The delirium was thick and even our impressions of Salad Fingers weren't enough to save us from our exhaustion. It felt like smooth sailing as I drove from Maryland through Delaware and skirted Philadelphia following Interstate 95 until it merged with the Jersey Turnpike. But the traffic around NYC leading towards the George Washington Bridge was horrible as usual. I distracted myself by taking pictures of the snow blanketing the city.

If you couldn't tell from the shitty quality of recently posted pictures, I never was able to fix my digital. It's dead. So, I've been relying on my cell phone camera and my old Pentax. I have no idea how old the film is or how many times it's been exposed to freezing temperatures throughout the trip, so who knows, these blurred cell shots may be the only photos from the trip.


Haggard from the weary road, I ended up staying at Kate's mom's house in Ridgefield last night and delayed my arrival to New Paltz another day. Kate's house is suitably built into a mountain ridge in a valley surrounding a lake. I awoke this morning to a majestic mountainous view and a deer frolicking about outside the kitchen window while I poured my coffee. It was truly the icing on the cake. Real talk. It was beautiful.


Now I'm home in New Paltz. I feel as though I've accomplished something by driving this whole way, but it's probably more like proving something. To whom - I'm not sure. I do feel that I have a keener sense of proximity and geography, but that's not much of an accomplishment. I guess it's more the fun and excitement that comes with traveling on your own terms. I'm no Sal Paradise, but I assure you it's been a wild ride.

My first impression of Charleston, SC is that it's undeniably picturesque and quaint. It seems very touristy and fairly yuppie, but the silver lining is a funky little beach town vibe. Although borderline pretentious, it was a refreshing blast of civilization after driving endless highways through empty fields interrupted only by standardized shopping centers with chain restaurants, wal-marts and the like.

Walking around in the downtown Market Area, all I could think of was socioeconomic demographics in accordance with geographic schemes. I don't even know how to properly word the terminology, but I'm running on empty, so I trust you get the gist. Watching shoppers mingle and weave their way from shop to shop, I couldn't help but think of all the money being circulated. It's a huge contrast from the desolate Bible belt that we drove through.

All in all, Charleston was a blast and Kate and I slipped into socialite mode as we wined and dined ourselves at some of the cities finest offerings: Pane E Vino, Gaulart and Maliclet Cafe, and Chai's Tapas Lounge. They were all amazing with their own unique pleasures, but Chai's was my favorite with the sampling and then the sake.


We left Charleston later than planned and never made it to NYC as we'd hoped. I guess a fourteen hour drive was a bit ambitious. Even with an additional driver, Katie, we were fried by DC. Instead of hitting the Upper East Side, we stayed at Katie's brother's frat house at the University of Maryland. The massive house felt more like a municipal building. While 37 undergrads usually fill the house, there were only a few stragglers there for our stay. Lucky for us, the boys didn't exemplify the stereotypical frat boy persona. It was more Revenge of The Nerds than Animal House.

Maryland provided our first Magic Hat indulgence. I was actually beyond excited. Magic Hat is of course my favorite beer manufacturer, and being as it's brewed in Burlington ,VT it's not available in the south. It breaks my heart, but I'll be sure to stock up on the trip back to TX. When Kate read her first bottle cap aloud, "when plans fail, blaze new trails," we laughed and all agreed that was definitely the theme of the day. We quickly made ourselves at home in this most unlikely of places. It was by far the most ridiculous scenario of our trip thus far.

We spent Sunday night in Columbus, MS on an air force base with my friend Tiffany, her husband Chris, and their newborn. It was a fairly quick drive from New Orleans and Kate and I entertained one another with silly songs and horrible puns. Picture it as not so much Thelma and Louise, but more like the Sweeney Sisters. Real talk.

It's interesting to travel through these places and spend a day in the life. We all get so wrapped up in our own day to day, and the exposure is a reminder of the different paths, options, whathaveyou. Expectedly, the air force creates an extremely structured lifestyle. I can totally understand and respect it, but I'm too far removed from that scene to relate. So many normalities are things I've never even thought of. I haven't reached a point in my life where I have a plan that encompasses more than a year span, which I think is suitable being as I have no one depending on me or to be responsible for.

Tiffany wouldn't show me the possible fate of my tattoo, but told me all the horrific details of childbirth no one else has. Real talk. It was really interesting to ask her my dumb questions about pregnancy, childbirth and rearing, and the details of being an air force wife. I think I would become a stir crazy maniac, but it's obviously not my path. Tiffany on the other hand, amazes me with her selflessness.

Monday was a big driving day from Columbus, Mississippi to Charleston, South Carolina. The cultural differences between the two places make a bland sandwich stuffed with Baptist Churches and industrial parks. Real talk. For breakfast we ate at a diner right off base made out of three trailers pushed together, and for dinner a fancy pants Italian restaurant in Charleston.

While a Nor'easter may be dumping a foot and a half on New York this weekend (on top of the 8-inches my parents told me about yesterday) it was in the mid-70s and beautiful today in New Orleans. I'm sort of excited to see the difference driving in and back through the different weather patterns. I can't wait to see snow, especially of such epic proportions.

I realized that this is my third visit to New Orleans since May and I'm beginning to feel acclimated and familiar with it all. It has way more of a small town feel than you might assume, and parts/places feel completely frozen in time, which is often enchanting though sometimes scary. I much prefer that my visits are on par with the locals rather than the madness of Bourbon Street and all the tourist insanity. Last night we went to the Balcony Bar uptown on Magazine Street, and tonight we're going to some African restaurant and will likely end up on our favorite balcony overlooking Frenchman Street.

I know I totally flaked on recapping that last week of my August/September trip east, and I was working on it earlier this week, but find myself all sorts of scatterbrained. My goal is to write something up before this next venture. However, I'm leaving Friday and have a shit ton to do in preparation, so I don't know. Christmas card writing owns me right now.

While it may be nearly 80 degrees outside, INSIDE my house looks like a cozy little winter cottage! Oh, escapism. This house was beginning to frustrate me, which I find happens after a few months, but with the holiday adornment, I've fallen back in love with all the it's quirky charms. We bought the most beautiful Christmas tree yesterday, and I don't know exactly what it is about driving with a tree strapped to the roof of my car, but I like it.

Vinosity 2008. I'm campaigning for a new Saturday tasting tradition. Tastings are from 3pm-5pm, and I highly recommend. Plus they have a food menu each week to accompany the tasting selection. I'm a big fan, especially given the close proximity. I can pretend I live in a city where people walk everywhere.

Paris, Je T'aime. As the year dwindles to an end and "Best of" compilations are sure to dominate and invade media outlets, I'm trying to think of what I've seen this year and what has resonated with me the most. I guess with me, the offbeat usually hits the hardest, and as far as that goes, Paris, Je T'aime is the first to come to mind. Mainly because of the format. It consists of 18 short films by 21 different directors. With the increasing cultural emphasis on instant gratification and short, to the point entertainment, this collection of vignettes delivers. I like the idea of collaborative interpretations on one idea. The film's trailer really just makes me crave another viewing.

The interpretation that I found the most compelling, or that resonates with me the most considering I saw this in the Spring, is True. I like the differences between the couple, and that even without subtitles it's clear what is being expressed.

Oh, and Coltrane Motion just released an amazing Bruce cover of "I'm Going Down," which is currently only on their myspace. Lame, yes. But worth checking out. I'm loving it.

I'm kind of throwing up this overloaded post since I don't know how much I'll post during the trip. A lot is riding on whether or not I get my camera fixed. If I do, I'd guess it will be mainly photojournalism style. In which case I may just post to fotki. We'll see.