Days 26-38: Albuquerque, Denver, South Dakota…and the journey back home

California was the most amazing place I have ever been to, and it felt like home to me, but sadly, I had to leave there and return back to my home (for now) in Connecticut. After wiping the tears from my eyes from the thought of leaving the great Golden State, I started to slowly make my way back to the east coast. This started with a 7 day stop in Albuquerque New Mexico. My aunt and uncle live right in the city, so it was great to spend quality time with them during the 4^th of July holiday and have them show me around the area. I also got to meet my two adorable little cousins Sierra and Sydney for the first time, and we all watched the fireworks together on July 4^th, which was a great family experience. I also sampled a lot of traditional New Mexican food, including green chili, and some not so traditional items to the area, such as whole baby octopuses and amazing sashimi. I was quite surprised with the beautiful scenery of the area also, and every morning I would wake up to the breathtaking views of the mountains behind their back yard, and at night, downtown Albuquerque sparkled like a huge open treasure chest box full of diamonds and gemstones. I can’t wait to go back there in the near future to see the city and my relatives again.

After leaving New Mexico, I spent one night in Denver, Colorado, because I had a featured performance there. I was truly impressed with the beauty and cleanliness of the mile high city, but I personally didn’t feel like I was a mile above sea level, and even though I have asthma, I had no problems breathing there and felt no lack of oxygen. I left early the next morning and drove through Wyoming, where I stopped in Cheyenne for lunch. This was another city that I was impressed with, although it was a lot smaller and more desolate than Denver. I then made my way through western Nebraska, and truly felt in the middle of nowhere there, but the scenery there was also breathtaking, and I loved the feeling of driving on the open road with no one around. The mountains in Nebraska were also very beautiful and unique looking, which I definitely wasn't expecting to see while driving through the state. I finally made my way to South Dakota later that night, where I stopped at Mt. Rushmore to watch the lighting of the monument, which was a very nice presentation. I went to Mt. Rushmore again early the next day to explore it some more and hike on some of the nearby trails. I am usually not a fan of man made monuments and parks, and usually prefer the natural better, but there was something about Mt. Rushmore that was so breathtaking in its beauty, and the elements of the natural and man made are so perfectly intertwined in that area, plus you can’t help but feel extremely patriotic while those four amazing presidents are staring back at you. After leaving there and driving through the Black Hills region, I made my way to Badlands National Park, which was a truly amazing area and reminded me a lot of the petrified forest national park in northern Arizona. I drove through the various mountains and hills there for about an hour while mountains goats and rams were right alongside my car, and then I made my way about 4 hours east to the town of Mitchell, where a very famous Americana attraction is, known as the corn palace. Basically, I don’t understand the point at all about this place, but I’ve seen it on the travel channel before so I figured I would check it out. It’s basically just a large building partially made out of corn and inside the building is a gift shop with tacky souvenirs. After leaving there, I spent the night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I watched a very interesting laser light show on the river which had a narration about the town’s history.

The next day was a long day in the car, driving through states such as Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. I spent the weekend in western Michigan with a long time friend, and we went to a few of the beach towns right along the Lake Michigan shore. I honestly was very impressed with that area of the state, and it truly felt like you were at an ocean and not just a lake. The scenery was very pretty and the shore towns reminded me of ones I would frequently see back home or in other New England states. The next day I briefly stopped at Kent State University in Ohio to see the memorial of the 4 students who were killed there during the famous shootings and protests, and then I spent the night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The following day, unfortunately, I saw the “welcome to Connecticut” sign for the first time in over 5 weeks, and even though I made it back to my home for now, I am really hoping and planning that this will not be my home for much longer, because as you can probably guess, I am a true vagabond and don’t enjoy spending too much time in the same place, ergo, 22 years in the same town in the same state is long enough for me. Where will I move next…Boston? San Francisco? Another country? Who knows….but until then, my travels will soon continue with a small tour up to Maine, New Hampshire, and Cape Cod next week. Good night…and travel well my friends.