Moving Day

Yesterday I kept pointing out to my mom and Gary all of the things that I like in DC, the running path, the views of the monuments which happen all the time, the happy knowledge of getting around. I had my last dinner at Bebo Trattoria, which was unexpectedly good. Mom got the special of Regenetti (sp?) which was by far the best choice. The wine menu was quite extensive and the one we had was great.

Today I take the cat to the vet (so she can make the plane ride to Utah)and then leave DC as my abode for the foreseeable future. Bye DC, it turns out that I'm too close to provide any deep refleciton on the city and it's peeps for now. I'm sure I'll be making long lists about everything I miss in the coming months.

Roadtrip!

I just found this great website. Roadside America. Your online guide to offbeat tourist attractions. I hope to take advantage of this as I work my way across the middle states. It has maps of attractions in each state as well as highlights of each state.
An example from Arkansas: Snake World, Berryville, Arkansas: A snake-lovin' guy with a reptile ranch in his yard.

Potential route, not taking into account of offbeat tourist attractions.

Farewell DC!

It's my last day of work here. I have a touch of a headache from the wine last night. I woke up on a delfated air matress. It's time to go.

Here's my room in Arlington painting in progress and then packing in progress. I've been leaving in a wreck of a room for about 3 weeks now.

East Coast Farewell Tour: NYC

I have a week left and I’m ready to go. The people in Manhattan seem to think there is only one place on the planet worth living: Manhattan. DC might be acceptable, but it’ll never measure up to New York. Utah blows their mind. The question is always the same – even in DC, “Are you Mormon?” “No.” It’s clear that I must be crazy. And they had me thinking that too for a bit. What have I done? I have no clue. “You’ll have to drive.” I know. I suggested to one guy that life was about what you take from it. It takes talent and effort to get the most out of it, but it is everywhere. No, he said. It’s all about location. We’ll see.

You should see the cute Victorian I want for $450 a month. $450 a month on a park right. I could walk to work after all. Do you know what that would cost in the East Village? But it’s not the East Village. No. Check out that pic at the top of this page and then talk to me about location. We’ll see.

I’m still worried about my move. Am I going to be able to build a life I want? But it now longer seems clear to me that the city is the place to be. I think New York put me over the edge. It’s a drug and I’m always hungover there. This weekend I’m saying my farewell to DC. It’s been a long affair.

East Coast Farewell Tour

I have been on my East Coast Farewell tour. It started with going on a previously planned trip to Atlanta (actually Gwinnett County) shortly after I decided to move west. That was great, seeing people from back home, taking time with the family there. My friend Karinna is about to have a baby.

Since then, I’ve been going nonstop. I decided that I am going to keep so incredibly busy seeing people that I would miss, doing things I won’t be able to do any more and moving that by the time I left DC, I will be so burned out – maybe I won’t miss it so much. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out, but boy am I getting tired.

I was thinking, I have to see the Holocaust Museum, try to get into the White House, see an Opera or the Symphony at the Kennedy Center… I managed to catch the Shakespeare Free For All production of Love’s Labor Lost in Rock Creek Park a couple of weeks ago. That was fun. But mostly, I realize that all the stuff I haven’t done is stuff that I haven’t done for some reason or another for the last 5 years. Those aren’t going to be the things I miss.

I was thinking the same way about NYC, I took the train up there last weekend to see Virginia and hang out. I was thinking that we should see a play, I should jog in Central Park, maybe I should do the touristy things I’ve never done there (Statute of Liberty). But when were thinking about seeing STOMP, I was thinking, sounds good, but I don’t want to be pent up for my last hours in Manhattan. So we walked around, doing the usual. Shopping a bit, eating a bit, mostly just walking. I don’t know why just walking is enough in Manhattan. I would think I would get bored of endless walking somewhere else, but there’s always something new to see.

By Sunday I was ready to slow down. Really I want to slow down now, but my room is in such disarray, I don’t want to be there. And there’s only one week left. Don’t Stop. Don’t Stop til You Get Enough.

Next Friday, I head off for the last leg of the East Coast Farewell Tour. The family reunion in Graham, NC. I don’t know how long I’ll be there.

Daylight

Here's a neat page I found. It shows the times for sunset and sun rise over the course of the year. I was thinking to myself that I might have less light in winter in Logan than DC. But it turns out that it's not all that much different than DC, about 30 min per day at the extremes.