Mattias Lindstrand

The Naughty Choirboy

Mattias Lindstrand

Born May 16:th 1976 made me both a Taurus and a Dragon at the same time. Being of both the strongest Earth-signs in Western & Eastern astrology it makes me stubborn as and curious.. This helps me out a lot, sometimes quite not as much.

When I was younger I believed that the one person with the most possessions when dying had "won" the competition. Little did I know. Earthly possessions can easily be taken away or destroyed, but memories and experiences lasts a lifetime. Therefore I try to gather as much of those as possible, whenever I can.

I like adventures and I like to do them on my conditions. I prefer travelling alone because that's when you can find out as much as possible. Don't get me wrong - I love travelling with other's too, but the sensation of freedom when deciding to stay another day at a weird location without taking others into consideration is truly great.

I am not inclined to go boozing or in any way abuse the different cultures I may encounter and I do love the splendour and forces of nature. I also love meeting individuals who can tell me about their lives and their experiences - that way they won't be lost, but can continue living within me.




I woke up a bit late, but I guess it was needed. Today I am going to drive from Philadelphia up to Marine City, Michigan, all in one go. The GPS says it’s about 8hr drive, but I have two stops on the way. It is with great sadness I say farewell to my hosts and I hope to revisit soon! Intercourse, PA: Now, ever since I first saw a postcard from Intercourse and giggled I thought it would be fun visiting. It’s probably the juvenile part of me talking, but I just have to. Since this location was only about 1.5hr drive from Philly and not such a big detour I quickly entered it to my GPS and headed out. I arrived there with a big smirk on my face, got out of my car, ... read more
Lube center
Museum
Appalacians


After a very good night’s sleep and some wakening up, we (Terri, George and I ) went out for breakfast. Naturally I didn’t eat anything. The day was perfect for moving about in Philly and we started off by taking the bus to the centre, from there on we went towards the museum where the actual Liberty Bell was on display. It was interesting to see it, but even more so to see the building that used to house that bell, because it was used in the film National Treasure.. After the cracked gong we walked around for a while and got to see a whole lot of stuff, and I really appreciate it. The only disappointing thing was the market we visited... I bought candy... I ate candy... I almost got sick in the car ... read more
Liberty Bell
No tolling for you
Carpenter Bees


Before heading out from Holyoke and down toward Philadelphia, a good 8hr drive, my hosts wanted to take me up to Mt. Holyoke and it’s summit -house where I could get a good look at the surrounding area. It was a short drive there and the weather was on our side. The view from the mountain was magnificent and we stayed there for about 20 minutes before we had to head back because my host’s wife had to get back to work, and I had to start drive down to Philadelphia. I entered the coordinates to my next host, Terri, and initiated my drive. My first long-haul was quite eventless and though being tiresome I have a few tips for the future traveller in America. * One is; plan ahead.. Driving takes an awful lot longer ... read more
View out over Massachusetts
Yet another view out over Massachusetts
Green, green, green


I arrived to a very interesting area in the city of Holyoke, MA. This neighbourhood could best be described as “worn down”. This is the sort of areas most people have seen on film; boarded windows, derelict buildings, high population of “minorities”. Bluntly put – a “bad neighbourhood”. In one of these buildings lived my host and his family and he showed me a side of America I have never witnessed before. I am happy to have experienced if, for it only shows what I have always been suspecting. Even though the area is “bad” the people living there are very much friendly and supportive. Make no mistake, I would not want to walk around mid-night as per first choice here, but nothing bad happened. People are just trying to get along and get around do ... read more
Puerto Rican food


This day I left Leominster, MA and headed out for Holyoke, MA, to visit James ?. I decided to go for the scenic road instead of the more heavily trafficked major roads. Since you aren’t really allowed to stop on the interstates or, rather, freeways I chose to avoid them as much as possible . Besides it’s only 1,5hrs drive between Leominster and Holyoke. Before I start on how beautiful Massachusetts is with its foliage I must say something about driving in the states.. If you are one of those law-abiding people, forget about having an easy drive. Most people speed, and we aren’t talking of a few mph’s here. Most are speeding anywhere between 10-15 above legal limit as soon as it’s above 35. Now, since I don’t want to end up getting fined I ... read more
Scenic driving
It's really purdy!
Green canopy


Back towards Boston again. There were a few thing planned for my leisure, but the forces of weather weren’t really on my side today. We, that is Terry and I, decided to head in to Salem. I’ve heard so much of this (in)famous place and have always been interested in the history of the Salem witch-trials. So Salem it is. The drive there wasn’t as bad this time since I now have my GPS, which is really appreciated. It helps out quite a lot and I would recommend anyone travelling in the bigger cities to invest in one. I’m usually saying that I am never lost. I always know exactly where I am. I am >>here... read more
The Salem Witch Museum
Tracy selling my car
Erected


The moment I've eagerly have waited for has finally arrived. I arrived at the Arlanda Airport this stunningly beautiful spring- morning and quite early I got singled out during the safety-check. I was the only one travelling alone and I was all dressed in black. I had to answer several more “innocent questions” than the others standing in line. The flight itself contained no surprise. The in-flight food was not the best I’ve ever had, but they usually aren’t. It was a smooth ride on the United Airline’s flight to Newark, NY. I managed to get some well-needed sleep and woke up just before we were to land. Now I had to pass the dreaded border-control.. Yet once again I was singled out. The officer took my passport and went over to a colleague and ... read more
Soon this'll be me
Dunkin' Coffee and Doughnut
Bucket'o fun

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Upplands Väsby May 7th 2012

It's now less than 20 hours (and counting) before I leave Sweden. All the paperworks are in order and everything is (more or less) packed. My luggage is just around 8kg (ca 16lbs).. I cannot help to feel that something is missed and that I have this amount of spare time to kill. This is the typhical time I can get butterflies since I have too much free time on my hands. The roadtrip will start off by a baptism by fire. By the time I arrive to Boston and have my car it'll be in the middle of the rush-hour. I must then navigate to my first destination and I don't have any electronic gizmo to guide me. Some have said I'm mad, I just ask them how it was done in the past? It's ... read more

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Upplands Väsby April 14th 2012

It is now less than a month before I embark on this roadtrip and so far most of the preliminary details have been taken care of. The planned budget-goal is reached, most of the people I am going to visit have been contacted and verified, preliminary dates have been set. I have only about a week left in my apartment before other matters need my attention for about two weeks, so I am starting to feel a bit stressed. At the moment there are a few things that are on my mind. 1) What if homeland security won't allow me entrance for any reason? 2) Do I have sufficient time to drive? I have to average 3.5 hours driving a day in order to make it, but it is a roadtrip and the name itself highly ... read more

Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County » Upplands Väsby February 14th 2012

There sure is lots of things to take care of and I don't want to rush things. Of all travels I have made so far in my life this will be the far grandest and I want to have as much things in order prior to the actual departure date. There are tickets to buy, car to be rented, paperwork to be sorted out, routes to plan. O the workload, but I honestly think it's better do do it now than on the road. Whether I chose to follow my plans later on, well that's a whole different story So far, the things that I have managed to do are: Passport - OK Plane Tickets $820 -OK Car - Toyota Camry - OK International Drivers License - Applied - Pending Private health-insurance - Applied - Pending ... read more




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