The itch is a bitch

Have you ever been a tourist in your own state?

Well, I was just a couple of weeks ago. I had a friend from Utah visit me and I showed him the entire state I think. Of course, I had to think of the good spots (or what I would refer to as the "at least mildly interesting places if you haven't lived here your whole life and take it for granted places"). I think I did a pretty good job. I even went to places that were new to me (believe it or not)! Georgia ain't so bad, but I wouldn't go overboard with the gay cliche of calling it "peachy".

I will post some of our Georgia vacation pictures soon so you, too, can come along on the Outdoory Girl's Ultimate Georgia Tour.

Anyhoo...that was fun and all, but now I am suffering the itch. No, not from Poison Ivy and definitely not that! (Those of you who thought of that are sickos! ;) ) Rather, this itch is the Traveler's Roadtrip Itch from which I am suffering. I want to hit the road but I don't know where to. I have a couple of ideas, but then again, some of the greatest roadtrips of all time were experienced when set out with no destination at all in mind.

Best Friend and I were actually planning to take a road trip at the end of this month along with our germophobic friend. It was more of a mission, actually. We were going to drive to Utah to pick up Best Friend's dog now that it seemed, after two years of living here, that she wasn't moving back to Utah anytime soon. It was going to be quite the interesting drive cross-country in a small car with a huge dog (English Mastiff) and a germophobic friend. However, due to some unforseen circumstances, we will not be picking up the dog (yet). That is too bad since I am sure it would have made for a hilarious post.

But the itch has now been aggravated and I want to hit the road to somewhere. I completely understand and agree with the postponement of the doggie transplant, but speaking with Best Friend on the phone yesterday I realized that she was just as let down about the cancelling of great roadtrip also. "Maybe we should still go somewhere anyway," she said. I told her to let me know how many days she can take and it will be done. I can't wait to see what develops.

Now if only a miraculous and extreme drop in gasoline prices would occur!

Snap shots from an awesome trip...

Home again

I am home from France and Italy at last. It was such an incredible trip and I had a blast. But being as I am jet lagged and have day and night confused, I am too lazy to post pictures just yet and too brain dead to write an interesting proper post. What I have decided to do instead is share the itenerary of places Best Friend and I visited and a couple of other tidbits.

We visited Paris for 3 lovely days before taking the night train into Venice where we spent the day and night. It was also where I "bumped" into that blogger friend I mentioned. Actually, I waited for Sexy Suburbanite at the train station where we got to spend a few minutes together. It was unfortuantely not long enough, but still very cool to run into a good friend all the way across the Atlantic in the beautiful country of Italy! The next morning we boarded a train for Florence, where we spent 2 days and nights and worked in an afternoon trip to Pisa, where indeed the tower leans! Next we boarded another train for 3 days and nights in Rome. Of course we experienced the sites and city of ancient Rome, but we also visited the holy Vatican City, where they made it perfectly clear that you are no longer in Rome, nor Italy, while within the walls of the Vatican. We used our last day in Rome to visit Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento where we experienced a nice boat ride in the beautiful, blue waters of the Mediterranean.

We saw so many ancient, unbelievable, and amazing sites that it seems surreal. From famous works of art to Roman ruins to world-known buildings and architecture, we got to experience it all. I tasted so much of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello that I feel like a Ninja Turtle now. But speaking of ninjas and names of such geniuses, Best Friend and I, possibly feeling the inspiration of that genius Leonardo Da Vinci, invented a couple of things ourselves.

Let me introduce you the art of Elbow Ninja. This fine skill is quick, (mostly) quiet, (usually) graceful and quite often violent. But it was a necessary evil to survive walking the crowded streets with Italians. I quickly learned that Italians do not move to one side of the sidewalk or street in crowds but rather plow you over without so much as a "Mi escusi" or acknowledgement or care that they just bruised your battered body. I quickly allowed my southern hospitality and good down-home manners of stepping to one side of the sidewalk when another pedestrian approaches fly right out the window. I also dropped those good country girl manners that my mama taught me of saying, "Excuse me" when I wished to pass by or an apologetic "I'm sorry" when accidentally bumping into someone. Instead, for my own survival, whenever I saw an approaching crowd I bent my arms into Elbow Ninja position and extended my elbows out just enough to clear my way through the crowd making sure to jab anyone who first jabbed me. Funny thing is, I think this is what you are supposed to do, for I got not one ugly look or comment from anyone I assaulted! I perfected this so well that one time I hit the person in front of me with my right elbow while simultaneously knocking the man on my heels with my left elbow and while pulling back my left elbow knocked away a space-invading woman trying to stick her camera in front of me to take a picture of Pope John Paul II's tomb (which was strictly forbidden, by the way.) So yeah, I pulled out this move in St. Peter's Basilica. I do hope God will forgive me.

We also compiled a universal Hot Guys of the World List. For a long time, Best Friend and I had referred to a hot American guy as a "Josh". Josh is nice, all-American boy name so that's what we picked. This is how it works: Let's say a hot guy is detected by the red car in the parking lot. I simply say to Best Friend, "There's Josh by the red car." If she were to whisper to me "Josh", just a guy passed us, then I know just what she means. So last year in Germany, the hotties there became "Hans" to us. I still miss Hans from the Marienplatz McCafe in Munich. However, it is important to note that "Hansel" is NOT the same thing. Those are the girlie-guys who purse their lips together like Hansel (Owen Wilson) from Zoolander. We also met a couple of Hansels in Germany as well as Hans. Anyway, while in Paris, the hotties became "Francois". Let me just say I am firmly convinced that you must be a Francois to be a police officer in Paris. Ahhhhh... Mmmmm!!! Oh excuse me...I got a little sidetracked thinking about Francois and handcuffs. ;) Okay, so this leaves us with the Italian hotties a/k/a "Giovanni". I saw more of Francois than Giovanni, but I must confess that I fell hard for Giovanni from our hotel in Rome. He was such a sweetheart, too. I will never forget how he sang "You Shook Me All Night Long" along with me or how he smiled every time we walked into the room or the excellent plan (his word for map) of Roma he gave us. I was broken hearted that I didn't get to tell him goodbye yesterday before I left.

Well, this is all the nonsense I have for you all today. I will be posting pictures and adventures of Eurotrip 2008 soon. Ciao!

48 hours away...

In less than 48 hrs. I should be on a plane headed for Paris, France. I will be there for a couple of days and then I will be off to spend a week in Italy. I am amazed simply at the thought of the things I have planned to see and experience. I can hardly imagine what it will be like when I am actually there. Needless to say, I am thrilled.

For a while now I have had good gut feeling that big changes were soon coming into my life, more than just exciting travel, but certainly including exciting travel. I think I know what they may be, but until the time actually comes, who's to say? One thing is for certain...this summer is going to be awesome. And it all begins in less than 48 hrs.
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P.S. I have a strong feeling that I will be bumping into a good friend while in Venice!

Country Roads

Until it began to cost me near $50.00 in gas to fill up my Honda Civic, one of my favorite past times has always been taking a drive through the country down an old, winding road that I have never traveled and have no idea where it may lead.

Sometimes I find a road that is filled with little surprises: a scenic overlook, a peaceful stream, a forest that seems to know no humans, or glimpses of a bygone era. Other times I have found roads that seem to lead nowhere. Of course I am always hoping to find something interesting, some type of hidden "treasure" and end up disappointed when my drives lead me down those "nowhere" roads and I return home restless or unsettled.

The truth is that Forrest Gump's mama was right all along. Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get. One thing is for certain: Unless you choose to travel life's unknown roads, you may never find those hidden treasures. Sure, you may take a few of those dead end or lead-to-nowhere roads, but if you keep on traveling, you just might choose the right road one day.

At least this is what I am telling myself nowadays, even when I keep choosing those bumpy, promising roads that lead into nothingness.
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Here's a few reasons I love a country drive...

Snowy shots

My spring break trip to Utah did not go exactly as planned. I flew out later than I had wanted, spent less time out there, did not hike, and did not go snowboarding. However, I still had a great time. I spent all my time with my friends and "adoptive" family out there which made the entire trip worth it...even if I did have to fly into Philadelphia (which is, unlike you may have heard, NOT the city of brotherly love) first to come back home.

What is even more surprising than me having a relaxing, low-adventure trip is that I came back home with less than 20 photos on my digital camera! That is an alarming low number for a camera freak like me! Still, I think that the ones I took are very scenic. I can't take full credit for the handful of picutres I took. I couldn't have gotten there if it weren't for my buddy, the Grunt and the assistance of Clyde, his faithful truck.

I have to say that the movie we watched totally sucked, but the drive through the snowy mountains and walk around the thawing pond was awesome. Thanks for taking me to play in the snow, Grunt!

Surprise! This is Greenville???

Last weekend Best Friend had an extended stay in Greenville, South Carolina--a mere 2 hour drive from where I live. So I hit the road on Friday night so we could hang out over the weekend. The plan was for us to go hiking on Saturday at the nearby Caesar's Head State Park or Table Rock State Park, two places I had wanted to check out but had not made the time to visit. I was disappointed when we woke up the next morning and tuned into the weather channel giving reports of possible snowfall in the mountains and extemely high winds. We decided to cancel until better weather. I never heard if the mountains recieved snow, but I can tell you first hand that wind was nearly knocking us down there in the valley. I could only imagine how it would've been on the mountain as clung for dear life.

It was disappointing at first. Living so close to Greenville has allowed me many chances of passing through the town. I actually didn't have a very positive image of Greenville though I really hadn't spent much time there. I mean, it is GREENVILLE after all...how boring! (To be fair, part of the negativity stems from forced childhood trips with my mom to some clothing outlet there. Geez, how my brother and I hated that!) Still, there was to be no hiking trips so we decided to make the best of it. After some eating and some shopping, we went into downtown Greenville to the Reedy River Falls Park. We were so pleasantly surprised (I was actually shocked) that a place like Greenville would have such a beautiful park with huge waterfalls right in the heart of the city.

I could have spent hours and hours taking pictures there. The falls spilled over a large rock face and raced down the Reedy River to the ruins of an old mill. The park was alive with early signs of spring...blooming daffodils and fresh green grass. Across the falls spans a suspension bridge that is supported by cables on only one side. If you continue up the river past the falls, you come right into downtown Greenville with its hotels, trendy cafes, and shops lining the river walk.

That just goes to show that if you open your eyes, you just might find a treausre hidden in your own backyard.