I’m convinced this is the summer of America on the road. I’m already seeing an uptake in road-trippers in Colorado. Here’s an interesting thing: a lot of states require visitors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Louisiana to quarantine for fourteen days upon entry, but Colorado doesn’t have this regulation. Yesterday we saw six NJ plates, four NY plates, two CN plates, and two LA plates, which is way more than an average May in Colorado!
I’ve become an avid road-tripper myself. I’ve always enjoyed road trips, but since I’ve had my own car, I haven’t had more than a week or two between school and work. Somehow, in this inexplicable world plot-twist, I find myself with an open summer and no job, and six months of car-less-ness during study abroad that I need to make up for.
Plus my lil subaru just went through the wringer at the shop, so she’s ready to roll.
May is a beautiful road trip month, but my Israeli online classes go until June 4. So I went to Walmart and bought one of those phone holders which attach to the windshield. I try to time my interstate driving with classes. I throw the phone on the holder so it’s easy for me to enable and disable the microphone, and listen while I drive.
The only time mobile class taking gets tricky is when I need to do a presentation, because that requires sharing my screen, so I need my computer, but I don’t have a way to charge my computer on the road (since it’s not a usb charger). The first week, I did my research and found a Panera in Iowa which was open to 50% capacity. The next week, I knew my computer was fully charged because I hit the road that morning and that I would present first, so I set up in the back of my car using my mattress as a table.
Honestly, I’ve missed several classes. I’ve skipped homework. I’ve zoned out during lectures. But I’m still learning a lot, and I’m seeing old friends, so I think it’s ultimately an agreeable arrangement.
To function on the road for long amounts of time, I’ve been trying to find appetizing foods which don’t require refrigeration. Sometimes, though, a peanut butter and nutella sandwich sounds too dry, so this was my attempted solution. Not so good as a banana, but honestly not bad.
It’s been so sweet to visit friends over the past few weeks! Laura and her family were so so welcoming to me. I initially planned on just a little picnic with her, but they insisted I stay and I had such a good time. Laura is getting married in two weeks! I was grateful to spend some solid hours with her and her fiancé before the wedding, cuz you know, it’s hard to talk to the bride and groom during the day itself.
I stopped in Versailles to visit my bud, Maddison, from Israel! Actually from Versailles, but we met at the Ben Guirion Airport and now we’re totally peng yous or chaverot and she speaks some Mandarin and visited China, which is awesome! Anyway, we did a socially distant walk by which I mean we didn’t hug, but then went about life like normal.
I also stopped in Lexington to see Jo and her bf Nick (two of my absolute favs!) Jordan, in typical wonderfulness, made waffles, and we had such a good time chatting with Mrs. Strange.
Then I headed down to Tuscaloosa! Here are two facts about that venture:
- As soon as you hit Tennessee, the driving gets tedious. Thick, thick trees surrounding the interstate, no clear milestones along the way except Nashville and the rocket at the rest stop near Huntsville. Gosh it drags. I have mixed feelings coming back to Alabama now. I feel removed from it. I don’t want to move back at all. But I see the magnolias and the honeysuckle and huge river I remember how much I loved this phase of my life.
- Tuscaloosa is pretty much open. We went on a bar crawl, something I never did during my time as an undergrad cuz, you know, 21, so it was a fun chance to try some of the classic Tuscaloosa drinks. I loved hanging out with my old pals. We had such good, deep talks. We’re done! Isn’t that a shift? And everything felt normal. The bartenders wore masks, and we weren’t allowed to have more than eight people at a table, but everyone was bopping and having a great time. I was thriving.
Then Elise and I drove back to Colorado together, which was so fun. She’s never made the drive, and it’s always amazing to have fresh eyes, plus I could talk to her for hours and not get bored. I’m so so grateful for this unexpected chance both to be home with family (I would never ever have imagined being back in America for at least four more months) and to gander about and visit awesome friends!
Still so many more people to visit when I don’t have time crunches (Elise had to be in Colorado by a certain day). A specific lakehouse on the border of Alabama and Mississippi is particularly enticing right now haha.
xoxo
ceci
Cecilia Joy 