Juliette is my sister and I love her so so so much and I’m so happy to be here! We’re 11 months apart and grew up as best friends, but over the last few years since she’s moved to Salem, I’ve barely seen her. She had a bit of a fight with our parents so doesn’t like to come back east so often…loooong story.

Anyways, she’s an artist and a musician and just keeps picking up new instruments and skills. I got the book smarts and she got the arts smarts (well, she really got both). What can you do?

I’ll be here for a few weeks until I head out to Wyoming for the Rainbow Gathering so have really just been taking it easy. She took me to Montauk State Park which is practically in her back yard and since Mark Twain National Forest is so close, we’ll probably be spending some time there as well.

Juliette just made me blackberry tea and we’re going to go sit out on the porch. laters!
(Ryan I miss you!)

And so, here is just a very short post for all my dear readers: rest assured, I am safe. New River Gorge National River (didn’t swallow me up as I thought it would). Though I think rafting just may not be my thing.

First of all, the rapids weren’t even so bad (supposedly). I think they were a level 3 or something, which are “wimpy” rapids. We had a simulated “flip over” as soon as we got in the boat, and even that left me screaming and splashing around for dear life—mind you, we were in 2 foot deep water.

But MAN, I have never seen such peer pressure. The other people in the boat FORCED me to stay on the boat, saying that I’d be ok and that we “probably” wouldn’t flip over anyways. And they were right, kinda. No one flipped over…but me…three times! But, as goddess is my witness (that’s for you mom, I know how much you love that), I would not allow that frothy, glistening water to win our raging battle. And so each time I fought, and each time I came out on top, stronger than the last time.

By the time we got to the last rapid, people were actually laughing so hard and not focusing on the rapids at all, that our whole raft capsized throwing us all into the calm of a patch of river that was just near a truck that was waiting to load us up and take us home.

Ryan says I’m a good sport. Or sportess—he’s making fun of me.

It should not go unmentioned, however, that my brush with death was nearly worth it due to the breathtaking scenery that surrounded us. A little before and little after, we hiked through the area and I really took the most amazing pictures of cascading waterfalls flowing off of sandstone cliffs.

And then I remember that this is why I needed to get out of the city. To try new things and to experience the divinity of nature. And that is what I found here—that is what I keep finding.

Even this house that we’re staying at. They have acres of land and children and animals who all seem so happy and at peace with their surroundings. They open their home to travelers and allow them to taste from sweetness of their lives. This is family. This is something great.

Confession 2: I am totally geographically challenged. I went out on this road trip thinking we would just zip from one city to the next and then from state to state to state until we ran out of states. But it takes a freakin long time to get from place to place!

Last I wrote, we were in Pittsburgh, which was fun. We spent a lot of time by the Alleghany River and took the cable car up Mount Washington where we got a breathtaking view of the city—and a taste of where teenagers who want to make out go to get away from their parents. Hung out with Jackie for a few days and caught up and she got to meet Ryan who she loved (who wouldn’t?), and not that I’m insecure, but I do always love when my friends like my boyfriends. Jackie lives in the “Strip” district, which has a noisy outdoor market and some trendy nightclubs (that I wouldn’t step foot in, of course) that kept me up late and woke me up early, but at least it seems like a really lively place. Very colorful and bursting with life.

We left late last night, drove for a loooooong time (getting lost a few times and stopping for that deer sign — I seriously don’t know what we were thinking) and then crashed at a friend of Ryan’s from the Rainbow Family in Glen Jean, West Virginia. I haven’t really gotten a chance yet to explore—we’re going out as soon as I get off the computer to New River Gorge National River to do some serious whitewater rafting. I’m actually a little scared b/c aren’t some of the biggest rapids in the world in West Virgina? And apparently we’re not allowed to leave the area before going to Gauley River National Recreation Area.

Wish me luck…

Oh, btw, I have no cell phone service here, but I’ll probably check my email again before we leave—we’ll probably be here for a few days, at least.

Ok, ok, I’m going!
Peace!

Franklin Park is the historic home of the Franklin Park Zoo, a huge 72 acre expanse which you would never guess existed in the urban Boston area. Katie and Alison were so cute squealing with laughter when one of the Masai giraffes in the Kalahari Kingdom came nose to nose (well almost) with us in the observation area.

The New England Aquarium’s greatest perk perhaps was that it was SO easy to get to! It’s just off the T—you can either take the Blue Line, or just get off at Government Center and walk, which is what we did because it was absolutely gorgeous outside! We bought the ticket combo to the Aquarium and the IMAX Theater and spent all day with the penguins (so cute!), sharks, and dolphins. The IMAX show we saw was Sea Monsters 3D, which I found to be a little scary at times, but the kids found absolutely mesmerizing—they’re still talking about what it feels like to be underwater surrounded by monsters.

We took a lovely day trip to the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, where we island hopped and learned about early American history. We could not have been luckier with the weather, which was hot, but not the usual Boston humid, and we took advantage of it by splashing each other during our hikes, and jumping in for a swim at Lovells Island.

I definitely remember Natick Mall from my college days and couldn’t come up to Boston without hitting one of Boston’s greatest shopping havens—though really it’s in Natick, not Boston, but close enough!

We spent the rest of our New England trip in Nantucket where my husband’s cousins live, and pretty much hung out at Surfside Beach for three days straight, sailing, swimming, and lounging in the sun. And Rick’s conference was over by then, so even he was relaxed!

Looks like Boston’s family-friendly after all!

Get ready to be involved in a month-long (or more) journey of a (or my) lifetime! I’ve got my laptop and I’ll be recording our trip from Massachusetts to…somewhere. We’ll just be driving. We know we want to end up at the Rainbow Gathering in Wyoming on July 1st, or earlier to help setup. So actually we’ve got about 3 months, but I may stay with my sister and work for a while in Missouri waitressing or something because Ryan needs to be back in Boston for 2 weeks in the beginning of May. My sister lives near Montauk State Park which is a clear stroke of genius by the hand of my personal guiding goddess, Mother Nature.

I don’t mean to say that the whole east coast has been murdered by the corporate American dream, but somehow the bubble that I’ve created around myself has become stifling and it just NEEDS TO POP already. I need the great outdoors, I need air, I need to BREATHE. We’ve got my tent and we’re going to campsite jump for as long as we can. Also, I’m lucky enough to have Ryan (been together 4 years) and a Rainbow family across the country and we know that if we need a roof above my head, we’ll have one. Check out welcomehome.org to become a part of something truly amazing. Ryan actually is the driving force behind that. He’s been going to Rainbow since he was a kid, so he really does have “family” all over the country.

Related Travel Guide Topics:

• Nature and Wildlife in Missouri and Arkansas
• Outdoor Sports and Recreation in Missouri and Arkansas
• Places to Visit in Kansas City, St. Louis, Branson and the Ozarks