The World According to Shawn
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I'm writing this post from Toronto, Canada, where I have been for the past week visiting my uncle & aunt and mostly my cousins. When I last wrote I had driven from San Diego to Phoenix. In the month that has passed I have to say the amount of traveling I have done has been overwhelming even for someone who loves traveling as much as I do.
I picked up Lucas in Phoenix and we headed for Denver, Colorado. The drive there was probably the most scenic and enjoyable ride I have ever taken. The Rocky Mountains are simply stunning, and the best part was driving at an elevation of 10 thousand feet above sea level and looking above the car and seeing peaks still another 3 or 4 thousand feet higher. We spent two nights in Denver and took in a lot of the sites, before heading for Omaha, Nebraska. I was surprised at how urban yet eclectic Omaha was. It was not what I was expecting at all, but it was a pleasant surprise and a reminder to be more open minded. Then came Chicago, which was a reunion of old friends I hadn't seen in years. All from my time in Boston, but they were now living in the windy city and seemed to be enjoying it.
After Chicago was a long drive to Niagara Falls with a stop in Cleveland, Ohio along the way. This was my third time visiting the Falls but it was probably the best visit as I got to really take them in, and appreciate their magnitude. Next was a drive to New Hampshire where we got to settle in for a full week, as there was a lot in the plans for NH including camping and a day visit down to Boston. My first time camping was a success, I really enjoyed sleeping outdoors, building fires, and swimming in the lake even more than I thought I would. I also really liked Lucas's friends in NH, they were a large part the highlight of the trip so far.
Then it was onto New York City, and New Jersey for a few days. We spent and entire day walking around NYC something I hadn't done in years, and also a day down at the Jersey shore. After all the fun it was time for Lucas to go back to Phoenix, so I dropped him off at the airport on Tuesday August 16th and that was the end of the 3 week journey across America. The only downtime I had was a day or two at my mothers house in NJ before I got back in the car and decided to come up to Canada to visit the family I hadn't seen in a very long time.
Even when I go back to Jersey the traveling still isn't done, because I just got the news today that my visa was processed and shipped to my house. What that means is that in a little over a month I'll be boarding a plane and heading for Ireland once again.
Someday I will get the chance to sit down and look back on this all and sum up my feelings on this insane month of traveling, but for now I'm still in the middle of enjoying it.
