Hello again! It's been several weeks since I've been able to blog and a lot has indeed happened. In a nutshell: I got married, honeymooned in Canada, moved across the country, and relocated to Portland, OR. (Whew! That wasn't so bad.) I will definitely summarize all that has happened since my last post. And be assured (I know you're dying of desperation) that I will be covering many more Fancy Things that I encountered right here!
Side note--I will be creating photo albums for all the events that have recently taken place here on my website. Keep a look out!
The Wedding
I'd like to take a moment and give a big thanks to all the family and friends who were able to make it to the wedding. I loved how everything turned out, and it was most definitely the best day of my life. The ceremony was on August 16, at the Fourth Universalist Society on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. The reception was at Juliette, a very suave French restaurant and bistro in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. John and I just watched a Project Runway episode where they took the contestants there for brunch! Granted, we did not choose that location because of the show, but it was still neat to see!
The Honeymoon
John and I decided to stay closer to home and explore our friendly neighbors to the North--that's right, Canada! We spent three nights in Montreal and three nights in Quebec! Our hotel in Montreal, Hotel Le Crystal, was sleek, modern, and very clean. Our hotel in Quebec, the Fairmont Le Chรขteau Frontenac, was absolutely stunning!
(Quick trip to Portland)
While in Montreal, actually just a few minutes after landing, I got a phone call from a prospective job in Portland. Another phone call later, and a quickly planned trip out to Oregon, and I had myself an interview. Alas nothing has come from it, but overall I feel very positive about the future in finding work. I did accomplish the feat of finding a fantastic apartment in NW Portland, very close to downtown.
Our (Great American) Road Trip
One small 'bump' we experienced in Brooklyn was having our car getting broken into the night before we hit the road. Not fun. One passenger window had been smashed. Nothing was stolen, except for John's Spanish Rosetta Stone (muy mal)! We found some tape and cardboard and decided to fix the window in Wisconsin.
Once we hit the asphalt, John and I collectively drove more than 3,100 miles! We saw a lot of America...and frankly, there's not much to see... We had no cell reception from the southern tip of Minnesota to the Idaho/Washington border, thanks Sprint! But we saw lots of different types of typography, flora and fauna, and we literally drove all the way up and down the Rockies (which over 9,000 ft. high)! We stopped at Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, and then spent a day and a night in Yellowstone National Park.
John's Hometown - Kewaskum, Wisconsin
The first night of our seven-day road trip we tried a blitz for John's home in Wisconsin. We made it, but didn't around get in until 3:30 in the morning (an hour behind EST). After some sleep John took me to his beloved Coffee Corner close to his house for yummy turtle latte and we also stopped into a surprisingly large antique mall, where I picked up some more of my beloved jadeite. Later on John's family too me south one hour to Milwaukee to check out an exhibition covering 30 contemporary and modern African American artists.
~ Chasing the Sunset~
Driving across the country is something that I've always wanted to do. It felt a little unexpected, but changes in life seem to always come unplanned, rightly so. Through popular culture people build up expectations of being 'transformed' or at least gaining some..thing from driving cross country--and in some respect it did feel like John and I were at least collectively earning our way to Portland. The specific nitty-gritty details of everything we encountered have faded (I forget the difference between South Dakota and Wyoming), but we shared lots of good moments of talking, singing, and laughing. We saw many hills and plains, lots of pavement, several beautiful sunsets, and a couple of great American landmarks along the way.
I strongly recommend a cross country road trip for anyone willing to do so. I can say that I felt the tactile and earthy America I was looking for, and have the experience to prove it. It wasn't just an ordinary road trip, it was special, because I was moving to a new place, and because I was with the man I love. Ultimately, the metaphorical American Road Trip, is anyone's journey, and it's nice to take sometime to contemplate one's existential relationship to such a diverse and complicated country.
