A quick, sleep-deprived update: Today, ladies and gents, I head west. I was (miraculously) able to fit everything of mine in a sweet rental Dodge Caravan. My friend Lindsey and I will be road tripping soccer-mom style, cooler full of snacks included. I apologize (as always) for the lack of regular blogging–my laptop won’t turn on, so I’ve been writing on borrowed computers when I can. I can’t access any of the blog posts I had lined up, so you’ll just have to hold your horses.
Getting to say at home with my family and friends was both lovely and terrible. It made leaving that much harder. After having to say goodbye to my friends in Boston, I felt numb. It was easier to not think about it. But last night, I went to the wedding of one of my best friends and danced until I sweated through my dress and was completely disgusting. And then I danced some more. The second to last song of the evening was Styx’s “Come Sail Away.” I wish it could have been something more poetic, but it was too much for my little heart and my friends and I burst into tears. (A week ago, the same thing happened at karaoke with another group of friends. Apparently “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was just too much for me to handle.) It wasn’t even sadness, really. I felt incredible gratitude at how many excellent friends and family members I have. Some people’s friendships are broken and fucked up and jaded, and their families are worse. We’re all fucked up, but I have so many people supporting me that I could just die from all the kindness.
Enough of the sap–I’m looking 2400 miles forward. I’m headed through ten states in three days. I’m using my road atlas like a scrapbook and pasting in pictures along the way, pictures of mountains and plains and The World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn (which I hope exists in real life). I hope I can wear my cowboy hat and fit in. I hope I eat dinner somewhere where they’ll make fun of my Michigan accent. I hope not to think about how many miles I’m putting between myself and some of my dearest loves. I’ll update facebook when I can, and will have lots of pictures for you once I’m there. Check out idler-mag.com tomorrow for my choose-your-own-adventure guide to drinking on road trips.
All roads lead west.
Much love,
Jill
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Safe travels, Jill.
But, that was Styx, not Journey.
Travel safely and with a ton of gusto! (Though, I’m sure with you, there is a lot of that to go around). I loved you in Michigan, I loved you in Boston and I’ll love you in Cali!
<3 Nicole
Oh Mike. You’re right. I blame my sleep deprivation. Fixed.