As that one song goes. . .

"Get out of my dreams
and into my car"

Tomorrow we head to Knoxville. It is 11pm. I have been drinking wine steadily since 3pm= a fine way to go about the day after a disappointing beginning. Yes folks, we were unable to find the Pentecostal church forcing us to attend the nearest Baptist congregation instead. A bit of a let down. The important things to note are:
1. If he says roll, ROLL!
2. A Coke Zero and a king size candy bar cancel each other out.
3. Submission.
4. We're going to be joy givers to God, I mean you know what I'm saying!?
Amen.

Other things to note about this side of the country before we officially start heading west tomorrow. . .
*DC, what with its EPA and other goodness, has trashcans overflowing with water bottles, with not one visable recycling bin. Really, outside of Oregon, the country doesn't recycle. . .that is except for Provincetown but that place is magic and anyone who has ever been there/heard of it already knows it. Well, except for the public restrooms. They have a person sitting at the entrance directing you to the stalls that are empty and then they expect a tip afterwards. Now I get tips but this is ridiculous and we did our thing and walked away. There are things I can do on my own and take pride in it. 'Nuff said!
*The thunderstorms are thick and warm and when you run in them, you can't see. For that, I say hello.

NIGHT ALL!

Trip #3 (beginning to think West)

(Above= tunnel in Baltimore)
Presently we are at Nichole's dad's place in Gainsville Virginia. We got in Wednesday evening and will stay for five nights= the longest stay in one place.
Provincetown was a whirlwind of open mindedness that felt amazing to be around even if it was only for one night. Conclusions: cowboy hats get in the way when dancing/macking on hotties at the club AND don't ever come up to two womyn, say your friend thinks they are hot and then proceed to, as a group, attempt to get your friend some action. Nichole and I had this happen to us. It's just awkward.
To get to Virginia we went through nine states, about half being states we had previously been staying in and it felt weird to not go back to places like Providence and stay with awesomeness. It feels like if we are in the right part of the country, we should see these people but the nature of the trip kept us going. MC (our 8th grade teacher) contacted her brother for us in Hatboro PA so we had a place to stay the night.
Come morning we proceeded to Virginia, stopping in Baltimore to see E. A. Poe's house. We followed the signs. We walked a mile. We turned up Poe House st. We never found the house/grave. We did however, find some crazy good BBQ chicken, sweet potatoes and mac-and-cheese. It started to thunder and pour.
Virginia has been a different kind of adventure. We are both tired and glad to be in one place for a few days. I finally sat down and did some reading even.
Things that I have learned about Virginia so far:
1. The battle of Bull Run (Manassas) was the first battle of the Civil War. People around here still have very close ties to this. At the museum shop, a young boy asked his mother if he could have a doll of a Confederate soldier. The mother proceeded to answer, "I'll buy you a Confederate one but your father will have to buy you the Union doll. I'll never buy you one that is Union."
2. Arlington will never cease to amaze me.

. . .The white goes on forever. . .
3. Horse races are the shortest thing you will ever witness/slot machines are annoying as all hell. My aunt gave Nichole and I two hats, I mean big ol' fancy hats with flowers on them. (They belonged to my grandmother.) Clearly we wore these to the horse races, as all proper womyn do, and my golly were we popular with the elders. One man, well into his 70's bumped me in the arm and laughingy proclaimed, "I came here to watch the horses but I find myself looking at your hats." Yes indeed, I now know how to get me an older man!
AND THE FUCKIN' slot machines, which I don't care for but Nichole's dad gave us money and told us to go win so naturally I sat at the "Enchanted Unicorn" and saw lots of berries and flowers and queens and kings and even got some points and saw glittery lines and heard music playing but I walked away confused, bored and with no winnings.

That's all I've got for now. Tomorrow we head into DC and Sunday we hope to find a Pentecostal church and then hit up some vineyards with Nichole's dad.

Trip Update aka, we have spent a lot of time on the East coast and will be heading south and then west come Tuesday

The last week has included New York where we didn't get lost going in but sure did going out and then Connecticut appeared with its high gas prices and well funded highways, all tree- covered and fancy bridges. The house my parents built is still the same except the new folks cut down our favorite cherry tree and the womon didn't seem to trust Nichole and I enough to let us in and take a look. (A sign that we are no longer in Indiana). I tried to find the things that changed my family and lead us to Oregon back in '91 but it was all on vacation. We discovered the Atlantic ocean has more jellyfish closer to the shore and that the East coast believes in "private beaches" but it didn't stop us and we laid by some one's cigarette butts and used beer bottles and called it a day at the ocean. Connecticut continued in such a way of being fed well and staying with people that feel like family.
Come the middle of the week we headed to Providence RI to see our former 8th grade teacher and this has quite possibly been my favorite place to stay. Hopped a train to Boston and got a buzz on at 1pm at the Cheers bar before heading to the Afro-American History museum and then back to the train. On the stroll back we came upon the Liberty tree and we questioned why in its place they put a huge plaque rather than another tree or garden so that things continue to grow.
Michelle took us to an awesome Cuban restaurant and I wanted to steal the menu for its helpful historical facts. We discussed the education system in the US and the alternative kind of school she now teaches at. She then took us to a movie theater that had couches instead of seats and a man playing a guitar instead of previews and we watched "At the Edge of Heaven" which everyone should see and then probably see again. The night continued on in thunder storms, an orange moon and glorious discussions with her and her partner about sexuality, allowing Nichole and I to feel fully like ourselves since Chicago.
Saturday we drove to Point Judith and wasted money by getting on the Ferry to Block Island where my parents were married. Previous trips of mine to BI have consisted of finding an empty spot on a beach and writing forever but this time we went to the most populated beach on the Island and continued to get disappointed by the white, upper-class tourists that were getting trashed so we hopped on our bikes and road around the entire Island to a horse place where we filled up our water bottles and continued slowly back into town. By then a folk band was playing at Nix's bar (?) so we joined in and I wrote some bad poetry until the dance scene picked up. By then a bus of 40 year old womyn had arrived all wearing bright blue shirts and they loved us and thought we were way too cute so they agreed to put us up for the night so that we wouldn't have find a church deck to pass out on. The singer of the band gave us a bunch of free cds and the "mayor" found us some blue shirts so that we would fit in with our new friends. 2am found us on the deck of the hotel with the blue ladies and they thought we were lesbians because of our matching tattoos and we longed to be around people who understood us but it was a warm place to stay so we put up with them telling us not to rape them and that if we stole anything they would cut us. Come morning they realized we clearly would not hurt them and they gave us a ticket for the hotel breakfast so it worked out alright. We then went to the Baptist church because we want to see as many churches across the country as possible and we all got a piece of wheat because we all have good and we all have bad and I let the things I have been holding onto fall off on the ferry ride back.
We are now back in Providence with Michelle and Eliza taking our time before heading to Provincetown which I know nothing about and am interested to see what all the hype is for.

Road Trip Update #1

We made it to New York. We made it to New York without getting lost, without crashing, with only a few honks- I even honked at someone. It felt weird, not Oregonian like of me yet slightly empowering. We made it to my cousin's and were instantly fed and given many glasses of wine while discussing music (they both work in the industry), the social welfare system (or rather lack thereof) and by the end of the night my cousin-in-law and I were discussing poetry and writing screenplays. Nichole and I went into the city yesterday and walked up 42nd to Times Square and Central Park, as well as over to the Museum of Modern Art which is currently showing the same Dali exhibit I saw in LA in the fall. Nichole had not seen it yet so while she explored that I wandered through the contemporary media art section. The whole place was incredible and I scribbled poems on recites that I had in my bag.
Tomorrow we go into the fourth week of the trip and surprisingly have only camped/slept in the van for a total of four days. Needless to say it has been a cushioned trip with amazing people to stay with throughout the country and it is looking like it will continue in this fashion. My notes are scattered through three different books in disjointed fragments and half finished poems. To sum up, because I really do not know where to begin, the trip has consisted of the most amazing landscape changes, quality time spent with my dad's side of the family (whom I have not seen since they came out for his funeral in 2004) which has lead to some beautiful nights and other emotions that will take some time to process, a few days in Chicago with a dear friend and a continued spree of alcohol consumption, and now I am showing my four year old cousin the map and explaining to her the trip. Soon we will head out to take her and her younger brother to the zoo which is a place I am against but I hear there is a carousel and it means more family time so Nichole and I will hold our tongues.
Some time I will upload photos and write more. Poetry and all the projects and ideas that are running through my head might have to wait. Everything is coming in fast paced segments these days feeling much like a dream but at the same time very much alive.