oops......gargantuan blog post

ok, so it's been about 2382039 years since I last wrote in this blog. I've had quite the summer: working five days a week as a nanny, Nick moving in, friends visiting from all over for the Phish concert at Shoreline, and now I'm in the middle of a two week excursion involving Albany and Burlington and driving back to Marin in a little Nissan Sentra.

The month of August specifically has been very special. Having a grand chunk of our UVM friends come stay at 98 Granada was so wonderful, it went by in a blink. I'll never cease to be amazed by how much time can pass between us yet how quickly things pick up again when we reunite. I don't know how I got to be so lucky but there are no words for the love I have for my friends from Burlington. I remember when high school was ending, my friends and I cried and worried things would never be the same and swore we would stay BFF forever and be each other's bridesmaids...and then I moved to Burlington, and found even more people I feel this way about. How does one deserve such fortune?

Arriving in Albany for yet another Phish concert last Sunday and getting to see even more friends from my "old" life in Burlington pushed the envelope even further. It didn't get old screaming and jumping up and down and giving gargantuan hugs to each person I reunited with, even though there were about thirty of them! And then we got to watch such an amazing show with 25,000 people and relish in the love and joy we all felt. What a night.

And it wasn't even over on Monday. Nick and I hopped in his car and drove to Burlington. Driving in on 22A will always and forever be one of my favorite scenic drives not only because of the lush rolling hills and magnificent lake, but because its association with Burlington will always spark excitement and nostalgia in me.

We were only there for two nights but it was perfect. I thought my birthday would be fun, but really just a typical night in Burlington of going out on the town to our usual haunts and just enjoying each other's company. I have so much gratitude for the attention I was showered with: jello-shots, a yummy steak dinner, mini-cakes, a late-night group serenade of "happy birthday" at the 3 Needs...needless to say, Tuesday was a 24 hour bout of probably one of the top three worst hangovers of my life...but so worth it. Thanks for one of the best birthdays I've ever had you guys.

Leaving Burlington on Wednesday was the epitome of a bittersweet good-bye. The sadness I felt in leaving was merely a reflection of the joy I feel in having spent five years of my life in such a wonderful place with such wonderful people. Burlington is where I grew up, discovered myself, and found my path. I know I will always return to Burlington, but I also know that when I moved away, it was because it was time.

So now begins road trip #2. Call me crazy for driving across the country yet again in just one summer, but I am pumped. My trip with Emily was fantastic and memorable, but really, unless you spend a good month or two on the road, you don't see nearly enough. Driving with Nick will be just as fun but different and I look forward to that.

We leave today a little behind schedule because...well let's just say the gods must be watching over us. Nick's mom bought him new windshield wipers for the trip and in trying to put them on, she bent the main base of the wiper, incapacitating it completely. There was no way we could drive across the country without a functional wiper (especially because it was on the driver's side) so Elaine took the car in early this morning to the Nissan dealership to get it replaced. Wellllllllll.....turns out there were several things wrong with the car that basically would have put our lives at risk on the road. Namely, the axle on the passenger side front tire was completely rusted and according to the dealership mechanic, the tire would have just fallen off at any minute. Holy mama. Needless to say, Nick and I are FINE with being set back with time given that our lives are now not in danger. Little lesson for you all: Elaine had the car routinely inspected about a week ago at a non-dealership, cheaper auto place and they "found nothing wrong with the car." Oy.

So. Today Nick and I will drive along 90 and head to Chicago. We plan to stop in Buffalo and check out Niagara Falls (!!!) and then drive all the way to Cleveland, Ohio. We'll get a hotel there and hopefully have time to go check out the city, maybe the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We'll see. We plan to reach Chicago by tomorrow afternoon to spend time with the one and only Emily Segal, and possibly Carly and Kelly as well.

I'll be in touch. :)