Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A letter to friends and loved ones

A letter to loved ones (that means you)
It’s almost one month into my six month adventure and I haven’t left the states yet. Saying goodbye to my Dad on January 2nd (the rest of my family already having had departed for school, work, or travel) I took off on the first leg of my trip with Lara Bache and Gunnar Lyon, over the snow brushed deserts through Los Angeles to Santa Fe, New Mexico. There I spent a short trip catching up and saying goodbyes before flying across the states to sunny Florida to visit Danielle Siegler. A week in paradise, really, with warm sun and sea, fresh tropical fruit growing in the yard and bike trips around town to see friends and sea creatures. With one bare foot in the sand and one strapping on winter boots I said farewell to bare shoulders and warm toes and flew to Washington, D.C. I’d never been to the nation’s capitol, and had the chance to visit countless monuments and museums under the expert guide of the lovely Emily Deans. She and her charming family put up with me for a week, treating me to delicious food and incomparable hospitality for which I cannot thank them enough. And so here I am, on a bus passing through Delaware en route to New York, my final destination on this one-month pre-adventure adventure.
            What can I say? I’m so grateful to capture a glimpse of the beauty of this country before I experience the awe of another so far from home. I’m so lucky to have friends all over the country who welcome me into their homes and reconnect after so much time apart. It’s inspiring, really, to see these people now, knowing it will be so long before I see them again, yet to know that when I do it will be as warm and comforting as this time around, like coming home. I am a compilation of my relationships and loved ones, a collection of memories and intimate feelings. I am the addition of love given and love returned. I know that in my travels, I will grow and change into somebody new but still hold the affection and support you have all given me. I may change and memories will fade, but the connection I have to each of you, those of you reading this blog and those who never will, continues like a string from a spider’s web, forever making up the person that I am. And so, no matter what shifts occur, who I forget and who I become, you’re in there somewhere. Thanks.
Happy trails,
Andrea

1 comment:

  1. Andrea, thanks for the lovely start. Having just spent time with friends that I met on my own journeys of 30+ yrs ago, you caught a lot of sentiment that I would find hard to express; so will share your blog with those friends. I see an option to share to Facebook. Otherwise, will you send us messages as you blog? Love ya, have a great trip, Dad

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