Top Secret

So after I wrote that thing about sharing my mail, the mail flow for the week kind of slowed down. But here's what I've gotten in the past three days.

I was going to go to San Jose on my All You Can Jet trip, because I've always wanted to visit the Winchester Mystery House. But there were no direct flights, so I had changed my plan to take the train down from San Francisco for one day and then go straight back. Then it turned out I had a really good time in SF, so I never made it to San Jose. Next time!

Fun little card. Endicott is up near Binghampton, a little over the PA border near I-81. I've never been to that area of New York, but I'm sure it's nice.

I love this card from Brisbane. The colors are so bright! I'd love to visit Australia someday, and this card makes me want to go even more. Also, check out the cute stamp that was on the back of it.

My chinese zodiac sign is rabbit, so I've really enjoyed seeing all the cute Year of the Rabbit stamps and postcards for 2011. This stamp is by far the cutest one I've seen, though.

I also got a little something in the mail from a close friend. My little package had a mix CD and some fun extras (note the Trogdor button - so glad the package wasn't burninated by the time it got here).

Said friend has been making mixes every month of the year for the past year or so, and each year ends with a spectacular Christmas mix. So, if you want to, and I promise you want to, you can check out all of the mixes (and download them) here. They're really diverse and there's something there for everyone.

I also got a little package from Fancy Flours. It's super top secret and I can't tell you what it is at this juncture, but it will make another appearance in the future. Guesses are allowed, but you'll have to wait to see the contents until another day. I like their wrapping, though - super cute tissue paper.


That's all the mail I have to share. I also received my Iron & Wine ticket in the mail yesterday, so that was exciting.

I don't really have anything else to share either. Things have been boring and I've been strangely exhausted, so other than running errands and doing housework, I've not done much. More to come in the near future, surely.

AYCJ Summary

I guess I never actually posted a link to it over here, but my short little story about my JetBlue AYCJ travels posted over on Michael Musto's blog a little over a week ago. Click here to read.

Trip Stats

I also wanted to give some brief numbers. Before I forgot. But I did forget, so here's a second post!

The trip was 28 days long.

I visited 5 new cities (but Seattle twice) in 5 new states.

I traveled through 8 airports.

I took 14 flights.

I stayed in 8 homes.

I bought 66 records.

I did laundry a total of 2 times.

I spent less than $400 (excluding my parking fees at Charlotte-Douglas).

Nearing The End

The end of my All You Can Jet month is drawing very near. Tomorrow will be my last round of flights and then I will drive back to Charleston Thursday morning. I have to say, while it will be nice to sleep in my own bed, I'm not looking forward to being back there. I was unhappy there to begin with, and now it just seems like a chore to have to drag myself back into it all.

I spent a few days last week in Austin, TX. I really liked Austin, but I feel like I could have enjoyed it a lot more than I did. My hosts, while good people, were just not very helpful in giving me ideas of what I should see or do. Add that to the fact that I was getting tired and starting to be a little burnt out on hopping around from place to place, and it just makes for a fairly uneventful trip. I did manage to take a short little hike thing and buy some (read: a lot) of records. So, despite the fact that the trip could've been much better, I'll call it a success.

It was hard to put Austin after Salt Lake City, because SLC just was sort of a crazy experience all around. I liked it there quite a bit, but I don't think I'd want to live there.

I had a flight booked from Austin on Saturday morning that would take me to San Francisco, Long Beach, and finally put me in Seattle at about 8 p.m. However, there was a mechanical failure on the plane that was to be flying in from San Francisco the night before, so that morning flight was delayed by like 4.5 hours. This would've made me miss all of my connecting flights. So I spent the entire day Saturday sitting in the airport until I could catch a 5 p.m. flight to Long Beach. Because JetBlue would not help me in any way to get me to Seattle that night, they put me up in a hotel in Long Beach, which wasn't so bad. But I was still irritated about losing a few hours.

When I finally got to Seattle the next morning, I was exhausted but very happy to be back here. I like it here. A lot, really. I have a feeling similar, but of course a little different, to the one I have when I'm in New York. Something clicks and it just feels safe or like home or something. It's really strange. So I'm glad that I decided to come back here and finish out my trip in a city that makes me comfortable. I was even able to see the people who hosted me when I came to Seattle earlier on this trip and catch up on their lives. They're such nice people and I'm so glad I got the chance to meet them. But, even though being here is a happy thing, I know it will be very heartbreaking to leave. Especially to leave and go back to Charleston.

This trip as a whole has been a major event in my life. I've learned a lot, seen a lot, met a lot of new, great people (and learned to have a bit of faith in humanity), and just had a fantastic time along much of the way. Like anything, the trip has had its ups and downs, but in the end, they were all very worth it and I'm glad I didn't just throw in the towel at the first sign of things not going as planned. Looking back, this all came at a time when I really needed it, and it has slightly changed a lot of things for me. It'll be strange to see what happens when the traveling is completely over.

I've got a lot on my schedule for the remainder of 2010. But the one thing I've learned from all of this is that I definitely need to get my shit together. I need to figure out what I'm doing as far as finishing college or going to culinary school goes. I need to make a conscious effort to get in with a particular company that will allow me a job I can tolerate and that will allow me to pay my bills while also giving me the option of mobility in the future so that I can get out of Charleston and go some place that will make me happier. So, yes, there will be fun things to update on, even when all this exciting jetting is out of the way. But, at the same time...I've gotta put my game face on. I think the end of this trip is really the start of some new chapter or something of my life in a way. It doesn't mean drastic change will occur right away, but I have the opportunity to grab a little bit of control back and try to fight for a better situation for myself away from the Southeast.

So Little Time!

I have neglected to post an update about my whereabouts since San Francisco. After I left California, I headed to Salt Lake City for a few days.

Salt Lake City was a lot of fun. It was nice to have a break from "big city" life for a few days. Most of my time there was spent among nature instead of skyscrapers, and it was just very enjoyable. Even the part where we got stuck on top of a mountain when the brakes went out on the so-called pedophile van (it was just a really sketchy van, ok). Luckily, I had my AAA card with me, so that worked out well in the end.

I had nice hosts in SLC, too, which helped to make the time more enjoyable. And I also met some other CouchSurfers! There were three staying with my first host when I arrived - two guys from Australia and a girl from Houston, TX. All nice people, and I'm very glad I had the chance to meet them.

Tuesday night, I left Salt Lake City and now I'm sitting on the floor at JFK waiting for my plane to Austin, TX. I have no idea what I'm doing in Austin, but I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go. Right now, the first thing I would like to do is nap a little. I wasn't able to sleep on my flight because of screaming babies. I'm not even going to get into my feelings about that. But I'll leave you with a picture of the dodgy, awesome van.

I LOVE THE PACIFIC OCEAN!

Today, I walked about 50 blocks (that's my guesstimate) here in San Francisco to get to a spot where I was pretty sure I'd be able to view the Pacific Ocean. I was greatly surprised to discover that, not only could I view the Pacific Ocean, I could touch it! And play in it! And revel in its oceanyness!

While I was walking there, I got to a point on a hill where, if I glimpsed down a side street, I could see the ocean on the horizon. I literally almost peed my pants because I was that excited (and I'd had to pee for like the past 30 blocks). Gross, but true, folks. I can't give you enough words to tell you how much I loved this experience and how absolutely amazing it was. But I can give you a few pictures. I took over 100 today while I spent a few hours dicking around by the sea.

The ruins of the Sutro Baths were also available for my exploring pleasure.

Hi, ocean!

Cliffs and something sneaky hiding out...

Hi, Golden Gate Bridge!

Dear Pacific Ocean, I am in you.

More pictures of other things will be uploaded to Flickr or something when I'm back in Charleston. So far San Francisco has been great and I'm glad I chose to come here!

Portland?

So I made it to Portland at the end of last week. It was very hard for me to leave Seattle after having had such a good time, having met some awesome new people, seeing some great older people, and figuring out that I actually like Seattle a lot. All of this stuff combined made my trip to Portland very emotionally stressful, and at first, made it seem like something I didn't actually want to be doing.

When I arrived in Portland, I was not feeling so sure about my hosts here. The actual person who agreed to let me be a guest in the house wasn't here, and the other roommates in the house seemed almost as if I was in their way by being here or like they felt awkward about me being there. It was a very unpleasant (mostly because of the emotional leaving-Seattle issues) first evening and it cemented the idea that I shouldn't have left Seattle into my head. But, because I can't leave a place without booking 3 days in advance, I was stuck anyway.

Over the next few days, the hosts I was (and still am as I'm typing this) staying with warmed up to me a little and seemed to be much kinder. It made my stay here a lot better. I think any "badness" was all my interpretation and not a true reflection of the situation. After exploring a little bit, I warmed up to Portland itself too. I've grown to like it here. Still not as much as I liked Seattle. But, it's nice here and I'm glad I decided to make it part of my trip and glad I had the chance to meet these people. I'd like to visit Portland (and my hosts) again someday.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the airport again and flying from Portland to San Francisco (with a stop in Long Beach in between). I'm excited about San Francisco, but worried that I'll be feeling the same way when I arrive there that I felt upon my arrival in Portland.

After San Francisco, things get a bit messy in my head because there are a few different options that I could take. I just don't know which I really want. But I will have to figure it out very, very soon...so things could get interesting.

I know I said I'd post pictures, but I just haven't gotten to even uploading them. It might end up that I'll wait and do all of that when I get home to Charleston. Who knows. But there are a few pictures to be shared.

So far, the trip is going well and I'm happy that I've been given this opportunity. Like anything, it's kind of bittersweet, but I think it will all work out okay in the end.

Hi, I'm in Seattle...

My JetBlue flying extravaganza began at the end of last week, and so far, it's been awesome. I left Charleston for Charlotte on Thursday night around midnight and arrived in Seattle a little before 2 p.m. on Friday.

I've been lucky enough to have really awesome hosts (with an awesome house!) and friends here in Seattle that have been kind, funny, overly accommodating, and willing to show me around a little bit. It's been really amazing so far - I love Seattle - and, while I'm excited for the rest of my travels, I know that I'll be very sad to leave here. But I'm sure I'll be back sometime in the not too distant future.

Pictures will be posted somewhere eventually - probably on Thursday because I'll be bored at the airport, waiting for my flights to Portland. And I'll definitely check in with some news from my next destination!