Road Trip Extravaganza ’09 – Day 1ish

Ok, here’s the story:  I very unfortunately could not rejoin my Rwanda team on this current trip. So, instead of being totally bummed in NH, I decided to take a little (cheap) adventure of my own! I am meandering my way from the great state of NH to beautiful FL. I have a few scheduled stops, but mainly I am trying to be open and pop in different local places to see a bit of America.

My adventures started Friday the 20th when I took off to NYC for the day with a few lady friends. We were helping my friend, Michele’s, nephew complete the best school project ever! Not sure if you are familiar with children books or not, but  there is a book called “Flat Stanley”. Not too sure of the whole book, but I know that Flat Stanley flattens himself so he can travel to all these different places. So Michele’s nephew, Colin, sent a flattened version of himself and we then took him to NYC! The day started off a bit rough- we missed our bus (apparently when you book a seat on buses it is not a guaranteed seat so beware travelers!) We took a later bus and made it to the city around noonish.

Our first stop was Times Square (!) and we proceeded to take pictures with Flat Colin. As my dear friend Emily was holding Flat Colin in the air to get a pic of him with a billboard, a very upset woman started yelling that we can’t do that! How dare we try to make an animated object suspend in mid-air! We all pretty much were wide eyed and thought this woman was a lil off her rocker, but then she started yelling “Flat Stanley would NEVER be suspended in air! You are doing it all wrong! Put him on the mailbox!!” Of course giggles ensued and from there on we tried to make sure Flat Colin was not a suspended animated object in our pictures

Miss Emily decided to spice things up by jumping across the walk ways like Will Ferrell in “Elf”. Oh my word- I almost died from laughing!! Jen and her attempted this amazing act a few more times- the best part was that not a single person raised an eye brow. They really must see it ALL in NYC!! I had to leave early so we hit up Central park (gorgeous!!) then I jumped on the sub to catch my bus ride home. It was a short short short day in the city, but totally worth it as I loved every minute with my lady friends!

My original plan was to meet up with my good bud, Bobby, once I made it back to Boston, but being exhausted + a dead phone + no idea where I was did not = meeting up with Bobby SO I returned home, but the bonus of this was that I was able to snag Jen’s gps so I wouldn’t get incredibly lost on my excursion again

The next day was an early one. I took off to Wakefield to meet up with a new buddy of mine, Tommy. We went to Maple Farm Animal Sanctuary to help around the place with some chores and to love on the rescued animals. It boggles my mind how cruel people can be towards other humans AND animals. These poor defenseless creatures all had a tragic tale, but they are now living their life out in a wonderful environment at the sanctuary. I fell in love with a cow and a goat and became even more happy with my choice of being a vegetarian.

After our stint at the sanctuary, we returned to Wakefield, MA so I could take off officially on my adventure!! I had booked a place in Wilkes-Barre, PA as it was 5.5 hrs away and I figured I would NOT want to drive any further. Man, was I right The trip was pretty non-eventful , but totally fun. I just rocked out to my tunes, watched a ton of highway pass under my wheels and just thought of all the fun I had ahead of me. My favorite part was when I was in Nowheresville, PA and found a an all 80′s radio station. Oh man. I bet I scared the bears. Nothing beats exhaustion like belting out old school Bon Jovi. Trust me.

Once I made it to my hotel, I must have looked like one of two things- a train wreck or the happiest person in the world. Or maybe both. I felt like both that’s for sure. Despite needing toothpicks to keep my eyes open, I decided to head out and see a bit of Wilkes-Barre. Well friends, it is I think a very deceiving little place! It lokos so quaint and adorable- the center of the city has a beautiful round-about ( I think I am making that word up) and is all lit up with white lights. Sweet right? Oh no. I decided to stop off in a local “pub” the concierge suggested and was BLOWN AWAY by the atmosphere there.  Lets just say those kids know how to party. Being slightly entertained by watching all these strangers, I decided to leave after a bit as I was beyond tired. Once I returned “home” I just saw my pillow and fell asleep.

The next morning (which is today, the 22nd, for all you needing dates) I packed up and started out on the road again. I can’t wait to fill you in on my adventures today, but that will have to wait until my next post. It’s getting late in the day and I still have about 100+ miles to travel.

So until then- here is a little tip I learned- Green Jasmine tea is WRETCHED.  Seriously wretched, but I am still drinking it because I paid for it. Oh the tragedies

p.s. I will be posting pics so keep your eyes peeled for those!