The hand that feeds is the hand keeping you down.

DEATH TURNS ALL TO ASH.

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:34:06 GMT

My new blog.

http://www.anchorless07.blogspot.com

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:48:27 GMT

Restless soul, this place will never be your home. And if you want to have it all, you've got to let it all go.

Alcatraz, San Francisco.

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:53:36 GMT

Sat, 09 Sep 2006 16:36:09 GMT

So my journey is coming to a close. Today is the last real day of independent travelling. My dad is meeting me in San Diego tomorrow morning in order to make the trip back East with me. I'm spending today and tonight in Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach, then making my way to San Diego. I am battling with myself over whether I made the right decision or not. It's beautiful here, it's definitley what I left to find and I only got to spend a super short time. But I do know that I've conquered a lot, been to a ton of places, and have pretty much seen 3/4ths of the United States now all on my own through a network of friends. I found what I was looking for, whatever that is, in Southern California; it took a while and it took at least a heaping handful of terrible places in order to find some place that felt 'good'.

I would do it all again, with everything that I know now what not to do and where not to go. In fact, the South and Southern California will be my next trip. Santa Barbara, California and the Southern Cali coastline is the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. West Coast far surpasses the East Coast, haha.

But regardless, I have a lot to come home to, a lot I'm anticipating and cannot wait to take hold of. I'll be back in a week or so. See you then.

Do's and Do Not's of The U$:

- New York City - After being gone and seeing everything else, New York is overrated and pretty lame.
- Philadelphia - Do not. I don't see the hype? Giannia's is well worth it, though.
- Pittsburgh - Nice to pass through, but nothing to write home about unless you like a really small city with a small nightlife.
- Cincinnati - Impartial.
- Louisville - Definitley visit, one of my favorite little cities. Easy to navigate, beautiful architecture, safe, lots of water and fountains and nice little gardens.
- Elizabethtown - Not worth it. haha.
- Chicago - Second best city in the East. Rivaling Boston, though.
- Minnesota - Never. Never. Ever.
- North Dakota - Never.
- Montana - Probably the worst experience of my life. The only reason you would end up in Montana is if you wanted to die.
- Idaho - Kellogg, Idaho was really rad and overall, Northern Idaho might be pretty nice to navigate.
- Seattle - Impartial. I thought it sucked, but then again, I wasn't there for long and didn't really get a tour. I'll give it another shot sometime. I walked around the whole city and found nothing that sweet, though. And I was there during Bumbershoot.
- Olympia - Cute little city, ate IHop there. Looks like it would be fun.
- Portland - I don't see the hype?
- Sacramento - Never. Hated it. College town with shopping and bars.
- San Francisco - Awesome. Well worth travelling to, staying in, living in. Loved it there.
- Santa Barbara - Absolutley amazing. Possible future home, possible future college. Possible future, period.
- Santa Monica - Beautiful. The beaches were so inviting. If only I had more time.
- Los Angeles - I didn't battle the traffic or get anywhere near downtown, but I don't see the hype either.
- Huntington Beach - So pretty. Picture perfect. Worth a visit or two or three, for sure.

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:55:09 GMT

I love this city.

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:12:51 GMT

Holy shit, San Francisco is absolutley beautiful.

I don't even know what to make of Sacramento, but I do know that San Francisco is definitley all I was anticipating and more.

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 21:44:53 GMT

Maybe in retrospect, I will consider this giant catastrophy of a trip some sort of success. Maybe after I'm home for a few weeks, I'll realize how much I'll miss the open road. In fact, just thinking about accepting back a certain amount of responsibility and lack of freedom is a little troubling. But this trip hasn't been fountains worth of fun, nor has it been any enlightening experience. I've seen a good number of places, and two out of the handfuls of spots were only two sources of excitment. So, thank you Chicago and thank you Louisville. Everything else has been mediocre at best. As I told a few of you before, the fun meter has been resting at a constant 3 or below.

Unfortunatley, I'm afraid this trip will be coming to a close within a few weeks. I'll be returning home much earlier than expected. The sense of adventure was worth it, and the fact that I'll be able to say "I've been there" might be worth it in the future - but for right now, I'd say the expectations were either far too high or just were never reached. It was my first time attempting such a lengthy, time-intensive trip. Or it could just be that my past predictions of the United States being nothing short of a mirror copy of every other big city or suburban area is true, or it could be that I just didn't experience enough in the places I had gone to. Whatever the reason may be, and there could be possible hundreds, I feel like it would only be a waste of my current time and money to persue this trip much further, and across the rest of the U$.

Regardless - thank you to those who housed me for however long, feed me your food, showed me your cities, and allowed me to intervene on your lives for an extended period of time. Whenever it is that you need a favor in some shape or form, I will be the one to come to. Thank you immensely to those that helped me plan the trip, gave me suggestions of places to go, and contacted me with words of encouragement. I genuinely appreciate it.

The next trip will be in planning shortly, of course. Complacency doesn't settle well in my stomach, and returning home only to stay isn't my idea of fun. While what I saw of America was a complete bust this time around, it's quite possible the places I missed are the hidden gems of this country. And I'm sure they'll be visited eventially. But the international world is my next target. We'll see where that goes.

See you all back on the East Coast in a few weeks. See those of you on the West Coast within the next two weeks. I know the rest of you and your cities aren't leaving anywhere, I can always visit where I missed or decided to skip over. So, I guess, see all you at some time or another.

Home definitley won't be the same any longer, though.

.. hahahah. This all coming after I just got "The World is Mine" around an outline of the United States with a heart around Connecticut tattooed on my leg yesterday. Totally worth it, though. This trip was rad for exactly what it was.

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 22:09:49 GMT

Fuck Montana. Fuck North Dakota. Fuck Idaho. Fuck Minnesota.

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 13:33:42 GMT

Goodbye Chicago. I'll be back very soon.

Now to Minnesota for a short stay, a stop for fireworks in North Dakota, and the long trek to Glacier National Park in Montana.

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 00:38:52 GMT

Millenium Park, Chicago IL.

Chicago, IL: Part Two.

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 00:45:57 GMT

This city is so rad.

Shown Here:

- Our Lady of Guadalupe painting right outside of Jon's apartment.
- Mexican indepdence mural sprawled across a wall on 18th St. So awesome.
- Lincoln Park. Wikipedia: The Weathermen Underground.
- The Tinman in Oz Park, North Side.

Chicago, IL.

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 14:55:34 GMT

Welcome to Chicago.

Elizabethtown, KY & Louisville, KY.

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 14:38:20 GMT

As it turns out, most of Elizabethtown was not actually filmed there - but in Louisville and other states around the midwest/south. But I had talked to a very nice lady at the Elizabethtown Visitor Center who pointed me in the right direction (north) to find some landmarks of the movie. The town itself is just a very small historical town, filled with fast food death and m/hotels.

Luckily, Louisville has been my favorite city so far. I only had the time to spend about four hours there, but was able to see the Greater downtown area, Muhammad Ali Center for Peace, the infamous Louisville Slugger bat, and The Brown Hotel of Elizabethtown fame, where all the hotel scenes were shot, and the Ohio River overlook. There are cute little fountains and greens everywhere, something nice to see in any urban setting. I'm hoping on making a stop back to Louisville on my way back home.

Cincinnati, OH.

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:50:17 GMT

Not a very interesting or exciting city. I found myself boerd there often. There are a few record stores, a handful of restaraunts, and two thrifts worth mentioning - but overall, not that much fun. I was staying with my cousin and his family, though, which was very nice. Home-cooked vegetarian meals while being broke on the road is a true savior.

Pittsburgh Aquarium and Zoo.

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 02:39:08 GMT

Peace out, Pittsburgh.

Post-Script: I just found out fireworks are legal in North Dakota (buy) and Montana (light off). Get ready for those pictures.

Post-Scriptx2: Why do some of my Photobucket pictures upload smaller than I resized them originally? Anyone have a solution or a different picture upload site?

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:59:26 GMT

So I'm glad to have moved on from Philadelphia. Most definitley not the city for me and I don't see the seemingly enormous draw it has on some people. Besides their amazing vegan food (Gianna's), the city is classified under "Not it" in my book. However, thanks to Lynn, I now have a driving companion. You can peep her in the previous entry. Total cutie.

The drive from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh was absolutley gorgeous though. An absolute giant abundance of rolling green landscapes with quaint little farms meticulously placed here and there, and a barrage silos sticking up across the tumbling hills. It was beautiful. Some of the other
pictures I took along the way are in the entry before. Here are a few others:

So I'm here in Pittsburgh now, only for a short stay. The house is really nice, though, and sleeping in a bed was a true fortune in staying here. My next stop is Cincinnati later this week in order to see some family. Elizabethtown shortly after for a day, which will be awesome. I better watch the movie again soon for directions.

I miss my bed, my comforter, my little doggy, and my family. But it's nice being away. I'm so excited to get out to the West Coast, though. Hopefully that won't be the end of me and I'll actually return home at some point.

.... Sike. Even though my heart is anchored back at home, no matter how much I want to think differently. Maybe "Go easy. Be moderate and patient" has finally paid off.

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 04:50:17 GMT

in Pittsburgh. More in the coming days ahead.

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 03:05:21 GMT

Welcome to Philadelphia. (08.08.06 - 08.13.06)

Update (08.09.06) -
+ Smashed in front right passenger window while I was sleeping. $107 at American Auto and Glass, the sketchiest place in West Philadelphia. Shit looked like something straight out of House of 1000 Corpses. Replacement window now with scrapes from unremoved broken glass in.
+ Stolen: 24 pack of Poland Spring water, Arizona Iced Green Tea, single pen, odd amount of change.
+ Not so sure on Philadelphia anymore. Pretty bummed..

- Tonight was much better. Very good night. I feel sorry for the poor soul I just heard get their windows broken in.
- Don't (but really do) go see The Descent. Scariest movie I've ever seen, serious.

Update (08.11.06) -

+ So Philadelphia is actually okay in my book. More to come.