I went on a sort of proto-roadtrip throughout New York City before embarking on the real one. It's rather disorienting visiting the place you spent pretty much your entire adult life (14-Year Club Member), feeling as though you're just returning from another trip, but no -- you're not here to stay. Shout-out to Alex for meeting me fresh out of the airport and calming my outsider status with colorful drinks and plantains in gentrified Harlem; to Katie for fabulous cheesecake and reminiscing that transported us from Utica back to the city; to Ted and Faye for a comfy couch and cooking in my own Union Square; to Shengning for the best bucolic skyline view in Sunset Park; to Matt for the first oyster I actually enjoyed; and to Julien and his endearing family for garlic butter and peace and quiet on the Upper East Side.
And then just as I was starting to elbow people in the subway again, it was time to go. Past the industrial battlescapes of New Jersey, just a quick stop in Baltimore, and into that land amorphously referred to as the South. Huh...Virginia looks a lot like the rest of the east coast. Richmond, anyway, was cool, rainy, and full of trees. And pretty brick buildings, some with patrician columns. We wandered and partook of barbeque with fellow Antarcticans. We stumbled upon the grave of Jefferson Davis.
Surprise: a roadtrip involves a lot of sitting. In a car. Luckily Julien is a good conversationalist and has lots of music.
