My First paid vacation...come and gone

It begin by waking at the ungodly hour of 430 a.m to catch a plane in the neighboring state of Jersey (its a 20 min drive, well 30 with the 5 am bar traffic….and yes people were revisiting their dinner out the car windows). Due to the sudden fear of liquids (including soap in the terminal bathrooms)I didn’t make my flight. But the hours weren’t without entertainment, thanks to this character who going on a bird watching trip. He was decked out and ready….had Gilligan hat and fanny pack; a trip that might even cost him his job. A shame, since most everyone was missing not only their flight but also the next flight. My ingenuity was at its best,(surprising given the hour) I left the line to “check my bag” a.k.a. reserve one of the two spots left (as informed by the airline person on the phone) on the next flight. I totally patted myself on the back for that one.
So seven hours later than expected I arrived in Minot, North Dakota. A place everyone has been or will be going soon. My introduction was bachelor-ette party…. a few stories there but nothing tops the self made porn by the maid-of-honor’s sister’s boyfriend. It was more than a porn….it involved wires, lights and a razor….and the rest is up to you. There is nothing like being a city girl on a real farm for a change…where I learned (ever so briefly) about: getting sunflower seeds from the flower, swathing, combines, grain bins, etc. I ate peas right out of the ground….they had this wonderful dirt flavor. I had a little crop dusting ride, well really just flying, but it was more fun than any rollercoaster. I rode a motorcycle (to the town of Overly, population of about 7). After quite the breath taking experience caused by the return of an old decrease in lung capacity, I managed through slight frustration to get an inhaler. Before I got my own I borrowed one from Rhonda. She is quite a lady. She thinks that smoking pot works just as well as an inhaler. She knows this because her son in California… who got shot in the head (or was it the one running from the law) can get pot (not only in smoking form but also in peanut butter, popcorn, and candy bars of many varieties. She says that candy bars are the best for public transportation.) NoDak was great.
Then Kirsten and I loaded into the jeep for a trip to Oregon. I was pretty pumped for the adventures through Montana, Idaho, and Washington. But on the sly it turned into a pedal to the metal haul ass to Oregan kind of trip. I did see lots of things that I would like to explore (maybe the next time when it’s on my way)…hots springs on reservation, the town of Walla Walla, driving along the gorge. We did stop for few hours in Missoula, Montana. Long enough for me to buy an amazing (though completely impractical as I learned on my trip home) old green suitcase for a $1. But it was quite the conversation piece in the airport; it lead me to meeting this guy who worked at a nonprofit in Nashville- which I am going to look into.
Portland is beautiful. A good place to celebrate getting old. There are a few places I learned about that I will have to go back and visit (such as Voodoo Dounuts – apparently they have bacon donuts and they used to have Nyquil donuts- who doesn’t want to check that out?) I spent a few days hanging in Portland. We went to the 'coast' one day and it was beautiful...but really cold. We even saw a forest fire. The next day I flew back to NYC. But I didn’t come home empty handed; I brought the ever so lovely strep throat home with me (see what I mean about getting old, only old people get sick twice in a 2 week period). Even with the chills, fever, and swelling throat, I met this guy Adam on the plane. He lives in Connecticut (its about a 20 min drive from NYC) and he gave me ride home. Halleluiah!! There you have it. I will work on keeping the blogs shorter but equally as eventful from here on out….and come on give me some comments.
(I have pictures but this computer can seem to read the disk.....bummer)