Portland to Portland...

It's always difficult to see the magnitude of any situation as you are living it; at least in my experience I tend to realize the significance of things long after I live through them. For instance, I am probably the most oblivious person in the world when it comes to women; maybe that is why I felt right at home in the sciences. I have accepted that, but that is another matter entirely. The past 9 days have been an absolute rush. I have hit Washington D.C, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Atlantic City, Portland Maine, Acadia National Park (AWESOME!!!), Chicago, and now I find myself in Madison, Wisconsin visiting my Pepperdine buddy Peter. The first day has to be the most interesting, it is more a two day experience then one, but I will tell the tale none the less.



So our pal Elo dropped us off in D.C. in the morning and we caught the quickest bus to Philadelphia, about 2-3 hours. So we had about 4 hours in the city and decided quickly to run down to Pat’s king of Steaks and grab an authentic Philly Cheese steak, which was pretty bomb. Next, we walked to the liberty Bell and then downtown towards the rocky steps in front of the art museum. However, it was not all that simple seeing how we only had 45 minutes to get there and it was 2.5 miles away, so we had to run the entire way there and back, up the stairs with our backpacks on… so one can guess that we did not make it back in time, but to pat ourselves on the back we only missed our bus by 10 minutes. So we said screw it, let’s go to Atlantic City; I should of realized then that our luck was not so great, but when in Rome. So we got to Atlantic City around eight or nine and Jared almost got mugged by some guy over a conversation about deodorant and I lost 45 dollars in about 5 minutes to a lovely game of blackjack. So no person technically robbed us, it was just pure mathematical odds that seemed to be my downfall… I hate you Atlantic City. I guess they turn some sort of profit off of chumps like me, who would have known. So we spent about 2 and a half hours there and got into New York at about 2am, realizing our one hope of a place to stay through Becka’s Sister fell through we decided to pull an all nighter and see a bunch of the sights during the wee hours of the morning. That night we saw the Brooklyn Bridge, Trinity Church, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, and the New York Stock Exchange all on foot to eat up time until daylight. Not to mention it was also freezing cold outside so the moving helped keep our minds off of the wind and chill. At the first glimpse of sunrise, around six something, we immediately crawled in our sleeping bags and crashed on a bench for a few hours in a park on the south side of the island. We then toured central park and 5th avenue, crawled on a bus and slept our way to Boston. We arrived at night took the wrong train downtown and walked to Aaron’s old band buddy Chris’ place and took delight in having a roof over our head.






We did the quick touristy things around the cities and we made our way up to Maine where some credit card points got us a rent a car for free, also free shelter from the rain and cold at night (in the car that is). The first night we got some delicious Lobster and clams, along with some victory beer for making it from Portland to Portland. We then drove all night towards Acadia and slept in a nearby town till morning. Acadia and Bar Harbor were some of the most beautiful places on the trip, rolling hills with gorgeous trees, all in autumn colors. The Maine coast was something out of a fantasy, with all the massive cliffs and powerful waves, giant rock structures with trees sprouting out of them in the most peculiar of angles. The water was freezing cold, but well worth the swim. It was a feeling I will never forget, probably the most refreshing sensation I have experienced yet. We definitely caught some attention from the others there in their trench coats and jackets.





With Maine behind us we took a 27 hour bus ride to Chicago and spent the day there and met up with some couch surfers which gave us a place to stay, again thanks to Elo. We got some great deep dish and went to the art museum, and cruised the culture rich streets of Chicago until nightfall. From here our paths diverged, I went to Madison and then I’m on my way to St. Louis and Omaha, and Utah. Jared decided to stay another day in Chicago and randomly head to Tennessee, and Derek went to go see his family in Minnesota. I suppose I will see them in Portland soon enough, but it is a definite change of pace.

Now with long days of travel and solitude ahead, I have a lot to figure out and contemplate as my future comes on fast approach. I have financial stability, Jobs, moving, grad school, friends and most of all family. I look forward to being home for the short bit I’ll be there.