SO. Almost a month ago, I got into a van that resembles a creamsicle with 3 smelly boys from the Bay. I spent 2 weeks with Religious Girls as they started their Shred Till We Ded national tour. We drove coast to coast through the south, stopping in: Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, & Hollywood, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Lubbock, Austin, San Antonio, & Houston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Athens, Georgia; & Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

I went a million places I’d never been. I saw a million things I’d never seen. Though I expected 2 weeks to feel like forever & to be so ready to not be stuck in a van & sweaty & tired anymore, I felt like a child in the longest ever time-out as I sat in the Nashville airport, waiting to board my plane. Given different circumstances, I would have stayed with the boys as long as I could. Instead of feeling suffocated from a serious lack of personal space & time, all I wanted was to be hanging out in uncomfortably heavy heat, laughing with these dumb boys who somehow snuck their way into my ghost heart. 

But it was what it was, & though 2 weeks flew by, I was on to the next adventure. From Tennessee, I flew to Portland, Oregon. I’d been romanticizing Portland & missing one of my best friends from high school who lives there for far too long, & it was time for me to finally visit. Portland’s a funny place. It’s gorgeous (granted, I had was there for the best weather of the year), & very much has a feel all its own. It was both everything & nothing I expected. 

After a week in PDX, I got on a train headed for Santa Cruz to see Samone. Really, spending time with my best friend is the only way I’d want to end this trip. 

Three & a half weeks and nearly 7,000 miles later, I still didn’t/don’t feel ready to be home.

I missed things from home. Like my cat, my bed, my sister, & my friends. But I never missed being home. I’ve been back for a couple of days & it still feels weird. I think mostly it’s that everything feels too still & familiar here. I’ll go back to work in two days and school in two weeks. Everything will go back to normal. Adulthood will continue to try to eat me alive & I will continue to resist.

I am pretty stoked to be back to things like local shows, my family, & my cat. Plus, now I get to hang out with these babes incessantly. 

ponydirt:

This makes me so happy. The one of Chris & Tyler is especially great. I miss mah baybies so much. Natalie, you da bestttt.