Owner: The Hometown Invasion Tour URL:http://www.hometowninvasion.com/blog.php Join Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 20:02:06 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: For one year Justin Sailor is headed to 50 states staying with host families he has never met, taking the ultimate US road trip. Along the way he is blogging and photographing his experience. Site statistics:Click here
205 Lavania 2007-06-11 13:08:45 Angela pulls through in desperate times. Heres a challenging task for you. Drive a few hundred miles away from home to a town youve never been to and start making cold calls to try and find a host family for the night. Not an easy thing to do. And while I was making tons of calls myself (youd be surprised who says yes and who says no), my dear friend Angela helped me out and went on a limb to find a host for me.
So I found myself at 205 Lavinia in Milton, DE. It will be an eclectic and memorable stop on the trip. Im being hosted by Jeannie who operates a small art community out of her home. She has a beautiful property that stretches out to the pond with a most adorable little dock under a tree. Around the house are art pieces by artists. At the house shell host exhibitions and events. What I give Jeannie great respect for is she tries to bring in artists across the world to stay here, tell about their work, their home, and teach. Currently shes hoping to bring in some arti
The First State 2007-06-10 12:55:30 On December 7th, 1787 Delaware was admitted as the first state. Itd be interesting to go back to that time and hear what they thought of the actual size of the state. As the country got older and moved west the states got bigger. After admitting Delaware into the union there was only one state to every come about that was smaller, Rhode Island. While speaking on the sizes of states, there remain only two states of the 50 that I have never been to now, the biggest and the smallest ones. Rhode Island, Ill see you in a few weeks, and Alaska hopefully Ill be seeing you soon too.
This stop confirms what I said in another blog entry about how you can choose to live in any kind of environment in this country. Theres a big difference between Potomac, MD and Milton, DE. And I was impressed by the drive. First
I had to get out of the hustle and bustle of D.C. and a slow moving freeway. As I made it into Delaware I started seeing beautiful fields and farms. All of a sudden it seemed Read more:State
Around Maryland #2 2007-06-09 19:15:35 Little Town VA
According to the gauge on Charles car the temperature got as high as 103 degrees, in the words of his grandmother it was close. We headed for an afternoon drive into Virginia to see where Charles and John used to live and have a taste of small town life there. We went up to Leesburg and down through Aldie to Middleburg. Its horse country. And a dirt road is considered to be prestigious. A change of pace and scenery compared to D.C. and Potomac. It was quaint. In this country people can choose to live at any kind of pace or lifestyle they desire. There is such a broad array of towns and cities. There may be a rather long chapter in the book devoted to it, from Celebration, FL to Loup City, NE to Roseburg, OR, and they all have entirely different climates as well.
Dinner Time
More conversation with America. I would love to start a new project, something that has to do with dinner table conversations. Im sure you could go to many dinner tables and find people Read more:Maryland
Around Maryland #1 2007-06-09 19:14:24 Maryland was a great stop, fantastic. Great hosts and great variety. John and Charles will be friends for a lifetime. Waiting until the last minute to try and write about it all is a mistake. But I did knock out a pretty good blog entry on D.C. Because Im not writing as often these entries are just getting longer, and longer, and longer. Oops.
Baltimore
For a short evening I made a couple new friends on a drive to Baltimore. This was last Tuesday already. I was picked up by Frank and Willie. This time around, the connection is that their niece is one of my best friends. I was happy to meet up with them and head to a different part of Maryland. We took the drive up to Baltimore and visited Little Italy. As my Best of the H.I.T. list grows I was able to add another, the best garlic bread at Sabatinos Italian Restaurant. I love garlic! But after some great garlic you need to eat something sweet. So head to Vaccaros Italian Pastry Shop. Theyve got a big menu of nothing b Read more:Maryland
Connecting with America 2007-06-07 22:19:12 Possibly the greatest part of my trip is making connections across this country. Not the kind of connections they tell you about in business class, you know, not the networking kind where you shake hands and exchange business cards. Ive been able to connect with people across this country from all kinds of backgrounds through conversation. It probably goes back to being a kid and always wanting to sit at the adult table and listen to their conversation. As my memory has it I never said a whole lot and would just listen.
This was a great week of conversation. A lot of hours spent talking with Charles. Unfortunately, John had a busy work schedule and we didnt get to talk as much. The best part of the conversation was Charles questions. I get a lot of questions on this trip, a lot. Its very rare that someone comes up with a question I havent already heard. But Charles nailed it. He really challenged me with questions. What kind of reciprocity do you give on your trip? If y Read more:Connecting
, America
Washington, D.C. 2007-06-06 11:47:17 In the words of my amazingly awesome mother, Just imagine! Every day there are decisions being made in this city that have such enormous impact on the country and world. Every single news program Ive watched in the last year has a story that relates back to a decision that was made in this city. George W. Bush is the most talked about man in the world. As for the United States hes probably the second most talked about person. First is probably that Paris Hilton girl and Im sick of it. There are more pressing issues to cover. Why does a respectable news channel like CNN have to cover her going to jail. I mean Ive got a pretty cool story! Anyways, thats the first and last time Ill ever mention her name on my blog back to D.C.
There we were, Charles and I, sitting at COSI eating some lunch and he mentioned, Its strange to think that the president could be only a few hundreds yards from us. Thats about how close we grabbed a bit to eat to the White House. The only other time I Read more:Washington
The 35th State 2007-06-04 16:46:35 Today was the shortest drive I have had on the trip to go from one host to another while going to a different state. The total distance in the drive from Virginia to Maryland? A whopping 13 miles. A short drive like that only has enough time to play maybe three songs from my iPod, which makes the next thing even more ironic. There I was, on my way, and the first song to play includes the lyrics, on my way to Maryland. Of the playlist of my favorites, about 715 songs, thats got to be a pretty small chance of happening. I dont think I have another song that mentions the state Maryland. A similar thing happened on my way driving out of Los Angeles in December. And any song of mine that mentions the name of a state now has a different meaning.
Here Im staying with Charles and John. Ive been in touch with Charles for close to a year, well before I left for my trip. Charles graduate from Michigan State
in 1987, he actually lived in the same dorm building as I did, just with abou
In the V-A 2007-06-04 16:19:29 Virginia! Its not entirely wanted for my Virginia experience, but you never know, there may be more Virginia on my way back down from Maine. What happened is I was planning to knock out West Virginia first while near the southern end of the state. When that fell through last minute I had to go with whatever connections I had, and after a few missed connections I found myself going all the way through Virginia to the northern end outside of D.C. So I missed a lot of the state and it may be underrepsented, but one area was represented quite well compared to some stops.
For two nights I found myself in Alexandria where most of my time was playing ketchup and mustard, sending mail, cleaning my car, buying some new socks and undies, and all that fun stuff. All that stuff has to be done from time to time and it can take up a big portion of time. But when it comes to the best of list that Im working on for the trip I found the best Irish pub so far, Murphys in old town Alexandria. The
300 Blogs and 100 Days 2007-06-02 20:12:14 Wow, here I am, just on the outskirts of Washington D.C. Ive now covered 34 states in 9 months and have somehow managed to spit out over 300 blog entries and post over 1600 photos (oh, but I have taken waaaay more). There have probably been over 30 newsletters Ive sent out (alright, so Ive missed a few, sorry!). Though there are nearly 1/3 of the states remaining, I feel very close to being on the home stretch. Take a look at the map, I only have a tiny corner left. The land area that remains is probably less than the size of Texas.
A year ago when I was designing this site I was wondering what all those numbers were going to look like as well as that big red line that has gotten a little crazy in the last couple months. Truth of it all, none of it could have been anticipated! None of it! People often ask about my expectations, but, what expectations? I hardly knew what I was getting myself into. Frankly, thats the way it is with most big dreams. You dont know whats going Read more:Blogs
June 1st Blues 2007-06-02 18:27:42 Nine months ago I met with one of my friends for a last time, Sarah. As part of an amazing care package she included a letter. The envelope was covered with big letters reading, CONFIDENCE BOOST. I had strict instructions not to open it until I had really had a moment where I needed just that. Although Ive been tempted on a couple other occasions, today was finally the day and I have to say thank you Sarah!
Also about a year ago I met with Darcy, one of my great professors and a great friend. After telling her my big plans she had one big concern: having to depend on hundreds of people. More so than funding, word of mouth, press, sponsorship, etc, I would have to depend on complete strangers putting me up in their house with their kids.
For staying with over 80 hosts that I have never met I have done pretty darn well. But, what you dont hear about are the horror stories! I always tell people that everything is fine and with a smile on the face. But there have been a few ti Read more:Blues
Cary 2007-05-28 22:01:15 Cary was short lived, but well lived, and with a really weird sleeping schedule. You see I stayed with Kayla (a good friend of my friend Laura). Kayla works at the local TV station in Raleigh, WRAL. She works the morning news shift. What does that mean? Getting up at 4:15 in the morning! What does it mean when you bring a cake into work when you go in? Getting up at 3:15 in the morning! Since it was a one-bedroom apartment I was on the couch without my own room and was basically waking up when Kayla did.
It was a challenge. Especially since its been harder and harder to get up the longer this trip goes on. The good part of it all was I got a personal tour of a pretty large TV station. I was impressed. Though I didnt want to, I remained on my best behavior. I wanted to press buttons, flip switches, and turn dials. Kayla is a camera operator and they do it all from a chair! Completely automated cameras. It blew my mind. Of course it doesnt hurt to stay with someone fr
Animal House 2007-06-29 21:11:36 As I made my way from CT to RI I took the long way around and avoided the interstate. It was a good call to take my time and see more, see a lot more. And what I kept seeing over and over again where more Dunkin' Donuts, tons of Dunkin' Donuts. They were on every corner and in every gas station. It makes sense, Dunkin' Donuts was founded not too far from here in Massachusetts.
Once I arrived at Jessica's it only took another 5 minutes before I was walking into the door of a Dunkin' Donuts. That was good though, after seeing all the signs for donuts I needed on.
Thank goodness Jessica found me. On Tuesday she gets a magazine in the mail, an article on my story is featured in the magazine, she gets on the website and fills out the nomination form, and in less than 24 hours I'm knocking on her front door. It's a great thing. Although she technically couldn't host me herself she introduced me to the "AnimalHouse
." Since the magazine article I've heard from dozens and
Day #300 2007-06-27 23:02:40 The great milestone of 300 days, the day itself wasn?t spectacular. It was another travel day. Travel days are usually a lot more mellow and time to catch up with my thoughts. Today I made use of the new feature on Google Maps where you can choose directions without using major highways. I made it a 3-hour drive for just 90 miles from Connecticut to Rhode Island. Ah yes, Rhode Island. It sure is a tiny little state.
What?s great about what I do, and really what seems to be quite a miracle over and over again, is how it just all works out. Rhode Island has just been one of those states that has been hard to arrange with hosts. Lots of missed connections, phone calls not returned, and it?s simply hard to find anyone that knows anyone in Rhode Island. Last night plans fell through last minute once again with a host who said ?yes? previously. Well this is where Miracles come in. And in 10 months I haven?t had anyone nominate a Rhode Island host through the site. Well, thanks
Resurrected 2007-06-27 09:22:53 Larry, I?m impressed. No offence for other young hosts who have had me on this trip, but in general younger generations are not as good of hosts as older generations. I think that?s just a natural progression through maturity in life, so no worries. But Larry, I?m impressed, he did a great job hosting for his age (same age as me). It was also great to knock out a connection through my brother as well, as most of my hosts have come through much more distant connections.
For a couple nights in Stamford my competitive side came into play. One night was at the bar for a game of darts. Darts has been much more frequent on the trip than I would have anticipated. I?m a clutch performer. Me and Megan were getting beat by quite a bit? but with an awesome comeback we won the game. Two nights later it was another comeback victory for Larry and I while playing the 20th Century Edition of Trivial Pursuit. Well done Larry, well done.
For the Connecticut grand finale, Larry, John, Brian
Boston Fourth of July 2007-07-04 22:59:06 Sometimes the timing on this trip just works out perfectly. I have been wanting to be in Boston
for the 4th of July for a very long time now. Well this has been my year for a lot of those wishes to come true. The historical relevance is unmatched. Aside from the history I have been wanting to see the Boston fireworks show since I was a kid. If you ever get the chance to go, make it happen, it?s something everyone should do once. Even if you have to wait four hours in the drizzling cold rain it is still completely worth it.
I found my way to my Boston hosts through U.25 magazine. Thought the plan was to be here for the 4th I wasn?t sure how it was going to happen. Katie contacted me a week ago and now here I am. After welcoming me with a great home cooked dinner it was five of us that headed to the Charles River; Katie, Shannon, Jeit, Dan, and myself. And a good time it was. I have never seen a fireworks show like that in my life. I can?t say it?s the best in the country
Welcome to Salem 2007-07-03 22:18:15 There seems to be just one thing that Salem
, MA is known for, The Salem Witch Trials of 1692, as for you theatre fanatics you may know it better as The Crucible. Oddly, Salem is one of the very few towns on this trip that I have previously been to. But if you think that?s stranger, what gets stranger is that Rebecca Nurse (one of the first ?witches? hanged, and a leading character in The Crucible) is something along the lines of my 8th or 9th great grandmother. I vaguely remember being here when I was maybe 13 or 14 years old to visit my uncle who lives nearby. We visited the Rebecca Nurse homestead and I remember cheesy tourist stores selling anything related to witches. One memory I have (and I?m not joking!) is that on our way out of town I remember we all saw a cloud that was in the shape of the stereotypical witch head, long nose, pointy hat, etc. Scary!
Salem is a bigger town that I remember from 10 years ago. Here I?m staying with best friends of one of my friends and fa Read more:Welcome
A Dose of Rhode Island 2007-07-02 12:55:06 In addition to making a few stops at Dunkin? Donuts while in RhodeIsland
, there are other must dos as well. Del?s frozen lemonade is a must have! You better not leave the state before having some. And don?t worry it?s not too hard to find, it?s almost as common as Dunkin? Donuts. Next you have to try a Hot Weener. Now I?m not sure what this is, but it was pretty good. They tell me it?s not a hot dog and that it?s not any kind of sausage. They top it with some other meet, onions, and some sauce. I guess it?s a Rhode Island
thing, but it still doesn?t beat a Hot Hamburger in Clanton, Alabama. Lindsay insisted that I try a slush puppy (it?s just like a slurpee, but it?s no shave ice like in Hawaii). If you make it to Bristol stop by the Bristol House of Pizza. As for some of the best pizza I?ve had it was a big thanks to Lindsay and Lauren?s mom, grilled pizza on pita bread.
Once again another thanks to U.25 magazine and thanks to Lindsay in Bristol for contacting me. There
Acadia National Park 2007-07-10 19:54:52 The last time I went for this long of a drive for some sight-seeing was probably back when I took a trip to Crater Lake in Oregon. However, I was sad to find out that the park was closed when I was there due to snow. Bummer. Well this time on my way to Acadia
it was a beautiful day with no closures. My cousin David (one removed) is probably upset with me for not visiting as many National
Parks as I could or should have. Acadia will be one of the last ones I see.
What a beautiful hot sunny day. It?s actually not what I wanted. I was hoping for a foggy and misty day, full of that nasty coastal weather. It would have made for better photos. The last few days have been rain, rain, rain. It feels like I?m back in Oregon and Washington. I love the moody weather of the Northern Pacific and Northern Atlantic coasts, some of my favorite places in the country. Read more:Acadia National
, Acadia National Park
Leaving Metropolis 2007-07-07 18:32:11 At last, I am refreshed to be out of the booming metropolis of the East Coast. For the last several weeks I have made it through Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston. And of course the other stops between in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are all just states full of cities that connect all these big ones together. It?s a fast pace in the city and it was a great time, but it feels pretty good to be out of the big city. Maine is a little slower pace? a lot slower pace.
I?ve learned to ?let the chips fall where they may,? along the course of the trip. From the beginning of the trip I didn?t plan to spend as much time in major cities as I have. However, more and more people have moved to the suburban and urban areas and a lot less of the country lives in rural areas.
From here on out there won?t be many big cities, it looks like I?ll be stopping in Pittsburgh and that could be it. Still trying to figure out what I would like for living in my life. I think I? Read more:Leaving
, Metropolis
It's Incredible 2007-07-12 23:48:58 What I do is simply incredible, at least thats the only way I know how to express it. To be more specific is how incredible it is of all the people I hear from, the responses, and particularly what they say. Im not sure if my thoughts on this make for a legitimate blog entry and if its something people would want to hear, but lately, especially tonight while enjoying the fire on the beach, it is all thats been on my mind. I cant stop thinking of all these things people tell me.
Nearly two years ago now, I as just this kid who had an idea, a dream. I had no idea where it was going to go, I had big ideas, big ambitions, big visions, but no matter how many of those come true they are all entirely knew feelings to me. Being on this trip is a tremendous exploration of self identity that Ive never known in anything else Ive done. Its this montage of stuff all thrown together, exploration, adventure, America, sociology, and just about anything else you can mention. If it goes on in th Read more:Incredible
Newburyport to Portsmouth 2007-07-12 17:39:53 Looking for a nice drive on the East Coast? Start in either Newburyport or Portsmouth
by parking in town and wandering around downtown. Great little shops and food, good people watching, and quaint little downtown areas. Then hit up Route 1-A going either North or South. Truly, if you wanted to, you could make a full day of the short drive. Pack a picnic, stop at several of the beaches, gawk at the mansions, and roll down all the windows.
After taking care of laundry this morning I met up with Jimmy in Newburyport, a reporter for the Daily News. I guess word travels fast on the Invasion tour, because press was informed on my arrival to Seabrook before I even told a second person I was going there. Jimmy gave me the grand downtown tour of cute little Newburyport, MA.
Well, low and behold there we were in at a sandwich shop where I ordered a turkey bacon ranch wrap. Delicious. Jimmy and I were in line talking about Michigan when this girl behind us in line (who I was alrea
New Hampshire Shores 2007-07-12 00:07:00 In the entire state of New Hampshire
there are only a few miles of shoreline that manage to squeeze between Massachusetts and Maine, and somehow thats where I have found myself and it couldnt be any better. Parker (23) was once again another person to find me through U.25 magazine. Its astonishing to hear from all these peers across the country. Not only is it astonishing to hear from them, but to hear these great words they have to say about what Im doing. Im definitely leaning towards doing something after this trip that encourages other peers to follow their dream and what not.
So anyways I was greeted in Seabrook, NH by Parker, his family, and his friend Sean. They greeted me with some delicious pasta, garlic bread, and my favorite summer time treat strawberry shortcake. In addition to great food I was greeted with great company, great conversation, and great enthusiasm.
What a perfect night, it couldnt have been better. It was topped with a good fire on the beach and vi Read more:Shores
, New Hampshire
Burlington Day #1 2007-07-18 22:56:09 If there are two things I love with all my heart it?s ice cream and snowboarding. If I could fill me life with those two things I would be pretty happy. There has been a decent amount of ice cream on the trip (though not nearly as much as there would if I lived on my own), but just not enough snowboard. I never could get enough snowboarding. But for ice cream and snowboarding this is the place to be. Ben and Jerry?s Ice Cream and Burton Snowboards.
My stay here in B-town is with even more young folks my age who are working their first jobs, just out of college, or just finishing up college. Thanks to a last minute call (where were you at Seann and Parker?) and perhaps a miracle I found myself meeting up with Aimee, the cousin of one of my good friends. I?m staying on Pearl Street, where my car gets a lot of funny glares and I?m just a short walk from Church Street, cookie shops, burrito joints, and all kinds of great things.
Yesterday afternoon we put another 100 miles on the
Oh Sweet Burlington 2007-07-17 17:02:20 Burlington, VT. It marks the 43rd state of the trip and I have waited a long time for this one. Vermont has been high on my list of states to visit and I?ve been anxious to get here, particularly in Burlington. Grated, I didn?t take an interest in this town until I found out years ago that Burton Snowboards was headquartered here. But we?ll talk about that some other time, what I say about them depends if I can get a tour at their place or not!
Vermont is the 2nd smallest state in terms of population, a few more people than Wyoming and a few less people than North Dakota or Alaska. It?s tiny. The largest town is Burlington itself at a whopping 38,000. Not that big compared to some standards of a city. As for the capital, Montpelier, I have word that it?s the only capital city in the country without a McDonald?s. Imagine that! Montpelier is something else. It?s like no other capital and feels like you?re in any small town in America, except it just has one fancy building wit Read more:Sweet
Dream Finale in Michigan 2007-07-17 11:36:42 The states are counting down fast, really fast! Since my thoughts lately have been surrounded by getting back to Michigan
maybe it?s time to make a post about what I think would be the coolest stuff to do to wrap up my trip. Michigan is home. Michigan is by far one of the best states in the nation and everywhere I have been I?ve tried to encourage people to check out Michigan sometime. I?ve got a lot of Michigan pride, especially for the Upper Peninsula. Now I like to dream big, always have, always will. I ain?t lyin?. So here are a few things which I think would be the absolute best ways to finish up my trip in Michigan.
Go to the top of the Mackinac Bridge ? The Mackinac Bridge is one of the biggest icons Michigan has to offer and sadly not enough Michiganders make it across to the Upper Peninsula. One of the absolutely coolest things that I could do is go to the top. They?re always bring people up there, it?s just a matter of pitching my story and getting in touch with the Read more:Dream
, Finale
The Presidentials 2007-07-16 19:11:17 Today I took the Invasion Mobile on one of the most notorious drives in the country, up to the peak of Mount Washington here in the White Mountains. It?s an 8 mile drive up a winding mountainside road with no guard rails or shoulder. It costs $20 to make the drive to the top, but it?s very worthwhile. They even give you a CD to keep that guides your way up the mountain and tells you the history of the road. The peak of Mount Washington is known for some of the most severe weather in the world, holding the record for the strongest winds ever recorded on earth, 281 miles per hour. Thankfully, today was just about 30 mph (though I was sure to keep my hat in the car this time, unlike in Wyoming). The temperature drop was significant from the base to the peak, which was probably close to a 5,000 foot climb. Incredible views up there. If you?re ever around New Hampshire don?t let the drive to the top of Mount Washington pass by. If nothing else it is definitely worth the bumper stic
State of the Union 2007-07-15 23:52:17 Every year we hear the president of the USA give ?The State
of the Union
.? I?ve always wondered what it really is. It?s more of a tradition that the president just has to get up and make this speech that is overly careful on each choice of word where it?s to ensure the people that there is hope while trying not to make the president look bad. It never really speaks to me. In addition to learning about the states I?ve truly learned about the real state of the Union. The ?state? being the condition and the ?Union? being the citizens of the United States.
I?ve had little glimpses of American life across the country. And although they are little experiences for only a few days each, the sum of living with over 100 households in a year, of people I?ve never met is, magnificent. From social classes, races, backgrounds, living environments, demographics, politics and much more I?ve been invited into homes where I have seen the thoughts of U.S. citizens. I?ve had insight on their poli
Northern New Hampshire 2007-07-15 21:08:43 Several days ago I called Parker on the phone to ask if he knew anyone in Northern
New Hampshire
to stay with. That?s what I also thought New Hampshire was about. I knew they had just a few miles of coastline, but to me that wasn?t New Hampshire. I was simply too fast to judge. The New Hampshire coastline is one of the coolest places on the East Coast and I?m going to miss it. But thanks to Parker and his family I made it to Northern New Hampshire as well. They sent me up to Berlin to crash at their mountain home for a couple nights in the White Mountains. And it is beautiful and breathtaking.
Here I am sitting outside overlooking the mountains in the distances and praying that a moose will come out into the opening in front of me. They say they have seen several out there, so please please let it happen! I went from beachfront paradise to mountain paradise in just a few hours. No need to rush home, right? Maybe just move in here for a while. I?ve got the house to myself
They Ain't Lyin' 2007-07-14 18:37:38 There have been some stops on my trip where people take a particularly strong pride in their hometown, home state, and what have you. Well my hosts in New Hampshire were exactly that, especially Pete, the father. Pete said, ?Most people who come to New Hampshire see either the coast or the mountains, but you?re going to see both.? I haven?t made it to the mountains yet, that?ll be tomorrow. But I can talk about the beach.
Well, ?they ain?t lyin?. The beach here is fantastic and quite possibly my favorite part of the Atlantic Coast. The Salisbury Beach is beautiful and without all the chaos of places like Miami. As for the summer weather it is absolutely perfect. These last two days on the beach have been absolutely incredible. The cool breeze is perfect, the sand is fine, sunsets spectacular (but being on the east coast they specialize in sunrises, which quite frankly I just haven?t gotten up earlier enough for).
When you get up north of Boston life slows down. You have
Daily Twist 2007-07-20 19:15:03 Meeting people is what I do. I meet all kinds of people and in all kinds of circumstances. Yesterday while at the Burton factory store I had on my State shirt. Something I love to do now is wear a local shirt, it always draws a comment. If I wear something from MSU and I?m this far away from Michigan it will draw a comment, gaurenteed. Same thing when I wear my ?I love Belleville, Illinois? shirt. So I had my State shirt on and hear someone ask if I was from Michigan. Sure enough, and I meet a wonderful family of six who is on their family vacation. They were from Shelby Township. It makes my day to run into Michiganders. I would run into them later that same day on Church Street.
Today is another story. So after a walk and getting rained on (again!) I decided I would go for a short drive. Going for a drive is the best way for me to relax, do what I love, and to simply be in a familiar place, as I?ve spent a lot of time in my Compass. So I was in my car for a couple minut Read more:Daily
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