Summer Recap and What's to Come...

My travels ended on May 22nd in Cleveland, Ohio. It was good to come home to Seattle and embark on an incredible Summer, kicking off in full force at my going away party before heading for Chicago:


Chicago turned out to be Evanston. While I got to spend a bit of time exploring the fruits of the Second City, most of it was spent in the basement or the backyard of the house I lived in writing to-do lists that consisted of enjoying the sun, drinking beer and going to movies.

Reading Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" in the basement of my Evanston palace

Soon I was flying to Minneapolis. In my three weeks home, I spent a lot of time wondering where the rest of my summer would take me. There was the two days my dad and I headed up to Canada for a father-son fishing trip. No fish were caught, but I finally understood what it meant to be seasick. I had a fabulous Fourth of July with my family in Wisconsin, where we enjoyed a quiet night watching the neighbor's fireworks as we sipped wine by the fire. I also got to flaunt my newfound carpentry talents and built a fence...I didn't even hammer my thumb once!

One of my dad's oldest friends, Charlie, and I, on the whitecaps of a stormy lake in Canada, where the fish were safe from our lack of experience and patience for the big lunkers...

My old man and I enjoying the fruits of my labor

The Timmer and his master Murphy in Wisconsin on our pontoon over Independence Day

It was difficult to decide where to go after my trip home. While I loved Chicago, I ended up moving there for the wrong reasons and decided to repair back to something familiar. Seattle kept calling from the West, and Adam Bale had just bought a Panasonic HVX.

Saying I enjoyed the rest of my summer would be an understatement. There was the second trip home to Minneapolis for my brother's 25th birthday. I got to spend four days in Austin, TX where I drank beer by the pool in the sun and tried to get over a horrible cold. And how can I forget the projects I worked on with Adam Bale that supplemented my meager income working occasionally as a brand ambassador promoting cell phones, chocolate, and the Army?

Summer Lovin: Drinking PBR in Austin, TX

I'll never forget all the experiences I've packed into the past few months. Thinking back, it seems like so much time has passed since the spring, when I thought my days managing teachers' seminars were over. I find myself once again darting around the country and meeting the faces of America. It's lucky I have a job like this waiting for me when the money runs dry. So, from Raleigh to Newark, I look forward to another season writing this blog for friends and family who want to see where I've been and where I'm going. Thanks for reading.

From Raleigh, NC, the adventure continues...