Alive!

It's been a whirlwind few days. After taking the red eye to Washington, DC I spent a day wandering the town then a night at the bar and jumping into bushes (a favorite DC past time). Tuesday started at 5:15am, contained lots of emotions and tons of expended energy trying to stay warm, and ended with another night at the bar (unfortunately no bushes this time). Wednesday started early, included a metro ride in the wrong direction (my apologies to all involved) and ended with a nine hour car ride up to Boston. Phew!

So I'm alive and kicking and got my first real night of sleep since embarking on this adventure, but what can you expect with amazing things happening. A full report about inauguration will come, but here is how I explained it to a friend while chatting online:

Three things: 1) People were joyous. Truly joyous and relieved. 2) Everyone was so kind. It was freezing cold and most people weren't dressed appropriately. That's a recipe for angry folks, but folks were AMAZING. 3) You could hear a pin drop at times during the event... and 4, for good measure: The echo of his words going down The Mall.... that was my favorite part.

Hopefully I'll find some time to blog and a way to upload photos. Stick with me!

Days 12-20

Yeeks, has it really been that long since I've posted a trip update? There's a lot and I have to catch a bus to New York in an hour so this is going to be brief:

-Dana and I drove from Raleigh, NC to Washington, DC. We talked about everything from Peace Corps to Nazis. Ken, her trusty GPS navigator, took us on a route I was unfamiliar with, but we went that way because the computer said so. Whatever happened to maps? Entering DC we saw the biggest traffic jam I've ever witnessed: Southbound on I-95 there were five lanes of traffic at a bumper-to-bumper standstill for approximately 10 miles. I couldn't do that, period.

-Catharine was an amazing host. We partied, we chatted, she fed me, I washed my clothes, etc etc. She put up with me for six whole days. Incredible! A big thanks to her.

-I got to see old Elon friends and others from the "Working in DC" era of my life. I was a guess player for a kickball team (we lost) and softball team (also lost). I'm not much of a ringer.

-Now I'm in Baltimore and heading to the bus stop to catch a ride to New York City and the home of Ian and Jeffy. The bus stop is pretty sketchy so if I'm abducted or become a drug addict, tell my family I love them

Freak Nerd

Today is my last day in The South. Tomorrow I'll be hitching a ride with Dana up to Washington, DC for good times with Catharine, Aimee, Andre, Curley, and others. That means no more Vera Bradley bags or Crokeys (Apparently that's what a neck leash is called. Spelling?), no more Bojangles or pulled pork. The southern swing has been great, thanks to all the radical friends that have put me up and been around to hang out.

About the Freak Nerd: Is it weird that when I'm in DC I'm planning to spend time on Capitol Hill going to hearings? One of the biggest redeeming qualities of living/working there the past two springs has been the endless opportunities to hear brilliant people speak, so I'm looking forward to dabbling a bit for a couple days. Is that weird? Is that Freak Nerdish?