Grand Rapids Howard Johnson Plaza

... black and lifeless and filled with evil behind her black rimmed glasses. When she spoke my blood ran cold. “May I?” she menaced offering me the coffee pot like a child for sacrifice. I think I may have been channelling some ridiculous English Oxford graduate called Tarquin at the time because I found myself saying things like “Smashing” and “That’s simply delicious” and “If you don’t mind, that would be ...

So I head off today on this big adventure! I will be in Amsterdam for 3 days and then I head off to Arusha on Sunday with my group. I am full of excitement and nerves and I can't wait to learn and experience everything this semester will offer. There will be many stories and photos (if I can find somewhere to upload them) to follow. 
Love and peace to everyone I will miss you!

-Molly

Well, this is just a welcome to my newly-formed travel blog. I've been in Holland for most of the summer, and I am going home in a day and a half to spend the next two weeks with my family. Holland has been good for me... I don't think I could have spent another summer working at my high school job in Red Wing. But hey, who says you can't go home?

Tuesday 7/28

Photography day is here or was. Dan the model called to ask permission to bring a model friend along and so did. Started at 10 am and finished at about 2pm having made over 1000 images. Now the processing of those images, down to a very few, begins when I get back in town. Dan and Braxton both said it was fun and I had a good time as well. Time to think about supper and getting this place cleaned up. Tomorrow its back to da lake and …

... of -May nights. There still, hidden beneath a few feet of sand, lies my food stocks, tent and hatchet. (Maybe someone will come across it by accident someday, but I doubt it.)

Even now, here in Denmark having the time of my life, I do miss my beachside home. I was truly at peace when out there. If I were ever to live in Michigan again it would be as a homeless man at the beach.

Day 8 - Traveling Home Continued... We arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio on time for which I was really happy because I only had a little over an hour to catch my next flight and besides having to collect my luggage, clear customs and immigration (a breeze with the blue passport!) and re-check my bags, I also had to switch terminals via the painfully slow and blistering hot shuttle and clear security. This, while time consuming, went ...

... to use it, though. Packed up our suitcases yesterday and tried them on (they double as backpacks) to adjust the straps. Even though they're 25 lbs (mine) and 30 lbs (Steve's), they really aren't that heavy when you're carrying them like backpacks. And yes, that's all we're taking: one carry-on each. I took the "packing light" thing very much to heart, especially since there's a washer/dryer in our apartment. Interestingly enough, we will be taking ...

... book of quotes" for Grandma Breen for Christmas. Grandparents Breen are very progressive thinkers. Here are some quotes: "You say youŽre tired and you just-a wanna close your eyes, and follow your dreams now." - Bruce Springsteen, "No Retreat, No Surrender" (song) "Shoot for the moon. If you miss, youŽll end up in the stars." "Smile in your belly." - Jack Kerouac "So long as a man does not of his own free will put himself last among his ...

I'm still waiting and trying not to have an anxiety attack. In the meantime, a friend who works with me at Quixtar, loaned me her DVD of Ewan McGregor's world motorcycle trip during which Ewan traveled through Kazakhstan. It's nice to be able to get some visuals of the country and its people. I'm excited about the trip as I love exploring new places and meeting new people. I'm culturally ...

... I could see, because she kept smiling all date. That was amazing, because the lips on my frozen face couldn't even move to grin. Wow, when she and Bill aren't fighting, Tracy's a cool, happy, brave girl. On the ride home, Tracy switched subjects. "So, Psycho?" she said, "I heard you got suspended from high school for bringing tools to school and taking it apart." MODERN ODDYSEUS' DATING ADVICE # 16 - There's not a more fun or better topic of conversation ...