Since my last entry, my parents have gone back to Connecticut, while I went on to Santa Barbara to visit my long-time friend (since high school), Kevin. After having stayed in a different hotel every night when traveling with my parents, being able to stay in one place for a week was fun and relaxing. Kevin and I used our annual Six Flags pass (yes, we have annual passes) to enjoy the Magic Mountain amusement park and its glorious roller coasters. Kevin especially needed the distraction considering he just finished the most intense test for his graduate English degree at the University of California in Santa Barbara. In fact, his continuously talking about the test was not only understandable but contagious. I think my friends in Portland know much more about the graduate English program at UCSB than they want to.
Portland has been great. It’s really the only place where I have so many friends, in close proximity who also know each other. Considering that I lived here and try to visit every year, I have a good contingent of people to hang out with and always have fun. My friends received some tragic news while I was here, and I was glad that I could be here for them. Despite the bad, there’s been plenty of good, and I should have even more people to see next time.
Hanging out with Kevin and Marah in their and their friend’s apartments, I’m getting a glimpse into what I want and can expect when I start my own search for a place in Honolulu. I love living within walking distance of restaurants, shopping, and friends, I can’t wait 'til it's my turn!
I’ve decided to forgo the cross-country bus trip. A flight was only $50 more than the bus, and I’d prefer to spend the few days with my friends rather than on a bus. I still like the idea of a trip across the US, but it will have to wait.
Next and last stop: New York/Connecticut. At the moment, I have a return flight to Honolulu dated for July 13th. By the way, I'm looking to use my annual pass again, so anyone who wants to go to Six Flags New England or Great Adventure, I am so down.
Since May 27th, a satellite radio-equipped rental car has been motoring Mom, Dad, and me through the national parks of the Southwest US. Road-tripping through expansive deserts and mountains with few signs of modern development seems uniquely, and therefore classically, American. Vast landscapes unfold as the black ribbon of road winds through them, granting us access to these rugged wonders. (See? It makes me wax all poetical!) From California to Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada--we're getting a solid sense of what the Southwest has to offer, and we are thoroughly impressed. In fact, all of us like the idea of moving to Colorado.
seeming contradictions: the Mohave Desert was filled with life and color; and diversity as revealed by the towering sequoias, the Dr. Seuss-like joshua trees, and delicate aspen groves.
We've learned how the 50,000 year old Meteor Crater was formed, how trees became rocks at Petrified Forest, and how ancient peoples survived these climates. We've also discovered that in this part of the country, a population of 50 or even 1 is sufficient to put a town on the map.