Oh what a summer it's been - Part I

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one MORE traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Yes my dears, what a summer it has been. I arrived in Salvador but two weeks past, a bit out of my mind with exhaustion. Three months of solid travel, of one dazed foot in front of the other, is certainly not for everyone. Even with my gypsy soul, my desire for liberation, for a life lived a thousand times, a thousand ways over, neh, I too reached my limit. And of all the strange things that might come out of my mouth, home sweet home, dare I say, might indeed be one of them.

So to begin, I'm going to have to stick to pictures until I can find some free time to sit in front of my laptop and think. Still too much swirling about the old noggin, and masters degree classes are just a few degrees around the corner.

So this is sad girlfriend face. Bye Leo, no I swear I'll come home, sigh. It's good to be back with my V.

First thing on the list, tall icy cold glasses of Guinness. Oh gawd. Lest I beergasm right now. It was wonderful.

Back home with the folks. Nice to see they are still vibrating industriously. Their house just gets prettier and prettier, filling up ever so slowly with my mothers stained glass projects. Being home is truly time warpy, but a nice break from the noise and heat of Salvador.

So then it was a 2o hour motorcycle ride to mother state New Mexico. The journey was hard as I peeled my way through the wind, a KLR 650 between my legs and some energy drink down my gullet, I felt liberated by the thought that my life was still free.

And then there was Taos Outback Pizza with green sauce, and it was good, and God saw that it was good, and then he ate it.

Whats life without a day with the bro, crawling up mountains and playing like boys.

Best things ever. Ever, ever, ever.

And then there was.....flash the f*@k forward, Dragons Orientation! God I could write a book about that experience. High Sierra Nevada Mountains, snow topped sunny days and blistery cold nights. I can't begin to explain how strange it was to hang out with really smart plugged in people from all around the world. I had my tattoos translated, I played sloppy guitar by a midnight fire, I jumped around half-professionally.

There was lot's and lot's of work, but a good bit of revelry too!

And I will admit, I learned more in those ten days then in the countless sleepless nights studying for my more conventional masters degree. Heh.

Dragons people are really dramatic, and smart, and talented. Not so fashionable, but we forgive them.

And dude....no one actually told me oh freakin' beautiful California is. Yosemite National Park, natural 70 foot water slides, yes please.

My birthday. I'm getting older, and I think more bald. Please don't tell anyone.

And after ten days, my crew finished off the final night by cooking dinner for well over a hundred people. I made rediculously good beans of the bald guy (a recipe I gaurd with pride), and we did some other Brazilian tasties as well. After competing with other crews for the previous nights, I must admit to feeling pretty awesome when we took home 1st place.

So, I will admit, this post is a total cop out. I could have, should have, documented my experience from the beginning. For a writer, pictures just don't do a blog justice. That said, posting over these last few months was pretty damn impossible, and I am left, the road MORE traveled, with little to show but my memories.