well, here I am, back in Orange County and wondering what life will be like now that I'm "grounded" for a bit. I bought a new journal to start writing my new book tentatively titled (there are about five titles in my head) "Using Toonies", a reference to the Canadian two dollar coin. I'll keep you updated on that but a month ago I was leaving Toronto and....
*Headed for White River Junction, Vermont where an old hotel/hostel sat waiting for me to paint two bathrooms and a chimney in exchange for free room and some money. Mind you, I'd never painted anything like that in my life so I wasn't sure what to expect. I drove through Adirondack State Park in upstate New York and within forty-five minutes of landing in this small border town with New Hampshire, I was convinced there must be more to do in this town. I was wrong. There was, however, quite a lively past that included the Italian groceria a block down on the small Main Street having been the bootlegging center of the area where there was an underground tunnel, not to free slaves, but to walk illegal liquor under the post office and offering wonderful prices to the train workers that would stop there and their way onto New York or Montreal. The old hotel had its share of interesting employees and ex-employees but I still could not believe the pulse of the area was as light as it was. I've decided not to go into it more but on the weekend, I went hiking down into Queechee Gorge (it's fun to say) and then the next day near Dartmouth college and the infamous Appalachian Trail, a behomoth seventy-year old walking trail from Georgia to Northern Maine. I could not wait to leave this town and the day I was to leave, it was raining and I was curious if the paint on the chimney would stay or I'd have to hang another day. It was torturous but thank God, I was able to leave , my first time heading towards home in 75 days...
*Went to Jennifer's house in Stroudsburg. Her birthday was coming up and there was an urgent tone to the visit because it was quietly implied that we might not see each other for a few months while she was going to school and I was starting a new job out here. We went two hours away to RETURN a video (my jokes about renting movies is now justified) and we had a nice visit. It was her 21st birthday and her parents and us went to New York City to see "Rent". I don't mean to sound like an idiot but I didn't realize that it would be so much of a musical but it was pretty good. (Insert difficult emotional stuff) It was tough leaving Jennifer and I remember my eyes blurry for at least forty-five minutes after heading south towards Virginia...
*Stayed in Bluemont, Virginia, a small town (ha, town, it was up a hill, along a dirt road) that housed this beautiful mid-1930's stone mansion that was right along the Appalachian Trail as well. It was beautiful and quiet and I had an interesting conversation before bed with a guy named Fred aka Takeabreak (people hiking the Appalachian give themselves nicknames and may not even use their real names for six months. It certainly is a strange subculture. Up in the morning early after going to bed really early the night before and hit the road...
*bought gas for $1.39, the cheapest I'd seen it since God knows when and headed south on the 81 highway until I took a detour on the 64 to hit West Virginia and Kentucky, two states I'd never been to before. Near the border of the two states a few hours later, I was getting into my car after asking a waitress at a diner how to get to Kentucky from where I was, an old man missing teeth and using a cane asked me if a perfect country bumpkin voice, "You a faggot?" He was still walking towards me and my car and I barely heard what he said next as I backed out dangerously and headed off on this small backroad that led me to Canada, Kentucky, a town name as appropriate as any considering where I'd been all summer. Apparently, when the town was named, the town folk had said "Kennedy" in reference to a prominent family in the area but with their accent, it was misunderstood and is now Canada. Made it to Erwin, Tennessee where I stayed along the Appalachian again and met two through hikers, a guy from Holland and the girl from Columbia. They were most interesting and early the next morning I was off to Murfreesboro...
*Met my buddy Nick at Hooters and it wasn't long before we were at a pub called "The Boro" and all of a sudden we're ordering pizza at his house and I'm alseep on the couch. I met his buddy Ryan the next night under somber circumstances as Rock'n'Roller Allen Woody (of Government Mule) had been found passed away in New York City earlier in the day. We did enjoy ourselves in Nashville that night but you could feel that someone special was gone. The next day I went with Ryan to Finger, Tenessee. All I can say is thanks Ryan, for stopping and having me roll down the windows while we were on that small highway. It was a thick and lush, and the smell was warm orange and a beautiful sunset...god what a drive that was. We watched a Samuel Beckett short film at his house and the next morning we had omelettes made with bell peppers picked from the tree out front and I headed for Arkansas...
*The Herbhome hostel is a dream come true. It's two miles down a dirt road and at the house are goats and ginny hens, and real outside only cats. The place was lined with a full variety of herbs, many of which are now in my journal and still have a wonderful smell. There is so much to say about this place but basically if you're heading NEAR the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas, please email me and I'll give information on where to stay where a good home-cooked meal is served and the hosts are quite friendly. I was off to Oklahoma City next...
*It was a long drive somehow and I got to see my cousin Ann and her parents. We ate a beautiful pot roast and I took a much needed shower and before I knew it, it was 10pm and we had to get up at six am because Ann was off to school and I was off to Wichita Falls, Texas...
*I tried to go for a job in 105 degree weather and almost collapsed twenty minutes into it. It was quite relaxing at my grandparent's house and I had an interesting lunch with my grandpa and his friend. I was able to see a girl I met while traveling last time, Holly, and we had a fun time with her brother and other members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Wichita Falls. And then I had a long drive to Albuquerque...
*I saw a guy near Amarillo, Texas who was walking from Coast to Coast. I wanted to talk to him but I was driving 70 miles an hour and soon he was far behind me. I stayed at a comfortable hostel in the mountains east of Albuquerque. It was a little highway town in the Sandia Mountains but I slept well and headed for Flagstaff the next day.
*Made it to Rebecca's by 1pm and we went to a brewery down the street to celebrate their third anniverssary and boy did we celebrate. I was up by 7am because I fell asleep by 10 the night before. I saw Christy, a girl I hadn't seen in four years at her apartment down the street with her new husband, Hunter. I missed the Flagstaff vibe. It is so much different than anywhere else I've ever felt. It's hard to explain but anyone reading this that has lived there knows. My last night I dragged Rebecca to Granny's Closet for 20 cent wings (they used to be 10!) and watch the Monday Night Football remergence of the Rams. They won in a great game and then I was on the road by 5:45 the next morning for California. I made great time, scooting across the eastern California desert listening to a mixture of Howard Stern's interview with David Spade on the Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston wedding and a Mexican polka station that kept coming in and out...it eventually went out.
Okay, so I left some out, went into too much detail in others but I'm home. I was gone 95 days and saw a lot and loved it. Here's my little sum up of the summer the night before I came home.
"Most likely I cannot put into words what this summer has meant to me. I will never forget it in the respect it is part of the essential foundation to my person that I like to recall during my writing and when life is stationary. I will be moving in smaller, shorter increments but it will allow the colorful fragments of dust to settle and I can take a deep breath and try and put it all together."
(Deep breath)
thanks, please write back and let me know how you are and when you get a chance, read a new story on the webpage: www.geocities.com/jasonconga
Peace
Jason
