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Published: October 24th 2008
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We landed in Newark, New Jersey on the afternoon of May 24th. After six months of traveling, Alex and I were very tired, and very broke. Both of us were looking forward to some serious couch time. We spent the next month or so relying on the excellent hospitality of Alex's dad Dean, and his wonderful wife Jennifer, eating their food, drinking their wine, and sleeping in their basement. We could not have asked for better hosts. While we were there, we took a family trip into New York City. We spent an afternoon in Central Park taking in the sites, I would also note that while we were staying in NJ, I had the fortune of eating a hot dog in front of the Statue of Liberty.
We had originally planned to buy a car in NJ and drive across the country to Portland OR. However, due to a drivers license snafu, we decided to fly into the mid west and do it there. It seemed the state of New Jersey really didn't want me driving. We flew into Kansas City and spent an awesome weekend with some old friends of mine, eating some kick ass food that I
haven't had in a long time, and of course drinking lots of beer. We spent the entire next week with my family in Omaha Nebraska. I doubt very much that I will ever live in the mid west again, its not really for me anymore. One thing I will say about the place is that every time I go back I'm amazed at how nice people are. People on the coasts are not like this. People take the time to talk to one another. People on the street will actually give you a cheery hello instead of completely ignoring you. People know how to be hospitable, that's for sure.
My mother and I both did a fantastic job of not fighting with each other this time around. My mother, in fact my entire family, made sure we had everything we wanted, including our space. It was clear she worked very hard, even after being so sick for so long, to make sure Alex and I had a nice time while there. She succeed big time, It meant a great deal to me. To boot, Omaha is a decent little city. It has a cool old downtown, a wicked good
zoo, its easy to entertain yourself for a week. While we were there I got my drivers license and bought a car. It took me one day to get my license in Nebraska, it would have taken over a month to get it in Jersey. We ended up buying a '97 Volvo 850. We wanted something to get us to the west coast safely and get good gas mileage. My mother actually found it for us and we got a sweet deal on it.
We first drove south and visited a friend I grew up with. We crashed at his place and did some fishing at the local lake. We actually caught a bunch of fish. We also ate large chunks of meat and played Guitar Hero well into the night. Good times were had by all. Next we drove west across Kansas and Colorado, heading for Provo Utah, where Alex's mother lives. We watched the Rocky Mountains get larger and larger as we drove west. Somehow, after seeing the Himalayas, the Rockies don't look that big anymore. They were, however, still quite beautiful.
We arrived at Alex's mother Kay's house in Provo a day later. I was
especially eager. See, we had to ship our cats from Korea to the States. Back in January we loaded Poos and Venkman into boxes, gave them to some strange Korean guy, and wished them the best. They made their way from Seoul to Provo where they had lived for six months. We knew that Alex's mother would take exceptional care of them, as she did, but half a year without our cats was just too much. Truly, I was giddy with anticipation.
Alex's mother has a few other cats, so when we saw a cat that kinda looked like Poos, we weren't sure. She darted away as soon as we approached. We saw Venkman, we called to her and she lifted her head as if to say "Oh, you guys." and then walked off. Not the homecoming we had hoped for. However, about an hour later, after a now very slim Poos remembered us, she ran up to us and jumped into my arms. Reunited at last!
We spent about five days in Provo. Alex's mother took very good care of us, as did Marylin, a very good friend of the family and all around fascinating woman. We
got to celebrate Alex's 28th birthday, as well as the Fourth of July while in Provo. Kay baked a tasty German's Chocolate cake, and I ate hardily of it. The problem with coming back home is that I always pig out on the foods I've missed. We watched a fire works show as we picnicked on the backyard grass, and Alex even got to open a pile of presents. These came on top of all the other supplies Kay loaded us up with to help us start out in Portland.
Reunited with our cats, our car filled to the brim with boxes full of stuff, we headed off to our new home. It took us another two days to get into Portland. I had previously never even been to the state of Oregon, while Alex, who has a brother here, had been there a time or two in the past. The drive in was nice and scenic, lots of hills and rivers, and of course Mt. Hood. We were able to stay at the home of Alex's Aunt Julia. Julia was in the hospital for the week and Alex and I would be able to use her home as
a base as we searched for a place of our own. Fortunately for all, that didn't take long. We settled on a small one bedroom that overlooks a little forest, up on a hill next to downtown. Alex only has a five minute walk to work, my commute is a different story.
So here we are in Portland. Its a pretty nice town, quite a lot to talk about. We both were lucky enough to find jobs we like in a busted economy. We're meeting people and making friends. Everything seems to be getting along swimmingly. Lets see how long it takes for America to drive me crazy.
You can call or chat with us on Skype. Look for christopher.mccarthy3
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