Note: I don’t know if you folks are still interested in my travels now that I’m stateside. Don’t worry, this won’t become a cookie recipe and complaining about work blog. I will reserve it for travels and meaningful thoughts. I hope you continue on with me for now!

Well I’ve been back in the USA for about a week and a half, and it hasn’t been easy. What a total shock to both my lifestyle and my finances; turn cell phone back on, grapple with phone company to get my old number back (which I had given up on after three days of calling them, only to have it changed with no warning a week later), apply for health insurance, apply for car insurance, apply for more jobs, and, the most stressful, recruit Mom to drive me in all directions for four days trying to find a satisfactory car to buy. Money money, stress, stress. None of this is particularly abnormal or difficult for most of you but it has been a shock to me, someone who has let those skills go out the window over the last year. And while I have enough money for a few more comfortable months, watching it stream away in all directions (thank goodness and my Mother that I haven’t had to think about rent yet) is a stress in itself. A $60 a month phone bill?? That’s a weeks food budget! Thats a train ticket from Switzerland to Germany! Changing the way my mind thinks will take a little time.

So now those big things are semi-stable and what do I do? I’m on the move again. Ithaca is nice, especially now that one of my best friends, Jess (whose wedding I was just in in Guatemala), is currently living in Ithaca for work.  She already has a great community there and is hooked in to yoga, climbing, trivia and kung fu movie nights. If I end up in Ithaca for the summer we will have a ton of fun. But knowing that my most promising job prospect won’t start until late April or early May, I couldn’t imagine just hanging out there for a month or two. There are things I could see! Time is valuable and I have a little bit more of it to squeeze.

Now that I have a car I felt a deep need to reassert my independence to myself. Being cooped up by the foul weather of late I wanted space, aloneness, and the great outdoors (at temperatures above 20 degrees). I had originally planned to visit my friend Carrie who was in Arizona this past weekend. Because the car buying process went days longer than expected I will just miss her, but I got so hooked on the idea of the Southwest US that I’m heading in that direction anyway.

Today was day two. Yesterday I drove about 9 hours from Ithaca in intermittent snow showers to my cousin Renee’s home outside of Columbus Ohio. Stops included Cauyhoga National Park and Geneva State Park to see Lake Erie. After not seeing Renee for years this is the second time I was able to see her and my Uncle in the last couple of months. I was also able to meet her husband Josh who is in to beer, guitars, and science TV. I wish we lived closer so we could be friends! They have both followed my blog and we had a lovely evening, them prompting me and allowing me to relive some of my stories from the last year.
A frozen Lake Erie

Buttermilk Falls, Cuyahoga Valley National park, Ohio

Today was 11 hours through mid-west cities that I’ve heard of and long looked at on maps but have never seen before; Cleveland, Dayton, Indianapolis, etc. As St Louis came into view I was amazed at how big the arch is! It looks tall in pictures but I had no idea that it literally overtopped their downtown buildings! I attempted to get out for a closer view (and pictures) but the offramp was under construction and my Mom’s ten-year-old GPS could not handle it. Perhaps I’ll try again on my way back east. I also tried to find Ha Ha Tonk State Park in the Ozarks but just couldn’t seem to get on the right road. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the landscape and it was worth the detour anyway. I’m spending the night with a couple in their late thirties through “couch surfing,” a free service where people offer travelers a spare bed/couch to sleep. They are both travelers and I’m excited to exchange stories. Plus they’ve invited me to share in St Patrick’s Day dinner; corned beef and cabbage!

Other notables from today include Friendship Ohio, Brazil Indiana (where Orville Redenbacher was born), and St James Missouri (complete with Saint James Guns and Ammo, and Saint James Vineyard).

As always, I’ve enjoyed having the luxury and space for thinking. Today I thought a lot about this road trip. Just like all of my travels, it could easily be considered selfish. First I wondered if I should feel guilty about the  gas usage. But I don’t really.  I know I bought the most gas efficient vehicle that I could (without sacrificing enough storage for my mountain bike or a sleeping ME).  In fact over the last two days it has outperformed the EPA estimate; I’m measuring 34.4 mpg average. Regardless, my gas usage is not necessary. But if I’m being honest I know that more fuel is burned in one day on any of the construction sites I’ve been on than I could possibly use in a week. This fact even Bill McKibben has recognized; that the average commuting (or roadtripping) citizen’s habits make only a tiny dent in a world that needs to be changed by broad and strong public policy. Plus I can buy carbon offsets when I get home.

The bigger concern is wether this will become a pattern for me or if this is, as I currently believe, a way for me to re-integrate. I have my computer; I can working on my memoir and apply for jobs as necessary. I have a phone and can rebuild connections with my friends. I’m in my own country, managing the responsibilities that are required of me, but can still do my own thing and explore every day. But I do still think it is a question I should be asking myself every day; am I avoiding, or preparing?