splityarn

here lies buried

Mum and I rolled into Boston late afternoon on Monday. I had a post planned with pictures of the front door, the beer I drank as soon as I walked in, the keys sitting on the table, something along those lines. Once my shoes came off however, I lost my mojo. We didn't unpack the car, but rather flopped on the couch, drank beer and ordered Chinese.

This morning, rejuvenated from a needed day off, Mum and I zipped up to the home of the famous witch trials in Salem, MA. What spookier day to spend there than October 31st.

Happy Halloween!

tomorrow is home

Our lunchtime stop today took us into Harrisonburg, Virginia. It just happens to be the home of the Virginia Quilt Museum. The beauty of planning a road trip with your mum is that you can schedule your stops wherever you want. We had a few knitting shops we were going to hit, but everything in the Shenendoah Valley seems to be closed on Sundays. The Quilt Museum is small, but very friendly with some beautiful old quilts. No photos allowed inside so you'll just have to trust me on that one.

Tonight after driving through Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, we've stopped in Frackville, Pennsylvania. It's as glamourous as it sounds and shockingly this is the second time I've stayed in this town. 424 miles (682 km) on the driving log. We're settled in for the evening to watch the baseball game and reknit half of what was knit last night. Guess Mum was too involved in watching the game.

Go Sox!

into Virginia

Fortified with homemade breakfast tacos in Nashville (our hosts are former Austinites,) we made a quick tour of downtown. We stopped outside the Ryman Auditorium (home to the Grand Ole Opry for a spell,) saw a few other sights and then headed back out onto the Interstate. We drove across Eastern Tennessee and into cruised into Virginia after lunch. The leaves are all turning through the rolling hills and the light was gorgeous. (And yep, I took that picture while I was driving 80 MPH, much to Mum's consternation. Gotta keep her on her toes.)

We finished up in Wytheville, Virginia logging 381 miles (614 km) before dinner. As we pulled into town to eat, we realized we'd picked the only parking spot out front of the fabric shop. There's a yarn store close by too, but it was already closed. We sniff them out instinctively I guess.

the music highway

The last time I drove through Tennessee (with The Husband in 2003,) we made a stop at Graceland in Memphis. We'd hoped to suss out the chapel as a potential spot to get married, but we hit town on a Tuesday in winter. As it happens, Graceland is closed every Tuesday in the winter. No go for us. This trip through Tennessee we planned ahead a little better. Graceland was open and everything I expected it to be. Super cheezy, full of everything Elvis and amazing 70's decor.

Mum and I giggled our way through the mansion tour. Not so much at the exhibits and the displays, but at the other tourists. Some of the women hadn't changed their hairstyles since Elvis died, some of the men hadn't changed their clothes since the same era. There was reverence, tears and a lot of hairspray.

Tonight we're with friends in Nashville, a respectable 459 miles under our belt. (738 km)

road trip begins

Normally when I go on a road trip, I like to get up early, get on the road before traffic and get the bulk of the day finished before lunch. Today we left Austin late, but with good reason. There was no way I could leave town without my last healthy dose of breakfast tacos, an Austin specialty. My fave is the chorizo and egg but the egg and bacon is a close second. (Although if you look on the menu, it's technically "Egg and Beacon.") I LOVE menu typos.

Day 1 is finished, Austin, Texas to Hope, Arkansas. 410 miles (660 km.) We stopped driving before dark and we're safely tucked in to watch the baseball game in Bill Clinton's birthplace. We'll get a good night's sleep and as of tomorrow morning I get to say that we'll be 'beyond Hope.' (I can't help it, it's the bad Dad joke teller in me.)

scene stealer

On the last few trips some of the only knitting I've done has been in airports and on the plane. I haven't made a heap of progress on anything and it's starting to get to me. I have The Husband's next sweater all planned out but I think it will have to wait until we get home from this weekend's trip to Boston. (I know, I know!) In the meantime I'll put the push on to finish this latest pair of socks. The Indigo Moon I picked up in Vancouver sat in the stash for all of a month before I wound it and cast on for the only Christmas knitting I'm going to do. The first sock is finished and I'm about to turn the heel on the second. If all goes well, I'll have an FO to show early next week.

*No socks were harmed in this photo shoot. Apparently kittens don't come with any sense of knitting etiquette.

**Dig Indy! She made it to ICHC

back to the airport

relaxing
Originally uploaded by splityarn.

We're saying goodbye to the beach in Plymouth and finally heading home to Austin. Although I'll miss being steps from the water, I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at home. Kitties, my sewing machine and my own bed. Sweeeet!

we really ARE the jetset

We're home from Norwich, CT for three minutes before we fly out tomorrow to Vancouver. I've been looking forward to this last wedding stop on the tour not only because of the family we'll see, but  because it's my old hometown. We'll be busy, but it will be easy. No directions to look up, no worries about where to eat or stay, just kickin' back in a city where we can walk everywhere and where we (mostly) know where everything is. Familiar haunts, good Canadian beer and the best sushi, I can't ask for much more.

oui, c'est bon

I'm thinking it will be easier to pretend that I'm away for a month instead of saying that I'm away most weekends in June and July. I'm really only home two days out of the week until mid month. It's just enough time at home to kiss the kitties hello, upload pictures to flickr, do the laundry, pack and head back out to the airport. Posts over the next month may be all pictures and lists. Might as well start now, right?

Here's what I loved about Montreal:

- Going to a beautiful wedding in a lovely chapel at McGill. (That's #2 for the summer if you're keeping track at home.)

- 2.5 meals a day and late night hours. Eat brunch when you roll out of bed in the early afternoon, dinner at 10, and a snack before bed at 5am.

- The W. It's akin to staying in a hipster nightclub, but well worth it. You won't find a cranky tourist anywhere inside.

- I'm still fluent in french. (My slang sucks but I can still speak the language. Hey Mum, the early immersion program worked!)

like the sign says

In the dead of night, we're home from wedding #2 in Montreal. I can't decide which is tomorrow's top priority: downloading pictures from the trip or doing the laundry so we can pack to leave again for wedding #3? Only a good nights sleep in my own bed can sort this one out.