Chapter 12: Thanksgiving, Relatives Galore, A Winter Storm, and Tullmas

Chapter 12: Thanksgiving, Tiny Relatives, A Winter Storm, and Tullmas

It might be worth noting at this point that I'm continually amazed at the number of people I know. By the end of November, I had been on the road for three months, and had stayed with or at least seen thirty-odd friends (not counting all the folks who were at the various Dag events) in twenty-four states. Getting to hang out with friends I don't usually see often has definitely been one of my favorite parts of this whole trip. 

Along with that is amazement at the wonderful family I have, and how spread out they are as well! I had been in contact with one of my mom's half-sisters before November, since she lives in Baton Rouge, LA and I thought I might be in the area soon, and she very kindly invited me to Tallahassee to meet my other two aunts, uncle and cousins for Thanksgiving. 

It was an absolutely wonderful holiday with family. I hadn't met any of these relatives before except for my Aunt Catherine, so it was a couple days of getting to know each other and finding out how much we have in common. (After spending time with this branch of the family, I'm more convinced than ever that music is in my blood!) We played board games and told stories and joked over the dinner table, and I'm very very grateful that they were able to include me in their plans. 

After Thanksgiving, I followed my Aunt Catherine back to Louisiana and spent a few days with her in Baton Rouge. We went to visit Mike the Tiger at LSU campus, and spent evenings watching great ballet performances and eating wonderful cajun food. 

I was going to head to Houston, TX next, but the day I left Baton Rouge I actually went the opposite direction to New Orleans, just so I could say I had. I got a shrimp po'boy sammich in the French Quarter, and sat at an outdoor café eating beignets and listening to live music – at 11 AM on a Tuesday! These people know how to live. 

Then I got back on the road West. I ended up in Houston the next day, and got to see yet more relatives. My cousin Kim and her husband Darrel live just outside Houston with their two sons, Brody and Logan, who I had never actually met in person. Even though they were mid-remodeling their beautiful home, they made room for me to stay, and I had a lovely time playing with the kids and getting to know them. It's sometimes hard having family all over the country (Boston, Houston, Colorado, Wyoming) but it does mean that when I get to see them, I'm even more grateful to have them in my life. 

SO ANYWAY ENOUGH SAPPY STUFF LET'S TALK ABOUT WINTER

Mostly, how sometimes it's amazingly beautiful. Oops, guess this is going to be a little sappy. 

A couple of days after I left Houston, I was driving through western Arkansas, from Texarkana to Fayetteville (side note, I think there might be a Fayetteville in every state. Or at least every state on the East Coast). The day before that drive, winter storm Cleon (I think) had blazed its trail through the area, and much of the roads in northern Texas were traffic-bound from snow and ice on the roads. 

Not so in Arkansas! The storm had clearly been through, but the roads were entirely clear, except for an occasional downed branch by the side. 

Everything to the side of the roads, however, was covered in about half an inch of ice. Not snow, just ice. Every twig, every branch, every limb, every tree, every hole in every bog, completely covered. Trees which had but recently shed their browned coverings to prepare for winter seemed re-born in sparkling glass icicle-leaves . . . or whatever. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever had the privilege to see. You could totally see the angle of the winds during the storm from how the icicles pointed, too. 

But the road was completely clear, so I didn't even have to worry about driving while I was going north. It felt like driving through Narnia (circa White Witch), a feeling only heightened by the Christmas music on the radio. 

Which leads me to a summary of the next few days of the trip. I drove through Wichita to Kansas City, to St. Louis, to Indianapolis, to Columbus, Ohio, staying the night at a very good friend's house. We went to the local (enormous) thrift store, and got steak for dinner, and played with the two puppies that live at her house, and watched Disney movies, and eventually went to sleep. 

Next morning, I got on the road to keep going east, back to Pittsburgh, because (you guessed it) there was another event pulling me back to the area. This time it was a winter party organized by a group of my friends, since we wanted an excuse to spend a weekend together with food and drink and silly party games. And all of these things were had in abundance! The First Tullmas, as it was called, was a great weekend, and I hope we'll all have time to do it again next year (or sooner, if certain plots fall into place). 

And that gets us up to 16 December, or so. Next time on this-a here blog-thing, Christmas and New Year's Eve, and the Great Midwest Trivia Contest! 

WHENCE COMES THIS SUDDEN BURST OF PRODUCTIVITY?!

Julia

(Spoiler, it comes from coffee. Delicious, delicious, iced coffee.)

Chapter 11: End of October

After Delaware, I kept crawling south. I have a few friends in the DC area, and was very happy to visit with them when they were available, as well as visiting the Spy Museum and part of the Smithsonian!

I have a few thoughts from my visit to the Library of Congress, but that'll have to wait until I have brainpower. For now, highlights from October 30th-ish up to Thanksgiving!

 - Spy Museum was doing a "50 years of Bond villains" exhibit! Fun fun fun.
 - Halloween in Georgetown. Pub food, beer, and people-watching!
 - Driving up to Hagerstown, Maryland to see some friends, with another friend from DC
 - Stopping at Harpers Ferry on the way back down to the DC/Richmond area. Absolutely gorgeous day. Pictures to be posted soon!
 - Stopping in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to walk around the old city, and having the best beer-cheese soup of my life (sorry, Wisconsin).
 - Coming back up through West Virginia and back into Ohio. Driving out to Bowling Green to pick up a friend for another Dagorhir event in the Akron area (Pentwyvern Harvest Feast).
 - Wonderful weekend with friends and silliness and fun. It's been really amazing getting to go to all of these events that I usually miss because of distance and school.
 - Starting down south, from Ohio to Kentucky. Passing field after field of horses and pasture. Did not go to the races. Next time!
 - Tennessee!! Nashville was all right (I stopped to see Thor 2 and find some live music) but Memphis was amazing. Graceland tour, beautiful weather, and BB King's Blues Club on Beale St. on a Friday night. Ribs and the All-Star band, and then bar-hopping all the way back to the hotel. Six bands all told, hundreds of people just out enjoying their night and the music.
 - Vicksburg, Mississippi. The "key" to the South, during the Civil War. Beautiful area, fun museums.
 - Driving out through Alabama and Georgia back to the coast on the highway the Freedom Fighters used
 - Heading down the coast, from Jacksonville to Miami in one day. Amazing drive. Not nearly as boring or tiring as I'd thought it would be!
 - Miami. Mmmm, Miami. Not nearly as sunny as Burn Notice says (figures) but just as beautiful. Torrential storm the night I got in, which was gone by morning.
 - Watched the sun rise on the Atlantic and set on the Gulf, after driving through the Everglades.
 - Spent a few days in Nokomis, halfway up the Gulf coast, relaxing. That's the town the Lawrence University Swimming and Diving Team (affectionately known as LUST) uses as base for a week every winter, so I actually know the area fairly well for vacationing. Tons of beach time, tons of pool time, tons of sun and surf, and the Doctor Who special. What more could a girl ask for?

And that takes me up to 26 November 2013, just before Thanksgiving. Next update will include some accounting of northern Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, and oh look Ohio and Pennsylvania AGAIN.

No longer from a Starbucks,
Julia

Chapter 10: I'm Starting to Catch Up! (NH, PA, NY again)

Faithful followers may have noticed a distinct last of posting going on on this blog. Don't worry, that doesn't mean I got stuck in Nantucket (though I wouldn't complain about that too much). I've actually been super super busy and all-over-the-place with the trip, and now I'm going to see if I can get you all caught up to where I am now!


After Nantucket . . .

I said goodbye to Lina and wished her well on her marine term voyage, and headed back north a bit. I hadn't really done anything in New Hampshire, and Lina had told me about this really cool old railway they have on one of the mountains. So up to Mount Washington I went! The cog railway was very fun and very cold, since it goes up into the snowline. I have some really beautiful pictures, which I will post later.

After the cog railway, I headed back down south to Rhode Island, spent a lovely afternoon on the beach near Providence, then drove to New Haven, Connecticut. I checked out an art museum there, which had a really nice café attached.

And then I drove a lot. There was an event for Dagorhir, my medieval-reenactment hobby, just outside Pittsburgh, PA the weekend of September 27th. I got to Pittsburgh in time to see Mike and Ellie, two very good friends from college, before heading out to The Battle of Badon Hill.

At Badon, I got to see a bunch of friends from all over the country, who I usually only see once or twice a year. We hung out, played music, hit each other with swords (foam), and generally had a lovely weekend. It was hard to say goodbye at the end, but I knew I'd be seeing some of them again soon.

I spent a few more days in the Pittsburgh area with Mike and Ellie, seeing various sights (including the giant rubber ducky in the river), and eventually headed back east to Philadelphia.

Some of my Dagorhir friends live in Philly, and they very kindly put me up for the three or four days I was there. They introduced me to cheesesteak, and some very wonderful cats (pictures to be posted soon). I wasn't in town long enough to check out my mom's old haunts from her time at the New School of Music, but I'll go back someday to see those!

From Philadelphia, I went back north. There was another Dagorhir event going to be happening in Cleveland, New York, and I figured since I was in the area it would be nice to go.

I spent the week leading up to the event (Clash of Kings) in Rome, NY with a friend from the local Dag group, watching lots of Doctor Who and hanging out. The event was another great weekend, marred only by a branch falling onto, and breaking, my windshield the last night. Grr. So I ended up staying another few days while I got the windshield repaired, and then finally left Rome on the 26th of October.

New shiny windshield in place, I drove down to New York City to see my mom's brother David, and Erty, yet another good friend from college. Erty has lived in Brooklyn for the last little while, and generously offered crash space for me for the weekend. I happily accepted, and we got to hang out and drink and put together IKEA furniture (a combination of activities I cannot recommend highly enough!). We also met up with my uncle for a great visit to the Brooklyn museum, which at the time had an exhibit on the life and works of Jean-Paul Gaultier, a renowned fashion designer (and one whose pieces I actually like). Lovely day at the museum.

After that lovely weekend, I headed back down south again. I stopped in Philadelphia for the night, got to see my high school friend Mel (who has a blog of her own, which gets updated far more often than mine), and made it to Delaware the next day. There, I had lunch with another Dag friend, who was sneaky and managed to buy me a present without me being able to stop him. (He's six-foot-something and built like a football player, so I can't strongarm him into things like I can some of my friends.)

So now my car has a mustache. Thanks, Dan.

And with that, I'm going to stop and rest my brain for a few minutes, then see if I can get another month-worth of trip on here!

From a Starbucks,
Julia