The Great Lady Itinerary

In order to distract myself from the fact that I've just left some of the people who matter most to me with the fierce hope that I'll be able to create a sustainable and cozy little life for myself, I'm going to post the itinerary for the Great Lady Road Trip.

I'm trying to articulate just how I feel about leaving Greensboro/jumping headfirst into a ridiculous new life and I really can't. Mostly I cry a lot and need a nap. I'm so happy to be moving to a place I absolutely love, with people I absolutely love, with wonder of all wonders-- job opportunities!-- but right now, the leaving is what's taking up space in my brain.

Apparently, a group of friends who bade me farewell folded up my duck dress (a staple article of clothing of mine from approximately 1999-2007) like a flag and laid it solemnly on the chair I had been sitting in.

I'm just glad there were no toasts with allusions to me being "up there" with Biggie. It's happened before. And that person was only in Washington state.


So here it is... the Great Lady Road Trip Itinerary!

You can look at our route on a map! Don't you love technology?

Ostensibly, THIS is where we'll be going.

Day 1-- Philadelphia to Milan, OH to visit my cousin Robert and the Thomas Edison Birthplace. Nothin' like family heritage. Not to mention Robert is the synth player for Pere Ubu. I heart Pere Ubu and I'm so psyched to meet him for the first time since I was a kid!

Day 2-- Milan, OH to Chicago. Ashley and I went to Chicago once before on a roadtrip to see Ammachi, who is a hugging saint. There will probably be no saints this time, but a there's always a whole lotta hugging.

Day 3-- Chicago to Iowa. Ashley is really enamored with the concept of Iowa. I'm enamored with the concept of spending the night in a yurt.

Day 4-- Iowa to The Badlands. For some reason I'm terribly excited about South Dakota. The next day we're also going to Mount Rushmore. Do you have any idea how much creepy presidential heads on a giant rock face thrills me? Well, it does. A lot.

Day 5-- South Dakota to Denver, CO. We're sleeping somewhere here. There will also be mountains.

Day 6-- Denver, CO to Moab, Utah. Arches National Park. I need all the pretty I can get to keep from weeping.

Day 7-- Moab, Utah down the Loooooneliest Road to somewhere in Nevada. This is the part of the trip where we hope we won't be bludgeoned by hardy desert hobos or eaten by coyotes after our car breaks down 100 miles outside of a ghost town. All I want is ghost towns and desolation... accompanied by creepy music, of course.

Day 8-- More ghost town driving, under Lake Tahoe, and then into SF! We'll throw ourselves into the open arms of Emily Hantz and wish like hell this will all pan out.