My fucking trip
So I've been home for about a week and on said trip for a month.
I am just going to dump my DA journals concerning the trip here to "archive" them:
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In case you're wondering about the huge binge in comments and faves; I've finally emptied my DA watch thing, yay! I got more than 200 in there, mostly large amounts of stuff from clubs I only sometimes pay attention to.
Thing is; I really did go on that trip I mentioned in my last journal. But nobody commented on it, bleh. But just letting you know that that is the reason I have been absent. I am currently still on the trip but now that I am staying at a relative's place for a few days I have the chance to finally settle down from the pace and report back to you guys.
I'm currently in Chicago now.
Shit how do you East coasters deal with this humidity?
And Oklahoma is full of bugs, there are beetles crawling and diving everywhere under streetlamps at night.
And it's weird not seeing mountains in the distance of land; I wonder if I can see the curvature of the Earth.
And it feels weird going through places that are almost totally White; and wonder if people think you're an alien or something because you aren't Black either.
I got the chance to meet up with an old online friend for the first time; it's the first time I've done it and it feels pretty surreal at first but we just chilled well together. And meeting her helping me be more enthusiastic about our thing which was a bright flame that went out.
I don't know when I'll be back home to Arizona, perhaps a week and a half? I hope I don't miss the 4/13 MSPA update. I've been using an iPhone(sparingly because it's my brother's) most of the trip and iPhones somehow hate Flash. Any tips on that?
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Just left Chicago, and currently am in Ohio, probably won't be long here either and headin' to Philidelphia.
Before leving Chicago I had some Chicago style pizza....gog daaaaaaaaamn so much cheese and one slice is equal to 2-3 slices of typical pizza. I could only down two medium slices before feeling full and getting a headache. I ate another slice for breakfast then. Oh yeah and I'm with two other people in case you forgot.
Passed by Indianapolis which seems pretty nice and quiet at least when I went there. These cities in the East have really nice landscapings and spacious parks which are not very common in the West. But on the other hand it's easy to get lost in rural highways that keep leading to more highway. There is a lot of rural area in the East surrounding cities which isn't so in say California and the Pheonix area which have a large city and many surrounding satellite cities that are a part of the major city and extend it for dozens of miles, like Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
The temperature is pretty cool now, and thanfully not very humid while still being a little warm.
I noticed that ever since passing Oklahoma, there have been many of these floating seeds surrounded by a bit of cottony stuff. What tree is making those?
-----
After leaving Ohio I went to Pennsylvania for awhile. Damn it gets really beautiful there especially in the towny area of Pittsburgh. There is an awesome view of the city from the slope and you can see all these awesome bridges and huge wide rivers. But then going closer to the city there are of course some nice areas and run down slummy areas.
Oh and it gets even more humid, rainy and some lighting as you go further deep into the subtropical rainforest known as the East Coast.
Went to Washington DC as well, and the Smithsonian Museums are free! And they are right in the same area as all the government building such as the National Archives, Library of Congress, the Capitol and the Washington Monument. There is this huge ass whole stretch of lawn full of people there called the National Mall or something like that. It was great seeing fireflies for the first time in the park in front of the White House and on the White House lawn, I guess they wanted to be the Light of Democracy like Serenity or something.
But dang it feels pretty unreal knowing you are in places you'd never thought you'd see and that you've only seen on TV before. There are so many memorials, monuments and baroque grandeur in DC. The Lincoln Memorial has this really long pond in front and lots of grandeur before you get to see the statue. In front of the huge mirror like pond is this beautiful set of fountains that looks wonderful with the Capitol in the back.
Went back to Pennsylvania, this time to Philadelphia were I visited this really old park designed by William Penn that was a mass grave before the 19th century and has a memorial dedicated to the Revolutionary War soldiers. And then of course Independence Hall but you need our tickets to come see the main area inside but if not, like we(me and the people dragging me on this trip)didn't but we got to see a little area inside where they had some of the first prints made of the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence and Constitution that were printed for distribution and announcements. And then no trip there is complete without looking at the Liberty Bell, which was a lot smaller than I imagined. And of course I couldn't leave Philly without trying an authentic Philly Cheese Steak with oozing cheeeese.
Virginia is really beautiful and full of lush wilderness, I just wish it weren't so steamy there but I guess that's what makes it like that in the first place. It reminded me a lot of Northern California, of course but without the Redwood trees, cold fog, and arid climate.
But dang, how do people even drive in the East Coast? So many places are very car unfriendly and have confusing, winding roads full of one ways and no left/right turns and no u-turns. And of course Washington does not have much of a gridded city plan either.
And WTF the stores, even the ones like GAP and Sephora close so early in Philadelphia and Chicago! They close from around 6-7, which is lame. The same stores I am used to them closing around 9-10. Also the large bookstores Barnes and Noble and Borders also close around 9-10, unlike their usual 11. It wasn't even a Sunday!
Now I am in Nashville, Tennessee and will be heading very soon to New Orleans and then a few days in Texas and then back home to AZ. The US is so goddamn huge and gas doesn't go very far here(especially in the suburbs and all these little towns and farm communities everywhere), which is why we complain about $2.80 a gallon even though some Europeans pay twice that amount for gas.
Hopefully I'll be home from the 10-12th and will be pumping out arts and I have this awesome idea I've been developing for an MSPA fanfic which is about the Felties(apprentices/assistants of the Felt) and also combined with it is the story of a more "realistic" and less "abstract" Sburb Session where the players come from an Earth very much like our own rather than the more game abstracty one in the webcomic.
I got to see EoA4 in a shitty Youtube thing in my brother's iPhone so I didn't get the full force of it but did see the screencap collages. Awesome! I love how Andrew gives us these unexpected things in there such the ring being an extremely powerful weapon in on itself(and of course maybe the prototypings). But it was really sad for me seeing what happened to Prospit and it's citizens ):. Congratulations to those of you who got to contribute your artwork to the awesome flash, I wish I could have turned in my application on time maybe I could have had a good chance of being picked but unfortunately due to this trip I wouldn't have been able to contribute for this one. I hope there will be another chance to apply.
But I kinda needed this trip, despite me being miserable a lot due to my brother. Although I am still thinking a lot about MSPA but I kinda don't feel as invested in it as I did during my hormonal tantrums. Also not to mention getting to see what the rest of America is like.
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Right now I am in Huston, isn't this were Dave lives? Well it does look like a big metropolitan area but I can't see well if there are high rise apartments here, that seems more like an East coast thingbut there might be some...with lots of crows too. But yeah it's hot here, I'll watch out for meteors.
But now I'm leaving the motel in which I was a piece of shit for two days catching up with you guys on a laptop.
Oh and I was in New Orleans for awhile, it's really fun and unique but unbearably humid, but it's nice to walk into an air conditioned store frequently, especially when there are flash storms. New Orleans reminds me a lot of San Fransisco and Vegas for it's feel and "moral looseness". And I got to eat a great alligator sausage po-boy.
Nakki, if you are reading this, I must tell you if only I knew your address I probably would have sent you some Voodoo dolls, because they were everywhere there. Good thing they were the good luck kind.
I hardly see any Hispanic people east of Texas(and if in the East usually in large cities) I honestly think the fear of a "Mexican takeover" recently is unfounded.
Oh and I got to see a wild alligator, an anole, large swamp turtles, and a couple of wild racoons in a swamp in eastern Texas.
Also I am addicted to Formspring now.
I will be home soon, hopefully in a couple of days or so.
-----
The thing on the car that records your miles said that when we arrived home. The bulk of these miles were getting lost in shitty East coast road city planning that was done more than a hundred years before cars were invented.
So yeah I arrived yesterday morning but didn't get the internet back up until afternoon; then spend shitloads of hours catching up with the MSPA fora.
Anyway, apparently there are some nice high rise apartments that Dave could occupy.
The transition from East to West it pretty abrupt when you define it by three things: Latinos, mountains, and humidity. Actually starting with San Antonio you start to see lots of Hispanic things including their own Olivera Street thing. Wow I didn't know the Alamo was there! I was totally expecting the Alamo to be in the middle of nowhere, but bam it's in the middle of a huge city.
Starting from going West from Fort Stockton you gradually start to see more mountains and mesas popping up; then they appear looming in the distance and the road will carve through dynamite blasted hills. Then the clouds will become sparser and sparser until by the time you are close to El Paso; they have completely disappeared and the result is a cloudless blue sky and the sun burns down on you when you get out of the shade. As the sun sets you see a magnificent display of color uninterrupted except by the moon; casting black silhouettes of the mountains at it sets West. Pretty fucking beautiful.
El Paso seems like a pretty interesting city, but it's atmosphere is spoiled by the looming border that touches it. I'm going to be honest here and say it's actually a pretty sad indicator of the way things are going on when a barrier has to have a constricted river surrounded by several trenches and electric fences. Yet there is hardly any difference in the feel of the city on both sides; on the other side of El Paso is Juarez which can be seen plainly past the border and people often visit each side.
But it's such a relief to get away from the humidity that causes you to sweat all over rather than dry your lips.
But fuck; many rest areas in Texas have a shitload of bugs everywhere. There was this one that we stopped in and upon coming out I heard a very loud chorus of cicadas and crickets and whatnot. On the asphalt and pavement where lots and lots and lots of crickets, grasshoppers, large katydids, and beetles. Just opening the door for awhile to get out results in a bug comming inside.
Another rest area was really really windy and the air was slightly drier. This one still had many bugs like grasshoppers and katydids crawling around. It's cute to see a katydid walk around slowly and nibble on it's limbs to clean them.
I saw some brochures on stuff in New Mexico; shit everything is up North, and we were in the South; but that was okay since we had to speed through the state to get back home.
So yeah I'm back now; and when I came home I was greeted by many packages I ordered online earlier; including my new tablet pen nibs! So yeah I resolve to get back to more artworks and such.
You may have noticed in Formspring some mentioning of a "Vibe", surely this isn't some hack publicity stunt for a fanfic I plan to work on; provided the new MSPA updates don't totally ruin it.
So yeah; you can learn a lot from a trip like this even though it will be very lengthy(almost a month on the road!) and expensive even if you try to make it profitable in the end due to tagging along with a professional photographer. For me it's mind boggling that the majority of the US lives in subtropical rainforest where it rains a lot; even in summer and heat equals humidity. But I am sure they find it mindboggling that the other side is so dry all year around. It's like two different countries and whatnot divided by more than just climate, but demographics and even culture. It makes me wonder how the US can even handle such vast landmasses where the needs of the people are so different even within both sides.
For example in the East coast there are many many rural communities within the vast wilderness areas between each city. These people most likely rely on guns as a means of protection and feeling safe in such a lonely place. People in the cities most likely will never feel this way as long as they stay there. On the other hand people in rural towns are not in touch with the outside world as much; so it may be harder for them to see the issues that don't effect them directly but affect the nation as a whole.
And speaking of that I remember being in a debate before about pharmacies that refuse to stock the morning after pill. The people who supported this claimed that there are too many pharmacies around to even care about this. From what I have seen I have to disagree with this; I saw so many rural communities and towns; that by the time a girl finds the morning after pill it might too late and she would have spent a lot of money on gas for her car. Yes you can find condoms at the nearest travel center convenience store; but not morning after pills.
Due to vast wildernesses in many places in the East coast; it's probably not surprising that there may be many people apathetic to the environment due to believing that there are already so many trees around. But tell you what; here in the West we had to fight for our old growth forests; and logging companies do not usually think in "trimming here and there" but in vast scales of millions. But yes there does seem to be lots and lots of uninhabited land; but a lot of the human residents use a lot of land for farms there.
When you visit many places you get to see the good, shiney areas and then the areas they don't want you to see but are there anyway. It makes me wonder how the poor people can even feel hopeful or inspired to pull a Horatio Alger when they live in very dilapidated places that the rest of the city does not care about. Alas American culture remains an extremely judgmental and nearsighted one; ironically even to it's own majority. I would consider it a miracle if just a handful of poor people do pull a "rags to riches" but I would never expect the majority of the poor to do it at all like many demand them to do. And of course I am not saying I was blind to this before the trip; it's just that going through the "forgotten" areas of places like Chicago and Pittsburgh often served as a constant reminder of this.
Many cities in the East are very beautiful and are well planned and structured with many nice public areas and parks. In Huston there is this beautiful large fountain that looks so otherworldly when you step in front of it; like something from Lord of the Rings. Chicago has a huge park with vast gardens so lush there are even bunnies that frolick in it.
The rest areas; even in Texas are well established and offer clean bathrooms for weary travelers.
And yet most of them in Arizona are closed.
Because people are afraid of taxes.
They say you can't just simply throw money at the "problem"; yes that is true but at the same time lots of shit happens when you take away lots and lots of money. School programs are cut; police paychecks are cut; not enough money for marvelous city planning like I described.
I heard the economy in Mississippi is shitty because of this too.
I know most people would just mindlessly take a trip like this and go "ohhh pretty", but I am often plauged by my deep rage that often brews when I see these things. I'm sure this isn't healthy but at least I am not a total troll with it.
Well the good news is that I did simply spend a lot of time mindlessly enjoying the landscape and the cities.
I hope that some of you will or have already experienced such morsels of beauty and can also muse about the current state of affairs with it. But I understand to most it kinda spoils it.
Oh well.
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so yeah. The route was pretty much Tucson -> Phoenix -> Flagstaff ->Gallup ->Albuquerque -> Santa Fe -> Albuquerque again -> Amarillo -> Oklahoma City -> Tulsa -> St. Louis -> some rural places in between -> Chicago -> Indianapolis -> Dayton ->Cincinati -> Cleavland -> Pittsburgh -> Washington D.C -> Philidelphia -> back to D.C -> Richmond -> Knoxville -> Nashville -> Birmingham -> Jackson(I think) -> New Orleans -> Lake Charles -> Huston -> San Antonio -> El Paso -> Las Cruces -> Tucson. And various towns and pit stops in between.
whew
I am just going to dump my DA journals concerning the trip here to "archive" them:
-----
In case you're wondering about the huge binge in comments and faves; I've finally emptied my DA watch thing, yay! I got more than 200 in there, mostly large amounts of stuff from clubs I only sometimes pay attention to.
Thing is; I really did go on that trip I mentioned in my last journal. But nobody commented on it, bleh. But just letting you know that that is the reason I have been absent. I am currently still on the trip but now that I am staying at a relative's place for a few days I have the chance to finally settle down from the pace and report back to you guys.
I'm currently in Chicago now.
Shit how do you East coasters deal with this humidity?
And Oklahoma is full of bugs, there are beetles crawling and diving everywhere under streetlamps at night.
And it's weird not seeing mountains in the distance of land; I wonder if I can see the curvature of the Earth.
And it feels weird going through places that are almost totally White; and wonder if people think you're an alien or something because you aren't Black either.
I got the chance to meet up with an old online friend for the first time; it's the first time I've done it and it feels pretty surreal at first but we just chilled well together. And meeting her helping me be more enthusiastic about our thing which was a bright flame that went out.
I don't know when I'll be back home to Arizona, perhaps a week and a half? I hope I don't miss the 4/13 MSPA update. I've been using an iPhone(sparingly because it's my brother's) most of the trip and iPhones somehow hate Flash. Any tips on that?
----
Just left Chicago, and currently am in Ohio, probably won't be long here either and headin' to Philidelphia.
Before leving Chicago I had some Chicago style pizza....gog daaaaaaaaamn so much cheese and one slice is equal to 2-3 slices of typical pizza. I could only down two medium slices before feeling full and getting a headache. I ate another slice for breakfast then. Oh yeah and I'm with two other people in case you forgot.
Passed by Indianapolis which seems pretty nice and quiet at least when I went there. These cities in the East have really nice landscapings and spacious parks which are not very common in the West. But on the other hand it's easy to get lost in rural highways that keep leading to more highway. There is a lot of rural area in the East surrounding cities which isn't so in say California and the Pheonix area which have a large city and many surrounding satellite cities that are a part of the major city and extend it for dozens of miles, like Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
The temperature is pretty cool now, and thanfully not very humid while still being a little warm.
I noticed that ever since passing Oklahoma, there have been many of these floating seeds surrounded by a bit of cottony stuff. What tree is making those?
-----
After leaving Ohio I went to Pennsylvania for awhile. Damn it gets really beautiful there especially in the towny area of Pittsburgh. There is an awesome view of the city from the slope and you can see all these awesome bridges and huge wide rivers. But then going closer to the city there are of course some nice areas and run down slummy areas.
Oh and it gets even more humid, rainy and some lighting as you go further deep into the subtropical rainforest known as the East Coast.
Went to Washington DC as well, and the Smithsonian Museums are free! And they are right in the same area as all the government building such as the National Archives, Library of Congress, the Capitol and the Washington Monument. There is this huge ass whole stretch of lawn full of people there called the National Mall or something like that. It was great seeing fireflies for the first time in the park in front of the White House and on the White House lawn, I guess they wanted to be the Light of Democracy like Serenity or something.
But dang it feels pretty unreal knowing you are in places you'd never thought you'd see and that you've only seen on TV before. There are so many memorials, monuments and baroque grandeur in DC. The Lincoln Memorial has this really long pond in front and lots of grandeur before you get to see the statue. In front of the huge mirror like pond is this beautiful set of fountains that looks wonderful with the Capitol in the back.
Went back to Pennsylvania, this time to Philadelphia were I visited this really old park designed by William Penn that was a mass grave before the 19th century and has a memorial dedicated to the Revolutionary War soldiers. And then of course Independence Hall but you need our tickets to come see the main area inside but if not, like we(me and the people dragging me on this trip)didn't but we got to see a little area inside where they had some of the first prints made of the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence and Constitution that were printed for distribution and announcements. And then no trip there is complete without looking at the Liberty Bell, which was a lot smaller than I imagined. And of course I couldn't leave Philly without trying an authentic Philly Cheese Steak with oozing cheeeese.
Virginia is really beautiful and full of lush wilderness, I just wish it weren't so steamy there but I guess that's what makes it like that in the first place. It reminded me a lot of Northern California, of course but without the Redwood trees, cold fog, and arid climate.
But dang, how do people even drive in the East Coast? So many places are very car unfriendly and have confusing, winding roads full of one ways and no left/right turns and no u-turns. And of course Washington does not have much of a gridded city plan either.
And WTF the stores, even the ones like GAP and Sephora close so early in Philadelphia and Chicago! They close from around 6-7, which is lame. The same stores I am used to them closing around 9-10. Also the large bookstores Barnes and Noble and Borders also close around 9-10, unlike their usual 11. It wasn't even a Sunday!
Now I am in Nashville, Tennessee and will be heading very soon to New Orleans and then a few days in Texas and then back home to AZ. The US is so goddamn huge and gas doesn't go very far here(especially in the suburbs and all these little towns and farm communities everywhere), which is why we complain about $2.80 a gallon even though some Europeans pay twice that amount for gas.
Hopefully I'll be home from the 10-12th and will be pumping out arts and I have this awesome idea I've been developing for an MSPA fanfic which is about the Felties(apprentices/assistants of the Felt) and also combined with it is the story of a more "realistic" and less "abstract" Sburb Session where the players come from an Earth very much like our own rather than the more game abstracty one in the webcomic.
I got to see EoA4 in a shitty Youtube thing in my brother's iPhone so I didn't get the full force of it but did see the screencap collages. Awesome! I love how Andrew gives us these unexpected things in there such the ring being an extremely powerful weapon in on itself(and of course maybe the prototypings). But it was really sad for me seeing what happened to Prospit and it's citizens ):. Congratulations to those of you who got to contribute your artwork to the awesome flash, I wish I could have turned in my application on time maybe I could have had a good chance of being picked but unfortunately due to this trip I wouldn't have been able to contribute for this one. I hope there will be another chance to apply.
But I kinda needed this trip, despite me being miserable a lot due to my brother. Although I am still thinking a lot about MSPA but I kinda don't feel as invested in it as I did during my hormonal tantrums. Also not to mention getting to see what the rest of America is like.
-------
Right now I am in Huston, isn't this were Dave lives? Well it does look like a big metropolitan area but I can't see well if there are high rise apartments here, that seems more like an East coast thingbut there might be some...with lots of crows too. But yeah it's hot here, I'll watch out for meteors.
But now I'm leaving the motel in which I was a piece of shit for two days catching up with you guys on a laptop.
Oh and I was in New Orleans for awhile, it's really fun and unique but unbearably humid, but it's nice to walk into an air conditioned store frequently, especially when there are flash storms. New Orleans reminds me a lot of San Fransisco and Vegas for it's feel and "moral looseness". And I got to eat a great alligator sausage po-boy.
Nakki, if you are reading this, I must tell you if only I knew your address I probably would have sent you some Voodoo dolls, because they were everywhere there. Good thing they were the good luck kind.
I hardly see any Hispanic people east of Texas(and if in the East usually in large cities) I honestly think the fear of a "Mexican takeover" recently is unfounded.
Oh and I got to see a wild alligator, an anole, large swamp turtles, and a couple of wild racoons in a swamp in eastern Texas.
Also I am addicted to Formspring now.
I will be home soon, hopefully in a couple of days or so.
-----
The thing on the car that records your miles said that when we arrived home. The bulk of these miles were getting lost in shitty East coast road city planning that was done more than a hundred years before cars were invented.
So yeah I arrived yesterday morning but didn't get the internet back up until afternoon; then spend shitloads of hours catching up with the MSPA fora.
Anyway, apparently there are some nice high rise apartments that Dave could occupy.
The transition from East to West it pretty abrupt when you define it by three things: Latinos, mountains, and humidity. Actually starting with San Antonio you start to see lots of Hispanic things including their own Olivera Street thing. Wow I didn't know the Alamo was there! I was totally expecting the Alamo to be in the middle of nowhere, but bam it's in the middle of a huge city.
Starting from going West from Fort Stockton you gradually start to see more mountains and mesas popping up; then they appear looming in the distance and the road will carve through dynamite blasted hills. Then the clouds will become sparser and sparser until by the time you are close to El Paso; they have completely disappeared and the result is a cloudless blue sky and the sun burns down on you when you get out of the shade. As the sun sets you see a magnificent display of color uninterrupted except by the moon; casting black silhouettes of the mountains at it sets West. Pretty fucking beautiful.
El Paso seems like a pretty interesting city, but it's atmosphere is spoiled by the looming border that touches it. I'm going to be honest here and say it's actually a pretty sad indicator of the way things are going on when a barrier has to have a constricted river surrounded by several trenches and electric fences. Yet there is hardly any difference in the feel of the city on both sides; on the other side of El Paso is Juarez which can be seen plainly past the border and people often visit each side.
But it's such a relief to get away from the humidity that causes you to sweat all over rather than dry your lips.
But fuck; many rest areas in Texas have a shitload of bugs everywhere. There was this one that we stopped in and upon coming out I heard a very loud chorus of cicadas and crickets and whatnot. On the asphalt and pavement where lots and lots and lots of crickets, grasshoppers, large katydids, and beetles. Just opening the door for awhile to get out results in a bug comming inside.
Another rest area was really really windy and the air was slightly drier. This one still had many bugs like grasshoppers and katydids crawling around. It's cute to see a katydid walk around slowly and nibble on it's limbs to clean them.
I saw some brochures on stuff in New Mexico; shit everything is up North, and we were in the South; but that was okay since we had to speed through the state to get back home.
So yeah I'm back now; and when I came home I was greeted by many packages I ordered online earlier; including my new tablet pen nibs! So yeah I resolve to get back to more artworks and such.
You may have noticed in Formspring some mentioning of a "Vibe", surely this isn't some hack publicity stunt for a fanfic I plan to work on; provided the new MSPA updates don't totally ruin it.
So yeah; you can learn a lot from a trip like this even though it will be very lengthy(almost a month on the road!) and expensive even if you try to make it profitable in the end due to tagging along with a professional photographer. For me it's mind boggling that the majority of the US lives in subtropical rainforest where it rains a lot; even in summer and heat equals humidity. But I am sure they find it mindboggling that the other side is so dry all year around. It's like two different countries and whatnot divided by more than just climate, but demographics and even culture. It makes me wonder how the US can even handle such vast landmasses where the needs of the people are so different even within both sides.
For example in the East coast there are many many rural communities within the vast wilderness areas between each city. These people most likely rely on guns as a means of protection and feeling safe in such a lonely place. People in the cities most likely will never feel this way as long as they stay there. On the other hand people in rural towns are not in touch with the outside world as much; so it may be harder for them to see the issues that don't effect them directly but affect the nation as a whole.
And speaking of that I remember being in a debate before about pharmacies that refuse to stock the morning after pill. The people who supported this claimed that there are too many pharmacies around to even care about this. From what I have seen I have to disagree with this; I saw so many rural communities and towns; that by the time a girl finds the morning after pill it might too late and she would have spent a lot of money on gas for her car. Yes you can find condoms at the nearest travel center convenience store; but not morning after pills.
Due to vast wildernesses in many places in the East coast; it's probably not surprising that there may be many people apathetic to the environment due to believing that there are already so many trees around. But tell you what; here in the West we had to fight for our old growth forests; and logging companies do not usually think in "trimming here and there" but in vast scales of millions. But yes there does seem to be lots and lots of uninhabited land; but a lot of the human residents use a lot of land for farms there.
When you visit many places you get to see the good, shiney areas and then the areas they don't want you to see but are there anyway. It makes me wonder how the poor people can even feel hopeful or inspired to pull a Horatio Alger when they live in very dilapidated places that the rest of the city does not care about. Alas American culture remains an extremely judgmental and nearsighted one; ironically even to it's own majority. I would consider it a miracle if just a handful of poor people do pull a "rags to riches" but I would never expect the majority of the poor to do it at all like many demand them to do. And of course I am not saying I was blind to this before the trip; it's just that going through the "forgotten" areas of places like Chicago and Pittsburgh often served as a constant reminder of this.
Many cities in the East are very beautiful and are well planned and structured with many nice public areas and parks. In Huston there is this beautiful large fountain that looks so otherworldly when you step in front of it; like something from Lord of the Rings. Chicago has a huge park with vast gardens so lush there are even bunnies that frolick in it.
The rest areas; even in Texas are well established and offer clean bathrooms for weary travelers.
And yet most of them in Arizona are closed.
Because people are afraid of taxes.
They say you can't just simply throw money at the "problem"; yes that is true but at the same time lots of shit happens when you take away lots and lots of money. School programs are cut; police paychecks are cut; not enough money for marvelous city planning like I described.
I heard the economy in Mississippi is shitty because of this too.
I know most people would just mindlessly take a trip like this and go "ohhh pretty", but I am often plauged by my deep rage that often brews when I see these things. I'm sure this isn't healthy but at least I am not a total troll with it.
Well the good news is that I did simply spend a lot of time mindlessly enjoying the landscape and the cities.
I hope that some of you will or have already experienced such morsels of beauty and can also muse about the current state of affairs with it. But I understand to most it kinda spoils it.
Oh well.
-----
so yeah. The route was pretty much Tucson -> Phoenix -> Flagstaff ->Gallup ->Albuquerque -> Santa Fe -> Albuquerque again -> Amarillo -> Oklahoma City -> Tulsa -> St. Louis -> some rural places in between -> Chicago -> Indianapolis -> Dayton ->Cincinati -> Cleavland -> Pittsburgh -> Washington D.C -> Philidelphia -> back to D.C -> Richmond -> Knoxville -> Nashville -> Birmingham -> Jackson(I think) -> New Orleans -> Lake Charles -> Huston -> San Antonio -> El Paso -> Las Cruces -> Tucson. And various towns and pit stops in between.
whew