i had the best weekend in awhile this weekend- on friday, ryann, mike, jeanne, and ned picked me up (in a rented prius ! 5 people in a prius including one big person and one tall person ! but it really wasn't bad) and we drove to new jersey to stay with ryann's friend eric for the night. we ate at a diner once we got there and our waitress was super fucking high and really neat. i truly cannot remember what i ate, because it seems like a million years ago. eric is a great host and had lots of places to sleep, but i slept on the floor because of my back. it was probably like... the worst night's sleep ever (only because i was sore and sick) but i wasn't tired at all when i woke up ! we stopped to get breakfast, and then proceeded on to brattleboro, vermont.
we got lunch at a place we thought wouldn't be opened, one of many places named vegetarian paradise- it's a vegan jamaican restaurant. they brought us out a platter with blobs of all of the dishes on the menu (not a huge menu but there was some variety) so we could taste them before ordering (!!!!). everything was delicious, but we all ended up getting curry chunks (which i think was wheat gluten) with cabbage or kale and rice and beans. ryann also got a ginger beer and it was like... the most intense delicious spicy ginger beer of all time. mike and i also got vegetable patties (which jeanne and mike relentlessly called hot pockets- culturally insensitive) which were delicious and kind of spicy. they also had a store attached which mostly sold like... hats with fake dreads attached and 'jah is my co-pilot' bumper stickers, but i ended up buying this tiger hat.
we were making good time and had a pretty fast trip up to new hampshire- ryann is a great driver, ned was an excellent dj, and mike was good at farting and reading maps. jeanne didn't do much but touch my butt a bunch to buckle her seatbelt- i've had better, but i like jeanne. the pumpkin festival was insane- it was super super packed with a billion cool jack-o-lanterns and food vendors and kids in costumes ! i got terrified by people in old man costumes several times. there was also a grilled cheese and tomato soup booth so i didn't even have to have a vegetarian-at-the-fair all french fry day ! here's some stuff:
that last picture is ned and mike eating barf in a cone (which some people were calling 'pumpkin pie in a cone'). there was a beautiful historic theater there playing free cartoons all day, so when we got tired and cold, we went inside and watched looney toons for like 2 hours. i was surprised at how funny and weird and fucking grim they were? i didn't really pay much attention to them when i was a kid (aside from pete puma) so i never noticed, but like... every single one ended with accidental suicide.
after that, we went to see the pumpkins all lit up and walked around some more and i almost peed my pants and we went to a neat little bookstore ! i also had the disappointment of my life when i went to a fudge stall and got what i thought was a chocolate covered caramel apple, and it was just... a chocolate covered apple. GROSS. is that a real thing people eat????? i was shocked but everyone made fun of me and didn't feel bad for me.
we went to our hotel room after that and i had such a good night. i was super super super cornholio'd out on sugar and everyone just barely put up with me, and i ended up getting the best night's sleep i've had in forever. maybe i should always sleep in a room with four sleeping people ! in the morning, we ate continental breakfast (ooh la la) and headed out to providence, rhode island. holy shit, providence is cute ! the houses looked like dollhouses and there was a good record store and and and it was great. we ate at julian's, where i had the best most delicious bloody mary ever, sweet potato hash (which was delicious), a french toast, home fries, and an omelette with avocado, black beans, and tomato. holy shit ! there bathroom also had this case of star wars guys
the drive home took considerably longer, but we made a few stops and listened to weird al and i got to ride up front with mike, which was neat. unfortunately we're both tyrants and he won the ipod tyrant contest by holding the ipod in his lap so i couldn't reach for it. i maintain that everyone would've loved my cool music playlist even if they wouldn't have, and also didn't.
anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy i had the best time, and new england is beautiful, and i didn't feel anxious once- not even in keene, where my cellphone didn't have reception for an entire day. being "disconnected" or far from home are two of my biggest anxiety triggers, and the whole time i was having such a good time that i didn't want it to end and was never anxious to get home. mike, jeanne, ryann, and ned are all neat and hilarious and i haven't laughed that much in a million years.
nowwwww i have to get ready for class- i'm behind on my school work and it's causing me stress.
