I've posted more photos, some earlier this week and some just this evening. I'm going to try (really!) to provide more substance in these blog posts. My strategy for this is to tell a story related to the single photo from each Picasa album I've been (usually) including in my posts. Here goes.
Matt Svrcek's Commencement Weekend
Pictured here are various relatives of Matt and his wife Annie. I have no idea what they're looking at, but I thought it made for a funny photo. The gentleman second from the right is Annie's dad Lee. Lee is the proud owner of a Nissan Leaf (all electric vehicle). Being a car geek, amateur tree hugger, and general mischief hound, I humbly requested, somewhere around our second or third glass of wine, an opportunity to take it for a spin. Being a generous host and a truly kind person, Lee foolishly agreed.
I gently roll the Leaf from the driveway to the road and then punch it to see what it could do. I was pleasantly surprised by the acceleration, though I should have expected it because that's a great thing about electric vehicles. Lee was clearly surprised, as indicated by his involuntary exclamations at various points in the drive, by my willingness to run his new car through its paces while simultaneously asking him a thousand questions about it, but he remained relatively calm. Perhaps the wine helped in that respect.
Despite the fact that my back seat was already quite full, due in part to the presence of my mountain bike, I picked up an Irishman named James who was cycling cross-country with his compatriot Jon. The two had pushed pretty hard crossing the Sierra Nevadas, and James needed a recovery day. I agreed to drive James to their next stop in Eureka, NV while Jon would pedal the seventy miles so they would not lose a day on their itinerary. The photo shows James' red bike frame piled atop my various belongings.
James and I decided to have a beer in Eureka to celebrate the survival of the treacherous one-hour drive (any reason will do, really). Five or so hours, several beers, and dozens of wide-ranging conversational topics later, I crash on one of the beds in their motel room across the street. Jon arrives shortly thereafter and James accompanies him back to the bar so Jon can eat. When they return to the room, much snoring ensues.
In the morning I join them for breakfast and am quite easily convinced to transport James to their next destination: Ely, NV. We discuss various things, including my upcoming trip to Europe, which may now include a leg in Ireland to visit my two new friends.
I love Colorado. Mountains. Sunshine. Lots of outdoorsy people doing outdoorsy activities. Sarah, who previously lived in New York City, and I went for a hike at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Her dog Meisje (Dutch for "little girl") came with us and took every opportunity to soak in whatever body of water she could find, no matter how small.
Well, not really "it all", but when they surveyed the U.S. in 1907 or so they determined that the geographic center of the U.S. was somewhere in Kansas. I stumbled upon this highly irrelevant fact as I was crossing Kansas, my goal being to spend as little time there as possible. But of course I had to stop and check out the center. What kind of road trip would it be if I didn't stop for such obscurities? There was a small park at the junction of two small roads outside a small town called Lebanon. According to the sign in the photo, Lebanon is the place to go for all your "Center of the USA" souvenirs. Who knew?
I like this picture because I don't remember what we were eating, but we were very enthusiastic about it and somebody thought it was worth documenting photographically. I gladly obliged. Dermottfest is amazing, and pictures like this remind me of the fact that the great friends I made during my years in New England are the one thing I will always miss.
This was such an awesome post! A story for a picture...the perfect plan :)
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