my life as a nomad.

9 days.

1,187 miles traveled.
13 cities visited.
1 sunburn.
1 plane crash.
1 day of smoke from Canada.
12 rotaries.
6 trips on the Mass Pike.
1 bonfire on the beach.
4 trips to dunks.
4 trips to BoDo's.
1 trip to the moon.
12 mosquito bites.
1 night sleeping on a boat.
1 night feeling like I am still on said boat.
3 nights on a couch.
4 nights on the air matress.
3 nights at Assumption.
1 bridal shower.
1 Great Urban Race.

Day 1: Headed to East Sandwich! But I only want the eastern part of the sandwich, not the whole thing!
What I learned:
- People in Connecticut are deathly afraid of getting pulled over by a cop while the cop is writing a ticket for someone else.
- Rhode Island doesn't like to put gas stations near their highways. And I always run out of gas in Rhode Island.
- Massachusetts you have great rest stops, with gas stations and everything!
- The Cape Cod Canal is beautiful!


Taking a road trip for four and a half hours by yourself can get pretty lonely. But it is also nice to just be alone for a little bit and think about life and sing your heart out in the car. That is my favorite part about driving alone, pumping up the music and belting it out. I was so excited to see everyone before I left that I barely slept the night before. I felt like a little kid the night before the first day of school.

I was really excited when I finally saw the sign that read, "Welcome to Cape Cod." I haven't been there since I was little and I have never gone by myself. I was so fearful and hitting a ton of traffic going to the cape for Memorial Day weekend, but I didn't hit any when I reached Massachusetts. The Cape Cod Canal is beautiful, as I drove over the Bourne Bridge I tried to admire it, but I had to remember to keep my eyes on the road. The bad part was that when I reached the other side there was a rotary, now we don't have a lot of rotaries where I am from and they really scare me, but I survived luckily. I finally reached Jenn's house and we hung out for a little bit before we left for the party on the North Shore.

Then it was time for another road trip, but not alone this time! Me, Jenn, Sarah and Kara headed for the North Shore. The party was at a marina. It was right on the Merrimack River and it was beautiful. We hung out all night on the docks and in the boat. That night we slept on the boat so that we didn't have to make the two hour drive back down to the cape. The four of us slept in a tiny boat, and let me tell you it was quite interesting. The best line of the night was when Jenn turned to me in the middle of the night and said, "why do boats do this?" And by "this" she meant move in the water. I loved being reunited with some of my friends for the night, and actually being more prodcutive than sleeping until 2pm everyday.

Day 2: Back to the Cape.
What I learned today:
- One should always wear sunscreen even if you want to get a nice tan.
- Sleeping on a boat makes you feel like you are rocking back and forth even after you have left that boat.

Today was a great day, with the exception of my lobster status. We left the North Shore for the cape in the morning and when we returned we headed to the beach. The beach was right down the road from her house. I loved that! I definitely want to live near the beach one day, it was great to just walk to the beach and sit in the sand and get a nice tan (or a burn in my case). I got to see all of my friends at her party and I had a great time. That night we had a bonfire on the beach. The sky was so clear, and you could see all the stars in the sky. Ahead of the beach was just the water and you could see the lights of the shore from afar. It was such a beautiful sight and I loved that we could have a bonfire on the beach. I have never experienced that before and now I can check it off my list!

Day 3:
What I Learned Today: - "Welcome to summer on Cape Cod, where waiting in traffic is complemetary with your stay" - Even a forest fire in Canada can cause the Cape to get really smokey.
- A sunburn doesn't go away in one night.

This morning we woke up to a cloud of smoke all over the cape. It was from the forest fires in Canada, and I couldn't believe it was able to reach that far and that Massachusetts was so affected by it. The traffic was crazy getting off cape, so we all hung around for a bit for it to calm down. We think that everyone left early because we were told to not stay outside with the smoke, which means no beach. Luckily for us, after everyone left the smoke started to go away and we were able to make it down to the beach for one last time. I had to wear clothes on top of me so that I didn't get reburned and my burn already really hurt so better safe than sorry! My next stop was West Roxbury for the night,(please drop your r's here for Jenn).

Day 4: Natick = Shopping!

Today I was heading to Framingham to meet up with my roommate for dinner. But I had some time to kill until she got out of work. Luckily Natick is a great place for shopping and is the town right next door! So I began a day of shopping. Pick up a few things for Italy, some more clothes because I realized that I did not pack enough clothes for the duration of my trip. I guess that's part of being a nomad.

I met my roommate for dinner and we chatted and caught up. See she left me back in December because she graduated early and we had a lot to catch up on. She is getting married in July and moving to Atlanta, so this would be the last time I would really get to see her, because I cannot attend the wedding unfortunately. It took me two hours to leave her house because neither of us wanted to say goodbye. I have not experienced a goodbye like that before, one where you really don't know when you will get to see the other person again. The best part of the goodbye was that I was really going to see her again in a few days for her suprise bridal shower but she had no idea! It would be the last time that we really got to hang out and talk though so it was really bittersweet.

After we said our goodbyes, I headed towards Assumption. Another 45 minutes east on Route 9. I got there and crashed on my air mattress. It was so loud when I was inflating it though, my friend thought I was vaccumming!

Day 5: Quabbin Reservoir
Things I learned today:
- Tranquility and peace.

Today, I woke up and began my adventure for the day. I was going to the Swift River Valley Historical Society in New Salem. That may not sound like a great adventure, but I immersed myself into the lives of these people and what happened to them for almost a year with my research for my seminar. I studied the history of the Quabbin Reservoir and how it came to be. This building I visited housed the artifacts of the people that once lived there. It was the first day it opened and I was the first visitor and the youngest by about 60 years! The woman gave me a tour and I was able to see original documents, furniture, clothing and paintings from the time period. It was great to see the other side of how building the reservoir affected the people, because I had to focus on the environmental side in my research for class.

After I finished at the society, I headed south on route 202, to go to the reservoir where the dams and park were located. It was a beautiful day, I drove with my window down and the sun shining in through the window. I decided to just sit outside and enjoy the beauty of the reservoir. I sat at a picnic table on top of one of the mountains that overlooks the reservoir. I just took in the beauty of it all, while remembering what once laid beneath. I wanted to sit, if just for a moment, in tranqility and admire the beauty of the world.


Day 6: Lazy days.
Things I Learned Today:
- You can't decide your life in one day.

Today was a day of rest. I had done so much driving the past few days, I just needed to relax so I slept in. Then I headed towards the library, obviously, what else would I do on a gorgeous summer day? I wanted to do some more research for the future. I didn't get very far, because I just got overwelmed with all of the information. I have ideas and I have things I would like to do, but there is no reason to stress about all of them, I just need to learn to take it one step at a time and everything will fall into place the way it should be.

Day 7: Adventure.
Things I Learned Today:
- I am living next to the water one day.
- There are a lot of hidden beauties in the world.

Today, I went on an adventure. I packed up my stuff and got in my car. I had suggestions of where to go for the day, but I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to do for the day. I opened my windows, blasted the music and let the sun shine in the window and the wind blow through my hair as I drove. I headed towards the North Shore, but decided if I found someplace interesting on the way, I would stop. There are so many places in Massachusetts where you can find tranquilty and peace. There is so much open land where you can see for miles. I ended up in Gloucester. It was so beautiful there, and it was such a beautiful day that it made it that much more peaceful. I went on another adventure to Salem and drove around, it was also located right on the water and it was a beautiful waterfront. It was more crowded there though so it was harder to feel the sense of peace and tranquility. It was a great adventure though because I got to see the town. All of the towns in Massachusetts still have the old buildings and the feeling of an old colonial town. I love seeing that when I drive around this state.

My next adventure for the day was a road trip back to Worcester for BoDos and seeing Bri! I loved my adventures for the day and having some alone time for me and my thoughts, but I also loved seeing some friends from school and catching up over a Boston Donuts run. Such a great reminder of school and being back, like nothing has changed. Bit ots hard to imagine that when I do get back thing will have changed, I mean everything will be different. It's great to have that feeling that I won't lose touch with these people, the ones that I have grown so close to because good friends are hard to find and I have found the best people in the world to be friends with!

Day 8: The Great Urban Race.

Things I learned today:
- People take scavenger hunts very seriously.
- Massachusetts does get tornado warnings.

Today I volunteered for the Great Urban Race in Boston. It is a city wide scavenger hunt sponsored by St. Jude. Check in for the event was at Game On, which is attached to Fenway. Now, my entire drive there I was in panic, because I have New York license plates and I had to park next to Fenway, I was fearful of what would happen to my car. Luckily I had a parking pass from St. Jude and it wasn't a game day. They put me at one of the clue locations, The Society of Arts and Crafts on Newbury Street. This helped me get to know a little bit more of the city since I had only been there twice before today. The task for my location was to take a picture with a chair made of street signs, I probably directed 1,100 people to the chair that day and took the picture for 90% of them. People took this so seriously, and they were so prepared. They had their street maps, gps's, ipads, iphones, blackberrys, anything you could think of to navigate your way through a city and find the answers to clues that you didn't know. It is definitely something I am going to do in the future, whether it is in Boston or someplace else.

Day 9: The final leg.
Things I learned today:
- Saying goodbye is harder than you think.
- After driving over 1,100 miles your leg really starts to hurt.
- When driving during torrential downpours, you cannot see out your window.

Today was the last day of my adventure. My first stop was Marlborough for my roommate's bridal shower. Not only did I get to see her one last time before I left, I got to see some of my other friends before I left for my trip. It was fun, but also strange to be in a position where a friend of mine is getting married and that I actually have a bridal shower to go to, and not for a family member. I am so happy for her and could not be more upset that I can't actually go to the wedding.

I had one final leg of my journey, just lunch with my buddy from Baltimore. I am so glad that I got a chance to see the people that I did on my adventure and sad that I missed some people along the way. Part of me didn't want to come home. I was tired and my leg was hurting from driving so much, but coming home meant that I leave for Italy soon, and that means I have to get my act together. Usually I am really good at that but I think fear is holding me back right now and I am not sure why I am scared to go. I have been looking forward to this for so long and have worked so hard to save money for it and practice my Italian. It may just mean that I am one step closer to being a senior and having to make some huge life decisions. I just need to put my fears behind me and have a great time on my trip, hopefully bring everything that I need and not leave anything important behind. I need to go into with open eyes and an open heart and see where it takes me.