Travels of an M-State Girl: Home

MA>CT>NY>NJ>PA>OH>IN>MI>IN>IL>WI>IL>IN>MI>OH>PA>NJ>NY>CT>MA*

2,462 miles.

23 nights.

8 beds, 1 sofa. There's a fanzine article in a review of them. Too bad I didn't take pictures. Then again, I'd gladly go back to any and all. Well, except maybe the leaky waterbed. Three separate leaks in six nights suggests the mattress may not be long for this world. Its replacement will be a blessing. Soggy flannel sock monkey swinging on a star PJs are far from just the thing, even when the waterbed heater keeps them warm.

Loved ones, friends and family all.

New axle, new water pump, notification that a new catalytic converter is needed, too.

New desktop computer. Repaired laptop.

(The laptop traveled even further, accompanying me for 18 of the 23 nights, and jaunting off mid-trip from Michigan to Texas for an Apple Spa Treatment: new logic board, Superdrive, battery, keyboard, trackpad, and top case before being whisked to Chicago. I caught up with it there.)

No Minnesota. (Whimper. Big whimper.) Milwaukee was as close as I got.

Best moment report coming separately.

I'm glad I traveled. It's good to be home.

* For any and all who don't know the US postal codes: Massachusetts > Connecticut > New York > New Jersey > Pennsylvania > Ohio > Indiana > Michigan > Indiana > Illinois > Wisconsin > Illinois > Indiana > Michigan > Ohio > Pennsylvania > New Jersey > New York > Connecticut > Massachusetts

Attention: Nate!

This is for Nate, most of all, but anyone who hasn't already seen it on their friends list or elsewhere are likely to enjoy the results of clicking on the links. Especially the first one.

Four hands. One guitar. (Two of the hands are from Uruguay; the other two are from Brasil.)

They're Duo Siqueira Lima and there's more to hear and see at their website.

Travels of an M-State Girl: Best Moment of the Trip

The best moment of my trip came when Daddy (Colin's maternal great-grandfather), Leslie (Colin's maternal grandmother), and I (Colin's great-aunt) sang "Tell Me Why The Stars Do Shine" to Colin. The traditional version I grew up with, not the scientific filk with some of the same words and all of the same tune.

Daddy sang the verse he used to sing to Mom as he drove the family home from Lake Michigan picnics and other outings of my childhood...a verse Leslie never heard before. IIRC, Daddy sings it as "I do believe that God above/created you for me to love/He picked you out from all the rest/And gave you to me to love the best."

The picture isn't of that moment, which came within an hour of when 10.5-week-old Colin Daniel met his great-grandfather, 86.5-year-old Daniel Squier Fitzgerald. As usual, click through and up to the Fitzgerald gallery for a few more shots of that amazing moment in our family's history.

I'm looking at you! This is what I traveled to see, to witness. This was why I went even after car problems meant I missed Jack's brunch. It's highly likely that Carl took far better photos of Colin Daniel in Daniel Squier Fitzgerald's arms the first time the two met, but I totally treasure having been there and capturing even a few rough shots of my own. My face pretty much matched Sara's the entire time. So much emotion in the moment, so much love.