Toronto, Ontario
Since the 28th of August - the last time I posted regularly - I've done a ton, which is what has kept me from posting. Here's a brief synopsis of what I've done in the last week or so.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Ceci N'est Pas un Pipe
Boston, MA
Sitting at Starbucks last night, waiting (and hoping) to hear back from someone who could find a place for me to stay, it felt like I had failed. I hadn't been able to find a place to stay in Boston, and I was going to have to find a hostel, a hotel, or camp out. And I was so averse to doing any of those, that I sat at Starbucks until they closed, hoping someone would get back to me.
Two hours later, I was sitting in my tent at a state park outside Boston, wondering why it had seemed so bad.
Sitting at Starbucks last night, waiting (and hoping) to hear back from someone who could find a place for me to stay, it felt like I had failed. I hadn't been able to find a place to stay in Boston, and I was going to have to find a hostel, a hotel, or camp out. And I was so averse to doing any of those, that I sat at Starbucks until they closed, hoping someone would get back to me.
Two hours later, I was sitting in my tent at a state park outside Boston, wondering why it had seemed so bad.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Waiting
Boston, MA
Looks like I might be finding a hotel or camping, as none of my prospects for couchsurfing in Boston have worked out. One even changed their couch availability to "Not available" after I requested - but didn't send me back a response telling me they weren't able to host.
Nine days ago, I was only 440 miles away from where I am now - at most, two days of riding at my normal pace. It feels weird to have traveled so little, yet done so much. Two days in D.C. turned into three, two days in Philadelphia, two days in NYC turned into three, a day in Connecticut, and now two days in Boston before I get back to a semi-normal traveling pace.
Looks like I might be finding a hotel or camping, as none of my prospects for couchsurfing in Boston have worked out. One even changed their couch availability to "Not available" after I requested - but didn't send me back a response telling me they weren't able to host.
Nine days ago, I was only 440 miles away from where I am now - at most, two days of riding at my normal pace. It feels weird to have traveled so little, yet done so much. Two days in D.C. turned into three, two days in Philadelphia, two days in NYC turned into three, a day in Connecticut, and now two days in Boston before I get back to a semi-normal traveling pace.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Survived
New York, NY
Well, that was rather anticlimactic. I mean, there were some winds, and the rain hitting the window was pretty loud last night, but there's hardly any branches down in the neighborhood I'm in. It looks basically like a normal storm came through and just blew some leaves off the trees. The power didn't even go out - all the clocks were still on the right time when we woke up in the morning. But man were we prepared.
Well, that was rather anticlimactic. I mean, there were some winds, and the rain hitting the window was pretty loud last night, but there's hardly any branches down in the neighborhood I'm in. It looks basically like a normal storm came through and just blew some leaves off the trees. The power didn't even go out - all the clocks were still on the right time when we woke up in the morning. But man were we prepared.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Rock You Like a Hurricane
New York, NY
It seems weird to think that a hurricane is supposed to come through. It's cloudy outside, and it's been raining on and off, but it's otherwise relatively nice. A bit humid, but not too hot. And in fact, we're about to go out and do some barhopping before we have to close up shop and wait out the storm. In other words, everything seems pretty normal.
It seems weird to think that a hurricane is supposed to come through. It's cloudy outside, and it's been raining on and off, but it's otherwise relatively nice. A bit humid, but not too hot. And in fact, we're about to go out and do some barhopping before we have to close up shop and wait out the storm. In other words, everything seems pretty normal.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Driving in the South
Philadelphia, PA
I tend to shy away from making generalizations about the places I've visited on this trip. I know I'm only spending a few days in each place, and my experiences are not likely to be representative. When people ask me my favorite place I've visited, I usually say Seattle, but I'm quick to point out that my enjoyment was mainly based on a series of happy accidents, and really could have happened in almost any city. I only see a small slice of each place I go, and even that slice is highly dependent on who I'm staying with - whether it's a friend or a couchsurfer, or no one if I'm camping.
But having spent some time in the South, and having covered almost the entire rest of the country, I think I'm comfortable in making the generalization that drivers in the South suck at driving around motorcycles.
I tend to shy away from making generalizations about the places I've visited on this trip. I know I'm only spending a few days in each place, and my experiences are not likely to be representative. When people ask me my favorite place I've visited, I usually say Seattle, but I'm quick to point out that my enjoyment was mainly based on a series of happy accidents, and really could have happened in almost any city. I only see a small slice of each place I go, and even that slice is highly dependent on who I'm staying with - whether it's a friend or a couchsurfer, or no one if I'm camping.
But having spent some time in the South, and having covered almost the entire rest of the country, I think I'm comfortable in making the generalization that drivers in the South suck at driving around motorcycles.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Roll With It
Arlington, VA
When I couch surf, usually at some point in the night the person hosting me asks my opinion on what we should do - "Do you want to go out or stay in?" is the usual question. And my response, at least after the first week or so of the trip, has been the same every time.
"My philosophy on this trip is to just go with whatever happens, so you do what you want and I'll go along."
And let me tell you, that has paid off like I couldn't believe. It paid off in a big way in Seattle (twice), and it's worked out well in small ways in tons of other places, from the first night I ever couchsurfed to getting good food and seeing a random jam band in Minneapolis to having a chill day in Louisville. I can't say that every time I left my plans open, something awesome came up. But I can say that many of the really awesome times I've had wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't been as willing to adapt my schedule.
And that worked out to my advantage again yesterday.
When I couch surf, usually at some point in the night the person hosting me asks my opinion on what we should do - "Do you want to go out or stay in?" is the usual question. And my response, at least after the first week or so of the trip, has been the same every time.
"My philosophy on this trip is to just go with whatever happens, so you do what you want and I'll go along."
And let me tell you, that has paid off like I couldn't believe. It paid off in a big way in Seattle (twice), and it's worked out well in small ways in tons of other places, from the first night I ever couchsurfed to getting good food and seeing a random jam band in Minneapolis to having a chill day in Louisville. I can't say that every time I left my plans open, something awesome came up. But I can say that many of the really awesome times I've had wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't been as willing to adapt my schedule.
And that worked out to my advantage again yesterday.
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