at this point, i was in the height of DMA audition insanity... please bear that in mind and judge accordingly. also, i will update slightly more relevant things SOON.
It turns out that "Southern Hospitality" is actually, well, important to me. If Chicago seemed slightly brusque, the Northeast seems downright aggressive. People in New Haven love honking their horns. It’s an art form, a commentary on someone’s driving speed, or lane changing. Or perhaps it’s just a cry out to the universe, who knows?
Not me, that’s for sure. Driving in New Haven has been quite the adventure. It turns out that “lanes” are merely decorative, speed limits are hypothetical, and pedestrians are completely fearless.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen at least 5 accidents (there isn’t any ice or condensation on the roads, for the record), a dozen police cars racing down the road, a few ambulances, and more pedestrian-driver confrontations than I would have imagined.
Apparently, there are also different definitions of “complimentary” between the north and south. When I saw that my hotel offered “Complimentary Guest Parking,” I naively assumed that meant it would be free. Oh, no. Definitely not free. $20 a day, as it turns out. SIGH.
I was also flatly informed that the “Hotel Restaurant” was in fact a snack bar, as if there was nothing unusual in advertising a full service eating establishment and providing instead a broken vending machine, fritos and pop tarts.
Ok. I didn’t hate New Haven quite as much as it sounds, it just turned out that everything in my carefully planned trip fell completely apart at this point, when I had absolutely no patience for it.
Let’s back up:
New Haven has the tiniest airport I’ve ever seen. If you’ve seen an episode of Wings, you should be equipped to grasp this. THERE IS ONE GATE. They unload your luggage on the tarmac and you take it, personally from the baggage people. It’s adorable, and they take it VERY seriously.
When I failed to immediately snatch my bags from them, it became a “security issue” and they confiscated them. “Unattended luggage is a serious issue, Ma’am.” YES. This was not unattended, it was unreachable in the 30 second time frame I had.
Semantics.
On to better times:
48 hours in an impromptu sorority
the ever delightful anna parks luce offered me a warm bed/airmattress/couch as i journeyed from New Haven to Baltimore for my flight back to the ATX. Delightfully, a few other friends of anna’s were also staying with her: Heather, Karen, and Sarah Claire.
I drove down from New Haven on Wednesday morning. I spent quality time on the New Jersey turnpike (even less exciting than it sounds), drove on the George Washington Bridge, and in total covered the following states in my journey: Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland. (with Anna’s help, Virginia would be rapidly added).
Fans of HIMYM will be pleased to know that DOWISTREPLA exists, or at last, a vast portion of the NJ Turnpike smells like it is in such a place. gross.
I also had the opportunity to drive in a bay tunnel...which was as claustrophobic and unpleasant as I had always imagined. I am impressed by the engineering, don’t misunderstand, but I will choose to be impressed from above the weight of a harbor bearing down on a man made tunnel from henceforth.
*possible exception, the Chunnel (english channel tunnel). JUST COOL*
I digress. Back to travels:
First, let me just say: ANNA’S APARTMENT IS AMAZING, PER ALWAYS. This girl has a keen eye for decor, let me tell you. Not only is the place tremendously styled, it feels exactly like the home of my favorite Luce family should.
Also, Zoe was there. This dog defies laws of cuteness, and isn’t an ambi-turner.
Having all of us in the apt felt like a glorious, rapidly assembled sorority of awesome people, and I had an absolute blast. There is nothing better than spending time with a dear friend, and, in this case, getting to know new ones!
We savored delectable treats like Bubble Tea, hint-of-brown bananas, hint-of-green bananas, retirement center food, hot tea, peanut butter dipped in chocolate, and Elevation Burger- which is pretty much amazing.
Also, because of these ladies I’ve started watching Downton Abbey. HELP.
I also had the opportunity to check out Ars Nova, the awesome conductor-less orchestra that features Anna as concertmaster. So proud of that girl. Karen and Heather were playing as well, so I was the only person not working that evening.
Post-concert we ventured into downtown DC and to the bar RFD for a quick night-cap/pre Sarah Claire/celebration beverage. My drink of choice was Framboise...it was on tap, which is just impossible to refuse.
It was a truly fantastic conclusion to my traveling escapades.
Well... almost conclusion. I was scheduled to leave BWI at 3:35 pm. Everything seemed perfect until we were taxi-ing to the runway, and were informed we’d be delayed at least an hour due to crazy psycho weather in the south. Those weren’t US Airway’s official words for the situation, but it was strongly inferred.
We were, however, offered complimentary alcohol beverages to assuage our irritability. Hooray. I currently sit in Charlotte, curious that my flight appears to be leaving an hour later than my boarding pass indicates...yet this is not expected to effect our anticipated arrival time.
Dear Marshall,
If you are reading this and I am wrong about that, I apologize. Truly.
I’ve had some wonderful experiences on these travels, but I am definitely ready to be coming home and not live out of a suitcase any longer.
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