bars in New Orleans. On our way there though we learned though that a transformer had blown on Bourbon so we opted not to walk the dark streets to Pat O"s--too dangerous. So we called it a night around 4:30. Where did the night go? Wow.
The next morning we got up early, loaded my car up and headed back down the French Market so I could experience a Beignet at the famed Cafe Du Monde. A Beignet is New Orleans famous version of a doughnut. They are these delicious little triangle-shaped, deepfried puffs that are covered in powdered sugar. Mmmm mmm good. After a couple Beignets and a cafe au lait Briana and I got back in the Coop and headed towards the Lower Ninth Ward to take a tour of the quarters most effected by Hurricane Katrina. Whata a sobering experience. It was unbelievable how much of the quarters were still in ruins. Street after street was filled with dillapidated houses, schools and businesses. It really was tragic to see that after almost 4 years from this storm a lot of the city still hadn't recovered. Many houses still had the quadrants that were tagged on the houses with spray paint during the storm. The quadrant provided necessary information to officials and rescue workers conveying the date the house had been searched, whether it had been cleared and how many bodies were found--the dead count and the alive count. It really put into perspective what these people had to go through. In some places the water line on the buildings reached to almost 20 feet. Although it was hard to see, I am so thankful we got to see that side of the city--a New Orleans that is forever changed. Mardis Gras is no longer the one key phrase that comes to mind when I think of the colorful city, it's Katrina.
Departing from the Ninth Ward we were both a little somber in spirit--I'm glad we saved that until the end. After a bittersweet goodbye to Briana at the airport I headed back towards New Orleans and on out of Louisianna and into Mississippi.



After about an hour of driving I had to pull over and take a nap--I didn;t think there was anyway I was going to make it to Aaron's on my previous nights sleep. But the small nap revived me and I somehow miraculously drove the next 10m hours straight to Tampa. The end of the drive was horrible though, the storm had cought up with me again and at one point there were frogs hopping across the highway that was covered in inches of water! But I made it through...barely. I immediately passed out once I got to Aaron's and slept til about noon the next day. Once up, Aaron and I went down into Tampa and explored Ybor City--so cute! We spent some time at the pool and then went out for a drink later on. We were both pretty wiped though so didn't stay out too late.
After another good night's sleep we packed up on Monday and headed to the beach! When we got there the first thing we saw was this group of about 10 boys running down the beach in speedos and thong bathing suits chanting "USA! USA!" Although we never figured out what exactly they were doing, it was a hilarious way to start off my first beach day of the trip. It was a lot of fun--we just laid around and swam in the ocean all day long.
Now Aaron is back at work so I got up and ran and now I thinbk I shall go hop the fence to his community swimming pool and work on my tan a little more :)

Spring Break Florida has finally arrived! Yahoooooo!



♥ Yours Truly