The End of Moochfest 2010

I set out on this adventure in the hope that I would figure out what I want to do and where I want to live. I quit a decent job and moved out a decent city and left a lot of more-than-decent friends to go drive around the country for a few months, thinking about life. I'd like to say that I found answers, but I can't really say that's true. I don't really know where I want to live - several places quickly started to feel like home, but maybe that's just because I was in traveling mode, so any place where I had a chance to do laundry felt like home. And I didn't find my dream career - I heard of a few interesting opportunities, and met lots of people doing fascinating things, but nothing reached out and grabbed me as my life's purpose. So in some respects I'm back where I was a few months ago, except now I have no home, no job, and a pile of pictures. But that's only one way of looking at things. I also have new and renewed friends scattered all around the country. I have my memories of my travels alone, deciding what to see, where to go, what to do every day. And more than pictures, I feel like I've started to really see the country, realize how big and open and beautiful it is, how vast and varied, with plains and mountains and deserts, canyons and rivers and oceans, farms and forests and cities. This trip has made me want to travel more, see more, share more. I also have a general feeling of happiness. It wasn't so much that I was unhappy when I left Boston, but I was somehow not settled, not right. Now I feel much more centered and balanced. Maybe the word is content. I'm content. I find it odd, especially since I'm so much more in flux and unsettled than I was before, but somehow, that's the way it is.

So what's next? The driving is done, but I still need a place to live and a job. Luckily, I've found a way to delay making a real decision. I've found an opportunity to work for a few months in Germany, in Berlin. How exciting is that?!? I'll have a job in an exciting place, and I'll gain a little more time to keep thinking about the meaning of life. I've got my bags all packed, and I'm hopping on a plane later today! Berlin is cold in winter, a lot like Boston, but I'm hoping to brave the weather and spend most weekends traveling around, seeing Germany and its neighbors. I'm hoping to do a keep up the blog, posting pictures of my weekend adventures and life in Germany. Moochfest 2010 is over, but Em's wanderings through life will continue.

Driving East

After Laramie, my trip around the US really sped up. I spent two days in Boulder visiting Erin again, then took the interstate across Kansas and Missouri. I stayed one night in the Annie Oakley Motel in Oakley KS:


For the next two nights, I was in St. Louis visiting family. Then another long day in the car took me all the way to my brother's house in Virginia. All that time on interstate highways made me realize just how nice it was to be able to drive the small roads earlier in the fall. It took me about ten days to get from Boston to Boulder in September, but less than four days to go back, Boulder to Salem, VA. I have many more pictures, memories, and stories from the leisurely trip west. But the nights were getting long and cold, and it was time wrap up this round of adventures.

I ended up only spending a day in Virginia before heading down to my parents' house in NC. After a short side-trip up to Boston to visit friends I settled down to help get ready for a big holiday family reunion. My mom's entire extended family arrived from all over the country, and we hosted 22 people. There were people sleeping in every corner, including the attic! We had the usual family adventures: cutting firewood, driving tractors, lighting bonfires, sledding, long walks through the woods, and huge meals. It was a good way to conclude my trip.

Thanksgiving in Wyoming

Yikes!  I'm very behind on the blog updates, so here's a brief version of my time in Wyoming.  It stayed cold the entire week - lows in the -5F range, highs in the low teens.  I stayed with my aunt Joy and her dog Wallaby.   Wallaby reminds me of a much smarter version of the dog I had as a kid, so I liked her immediately.  Here's a picture of Joy and Wallaby at their house:

And a quick picture of the Wyoming winter landscape:

It was bitterly cold, but people in Wyoming don't let cold slow them down.  Joy took me cross-country skiing on Wednesday, and on Thanksgiving morning a whole group of people met at the Laramie Greenbelt for some brisk pre-turkey exercise.  With the wind-chill it was about -30F, so we bundled up, hiked around, and then stood in a tight circle chatting and drinking hot chocolate.  Some years it's quite a picnic, but this year it was just too cold and too windy, so after dancing around for a while, people hustled back to their cars.  Back at Joy's friend's house, thanksgiving cooking plans were interrupted when we discovered that the pipes were frozen, not under the house, but somewhere under the kitchen sink.  We cranked up the thermostat, opened the sink cabinet, and skillfully applied a hairdryer, and continued with the cooking. 

Friday we went downhill skiing in Colorado.  It was a great day!  Colorado was slightly warmer than Wyoming, and there was already several feet of good powder snow.  On Saturday Joy took me to visit another set of friends on their farm outside of town.  With lots of animals and two small kids, their house was quite exciting!  They are also trying to grow their own vegetables, which is difficult with the short growing season.  They built a big greenhouse, and have added a seedling area just off their living room.   They asked us to take their family picture for the annual Christmas Card, and I snuck a shot with my own camera as well:

I think this is a great shot!  It reminds me of the picture my family took a few years ago for the annual Christmas letter, with us all holding axes and chainsaws, taking a break from cutting firewood.