9/20: Linden to Princeton Part 2

9/20: Linden to Princeton: Part 2

As we walked we talked, I was almost disturbed about how different Princeton was from any other place I'd been. It seemed as if there was a bubble of well being around the town. Even when we'd been smoking a spliff on her back porch, there was no fear that anyone would take notice. Strange considering any other place I'd been in New Jersey, if you stopped more than a couple of seconds someone official would show up and tell me to "move along move along."  I kept saying "this is so weird" unable to shake the disturbing feeling that I'd just stepped into some kind of Stepford scenario.  Shaking it off as we arrived at the Seminary School, the gothic tower standing dark, an ominous finger only noticeable by the void of stars.

9/20: Linden to Princeton: Part 1

9/20/2012:  Linden, NJ to Princeton, NJ Part One.
I woke with a start. Having forgotten to set my alarm the night before I knew I'd woken up late before checking my phone for the time. This was going to be a problem, it was a 31 mile run to Princeton, and even if I caught the train at Princeton Junction into the Borough, I'd needed to be up at 6AM to start. I fumbled with my backpack, shoving items in willy nilly. By the end it looked more like a tinkers bundle than the neatly packed rucksack I'd started out with. I listened at the door, knowing that the viewing was over given the late hour (10:00AM). Heading downstairs, I heard a voice call up.

9/19: Montclair, NJ to Linden, NJ Part 2: Say goodbye to A&P

9/19/2012: Montclair to Linden, NJ
I had a place to stay in Linden, I knew it wasn't going to be easy getting there. I'd been advised to stay off of Route 1, as it would have taken me through the heart of Newark. Once I'd passed through East Orange, (essentially the West Side of Newark) I figured I could pop back over to '1 and make up some time getting to Linden. Stopping at a bus stop to get some rest, a woman and her son were waiting on public transportation.  Curious about my pack he asked me if I'd been in the military. Giving the same answer I do every time I said 

9/19: Montclair, NJ - Linden, NJ Part 1 "We'll have to close it down..."

9/19/2012: Montclair to Linden: Part 1
I got started relatively early in the morning after a hearty breakfast of beans, rice and eggs. Cookie and I wasted some time, delaying my inevitable departure. It's hard enough saying "goodbye" to strangers along the way, it's doubly hard to walk away from friends. Especially friends that I see so rarely. I think both of us had tears in our eyes as we hugged, I posed for a picture, then headed South.

9/18: Montclair, New Jersey

Montclair, NJ: After my weekend in New York City I was ready chill for a minute with my homie Cookie.  As one of the most generous souls I've ever met, she went through the trouble of picking up supplies for my feet.  She tried to insist that I leave the housework to the professionals, namely her, but I told her to go screw and started doing the dishes.

9/17 New York City: Occupied Part 3

9/17/2012 12:00PM - End of Day
Huzzah! I'd heard from my friend from the station and made my way to the back of the park. We were to meet at the Statue of Liberty Cruise terminal, which as it turns out I'd wandered past earlier and completely ignored.

By the time we'd met up the Occupy folks had cleared out for the second half of the days actions. I gave my buddy a heads up about how to keep track of the days events and we settled on posting up somewhere in the financial district so he could keep a weather eye out.

9/17: New York City; Occupied Part 2

9/17/2012 10:00AM - 12:00PM
I'd gotten word from my UNregular friend that he'd be in town shortly before noon. That gave me plenty of time to wander Battery Park and surrounding areas, so I hit a grocery store to grab a bite and set up across the street from the park. 

9/17: New York City: Occupied; Part 1

9/17/12 7:00AM - 10:00AM

I woke in the tiniest room imaginable. Birds were chirping, a plus considering the past two mornings I'd woken to snores. Regardless of how harmonious or gentle birds were a nice change of pace. I'd heard a fellow UNregular staffer was on his way down, and last word put him on the Chinatown bus at 2:00AM. My ass needed to get across the bridge to meet him near the Chinatown stop.

I ate a fast breakfast, bolting my food and getting my pack together. I wasn't sure if I'd be back to the house that day so I had to hump my pack about with me.  Stopping by a street vendor I grabbed a cup of coffee and set myself up near a fountain to eat a granola bar and get my bearings. It was only two blocks to the nearest train station, so I shouldered my pack and headed North, stopping at a second street vendor for another cuppa.

9/16 New York, NY: Please Don't Go...

My eyes popped open to a choir of snores. Every third or fourth breath they would sync in harmony. The exhaustion of the past couple days hit me like a bag of hammers. Five hours of sleep on a cement floor did fuck all to do anything other than make me want to sleep more. Walking from Stamford, CT to New Rochelle, NY while wandering around points in between had done me in. I knew if I didn't get some kind of quality rest between now and when I left New York, I'd be destroyed by Philadelphia.

9/15 Brooklyn, NY - Sunset Park #opwalkabout

I woke Saturday morning with a start to three snoring Slovenians. 

I wasn't sure where the fourth had gone, I was assuming he was asleep on the porch or on whatever floor space he could nab in the mad rush to pass out the evening before. Hoping to keep from waking them I tiptoed around the tiny apartment, I'd been brusque at best the evening before and I wanted to make a clean getaway. I packed the top third of my bag putting things away quietly and stepped onto the porch for the mornings first cigarette.  Taking in the early morning air from the 9th floor, the suburb of New York I was staying in had just started to wake up.

9/13 - 9/14 Stamford, CT - New Rochelle, NY "You can't sleep here"

Stamford and points South stood to be a challenge. I hadn't had a chance to hop on a computer for a couple of days, and with my increasingly dodgy connection in Port Chester it looked as if I was sleeping out that night.

The stretch of road between Stamford and Greenwich, CT reminded me of much of my journey. Gas stations and chain grocery stores, still to early in the morning for attendants to be anything other that surly. I stepped into a station about a mile outside of the city to purchase a map, seeing that they were all for CT or New England, it wouldn't have done me much good. I thanked the proprietor and headed out.

9/12 Fairhaven to Stamford, CT "The Calm Before the Storm"

After parting ways with Cassie and Joe, I knew I needed to beat feet South and quickly. 

I only had so much time to get to New York and (hopefully) post up far enough away from the Occupy Wall Street madness to stay out of it. My contact in Port Chester hadn't been picking up his phone so I wasn't holding my breath for a soft place to sleep in the next couple of days.  As I travelled South on Rt. 1 I was constantly having to over compensate for shitty Connecticut drivers. It seems that they weren't in the habit of looking ahead while operating their vehicles, for some reason they'd notice me on the side of the road and practically swerve into the other lane to "avoid" me.

9/11 Resting in Newtown, CT #opwalkabout

I hadn't realize how homesick I was until Cassie pulled up to the Mental Health ward at Bridgeport Hospital. I'd been running on emotional empty for a few days. The support I was getting from home seemed increasingly distant, so having a loved one right there to give me a hug and hold my hand while spewing my fears was necessary. We spent the day in thrift stores, played with her dogs and talked about food, hitting the hay early to start off fresh the next day.

I love my friends.

9/8 - 9/9 Old Saybrook, CT to Wallingford, CT #opwalkabout

I set out from Old Saybrook, CT with the road stretching South and West before me.

My goal was to make Guilford, CT by night fall, the weather looked ominous, but at least the wind was a nice change from the previous days retarding humidity. Spotting the difference between townie and tourist in coastal Connecticut towns is like playing "Old or Asian" in Quincy, I sort of wished I had a walking buddy at that point to keep me company and make guesses along with me as I picked folks out during the morning commute.

9/7: #opwalkabout Old Saybrook, CT via New London

I got off the bus in New London, CT at around 9PM, hoping that the hotel wasn't booked up.  

When I called a few hours before they still had rooms available, albeit for on-season prices. I walked up to the hotel, a respectable four miles out, landing at the Red Roof inn at around 10:30PM and checking into their cheapest available room. I showered and unpacked my bag, hanging my pants still wet from the downpour in Providence.

9/4 - 9/5 Providence, RI With New Friends

http://smallbitesrhodeisland.blogspot.com

Once the rain stopped I got a chance to dry my feet out, fruitless endeavor though it was. 

The foot powder I'd put in my shoes the night before was caked between my toes and ground into what was left of the blister on my right foot. 

9/6 #opwalkabout on compromise and Coventry, RI

As soon as I heard the news, the only thing I could think was "I need food."

Spotting a sign for the Old Theater Diner, I hoofed it off the road and through the busy parking lot. Slow for lunch time, the attending demographic seemed to be in the 60 - 75 bracket, some wheeling oxygen tanks.  A quiet spot to digest more than the fact that my camping leg in Northern CT was axed. I needed to have a good hard think, and there's no better way to do it than over a good hash omelet.

9/10 #opwalkabout: Bridgeport, CT and Neon Hightops

"Are you sure you want to go through Bridgeport? It's pretty rough"

Thus far I've been through the "South Side" of most cities and towns between Boston and New Haven. That's not saying much. Elmwood Ave. and surrounding areas in Providence, RI remind me of Roslindale/ Roxbury. If you'll pardon the turn of phrase, it's pussy shit in comparison to Bridgeport. 

9/1 #opwalkabout takes $%&*# Fest

To backtrack a bit (har har), Brittany, my Providence host, was a find on couchsurfing.org, or rather she found me. I'd posted a request on my itinerary for Providence, it seemed like moments later when I got a hit.

9/1 - 9/3 #opwalkabout Providence layover and precipitation

The extended stop in Rhode Island put the brakes on my go-go-go attitude. The mentality has served for sheer volume of work, but in the case of traveling distance it's been necessary to set a pace as aggravating as it's been.