in Lincolnville, Maine

I got some lip from BozoByker yesterday for not having posted in the last 10 days. I guess I feel a little bad, but I think, Dad, that only you and Mom are reading this thing. Isn't it always the way that when everybody else loses interest, at least your parents are still keeping track?

I've been waiting to get to Maine since we started the trip. It's been this mysterious geography that has captured my imagination and, in all honesty, kept me committed to continuing our travels because I didn't want to end the trip without getting here. Isn't it always the way that when you yearn for something you don't know for so long, it's not what you had pictured? It reminds me of a quote that I read a while ago in Yoga Journal that is true but a bit depressing if you take it too far: "Without hope there is no disappointment." I guess it's not that Maine isn't cool, but it's been grey and cold since we got here a few days ago and we've been in places people love to come for vacation during the busiest tourist time of the year.

Since we crossed back into the east, I've been doing a lot less writing in general. Despite the rockiness of our start and figuring out how we were going to do this trip, it seems like we took our time a lot more in the west and had many more days to ourselves. The eastern part of our trip, thankfully, is a lot more about visiting people. Even with all of the pain that it seems a lot of people are going through in their lives, we've had a spectacular time seeing friends and family. I don't think if we hadn't taken this trip that I would ever have gotten to spend the kind of time with some of Tim's friends that I have. For the people we've seen, the eastern half has been worth it.

But I have to say--because I'm me and I can't not say it--that the east is not hospitable to the wind-born traveler the way the west is. Towns here padlock their water pumps and don't have nearly as many public toilets (or secret little squat spots) as the west does. It's ironic that through Nevada and Utah we never really had an issue with water, yet in ocean front Connecticut we got seriously dehydrated. People notice if you aren't showered that morning. The traffic is unbearable. And the beautiful ocean scenery is now available only for the highest bidder. I despise our country's lack of thought about the Commons and about public land, and I equally despise the general populace's lack of responsibility that has fostered the idea that everything needs to be locked down when not in use. It's been a kick in the teeth to wander back into civilization and be reminded that I live in a country in which people are always concerned most about themselves...and that I'm probably infected with the disease too.

I guess I'm homesick. I had such a great time playing with the nieces and nephew, hanging out in Katie and Jacob's full house in South Carolina. Ahhh...a full house and a family nested together in noisy, joyful domesticity! I didn't want to leave, except I knew that by leaving it meant that I'd be back in some place I would be able to get around in without a prayer and a map sooner than if I didn't. As the rain poured down in a storm blown in by the Atlantic today, I sat in Steve and Nancy's house up on a hill in Maine, sipping tea and looking out at the weather instead of being in it. Ahhh...the peace of a quiet, furnished kitchen!

I can't think of a good way to wrap this up. I'm just a little blue today, like the weather.

And, just for the record: no, I haven't figured out yet what I want to do for a job. I'm guessing it'll be a while yet.