After 33 days of travel, 3,620 miles driven, 3,080 miles flown, 16 states visited and 2 Canadian provinces later I am on my way home. This trip was more than I could have ever hoped for and I want to thank my unbelievable husband for supporting me in this adventure. Without his unwavering love and understanding none of the past 6 months would have happened for me.
I will let my photos show you all of the amazing things I did and saw. What I want to share are the lessons I learned while on the road. Hopefully at least something will be useful for you.
The Kindness of Strangers and Friends is Overwhelming
The thing that struck me the most throughout my trip was how willingly others opened up their homes to me. People I had never met before set up beds for me, fed me, treated me like family, and shared their lives with me. My friends took time out of their lives to play tour guide around their cities and organize activities. A bed and breakfast owner in Maine offered me a free nights stay because the roads were bad and she didn’t want me to drive if I didn’t have to. From the homes I stayed in, to the restaurants I ate at, to the subway stations I rode in, I was continuously humbled and impressed by the kindness and generosity of people all over the country. I want to thank these people in particular for their big heartedness during my trip: Lesley & Shem, Dad Chris & The Girls, Julie, Will, Brian Nikki & Brandon, Nancy Rob Marjorie & Isaiah, Kristy, Lisa, Sheri & John, Shanna & Mark, Miranda, David Amanda & Eleanor. Thank you!
Lesley and I at the bean in Chicago
History is More Interesting in Person
I have never been a big history buff but I found myself soaking up everything I could during this trip. There’s something about being at the harbor where the tea was tossed, the church where the lantern was hung, or the river where the crossing was made that makes history so much more tangible and interesting! So, if you are not interested in history there may still be hope…just travel a little.
Niagara Falls at night on the Canadian side
Being Alone Can be Lonely
I am incredibly blessed to have always had a large circle of family and friends in my life. The great thing about this is that I am NEVER lonely. The bad thing about this is that I underestimated how lonely being alone can be. I’ve always loved being alone for an afternoon or even a day. After all, I’m usually so busy that it gives me time to catch up on stuff I want to do. So, when the loneliness in Maine crept in and it was still days before I would see anyone I knew, I was completely caught off guard. I thought to myself, “So this is what it feels like to be lonely and have no one that you love around to keep you company. This sucks.” I left Maine with a new appreciation for my friends and family and how sane and happy they keep me.
The high water mark on a house in Vermont from Hurricane Irene
If You See Enough Art, Things Start to Come Full Circle
I was fortunate enough to marry an artist so my adult life has been filled with an appreciation for paintings, photography, dance, music, sculpting and all things beautiful. We love going to art museums and have now been to many of the finest in the world. What’s amazing about this is that the more art we see, the more things start to come full circle for us. For example, in New York we saw a practice mold for one of our favorite sculptures in Paris, and a special series of paintings relating to my final photography project in Montana. At the MOMA we saw a practice painting for one of our favorite paintings in Chicago and in Washington DC we saw an extension of a series we loved in France. We love that the dots of the art world are starting to connect for us. Perhaps the world is smaller than we thought.
Will and I at the harbor in Boston
The IPhone is the Greatest Invention Ever. Period.
I am aware of how completely ridiculous this sounds so I will keep this short but my trip would have been much more difficult without my IPhone. It was my music, my company, my link to friends and family, my hotel booker, my bill payer, my tour guide, my travel agent, my entertainment, my traffic distraction, my lazy camera, and probably most importantly, my map! Greatest. Invention. Ever.
Portland Head Light in Portland, Maine
It’s Hard to be a Tourist and a Photographer At The Same Time
So here’s the deal, taking amazing travel photographs takes time, lots of time. Scouting locations, setting up shots, researching the best time of day, and my least favorite: carrying around my tripod! So, when time is short and you want to see everything there is to see, taking great pictures gets pushed to the back burner and taking snapshots steps in. Of the 33 days I would say that I shot seriously during 5 of them. The rest were filled with friends, family, laughing, eating, drinking, experiencing, seeing, doing and learning. You know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Shanna, Mark and I on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
Hedonic Adaptation is True
About a year ago I was introduced to the idea of hedonic adaptation. It’s a theory that describes human being’s ability to quickly adapt to new situations. It’s designed as an evolutionary tool to help keep us happy during times of famine, cold, etc. However, it works the opposite way as well. In other words, when things are going great, we quickly adapt and now what once was great is the new baseline and it takes even more to feel great. I already believed this to be true but it was proven to me over and over on this trip. Within a day or two of being in a new city I had completely adapted. I knew the neighborhoods, found great food, hailed cabs, taught other tourists how to use the subways, and had adjusted to the various levels of beds, bathrooms, street noise, and heating systems (radiators are loud!). So, if you’re ever afraid to introduce change into your life don’t be! We are genetically designed to adapt.
Scott and I in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC
Humid Cold is Much Much Worse Than Dry Cold
My mother has been telling me this for years and I never believed her. I mean, Salt Lake feels really cold in the winter so it can’t be that much worse right? Wrong. I now know what the term “bone chilling” cold means and I will never take the wonderful dry climate of Salt Lake for granted again.
David and I in front of the water fountain at the University of North Carolina Campus. The superstition is that if you drink from it you will get good grades that semester.
The Human Connection is the Same Everywhere
The more I travel the more I realize that even though each person’s way of life varies from country to country, state to state and even neighbor to neighbor, there are a few themes that I see over and over. Young couples are struggling to make relationships work just like older couples. Women in Mexico are taking care of their aging parents just like women in Rhode Island. Well off parents in big cities are trying to raise their kids with the best opportunities possible just like parents in poor rural areas. A widow in one state is as lonely as a single thirty something in another. The bonding ritual of sitting down to a meal together is the same all over. And everyone everywhere is thinking about money. It seems that besides our basic needs, we all seek love and companionship. For good or bad, our lives seemed to be defined by the people in them. We just want to know that someone else sees us, really sees us. I suppose for me, that is the human connection.
