Here we go, here we go, here we go now...GET BUSY!
Trip Start
Apr 09, 2006
1
5
148
Trip End
Jun 09, 2007
Charlotte,
North Carolina,
United States
Monday, April 10, 2006
The time has finally come - I'm leaving to catch the bus to DC in just a few hours. It's difficult to describe how I feel right now. Countless hours of contemplating, researching, planning, preparing, packing...and dreaming...have led me to this day.
I don't feel worried. I don't feel anxious. I don't feel nervous.
I don't feel excited.
I feel ready...
...to open myself to new and different cultures that I've only read about.
...to embrace the multitudes that I will meet on the road.
...to stop and really notice the world around me.
...to speed up and live a very different life, even if only temporarily.
...to be flexible and to change.
Or, to say it another way, I'm ready to experience....to share myself and gain all I can from others who are sharing.
I must admit to having some regret for leaving at this particular time. Two of my grandparents are in poor health and have been in my thoughts a lot. I added a trip home to Arkansas in the last month to see my family and I was glad for the chance to visit. Please keep them in your thoughts as they will continue to be with me as I travel.
I said I wasn't going to get all introspective on yer asses, but what are ya gonna do? This entire entry is, so far, the perfect definition of a travelogue cliche. Surely I won't be this sappy on the road?!? But hey, I said I wanted to be flexible. Maybe sappy is what I'm destined to change to.
Naaaaaaa. It must be the past 48 straight hours of drinking that have worn me down. I wonder if they have sweet tea in Istanbul so I can have my favorite cocktail? How do you say "sweet tea" in Turkish? If someone could e-mail me that it would be greaaaaaat.
I was going to post pictures of my hairline & flat belly to allow for a comparison when I returned but I never got around to it. For the record, I'm leaving at 150 lbs - a year of drinking and street food should up that a bit. If my waistline will be growing, I'm sure the few hairs I have left will shrivel and die. I'll be returning as a completely bald dude with a huge gut. I'll be this guy. I should have a better tan tho.
I've included a few random pics from the past few weeks, including Lee and Jerramy's wedding. I was in FL a few short weeks ago to celebrate their union on the beach. Get used to seeing that blue shirt, because it's an integral part of my "going out-fit" for the trip.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu...to you, and you, and you and you and YOU!
Comments
why does the bride get all the attention?
where are the pictures of the groom? i've got some honeymoon shots i'll sell ya.
Re: why does the bride get all the attention?
I think posting pictures of a dude (me) with the groom (you) would make me seem gay.
And besides, I've seen enough pre-honeymoon photos for a lifetime.