America the Beautiful, America the Wierd, America the Sloppy Drunk

The surreal landscapes of Bristol, CT offer windowless towers, lonely fields of dead grass, and a crazed me running around taking pictures of myself

The adventure continues as I remember such American hotspots as Sioux Falls, SD, Jackson, MS, and Manchester, NH. I've seen parents smoking cigarettes and drinking beer as their children play in the waterpark at the Holiday Inn outside Fargo, a cute little lizard in Pasadena, a middle-age businessman vomiting on Bourbon Street.

The newest member of my Seattle family, the camera shy "Esteban,"
being cradled by Brother Andy

I spent my week vacation at the end of March getting over a horrible cold in Seattle. St. Patrick's Day events included buying green beer for myself and a homeless man in Atlanta, GA. I partied like a Saturday on a Wednesday in Jackson, MS, salsa dancing with a couple older gals and drank whiskey with an amazing Nashville rock duo called Silver Lion's 20/20.

The aftermath of a tornado that swept through Downtown Atlanta, shown here
at the Westin Peachtree where I spent the night

There's much that I've learned in the past month. Patience is necessary only when whatever you're waiting for is out of your control and is provided with a good book, a newspaper article, or a game of Tetris on your phone. Never order a cheeseburger medium-rare. Sometimes strangers make the best drinking buddies.

Helping the bouncer at Tootsie's in Nashville keep out the night's riff raff