reading and hearing. part one.

i am reading "notre-dame de paris" by victor hugo (otherwise known as "the hunchback of notre-dame") right now. it's been a slow start. there are a lot of descriptions of paris with it's architecture and city layout that have nothing to do with the actual story. but it's good anyway, one that will give me a sense of accomplishment when i finish it. and the music that is getting stuck into my head, and thus listened to the most, is rocky votolato's album "makers." so beautiful.

austin, texas. part one.

everything they say about texas is true. actually, i have no idea if it is, but texas is definitly a unique place. a lot of my time here has been spent doing nothing. reading, sleeping, cleaning, eating... but i have done some cool things so far. i toured the capital building the other day which is a beautiful place. it's the largest state capital in square footage, and 15 feet taller than the nation's capital. the goddess of liberty stands on top, holding a star (which is everywhere in this state) and a sword. the dome on the left is not the dome you see from the outside, but is lighted by skylights and the star at the top is actually 8 feet across. texas was it's own country from 1836 to 1845 with it's own government and navy. weird! but not surprising. anyway, it's a beautiful building with beautiful grounds.

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other than that, i have walked around downtown and uptown and around the university and last night we went out to a few bars. austin has quite the night life, every night of the week. i hope to go swimming and maybe to san antonio or a nearby state park or something... i still have two days left and i hope to make the most of it.

bartlesville, oklahoma

the drive between pueblo and bartlesville is horribly boring. i got a later start than i had wanted to because of a flat tire! that was a bummer but angela's husband was so helpful. so i finally got to lia's house around 10 on friday night.

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lia was a neighbor of mine for awhile in minneapolis and now she is living at a community house in bartlesville called the commonwealth. it was started in part, by this guy named daniel who owned another communtiy house called the walker house that was destroyed in the flood that happened a few weeks ago. when i first arrived, there were so many people around which tends to happen at community houses, especially when there are people around doing flood relief. it was a great time though, they have a great thing going on there. i met some very wonderful people in the day and a half i was there.

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i actually acquired a traveling companion there. this girl named danielle is moving to tampa, florida but had no way to get there and from what i understand, was kinda freaking out about it. so, she is tagging along with me to florida. i am in austin right now and she is staying with friends in san antonio. it seems to be working out realy well! she is a very friendly, talkative person. the 9 hour drive from bartlesville to austin went by so amazingly fast with her there! it's fun.

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so now i am visiting my friend quinna who i knew in california a couple years ago. i am spending the rest of the week here and i'm sure it will be a great time.

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on a semi-side note, i found out that my uncle died yesterday. he was my dad's older brother and lived in LA with my grandma. i'm not sure exactly how he died, but it was peacefully and in his house like he had wanted. i have been so worried about my grandparents and their declining health that i didn't think about tim dying... the last time i saw him was about two years ago i think and i have written to him a few times since then because i always liked him so much. he was a gardener and made my grandmother's backyard one of my most favorite places to be ever. i spent many hours out there as a kid, exploring and admiring, swinging in the beautiful big maple and following tim around. anyway, it was a blow to hear of his death. my dad is down there right now planning for the funeral and i really wish that i could be there for it... i will miss him. much love tim.

pueblo (west), colorado

---- leaving the rocky mountains, i drove out the south-western highway and i watched a lightening storm over the mountains as i drove away. it was beautiful. ---- i stayed in a hotel in colorado springs but didn't see any of the town except the freeway off ramp. it was nice to stay somewhere alone and inside and a place i didn't have to clean. then it was off to pueblo west to see angela. ---- angela and i were roommates my second semester at bible college and i haven't seen her since our other roommate jill got married a couple years ago. she was the one that i connected with the most at school and so it was awesome to hang out and talk and watch movies and go to awesome used bookstores owned by sweet old ladies and tracking down just the right septum plug and reading and eating and listening to crazy storms. it was great to meet her husband and see him make her so happy. he was a really great guy. so yeah, it was a good time (of which i didn't take any pictures...) ---- yesterday was a day full of driving, 11 hours from pueblo to bartlesville, oklahoma. but lia is great and it's been worth it. more on that later.

oops

those were out of order... kansas was before colorado. oh well.

topeka, kansas

topeka is also not the most exciting of cities, but hanging out with amy made it all worth it. it was neat to get to know her husband joe a little bit too, since i had only met him briefly at their wedding last year.

there isn't a whole lot to do there but amy and i went to the capital building where they have the third tallest dome of any capital building in the u.s. (preceded by austin and d.c.) but the only one that you can walk up. the stairway is narrow and a bit trecherous feeling but i made it all the way to the top. you come out on a balcony and you can see 35 miles across the horizon, beyond the city itself. it was beautiful. the whole building was beautiful. they are in the process of restoring it so amy and i made plans to make the climb again in 2014 when they are all finished :)

i biked to a nearby park where they had their wedding reception. it is one of the warmest lakes i have ever been in (i didn't swim, just waded) and i found a lovely garden that had some amazing flowers in it. i took a lot of pictures and hung out for awhile. it was really nice and not too hot. amy and joe were so hospitable and kind and generous. it was quite unexpected. i had a great time seeing them and i hope that it isn't another 4 years before i see them again.

(<--- not the greatest picture but it's cute anyway)

the majestic rockies

my entrance into the park was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. the sun was shining through rain clouds over the lake in estes park with the snow covered mountains in the background. and the drive over trail ridge road is at times, breath-taking. the alpine tundra is a rare place to be able to go to, where the environment is too harsh for trees to grow and the flowers take years to grow a mere inch. there was a lot less snow then when i was here last year but it was no less beautiful.

the campground i wanted to stay at was full that first night so i stayed at this weird place just outside the park. but next morning i went and staked out the place i realy wanted to stay. i love camping. but only in the right circumstances. i enjoy doing it alone but still being around people can make me uncomfortable. my problem is that i'm too self conscious. being such a people watcher, i guess i assume that people watch me too and that makes me nervous. i am not new to camping, i've been doing it all my life, but i feel like i look like a novice. as if having a tent from rei instead of target and having my table covered with stuff at all times would make me more secure in being a lone camper. i tend to feel sorry for people when they do things alone because it makes me think that they are lonely. but that is not always true. i think of that when i do stuff by myself even though i've chosen to do whatever it is by myself. i wish i could know that people don't pay any attention to me but in reality, i just need to get over myself. (actually, this really nice woman in a campsite next to mine was very friendly and welcomed me and gave me wood chips to help start a fire. that made the weekend better.)

yesterday i went on a 10 1/2 mile hike. one area i hiked by had a lovely little pond covered in lily pads and a couple trees growing next to it. i could have spent most of my day there but i had other things to get to. so from there i went on to a place called big meadow which was just that. it had a stream running through it and wildflowers and beautiful views of the mountains surrounding it. and the clouds have been so amazing! then i continued on to my real goal which was granite falls. i almost felt like i was never going to get there, the trail just kept going and slip-on vans are not the best hiking shoes. but it was all worth it. the waterfall was so cold, but that felt good to my weary feet and i even dunked my head in. i ate lunch there and took some pictures and it was lovely. then i began my 5 mile hike back which of course didn't seem to take as long. when i was about a quarter mile from my car, a dark cloud passed over head, there was a roll of thunder, and it started pouring. it was actually a great way to end my long hike.

now i am about to leave and it's bittersweet. my time here has been really fun but i am also excited to go to pueblo and see angela. so, my road trip adventure continues...

des moines, iowa

nothing against the people here but des moines is kind of a gross city. it only took me three and a half hours to get here but i already feel so far from home. but that's not a bad thing. hanging out with kristen has been really fun. we drove around the city, biked downtown (not very bike friendly though), ate food, drank coffee, and just talked. today i got to sleep in in a big bed and am being lazy until i depart for my next stop. this afternoon i am off to topeka, kansas to see my old bible college friend amy and her husband. and my road trip extravaganza continues.

it's actually come!

i remember counting down the days until this day would be here. i started months ago and now, it has come time for me to leave. i think being so stressed and annoyed with everything helped make me ready to leave so that's good i guess. of course i forgot a very important part: the bike rack i'm borrowing. lame! but it'll happen and it'll be okay... deep breath... so i am off to west des moines, iowa to see my friend kristen. and my road trip extravaganza begins!

ahhh!

there is so much to do, and it's hard not to freak out. i'm still hoping to leave by tomorrow, at least in the evening but i don't know if i can finish everything by then! being in a wedding today doesn't help, not to say i'm not totally excited to be in my friend bonnie's wedding. i guess i just didn't plan this very well perhaps. i hope that everyone i'm visiting can be patient and flexible... i think part of my procrastination may be not wanting to leave yet, realizing how much i'm going to miss this beautiful place and my wonderful friends. but i am also oh so very excited to see other beautiful places and hang out with other wonderful friends i haven't seen in years. it will all come together, and then probably be over before i know it...