Day 18: Chicago for four hours

Really Chicago for 21 hours, but four hours of free time. So far this has been the only way I've experienced this great city. I took a walk down to the aquarium and platenarium. Didn't go inside, just enjoyed walking and the nice weather.

Day 17: Sturgis, MI

Today I mindlessly checked out in the van for hours and hours as we drove from Nanuet, NY towards Chicago. My day actually began in Brooklyn. I stayed at Ben's. In the morning I took two trains to Penn Station, then due to a change of plans beyond my control, I had to take two more trains to Grand Central. Then I took an actual railway to Tarrytown, where Ruba picked me and Mona up to go back to Nanuet. We got in the van and started the 16-ish hour drive to Chicago and I fell asleep in a hot sweat (because it was a hot day) before we reached the freeway. I took a driving shift going west on I-80 for a few hours, taking us from Pennsylvania into Ohio. After that I read a pretty but poorly edited magazine called "Diner Journal" which is related to the yummy spot I ate at yesterday called Diner, then watched The Godfather. We've been checked in to our hotel for a couple hours now and I only just realized that we're in Michigan. Sturgis, MI. I generally am aware of where I am and what day it is, etc. But once in a while I let go of being in touch with that sort of information and I do feel a kind of addictive sense of freedom from it. I love that about what I do but it doesn't seem sustainable either.

I have tons of pictures of all the food I ate in NYC that I'll post asap!

Day 16: more food

*Diner (and the place next door which I can remember the name of)

Midnight Moon cheese

Beer place with amazing sausage, sourkraut, mustard, fries plate.

*Photo updates coming soon

Day 14: nyc food

Egg: breakfast in Williamsburg. Very good but kale too salty and bad service. Loved the candied grapefruit and the candied bacon.

Spotted Pig: dinner west village. Awesome food and ambiance but overall the meal was too heavy and rich. We overordered, and had too many intense flavors. Again sensitive to salt level. Very good wine pairing. Definitely would go back, order lighter. I took pictures of all the food which I may post later. I've eaten pickles at three meals since I've been here, and today ate bacon at every meal. So oversaturated with fat and salt.

Momofuku Milk Bar: dessert. Amazing cookies. Soft serve not like ice cream, more like a rich frosting. Had a few bites of the chocolate donut soft serve and threw the rest away. Not really into it. Cookies would be even better with milk, which I didn't try but they offer a few different flavors of. Infused milk I guess.

Tomorrow we're supposed to try to be healthy.

Day 15: New York City part I

Being in NYC is totally amazing as always. So many reasons why. Not sure if the allure would remain if I actually lived here. Which has been a topic of the day, I guess because Ben lives here, it's a natural question. It is tempting to move here but i think that's one fantasy that might serve it's true purpose by never coming true. The tension of blowing in for a few days and then leaving wanting more is kind of nice. I would hate to ruin that.

Day 13: Fairy Houses

A day off in Portland. We stay at a home in gorgeous Cape Elizabeth. Today ventured out to a nearby tiny island (can't remember the name). All that's on the island is a school for the deaf, some walking trails and beaches, trees, and a community of fairy houses. There's an area of the woods where people go and (kids and adults) build miniature homes for fairies using anything found in nature: sticks, leaves, branches, shells, feathers, rocks. This patch of woods is incredible! Little homes everywhere! There must have been a hundred of them. Some a haphazard pile of wood, others meticulous, artistic, adorable. Here are a few:

Day 12: Portland, ME

This is a picture of the inside of one of my favorite places to play, in one of my favorite cities to visit. The North Star Music Cafe, in Portland, Maine. Vanessa T. on stage opening the show.