Oh, the memories!

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It set in today that I’m going to seminary in February, not in the typical, “God can take that sense of humor and shove it” cynicism which I’m known for, but on the financial front. See, I had been planning to go to the Congress of the World Association of Christian Communication in Cape Town, South Africa next October.

Not going to happen with airfare over $2,000.

So I decided to maybe package it with a backpacking through Europe approach. I thought about going out east this January to visit people, and figured I’d save money for my world travels by not going.

*ting* Seminary costs money, and since I’m starting on the special student path, no financial aid for moi.

Kind of bummed out about the South Africa trip the most.

Alright… the trip was a blast. Grand tally shows we hit (in order): Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and then back home. Major points we visited: Williamstown, Mass., Boston, Liberty State Park in Jersey City, Philadelphia, Washington, and Wheeling, W. Va.

We walked through the Freedom Trail in Boston, which was actually quite exciting. I want to go back and walk it again two more times, framing each in two different minds: that of religious activity and that of political activity. It was really exciting to see the birthplace of so many American religious movements and see the inherent connection they have with the American dream and political life — a connection so very different than what is shown in contemporary political circles, and one eschewed by modern liberal politicos.

Ate some great food in Boston. Saturday night we hit up a liquor store and had a great evening. We ended up sitting outside until about 3 a.m. having deep conversation. It was great!

Sunday we drove down the coast, stopping for a while in Jersey and Philly. As always, loved loved LOVED Philly. (Got cheesesteaks. Yum!) Got into D.C. and our hotel about 1 a.m. We were getting a little punchy by this point, so it was good to get a solid night’s sleep.

Monday we toured the Capitol building with Rob, which was fun but the tour is all visitor stuff. You don’t get to see the government at work. Not unexpected, but still a little disappointing. Then started the great drive back… stopped in Wheeling, West Virginia. Let me tell you: I need to give West Virginia a little more of a chance in the future. It’s some pretty country, and the people are quite nice. Finally got back to my apartment at 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning — as the sun was coming up — and promptly lost the last two days to recuperation.

The three of us played any number of fun car games, like who we’d like to have dinner with and what historical period we’d most like to visit. Chris and Bryan would have their mid-expressway playful fistfights, which was always exciting to watch the expressions of passing drivers — or freak out that my seats were going to break. It’s always fun to watch the Odd Couple.

Bryan and I were talking quite a bit on the way back about life after college, which prompted me to really reflect on the past year. Some days I feel like I’m barely treading water, violently missing the community around me. Other days I feel complete euphoria like I can make it anywhere by myself. Most days I realize I’m really in the middle of those two extreme, as is best one can expect and really what I’ve found to be routine life for most people.

Of course, once again, traveling has made me even more bitter toward Milwaukee. I came back to recognize everything that doesn’t excite me, doesn’t thrill me, doesn’t draw me to this place. It’s good to be going to Minnesota this next weekend, I think, if not for the purpose of getting me back to my normal tolerance of Milwaukee.

Great trip, great people, great experience.

Here’s an update from when we left Boston. (Apparently one needs a cord to put video on my laptop. Who knew.) I’m working on the photos from the trip and will post those with a full update tonight or tomorrow.

Boston is quite cool. We went walking on the Freedom Trail today, which was quite exciting. I probably annoyed these kids with my dorky architectural and historical habits, but it was really fun nonetheless.

Actually, no, that is a lie. It was fun until the monument at Bunker Hill. 294 stairs up. 294 stairs down. I was going to kill a baby. At a minimum, Smalls, Bryan and Bill were going to die. My knees almost gave out, and I really hadn’t planned on a case of vertigo for the trip. I didn’t even get to look outside because I needed to collapse on a bench at the top and then fall on the ground when we got down again.

The T, Boston’s mass transit system, is very efficient, clean and almost user-friendly. The only thing I don’t like is signaling for stops on the train. Yes, that’s right, it’s more of a streetcar than a train. In regards to tourism, that is confusing the train would not stop at every station. But that’s the only drawback; everything else is great.

Of course, New England is absolutely beautiful. The rolling hills, colonial architecture and good food is exactly what I thought of this area. As far as the people go, they’re exactly as I thought, too — distant, not too horribly friendly, very compartmentalized and not “Midwestern.” I couldn’t live out here long-term, but I will definitely be coming back.

So I’m heading to Boston today, with Bryan and Chris. Yesterday when I was in Kenosha, Chris wanted another driving lesson, so I stopped by. As we were waiting for him to get ready, Bryan and I started talking about final logistics for the trip, when Janine interrupted us. I may not have exact quotes here, but the conversation went something like this:

B: “So you have to drop me off at home first, then go to Chris’ because I’m going to drive my car back to Kenosha.”
D: “OK, but why would I go to your place first?”
C: “Because (Bryan’s hometown) is on the way to (Chris’ hometown), otherwise you’d have to backtrack.”
J: “Wait a minute, couldn’t you all just figure out these logistics while you’re on the road for 18 hours?”
B: “No, we have to figure it out all now because that’s deep conversation time.”

I don’t know what deep conversations we’ll have on this trip, but one thing’s for sure: Bryan and I are both deep conversationalists and Chris doesn’t have feelings. This could be interesting. (I’m also looking forward to potential deep bedtime conversations with Bill once we get to Boston, just like we used to have when we were roommates in the Quad!) Like always, watch here for updates.

Note: I had a great Fourth of July yesterday with some of my favorite people. Many (and I mean MANY) pictures were taken, and I’m going to get those online. If I can, I’ll post them before I leave. Otherwise, look for them when I get back from out east.

Edit: the pictures are here.

The answer is: the Pacific Northwest, New England, Canada, or the Southwest.

The question is: where does DRJ want to take a road trip right now?

I’ve got a case of cabin fever like no other. So completely antsy. Even exploring Milwaukee is becoming boring — and there are plenty of urban exploration treasures here. I’ve rearranged my living room so many times in the past couple of days that I can’t move any more furniture, and I’m even considering just getting in my car and driving to Michigan for the hell of it.

But road trips are no fun by oneself. So, come up with the place — keep it within a weekend’s trip, obviously I’m not about quitting my job over this — and let’s GO! I’ll provide the car, you provide the company. Together we’ll find entertainment wherever it is we go.

We’re in Auckland, the last leg of our trip. (I’m writing this in real-time from an Internet cafe across the street from our hotel. Well, actually it’s really a restaurant. They have a row of computers to make it Internet-ized. Whatever.) After spending three days together in a car, neither of us have killed each other. Although the next 48 hours may change things… tee hee…

The drive up through the north island was interesting. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, with the clouds hugging the mountains and we found a lookout last night to see a bay of the ocean between the island and… well… another island. It probably has a name, but I’m not quite sure what it is. Anyway. It was pretty — moral of the story.

(Bryan informs me that it wasn’t another island. But that doesn’t change the moral of the story. And he should stop reading over my shoulder. Because I don’t do that to him.)

Also yesterday as we were driving, I pulled a stupid and completely misplaced the better part of an hour as we drove up the shore to points unknown and I decided to turn around because Bryan was complaining that we were going to run out of gas and should just find a place to stay. I remember that part. I remember driving. What I don’t remember is driving to some small town, turning around there, and driving halfway back when all was said and done to stay in a picnic area on the side of the road. If you want the full story, ask Bryan, but it’s not as dramatic as he makes it sound.

(And Bryan smells.)

The next two days are spent in Auckland, which let me tell you I could get used to this city. Even driving in it is fun. (Well, sorta. The hills and a stick shift car are not agreeable.) Although when I came back to the hotel this morning after dropping off the rental car, I did get assaulted by a homeless bum who wanted change. He pushed me. I told him to not touch me and then glared at him. It was really more weird than anything else. Other than that, though, I love this city.

We went to an art gallery today, but are really starting to get worn out. (We also went to a Wendy’s. Yah. That’s right. I flew halfway around the world to go to Wendy’s. And they didn’t even have the new vanilla Frosty. Not cool.) So the rest of the trip will be a little more leisurely, and a welcome change from the all-out push to cram as much as humanly possible in to a twelve day trip.

I’m not sure if I’m going to update this again before I leave, so if not… see people in a few days!

(12:25 p.m. Taupo, New Zealand, Sunday, Dec. 10)

Driving on the left-hand side of the road is more fun than one might think. We’ve gone through Wellington and about one half of the north island of New Zealand since our arrival. Now, we’re in Taupo, a good-sized town in the center of the thermoactive region of the island. We stopped at a McDonald’s in hopes of finding wi-fi access so I could update you all through this blog, we could check our financial statuses, and keep in touch with the “outside world,” but they haven’t rolled out that service to this part of the world yet, apparently.

(Secretly, it’s OK, though, because I also was excited to eat a cheeseburger.)

Last night we spent night one of three in the rental car – which, for those paying attention, is a brand-new Toyota Yaris hatchback. Great for driving around, and great for hauling our luggage – not so great if you want to haul luggage AND recline your seat to sleep. It was probably in the single digits below zero Celsius last night, so we had to turn on the car a couple of times to heat it up in the middle of the night. We also realized that since we were staying in the mid-level altitude regions – not by requirement, but because “the view was pretty,” we probably caused ourselves more undue stress than was actually necessary. Oh well.

Today we’re taking a leisurely drive up to our next destination, stopping along the way for random photo breaks. The car is loaded with food – mostly peanut butter and bread – to satisfy our travel urges. New Zealand, however, is considerably cheaper than Australia, so I haven’t spent even a fraction of what I spent in Australia.

Gas is like $1.30 a liter, and to fill up the Yaris is about NZD $50. For a Yaris. Yup. The first time I filled up my Aveo, down in Chicago when gas prices were high, cost USD $30. Ever since, it’s only in the $23-$25 range. In American money, NZD $50 is only about $35-$38, but it’s still a bit of sticker shock.

Overall, I think I like New Zealand more than Australia. There’s a certain mystical nature about it, similar to the Celtic heritage of the British Islands. Everything is so green, and the country is a bit cleaner. (The air quality, for example, is amazingly crisp, clean, and refreshing.) The people are just as friendly as in Australia (and they don’t automatically hate us for being American!) and the addition of Maori cultural activities is a crowning touch.

Bryan’s going to kill me if we keep sitting at the McDonald’s much longer, since there is no Internet here, so we better be off in search of a connection.

(12:03 p.m. Wellington, Dec. 8, 2006)

Well we didn’t find any cheap wi-fi in Sydney, so I apologize for the lack of updates. (We did find a few Internet cafes with broadband and kiosks, so the e-mails I sent from there will suffice as the blog entries.) I’m sitting on the bed at the hotel in Wellington, New Zealand, where I am just itching to get outside and exploring.

(Bryan’s in the shower, so I’m updating you all as I wait for him.)

Let’s backtrack a little bit. Sydney was amazing. I really felt like the city was a sort of hybrid between Southern California and New York, with the cultural scene, the beaches, the laid back atmosphere, but yet the determination and will power was also noticeable. However, for future reference, know that SYDNEY IS FREAKING EXPENSIVE. I thought I had reached the peak of expense when I went to London earlier this year, but apparently I was wrong. It’s next to impossible to find food under $5 a portion, and if you’re expecting meal deals to include drink and side, you’re wrong, too. A few places have good deals (of the approx. $5 variety), but for the most part either the portion is extremely small or the food isn’t something appetizing.

We went and played with the animals at the Taronga Zoo, where I now have been able to see the Australian animal life up close and personal. (Including things like snakes, bats, and rats – which I could have just as soon lived my life without seeing.) We also visited places like the Sydney Opera House (and got to watch a rehearsal of the Australia Orchestra – amazing!) and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Of course, we had to make a stop at Bondi Beach, where we both proceeded to get redder than tomatoes, and now are in a miserable state of skin health. Like always, my skin can’t decide what it wants to do, so the left side of my face is peeling, my upper arms are tight and painful, and my feet developed burn blisters on top, along with the walking blisters on bottom, so I’m the token child for good health in Australasia.

I met up with a friend of mine, Ryanne, who I hadn’t seen in years. The last night, we also met up with some friends of Bryan’s that he had been studying with for the past semester. That’s where things got interesting.

Before finding them, we were responsible and checked the train schedule to find out when the last train left for our hotel. (We were staying in a remote suburb about 45 minutes south of the city center, so train travel was essential.) We looked at the grid, saw “12:59” and operated under the assumption that we just needed to be at the train station about ten to one in the morning.

Once we got to the station at Circular Quay (a little earlier, because we had been looking at the grid for the St. James station, which is the stop after the Quay), there was only one more train departing for the evening – ending halfway to our hotel station at Leumeah. So we double-checked the grid again and discovered our grievous mistake: the times we were looking at were followed by an F notation. The F means Friday-only service. In actuality, the last train to leave Circular Quay had been about an hour earlier.

Bryan went and asked a cabbie about how much it would cost to get to Campbelltown (the suburb we were staying in) and it was going to be over $100 cab fare. Uh, no, thank you. It turned out fine, since all of his friends were relatively close and we ended up sleeping on the floor in a hotel room, but it completely ruined what was supposed to have been our sleep in day before getting on airplanes and coming here.

That’s the most eventful occurrence so far. Which is good. No missed flights or anything like that.

Now we’re in Wellington, staying at the Downtown Backpackers, a hotel converted from the Victorian era that once housed such dignitaries as the Queen and her entourage. It’s nice and quaint, and very European. We have a mountainside view, and are right in the center of the Wellington CBD. Today we’re just planning on some exploring, some online time, and possibly finding a cheaper car rental place than Hertz. (They exist in the airport literature we found.) Let’s just hope that Wellington isn’t as expensive as Sydney, and we’ll be golden.

On deck this week are two days here in Wellington, then driving up the North Island to Auckland and flying out a week from yesterday. Thanks to assistance from Bryan’s family, we’ll be staying at a hotel in Auckland (originally it was slotted for car sleeping and then showering at the airport), which greatly helps both our sanity and our finances, as we can now cut down the car rental period by a couple of days and save a little cash.

We’re off to see Wellington! Chat with you all again in some time.