NC

Whoops. Forgot a post about rural North Carolina.

It wasn't much to write home about.

I did drive to the Outer Banks one day though, and the beaches were very pretty.

The Texas Panhandle.

Overdue.

Amarillo, TX.

Last week I was yo-yoing through Amarillo, TX which was an interesting place indeed. It was very, well, Texas.

It was very flat. Great Plains flat. And, very, very windy. The winds were about 60mph. I guess the wind really picks up when there's nothing in the way to slow it dow for hundreds of miles. Amarillo was the smallest airport I had seen. 4 gates. No, not terminals, gates. That's until we get to this week.

Driving into town I passed the Big Texan- famed for it's "Free 72oz Steak"- if you can finish it in one hour. This joint has been on the Food Network, and I was told was a must hit spot in Amarillo. I walked through, and it was neat. Cracker Barrell-esque. I contemplated using their free limo service to come back later that night for dinner. My mind was changed after wandering into an Antiques shop on Route 66. I spoke with a very nice woman for quite some time, and she told me to save my money rather than dine at the Texan. She was thrilled that I was from Boston, "You have to sign our guestbook!" she said. And I did. I think the person above me in the book was from the faraway land of El Paso, TX. When I left, she told me that I had to come visit her again. I said I would.

The people in Amarillo are very nice. And there's something to be said for that. But then again, by the end of my journey I may realize that people in most other places are nicer than they seem to be on the East Coast.

Yo-yo shows were great. The kids were quite cute. They all had a little Texas drawl when they spoke. Whenever I asked a question, the response included "ma'am" at the end of it. This was one time I did not mind being "Ma'am-ed".

I had the pleasure of having an afternoon off, so I headed to Palo Duro Canyon. It's a national park. It's the second biggest canyon in the U.S.. I, never having seen the Grand Canyon, was quite impressed. It was a really beautiful little place and I went for a hike and took lots of pictures. I also saw some Texas Longhorns that were a part of the park. They were very big cows. With very big horns.

Then it was off to Cadillac Ranch. My sister's fiancee tells me that Cadillac Ranch graces the cover of a Springsteen album. Fun fact.

Cadillac Ranch was started in the 70's when a Texas gentleman decide to bury 10 Cadillacs nose down in the middle of a field next to Route 66. They're buried at the exact angle of the Grand Pyramid in Egypt. It's a public art piece. The idea is you're supposed to spray paint on them. So I did.

Amarillo was a place that had grown up as a roadside attraction alongside Route 66. It still has that feel. It's a really cool pit stop for a road trip I'd say. So if you're driving through Texas, and looking for a place to spend the night- or afternoon, stop in Amarillo.

Virginia Beach 2.0

Here I am again in Virginia Beach. As you may remember from my last visit, there's not a terrible amount of things to do here when it's not beachy weather. So I was prepared. Brace yourselves.

My journey began at the airport, with a delayed layover in Baltimore. I treated myself to a margarita and some chips and guac while I read the March Vogue. All of these things were good choices. I arrived at Norfolk International to slightly warmer temperatures and a rental Chevy Cruze, which has been a nice little car.

After checking into my hotel, I went down to Five Guys to get myself some dinner. Burger was delicious as always. A nice enough guy named Rick hit on me. That was a little awkward. But, as of yet, I haven't seen the nightlife in VA so maybe that's how things work here. (jk)

The shows and schools here are great, people are just happier to see me here than they are in New England. After my first day of work I went to Trader Joe's, then returned to my hotel. I then used the hotel to the most of its resources, I went to the gym, I went to the pool, the hot tub, ate a freshly baked cookie the whole shebang. Woot woot. The next day of work was followed by a trip to the beach after work. This has to be why people come here.

That night I went to see a cheesy romantic comedy, which was surprisingly good. I also made a stop by Forever21. I like it there because I can actually buy things. Because they are cheap. Which is awesome. Today, work again, I tried to occupy my afternoon by driving over a very big bridge, but when I learned it had a very big toll, I turned around.

Thrilling.

Tomorrow, I'm coming home. And I'm looking forward to it.

The Desert

I am in Phoenix.

Well, right now I'm in Glendale. A Springhill Suites to be exact. Sitting on my bed, with a box of left over bbq, my last night in town writing a blog.

Arizona has been an interesting time. Our country is so diverse. The "American" spirit is really different down here. Radio stations play the national anthem at noon to give thanks to the "fact" that we live in the greatest country in the world. Don't get me wrong, I love where I'm from- but I do think these people don't get around much. A few mediocre radio d.j.s aside, the west is a cool place. The landscape is so different. For the most part it's a vast desert, except for what you see above: Red Rocks.

The Red Rocks are one of the most beautiful natural wonders I have ever seen. The pictures above do not do them justice. If you're ever anywhere near Sedona, you should go see them. Then hit up an In-N-Out on the way home for a Double-Double Animal Style, because that just may be the best afternoon of a business trip that your life has seen so far. For me, it was way up there.

The yo shows here have been pretty awesome as well. Sweet kids, nice teachers. I haven't been to a rough school. There is always tomorrow, but I do believe that some cities in the U.S. don't have 'rough' areas as others do. Sure, they're rough compared to their surroundings, but when you bring other demographics into the equation, it doesn't come close.

Oh, by the way, did I say that it's been sunny and an average of 70ish degrees all week? 'Cause it has, and it's been sooooo good.

Post numero uno de 2011.

So, after a lovely two weeks of vacation, I'm back in Seattle for team training with all of the other fabulous folk that do my job in other parts of the country. Before I tell you about that, I do want to say that I'm quite excited to have finished my first real adult vacation time- like, when you still get paid when you take time off...and you don't have to retake a drug test or get re-hired or any other of that bullshit. Yay job!

So it's been quite cool hanging with my co-workers. There is such a variety of people. The people that do my job include all ages, moms, dads, grandpas- it's pretty neat. I've been talking with a lot of people I've never really talked to before. There are a little less than 20 of us, so it's pretty neat to actually know everyone that does your job. I like being a part of a smaller company. Also, I like having someone to talk to, because when I'm in the bean, my co-workers are all at least 300 miles away. It's cool to be reminded- hey, I'm not all alone.

I won an award for being good at my job. I was thrilled. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting it, especially since I haven't even hit the 6 month mark yet. Huzzah!

This trip, I haven't seen anything more than the office and my hotel, so not too much to write home about there. In one week, I'm off to the west....

Cornbread.

This post is a little overdue, but better late than never.

Before leaving VA Beach, I spent my last day in rural North Carolina. I saw lots of cotton fields. And some goats.

The people were so nice. At schools, and just in general. I went into a supermarket, and every person I passed on the way in the door said hi to me. If this were to happen to me in Boston, I would think that I accidentally forgot my shirt when I got dressed.

At the second school I went to, I talked to a woman named Suzanne for a while. She was really sweet. She was pregnant and we talked about Disney World. I gave her a yo yo on my way out and she hugged me. The people at the schools in NC were so grateful that I was there, they said they'd never had anything like me before. I was in an extremely rural part of the state. There was nothing, for miles. The center of the first town had a gas station/supermarket and a post office, the second town had those two things plus a pizza grill. I feel lucky to have grown up in a city such as Boston- it's played a big part in who I am. I feel like a place like Gatesville, NC is probably quite wholesome, but probably quite difficult to ever leave- to see the world.

On my way back to the airport, I was stopped by road construction and a flagger named Cornbread. We chatted for what seemed like 20 minutes until the road was clear for me to pass. He was kind. He had a beard and told me how he was planning on painting it white for the holidays for the kids in his neighborhood-so he could be Santa Claus. He also told me I was the kind of person that could change someone's life just by meeting them. Was he hitting on me? Maybe. But I prefer just to think he was a kind old man.

My yoyo show is really shaping up. I feel confident that I'm doing well. I'm happier, not stressed anymore. It's sinking into that place where I start the first line of the show and the rest of it just flows out of my mouth. That's a pretty good place to be. It makes it a lot easier to deal with curve balls.

This week will be a very short 2 days, then Thanksgiving. I can not wait for Thanksgiving.

Va va va VA Beach

I am in Virginia Beach. Yo-yoing. The shows here have been going well, people are much nicer here than they are in Boston. Now I get what everyone says about us New Englanders. Not that I mean every Bostonian is mean, because they are clearly not, but in my experience of showing up at a school and actually needing help and time for people- the Virginians are much more accepting of my requests. People from NH are pretty good too, and also East Boston. That's a surprising mix.

As far as the yos go, it's getting better and better. I'm landing my tricks more often than not now, and totally wowing little children. I hope this only continues.

Today I had the day off, because it is Veteran's Day. No school. Woo hoo!

I took it upon myself to explore VA Beach. The first place I headed to this morning was the boardwalk. I was excited. As I left my hotel, the sun was beaming and it seemed to be getting warmer; however, as I drove eastward on I-264, the clouds began to roll in. I got to the gray beach a few moments later. I didn't let the clouds stop me, I walked on the boardwalk two miles down the beach to get to the pier. When I got to the pier I discovered it was closed for the season- I also discovered that had it been open, someone would have charged me $2 to walk out on a dock. Seriously? Where is the world at these days?

Well, I walked to the other side of the pier and proceeded to take my shoes off and stick my feet in the ocean. I did this while Virginians walked the boardwalk in coats and scarves. It was a balmy 53 today. The beach itself was lovely, so clean and crisp, with huge waves.

I walked back to my car along the strip, and poked my head into some cheesy gift shops along the way. The sun poked its head out for a brief moment, and it that moment I ran back to the beach and snapped the picture above.

I was hoping it'd be warm enough to actually lay out in my bathing suit on the sand, and maybe go swimming, but no such luck. I'll just have to wait until next month when I head to the D.R.(not yo-yo related).

I then took the rest of the day to explore the city.....it didn't take long. Strip mall after strip mall, chain restaurant after chain restaurant. I was hoping to find a quaint Sherman-esque coffee shop where I could do some reading, but no luck there either. I thought that perhaps the center of VA Beach would have something similar- the "center" of VA Beach is an office park where the town hall, crime solvers and other random governmental stuff meet. It was back to the strip malls for me.

This made me think about the rest of America. And how lucky we Bostonians are. Not only the Bostonians, but the New Yorkers, the San Franciscans, the Seattle-ites...the people that live in L.A.- we live in a city with character. A city where a lot of the things in it can't really be found anywhere else. When I'm driving down the road here in VA Beach, I could easily be back in Kansas City, or even in Orlando. My boyfriend told me that the average American watches 4 hours of T.V. a day. I can see how this is possible, when the biggest thing to do where you live is go to the mall- and even that closes by 9:00.

I do thoroughly enjoy the beach though.

Tomorrow, it's back to the bean. It's been a nice little jaunt. Thanks for everything Virginia!