Traveling And Celebrating

Hi Friends and Readers,

I hope everyone is having a great summer. It's been 4 years since I've spent a summer in Maryland, and I'm having fun. Writing. Sweating. Drinking National Bohemian Beer with my friends. Watching movies. Going to concerts like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Going to parties. Eating sushi. It's good to be able to do things that I've missed in past summers: The Dyer Family Pig Party, The State College Arts Festival, Father's Day.

Summers have always been special to me. All four of my bike tours happened in the summer, and so summer feels like the season of travel. My body and mind have been programed. But this summer I'm enjoying my time in Maryland. I'm writing about my past travels, and also enjoying my daily travels. Through my journals and photographs, I've been reliving my time in Yosemite, and I plan on posting some Yosemite pictures sometime soon. Below you will see some more posts about Spain. I might add a few more later.

Now on to the celebration. Today, July 22, was a special day. My friends Travis and Mary both celebrated their birthday today. They were born 27 years ago, and we had a fine party this evening. I missed their co-birthday last summer because I was on the bike tour. And so it was good to gather with family and friends, this year, and celebrate. A warm summer night. Torches in the backyard. The sounds of conversation and laughter. 8 pizzas. 1 chocolate cake. 27 candles. Happy Birthday Travis and Mary! Thanks to Valerie and Russell, Travis's parents, for hosting the co-birthday party!

Travis just got back from Ecuador, where he was traveling for 31 days. He told us about his travels, but I still need to see his photographs.

Travis is not my only friend to use Summer 2008 as a stage for a big adventure. My friend Debbie is currently hiking the 500-mile Colorado Trail with her friend Stacey. She is almost 200 miles into her adventure. Keep up the good work Debbie! Take it easy, but take it!

My brother's good friend Kyle is currently riding his bicycle across the US, following the TransAmerica Trail. He started in Yorktown, VA, and now he's in Montana. Very nice, Kyle, very nice. Kyle's blog can be seen here.

My friends Phil and Miles just finished riding their motorcycles across the United States. They started in State College, PA, and rode west. Miles stopped riding in Portland, OR. Phil ended in San Francisco. I talked to Phil the to other night. He was all excited, the momentum of the adventure was still fresh in his mind.

My friend Hanns has traveled to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. He might still be out there traveling, but I'm not really sure. Hanns! Where are you? Are you back in Aspen?

And my friend Jake Belvin is still living and traveling in the Middle East. Jake is stationed in Baghdad. His morale seems to be good, and I've enjoyed reading about his daily adventures and travels on his blog. I look forward to Jake's homecoming and also to our future adventures.

The road is long and life is short. It feels good to get out and stretch the legs and the mind.

Travel safe, my friends, travel safe. I'll talk to you soon.

Jeff