If you don't get lost, there's a chance you may never get found..."

So I've been distant. I know I know, I feel bad about it too, but a lot has happened lately. I've changed directions...scratch that, I've changed locations. Indianapolis to be exact. I've decided a change is gonna come- a change needed to come- a change has come. I've left the place most comfortable in my world for a place that couldn't be more different, but really everywhere is the same ball of HUH?!? when you're are trying to find yourself. So this little blog is going to chronicle this new place now. I hope you enjoy my crazy life as much as I do....

Day 1. September 6, 2010. Birmingham to Indiana= Diving into the unknown. head first. without a life vest. or a clue. oh well.....

I started my journey at 6:30 am. Saying goodbye to Birmingham didn't feel any different- I've done it many a time before- until I started driving North instead of South....Oh- that felt odd. Got lost trying to find the interstate- I think I was subconsciously trying to run from running....psshh not really, I think I just didn't pay attention to the directions. Another offset about the beginning:

RULE #1 (About road trips & soul searching):

SCARY GAS STATIONS ARE JUST AS SCARY AT 7:15 IN THE MORNING.

And why do all products taste YUCKY (and by yucky I mean barf inducing) at scary gas stations. You would think they would at least make sure their drinks and assorted snack foods were extra delicious to compensate for the fear....wrong.

So here I am, heading north, wondering about what is actually going to be in store for me on the journey.

Here is a run down of the states I traveled through...

ALABAMA:

The first half of the state was MIZZZZZZZZ. More traffic than I'm pretty sure I've ever witnessed in a million years of driving that route. North Alabama was just lovely- It was early morning and barely a soul on the road- Until I tried to take pictures while driving and then of course it was Semi- City. Not cool, you big dopey 18 wheelers! It isn't enough that I'm terrified of you people when I'm driving responsibly- why creep up on me when I'm recklessly swerving on I-65, trying to snap a pic of 2 billboards, side by side that said:

1st sign:

"HELL IS REAL."

2nd sign (right beside #1):

"SHOWGIRLS CABARET! TRUCK PARKING! DAILY LUNCH SPECIALS!"

That's good stuff right there.

TENNESSEE:

Are you from Tennessee, cause you're the only TEN-I-SEE... Of course the favorite state to be in is the one that always passes by the fastest...isn't that life, though? I Love Tennessee. I think it's because we're so a like...

- High Peaks & Low Valleys

- A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY, A LITTLE BIT ROCK N' ROLL.

- Broken hearts, but the joy that always stays with you because you know you had "it", even if it was for but a moment.

- An excessive love of rhinestones and adornments (3 CHEERS FOR A MAGPIE!!!)

- The love & adoration of beautiful men. You can't swing a dick in the state of Tennessee without running into a beautiful man.

- AN OVER ABUNDANCE OF BOOTS. NATURALLY.

....Sometimes I think I could stay there for real.

On to- UNLUCKY (kind of) IN KENTUCKY:

Kentucky: So, the one good thing about Kentucky- I passed the BIGGEST "Adult Gift Store" I have ever seen. It was the size of the Macy's flagship store in Herald Square in NYC. No lie.

The only thing one thinks of when one sees a structure such as this, is most eloquently put by my friend Lacey;

"I BET YOU CAN FIND ALL SORTS OF GOODIES IN A SEX SHOP THE SIZE OF A WALMART SUPERCENTER. REAL FREAKY SHIT."

you took the words right out of my mouth.

WORST PART OF KENTUCKY: SPAGHETTI JUNCTION, LOUISVILLE KY.

I'm not sure I can adequately describe the roads (Narrow, run down, every every 15 feet is a 5 foot crater...errr, I mean pothole) or the drivers (You are either the tortoise or the hare and neither of you can drive worth a hot shit. If you fall into neither category- as I do- just go ahead and consider running your car off the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge on your way out of town.)

Oh, and they they call it Spaghetti Junction for a reason. The roads twist and turn so much that- yep- you guessed it- it'a look'a like a big bowl'a pasta...I might petition for Louisville to be renamed CARB CITY. Imagine?

**NOW LEAVING CARB CITY: TAKE THE 5 LBS. YOU GAINED FROM STRESS EATING ON SPAGHETTI JUNCTION WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO....**

INDIANA: Destination state reached. Indiana is the state of farms, and fields, and old barns, and fields, and farms, and old barns...and there's sort of these random cities dotted through the state, almost like they were plucked from obscurity elsewhere and just dropped in the middle of a field. in Indiana.

So that's the ride up. Pretty uneventful, yet a totally random (and great) experience, I will never forget. I can officially cross of my bucket list: Solo road trip. done and done.

Of course you don't think I would leave you without a little Americana Playlist, do you? Never! These little gems were played at random on shuffle during my time on the road....

1. Big Country- Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

2. I Cut Like A Buffalo- The Dead Weather

3. Blindsided- Bon Iver

4. Atlantic City- Bruce Springsteen version

5. Home- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

6. Silver Springs- Fleetwood Mac

7. Holding On- David Gray

8. The Woman For Me- Raylund Baxter

9. Now That You're Gone- Ryan Adams

10. Kiss The Bottle- Lucero

11. Wedding Bells- Lissie

12. Double Knots- Living Sisters

13. Mama, You Been On My Mind- Jeff Buckley

14. Fader- Temper Trap

15. Countdown- Phoenix

More to come on my (mis)adventures. Until next time-

xoxo. j.