If I had a kitchen...

This is what I'd do every day

Balancing rock

Pikes peak

Colorado Continued

Even though Colorado got off to a "rocky"  start (yeah, I know...), it ended up being one of my favorite places.  There is something majestic about seeing the mountains on the horizon. I really wanted to see the Hanging Lake, but was disappointed to see the "no dogs"  sign.  The sign gave a short explanation for why they didn't allow dogs.  After some consideration I decided that Porter was not a risk for any of their reasons- and we had come this far so my mountain goat-dog and I trekked the uphill trail to the top of the mountain.  Totally worth the risk- the lake was stunning.  On the way down I noticed that my newly acquired sun glasses had fallen out of my pocket.  I couldn't believe it.  So all the way back down the mountain I stopped each passerby to ask if they had seen them.  Nothing.  As a last resort I made a couple of lost sunglasses signs and left them just outside of the restrooms.  With low expectations of ever seeing them again I set off for Boulder.  About half way there my phone rang- someone found them.  I don't think I've ever thanked anyone so many times in such a short time before.  Even better? they lived near Boulder and were going to be available the next day.  That's twice on this trip that people have gone out of their way to help me out.  In Boulder we stayed with extended family who happened to be able to take us in on a last minute request. I've never met such a friendly and kind hearted couple as Cindy and Dave. Thanks to our amazing new hosts, Porter and I went to see the Garden of the Gods and ventured all the way up to 14,000 ft on the summit of Pikes Peak.   I was almost sad to leave Colorado, but then I got into Utah.  It's not quite as majestic but just as breathtaking to be surrounded by mountains.  Right now Porter and I are sitting in a local dog friendly coffee shop where I thought I'd just sit and catch up on "Walking Dead" while I enjoyed a latte. I should have known that Porter would be a conversation starter though, because everyone wanted to meet him and eventually one person decided it might be cool to say hello to me as well.  This person happens to be moving to Washington soon, so I've already got a familiar face to look forward to.  Small world, huh?

Hosts in Little Rock

Funny feelings are no joke

All of my couch surfer hosts up to Denver were phenomenal.  Jeff and his girlfriend Lilly were genuine and fun in Little Rock, and Cody was funny and trustworthy in Wichita.  When I got to Denver, however, things were a little different.  Something was off.  I met my host at an advanced auto parts to follow them to their house.  The house ended up being a trailer, and I'm familiar with trailers so this wasn't immediately alarming.  We parked outside the trailer and went inside.  It was FILTHY. There were three women living there; one old lady, one rather large woman, and a middle aged woman with a shaved head.  I immediately began to think up a story to excuse myself from the situation.  Luckily I have amazing friends who I can rely on in situations like this.  After a quick phone call our plan was put into action.  I went back inside and waited for a "surprising" phone call.  When my phone rang I answered excitedly in front of the women.  The conversation went something like this... Friend:  HEY! Are you in Denver?!?  Me:  Yeah!  Aren't you supposed to be on a plane right now???  Friend: My trip got postponed to next week-  Want to meet me and some friends for dinner and some drinks?  Me:  Absolutely, let me tell my host the good news and I'll meet you ASAP!   I tell the host what my new plan is and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause them- they suddenly become visibly unhappy with me and repeatedly tell me how sad they are that I'm leaving.  This only added to the creepiness factor so at this point my hand is on the doorknob.  Me:  well it was nice meeting you all (sprints out the door with Porter).  From here I'm thinking "crap... there goes my place to stay in Denver".   Again, amazing friends to the rescue-  They had been looking online at hotels nearby and comparing rates for me while I made my escape.  My last attempt at a place to stay was actually an old friend who lives in Denver but was out of town for the week- I contacted them and asked if they might have a friend of a friend to ask for a couch.  I sat in an Olive Garden parking lot for a few minutes, anxiously waiting.  What happened next was beyond what I ever expected on this trip.  This friend from high school who I haven't seen in several years called me back and said " I've found you a place to stay tonight, but there are rules.... Rule #1 is no complaining.  Rule #2 is no arguing with me about it.  I've sent you an address.  It will take you to a LaQuinta near your location.  Your room has been paid for, all I ask is that you pay it forward.  I know what it's like to be in a new place with nowhere to go and have had people do this for me.  Now I get to pay it forward to you. "  Following the rules, all I said was "thank you, thank you so very much" .  I'll never forget that.  As it turned out, that one night stay was exactly what I needed.  All of this surfing has been amazing, but having a night to myself allowed me to collect my thoughts and arrange my plans for the next few days.  I'm writing this one from a hostel- the first I've ever stayed in and it's no hotel, but the people here are all unique and friendly.  So I'm signing off tonight- time to swap stories with my house-mates.

Porter is packed and ready

Catching up

Due to the extraordinary kindness of an old friend, I'm writing this post from a comfy hotel room.  I'll explain that one later... When I last posted I was leaving the coffee shop with Madison and Tiffany. We drove across town to a small place called Earnestine and Hazel's Sundry Store where the upstairs was once a noisy brothel (now apparently haunted), and enjoyed a famous "soul burger".  Some of the visitors of the establishment were "The Rolling Stones" (ahem.... "Brown Sugar"... ) and Ray Charles.  The coolest part of the place was definitely the upstairs former "hourly hotel" because that's where a real treasure could be found sitting alone in one of the small rooms.  Once I saw it I froze.  It was right in front of me, with no barriers in front of it- not even a "do not touch" sign.  Ray Charles' Piano.  Once I found the courage to sit down and lay my fingers across the keys I began to play.  The majority of the notes were so out of tune that they really just made obnoxious sounds rather than tones, but the ones that survived had a beautiful sound.  The kind of sound that was out of tune but completely appropriate for what that piano had been used for so long ago.  That experience alone was enough to make the trip worthwhile, but we weren't done yet.  Tiffany suggested that all of us go to an abandoned railroad bridge which crossed the Mississippi River; just the adventure I was hoping for.  We hopped back into the car and drove to a local park.  From here we traversed down a small stone gutter which led to the river bank.  Once you got close enough to the water you could clearly see how strong the current was which made it impossible (okay not impossible, but very dangerous) to swim in the river. Along the riverside were huge, unsteady rocks which we carefully climbed until we were underneath the bridge.  We climbed our way up to it and our plans were abruptly changed due to construction on the old tracks near the bridge. This left only two options, we could call the whole thing off or we could venture onto the second, and currently functional bridge.  I'll leave it up to you to decide which plan we went with :)

The people I met in Memphis were truly one of a kind.

Departure

Dueling pianos on Beale street

Day 1

It wasn't until I hugged my sister before leaving  that it all really sunk in.  I'm doing this.  It's a strange to say considering how long I planned the trip.  My first stop was Memphis, where I'd meet a couchsurfing host named Madison.  Madison was warm, welcoming, and seemed just as excited about me being in Memphis as I was. She brought me to a local BBQ called "Central BBQ".  If you ever find yourself there, try the BBQ pork nachos.  From there she showed me the famous Beale Street where she suggested a well known dueling piano bar called Silky O' Sullivan's.  I was AMAZED by the talent I witnessed.  Piano playing like I've never seen before... my best efforts to offer up a challenging song to play were shrugged off like it was nothing.  No music required, they just played.  Bars have never been my thing, but this was more like going to a concert where they didn't charge an arm and a leg for a drink.  It was a win-win situation UNTIL Madison decided to get "The Diver".  This was a concoction of beer, liquor, and wine mixed into one gallon sized jug.  Challenge accepted.  As we tackled the behemoth of a drink I had a chance to sit down with one of the pianists and ask about his job and how he ended up there.  The man was a brilliant musician with far more knowledge of music than I've ever known.  We shared our diver with him and eventually he asked if I'd like to play for a while.  I had just about enough liquid courage at that point to say yes. So there I was, playing piano on Beale street.  Check that one off of the bucket list.  The next morning Madison suggested a local coffee shop.  This place was no Overall Co, but sometimes it's not the coffee that you go for.  This was the case here.  We sat outside and began to chat when someone near us started playing the Ukulele.  Then they started singing an amazing song I had never heard before.  That's how we met Tiffany.  Tiffany had so many great suggestions for things to do while I was in town, so many that I had to ask if she'd like to come along and adventure with us.  She accepted without pause and off we went.    TO BE CONTINUED! 

Departure day

I won't lie, it took a little longer to go to sleep last night. This morning I woke up to find what my mom had been planning for me to take. If there's one thing mom is good at, it's smothering her children with love. Delicious, vacuum sealed love ...

Time on my hands

Since graduation I've had a lot of spare time.  The most exciting thing to happen after moving home was when I got an email from a past employer at Auburn about a job opportunity at UAB.  After some research I decided to pursue the position and, long story short, I didn't get the job.  In fact, nobody did.  The responsibilities simply got delegated and divided amongst current employees.  I can't say I wasn't disappointed but Seattle was the plan before UAB, and that only made it more clear to me what I should do.  So here I am, at home with nothing better to do on most days than wash dishes, vacuum, tidy the house up, maybe watch some "Breaking Bad" (read: ALL of "Breaking Bad") . I'm a regular house mom...  That all ends on Sunday (Oct 20th) though.  That's when my new chapter begins, and I couldn't be more excited.