Amy's America

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I should’ve watched Sleepless in Seattle again before visiting – it’s been too long! But I certainly wasn’t there to find Tom Hanks, so I guess I didn’t miss out on much by not seeing it again. I did remember the general Seattle highlights, and many friends reiterated them, so I was set. It was a case of limited time, more than anything else…

I met Matt for lunch, since he works right near Pike’s Place (known for throwing fish, which I was happy to witness – even saw an acapella group sing to the fish guys). We ate at a great little place overlooking the water, then walked a bit through the cool market where they sell everything, before he went back to work and sent me up to the top of the Space Needle to get some photos from above.  In summary: Seattle’s nice, but I didn’t love it. I took the monorail back to my car from the Space Needle, got my Starbuck’s hot caramel apple cider (in my new favorite travel mug – a pretty one by Aladdin, a gift from Matt – he also gave me a cool tea infuser one so I can buy tea for the trip too!) and got back on the road…

I pretty much drove straight the four hours to Hermiston, Oregon to Jason and Amy’s house. It was a great night! Seeing family is always nice – and Jason is basically family, since I’ve known him practically forever, he’s the brother of my best friend and Godfather of my Goddaughters. And it was wonderful to finally meet Amy, his wife – they were married while I was in London. (Happy First Anniversary guys – meant to say that while I was there!) They took me to this fabulous old west saloon – an ‘epic steakhouse’ – in Pendleton, Oregon called Hamley’s. It has the best ambiance and good food too! (Always a bonus for a restaurant.) Loved all the relics on display and had to laugh at the ‘mature’ bathroom! 

And it was a first: Jason had actually written notes to make sure he told me the best places to go and things to see! He had some great suggestions – I hoped I’d be able to fit many of them in. After dinner Jason and Amy gave me a mini-tour of the area, including Jason’s Vet office and the apartment complex they lived in when they met (awwwww). I took pictures for Tina, but left those out of this slideshow. To top the night off, I was thrilled to sleep in their guest room which is actually painted like the American Flag. I felt right at home…

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I must start taking advantage of my cousin’s wildlife sanctuaries (Mass Audubon) – there is something incredibly peaceful and invigorating about hiking in the middle of the woods, just you and nature (well, and the occasional fellow tourists, since I was thinking this at Mount Rushmore). I wish I’d discovered this years ago and taken Nicky to more places like this when he was little rather than Boston all the time. No wonder he’s such a city boy! (I know, look who’s talking…)

Anyway, Mount Rushmore – and the surrounding Black Hills Forest – are breathtaking, and the little towns (like Keystone) in the area are just like the Old West towns you’d picture and want to visit. Yet another place I wish I had more time for. But what I realized was that this is just like a cruise (only driving): I’m getting a taste for all different places so I know where I want to go back and spend more time (and possibly move to) later. I just had no idea I’d love so many!

These thoughts actually brought me – finally, on Day 37 – to thinking about my future, and what I’m going to do when I grow up. Yes, every day I have been doing my ‘real’ job search and applying for jobs in communications, but I haven’t really done any in-depth thinking about what I’d  LOVE to do. Don’t get me wrong, I really love all facets of corporate communications, but given the choice of doing absolutely anything in the world, I don’t think I’d get dressed up and go to an office every single day. (Although once I get into it, I typically love it – especially when there’s a lot going on – I thrive that way.)

So what could I do that doesn’t involve going to an office and takes advantage of all the travel I’ve been doing? And combines many of the other things I love? How about a bed and breakfast, perhaps at the Cape or in Boston, called The Travel Inn or similar? It could be a place where people not only go for a holiday, but where they are also inspired to plan their NEXT vacation. The whole place would have a travel theme, including a huge resource library (I’d hook up with the travel bureaus all over) and every room would be named after a different location and decorated with items from there. I could also offer a separate service to help them plan the logistics of their next trip. What do you think? Could it work? I think I’ll have to start roughing out a business plan as I go…

After Mount Rushmore I knew I had to stop at Crazy Horse – you can’t see one and not the other. Crazy Horse, a memorial to the North American Indians, will be the world’s largest mountain carving. It’s still a work in progress and will be for many years to come.  There’s a great little museum there and artisans selling their wares throughout.

After that, other than a brief stop at Jewel Cave National Monument (I’m afraid I was too late for a tour), it was a lot more driving – about 400 miles. Much of it was spent back in Wyoming (would have liked to see Devil’s Tower, which Teddy Roosevelt named the first national monument, but didn’t want to veer of track that much). As it was, it was after 9 pm when I got to Billings, Montana. Jeff and Lisa had recommended either Bozeman or Missoula, but I knew I couldn’t drive that far – and I’d rather hit them in the daylight when you can actually see things and appreciate the area! So I will check them out today…

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