This current month-long tour of the United States is epic, larger than I realized and also exciting! All of the connections we have made with people at our events or in hostels are valuable and eye-opening. We have seen how people live, think and create in 7 cities already in truly varying regions of the country. We have moved around ceaselessly, from couch to airport, hostel to bus station, to train station, to rental car location.
We have already made some friends that we will stay in contact with, people who were charmed by us or intrigued by our trip and the book. My college friends who now live scattered across the nation housed us in 3 cities and others visited to hear our presentations. This true friendship makes me feel warm inside as I see that even though some years have passed since we have seen each other, the bond is still there, and many people went out of their way to support the trip and make us feel at home.
Each home has been different, depending if the host has housemates, family, pets, a busy schedule. But every person who offered their home made us as comfortable and welcome as possible and we are so grateful. It was a chance to be in the warmth of familiarity and to cook for ourselves. My friends took us around their towns and showed us a good time. Then there are the hostels, which are fun because they are all so different. I always choose hostels for cost, but also they are so much less commercial and mainstream than hotels. You never know what style and variety you will get. The locations are almost always phenomenal close to downtown and food. They are always staffed with friendly people who help you get around and who know what hostellers are looking for.
Food is a big question on a trip like this, We usually eat breakfast where we stay and then are too busy to eat until mid afternoon and then a late dinner. We look for variety since we mostly have to eat out. In Chicago the hostel was in Greek Town so we had some great gyros and baklava. In Boston we were in the center of Chinatown so Beef Fried Rice was the dish of choice!
Overall we have been comfortable, except for a few snorers or odd ducks in the hostels. We are 2/3 finished with the tour and we have seen such variety and culture everywhere. Now we will begin to go south down the East Coast after having climbed north up the West Coast and a hop through the MidWest,
I will say that now, after all of this, I should be the best trip-planner, as I have seen the mistakes made and he way to avoid expensive errors. One thing I will always do from now on is run my plan, detail by detail, by someone else so as to hear it out loud. For the most part the lodging has been a huge success, and the most trouble has been logistics. Thank you to all of the couches and the hostels where we have stayed, being comfortable with good company is the best to relieve a weary traveler.
