July 6, continued (I keep doing this because Blogger has changed and won't post past a certain length, so I have to break my verbiage up into two posts!)

Before I complete this blog entry, I have to share some random trip things that did not fit other places. First there were the pathetic food offerings. Vermont was the worst. If you are not a McDonald’s or Burger King person you are in for it. So few fast food places are around anyway. I ate out very little, munching on grocery store fare instead—I did like the grocery stores! They had lots of gourmet stuff, and that is so me. In fact, in my duffel bag in both end pouches is mounds of non perishable foods. They had such unique stuff that you cannot buy in Texas, stuff I have not even seen in Dallas, let alone Tyler . So I bought what I could gather. Perhaps that is why I was surprised to see the occasional Boston Market fast food place. I see them in Dallas, even LA, but since there was so little stuff up there—for example I saw a couple Taco Bells the WHOLE time I was in New England and NO other fast food Mexican places—I was surprised at a unique place like Boston Market. Then my brain kicked in. BOSTON Market. HELLO! Look at the name! It was funny. One of my brain bleeps.

Another unique thing about the east is their yard sales. What we call garage sale or yard sales, THEY call TAG sales. There were signs everywhere for tag sales. I finally realized that was what they meant. Another cultural difference. Interesting.

I regret reading less these days. I need to go back and reread all these young adult books that so shaped my knowledge of American history and culture (the good kind of culture) I literally pity people who were not exposed to many books, as I was blessed to be. There is no greater way to see the positive effects than to travel. I see it in New York and other places, but nowhere greater than this trip to the east has shown me what a wonderful influence books have been on me. I am smart because I read while growing up. I believe that. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,

Vermont has the best beef jerky ever—maple beef jerky. I kept the bag with the address.

Another thing, in northern Vermont at some point, the signs change from giving mileage to giving kilometers. I found that interesting. Wonder when America will go metric? Probably around the new world order. I noticed my airline is already there. American Airlines “One world”—that is their motto now on their planes and signs. "Welcome to American Airlines, a member of the One World Alliance," they say. Speaking of people who live by kilometers, Canada must have different speed limits, with the exception of ONE car, every car that shot past me at a high rate of speed was from Quebec or Montreal—that is what their plates said. When I land I will try to remember to ask Beverly what the speed limits are like in Canada.

I am so thankful Bev is picking me up. I am just so sick of driving and flying and everything else! It is not that I have not loved my whirlwind of flying coast to coast one week after another. One of my friends wrote and said that I had traveled more in the last two months than she probably would in her lifetime. That is probably not true as far as her getting to travel more, but I can see what she means. This is ridiculous. I have traveled more than people whose jobs involve heavy travel. Between mid-April and the first week of July I flew about 14,000 miles—this includes no driving. I hope I am done.

Yet despite all that I don’t think it is just some coincidence that that has all happened at the rate it has. It is all for something—at this point I can land anywhere in the country and assimilate myself in one evening. I will get a feel for the place and people almost instantly. It is really amazing. And I personally believe there is more to it than just travel. I think it is a God thing. But I can’t explain that right now.

Oh, this morning I had to call my credit card company again! I cried. It was a different account—the one related to the hotel. And then I got a person who could not understand me. I mean, she seemed so ditsy. Then she put me on hold with obnoxious music—which they never do at this company. I finally hung up and called back and got a competent person. It was terrible. It was all fine in the end. Nothing that has happened has been an awful thing—just enough to annoy, frustrate and distract me.

Anyway, I am getting very sleepy—perhaps I will drift awhile. I am thankful I have an aisle seat—originally it was so booked I was going to have to have a center seat. How awful when you are coming home tried, but I got to switch it online in the end so I appreciate my seat. I can’t wait to eat dinner—real food. I wish there was an El Pollo Loco in Dallas, but I will take almost anything edible tonight—as long as I don’t have to make it!

Oh yeah, with all my running around literary land, I never made it shopping. So I regret to announce that I did not stand around Filene’s basement in my underwear. I did see a lady at the airport with a Filene’s Basement not bag, however. The bag says “I got a bargain—Filene’s basement.” But at what cost, ma’am?.

What would my life be without Anastasia Krupnik?