Boston, MA

Sensory overload. I took the Amtrak up to Boston on Monday and my senses have not been worked more than that in my life. Sight, smell, taste, hearing, emotions, it was all a crazy time of this trip. But well worth it. I am now on an Amtrak heading to New York City, to spend a little time with my friend Andy, who was the person I was climbing with when I fell down the mountain three summers ago. I have not seen him since, so I am so excited to see him and talk with him about his experiences.

Okay, so Boston. Amazing place! And small enough to get to the important places by walking and riding the subway. The train took me just a short walk from where I would be staying for the two nights I was going to be in Boston.

 
For my two nights here, I was trying something new for me that I had never done before. I was going to stay in a hostel because that was the cheapest way of going about it and I figured that I would be able to positively impact the most amount of people that way. I got to my hostel and started to figure out how that was working and then I went out to go walk around a bit. I was going to stay in a room that had 3 other guy that would be my roommates.

I grabbed a map of the city and saw there was a little walking tour called the "Freedom Trail" that went past all of the historic sites from the Revolutionary period. As I was walking around, I was instantly amazed of all of the history that has taken place here. I found the cemetery where Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams were buried.

This is the building where the Declaration of Independence was first read, off of the balcony with the American flag above it.

I walked past the Old North Church, where a man signaled with lanterns from the steeple that the British were coming by sea to attack, before Paul set out on his ride to alert the town of Lexington.

I walked down to the harbor to enjoy a nice walk on the boardwalk area. It was really cool because there were basketball hoops and tennis courts right down there by the sea.

 I was making my way back to the hostel and I walked past the oldest restaurant and tavern in America and since I studied restaurants in school I thought that was pretty interesting.

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I made my way back to the hostel and it turned out that my roommates were already sleeping so I quietly found my way to my bed.

So heres the news about the hostel, because that was a new experience for me. It was a very traveler friendly place with people from all over the world in it. Everyone was so friendly and mostly just wanted to talk and here about your travels and journeys. There was a common room for people to hang out and talk and relax and there was a kitchen and dining room area. The hostel offered a free breakfast and when I would go in in the morning, everyone else was also there eating.

There was a time yesterday that I needed a little relaxation from my adventures of the day, so I went in the dining room and grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to do a little thinking and writing. It wasn't too long before I got in a conversation with a young women from Ireland and soon enough a very old women from England joined in. It was the coolest way to meet all types of people while traveling which is half the fun of traveling. Experiencing how other people live their lives is very interesting to me and I think will one day help me to open a great restaurant that is really able to serve all types of people.

On Tuesday morning I woke up without any real plans of what was going to take place so I started walking and stumbled upon Paul Revere's actual house so I had to go in and learn the history.

Next, I saw that the Samuel Adams brewery was giving free tours throughout the day, so I hopped on the subway en route to the brewery. It was a very well done tour and the tour guide was able to answer many questions about the history and future of Samuel Adams beer.

It turned out that it was about lunch time after the tour, so I hopped back on the subway and headed towards the Harvard area. I walked around the campus for a little while and stopped at a great burger place for lunch.

After visiting Harvard, is when I went back to the hostel and sat and drank some coffee and talked and wrote. I then saw that there was a Red Sox game at Fenway Park that night, so I headed over in that direction. I was going to walk right up and buy a ticket but it turns out they were sold out, so instead, I sat at a bar and watched the game. It was a great time and I was able to talk with a whole bunch of new people at the bar. I will tell you that you can recognize a Bostonian immediately. They have a different way of living than the way I grew up in the South so it has been so much fun experiencing these new cultures while still remaining in the same country.

Just to say I did it, when the game was over I walked right into the stadium and looked around and checked out the "Green Monstah" as they call it. That makes my fourth ball park I have been inside on this trip so far and I don't think it will end there.

I got back to the hostel last night and was able to talk with Momma Hay for a little while. It had been a while since we had last talked and we had the greatest talk ever. I told her about what all I was going through and she really listened and was able to give me examples from her life about what she did in similar circumstances. I was so  so thankful to have that talk with her last night. I love you Mom!

This morning I woke up and had my breakfast in the hostel and sat at a huge park and had some time to write and think about things. I departed for my train, which is were I am sitting now writing this blog. Next you here from me will be a post from New York City and I will be ready to have my senses overloaded again.

"With every opportunity in life, there is always something that will be lost, but if loss is what is constantly focused on, loss is what will always be had" -unknown

Ryan

Heading up to Boston, MA

I am currently sitting on an Amtrak train going north to Boston to begin the next leg of my journeys. It has been nice and necessary to stay with my family in Sterling for these past couple of weeks because as I have said before, traveling places without much knowledge of the area and trying to learn as much about the place as possible has been a little stressful and a lot of work. Therefore it has been wonderful getting to stay with my family and enjoy their company and still doing a ton of fun things.

Yesterday, I woke up early and headed up to Shenandoah National Park to go on a hike and check out that area.

It was nice to go on a solo hike and be in my own thoughts for a few hours before making this new leg of my trip. I continue to notice that there are more and more trees in the east than the west. I am mostly used to the western part of the country as far as the outdoors goes, so it's cool to see this change in environment.

I hiked about a ten mile loop and didn't run into too many people so it was pretty nice. 

I hiked past a few places where the Appalachian Trail crossed my path and I thought that was cool how people make that pilgrimage on foot 2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine. Who knows, maybe one day that could be an adventure I embark on.

As for now, I will focus on this time in my life and try not to take things for granted like the free time that I have had to take this voyage. People have told me that this is one of the few times in life that I will have free time like this so I better enjoy it.

 

Taking things for granted is something that I pray that I don't do, yet it still happens. Even though three years ago I went through an accident that, by human standards, should have ended my life, I still take a few things for granted. It has definitely made me appreciate more things in life, but I still fall victim to not appreciating things every once in a while. Take it from my experience that you are living in a beautiful world and as long as you wake up in the morning, you don't have much to complain about. There were a few mornings after my accident that I didn't wake up and sure that made me who I am today, I never want to go through something like that again. All I know is that everything that happens in life gives glory to God and as long as that is taking place, it's all good! His plans are better than our plans.

What are you taking for granted that you don't need to?

Ryan

Biking with Uncle Dave

My Uncle enjoys a good bike ride around the area which is nice because so do I. He knows of many good trails to ride on so I was trusting his judgement on this one. He picked out a cool old train track that they had taken the rail off of and paved it over for a bike trail. It was about a 17 mile ride to the town of Purcellville, VA.

We got up to Purcellville and we were going to meet Aunt Sandy for lunch. We got there a few minutes before her and saw a distillery up the street. It turned out that they were having a tour right when we were there so we decided to go in for the tour. This was interesting for me because I had never been on a distillery tour. It was nice because it was a small place called Catoctin Creek Distillery and there were very few people on the tour so we were able to ask questions.

We had delicious lunch at a cool burger place. I happened to stumble upon a candy bar malt milkshake and this thing was crazy. It had Butterfingers, Snickers, and fudge inside of this milkshake making this, most likely, the best milkshake that is in America.

We departed shortly after lunch going back down the same path and had a great time riding past beautiful farms and small towns and we had a lot of fun.

Well that's all I got for you this time because I we are having a lovely time out on the deck in the beautiful weather.
Ryan

Happy birthday America!

On July 4th, Uncle Dave, Sarah, and I decided to do the wild thing and go back down to D.C to really have a good celebration in America. They were having a concert right in front of the Capital building with John Williams, Patti Labelle, Phillip Phillips, Jordin Sparks, Michael McDonald, and Sara Evans among others.

We found a good area to stand in the massive crowd and really enjoyed the concert and the night because it was the perfect temperature to be outside and was a really beautiful night. It was such a fun way to spend the 4th of July and we saw some cool fireworks right behind the Washington Monument.

I was very happy with out 4th of July choice of being in the heart of America for it. After the celebration, we met Sandy and Andrew at IHOP and had a good meal before bed.

Thanks America!

Ryan

More of Washington D.C.

A couple of days ago on the 3rd of July, I decided to make a solo journey into Washington D.C. I was going to take the Metro into the city, so I made some minor plans and set in my ways.

I first started walking around the National Mall and it turned out they were having a Folklife Festival that the Smithsonian was putting on. It was really cool because they had tents set up of several different countries such as China and Kenya. They had foods from the different areas and had bands from that country playing their music and that was a fun (and a bit touristy) way of opening my mind to new cultures.

I continued walking down the mall towards the Lincoln Memorial. Along the way I passed by the White House, the World War II Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and of course the Washington Monument. I think it is cool that both the World War II Memorial and Korean War Memorial are dedicated to both of my grandfathers and the many other heroes who have allowed me to walk around in this country without worrying about too much.

After that I went into the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. It started raining at the perfect time so as to get everyone else out of line and I was able to walk right in basically. I walked in and saw them and thought it was really neat how those were the first documents that made America. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures of them, but Im sure everyone remembers what they look like from their 5th grade textbooks.

It was about lunch time for me so I took the Metro up town a little bit to a little spot that has been on the Food Network on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was a soul food kitchen with fried chicken and world famous macaroni and cheese and I was very happy with this place.

I walked back down to the Mall to check out the area and took the Metro back home after that. It was a very fun day of exploring Washington D.C.

Stay tuned, I might have several days to catch you up on.

Ryan

Nationals game and more thoughts on life

This morning I have woken up slowly and went on my morning walk. I am drinking my coffee writing this blog so it has been a relaxing morning thus far. I love waking up early in the morning and spending a little quiet time by myself. It is enjoyable for me seeing the colors of the sunrise and watching everything waking up in the morning with the sounds of the birds as you walk around. Sitting down and having time to slowly drink my coffee is my favorite part of the day. I wake up and spend a little time talking with God. This is my favorite time to talk it over with God because I am able to talk with him about filling my day up with positive things for Him and for me. I then head out on my morning walk and get all of the blood flowing throughout my body to prepare me for the day.

On Tuesday night, my family and I was able to go to the Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies game at Nationals Park. This was going to make the third ball park that I have been to so far on this trip and hopefully it won't end there. I would like to make it into some of the big ball parks like Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

It was lots of fun because finally my cousin Andrew was off work for a couple of days so I was able to spend time with him. He works basically a night shift at Dulles Airport and so I haven't been able to see much of him since I have been here.

Yesterday Andrew and I was able to go to the NRA shooting range and museum and have a good time there. We shot his .45 pistol and his 12 gauge shotgun and had lots of fun destroying our targets.

Yall have a good day.
Ryan

Getting in more family time in Sterling, VA

I have been able to have more family time here in Sterling. We have been able to experience a whole bunch. My sister had to fly back to Dallas this morning, but more adventures are still awaiting. On Sunday, Uncle Dave took Sarah, Heather, and myself out to play around and get new experiences. We stopped by Great Falls Park to look at the falls.

Next we went over to Reagan National Airport because you are able to watch planes sail directly above your head as they approach for landing. We have always come here, ever since we were all young children and it was fun to be back because the planes get so close to your head and its exciting.

Next, Uncle Dave took us to Georgetown, right outside of the D.C area because it is a hip, young college town area. We walked around and went into such a cool grocery store that had crazy, exotic foods and I love my grocery stores so I was very happy. We sat down to have some snacks that we picked up and relaxed for a bit and talked about things like "what exactly a macaroon is" and other important things along those lines.

One of my families favorite things to do is feast on blue crab. At my grandparents house back in the day, Grumpy, our grandad, was able to catch them right off his dock. Ever since I was young, on every vacation up to Virginia, we would have a crab dinner where the whole family would come over and throw newspaper on the deck table and we would all feast on the Old Bay seasoned blue crab. Those are some of my best memories that Grumpy was able to give us. We havent been able to have a crab dinner since he passed away a couple years ago so Uncle Dave said he knew the best place in D.C to get fresh blue crab and we were going to have a crab dinner here in Sterling.

It was the funnest time picking out those crabs and bringing them back to cook. Just like the old days, we layered the deck table with newspaper and came to eating a few dozen blue crab and it was such a great time. And I was especially happy that the tradition was able to carry on.

Yesterday on Monday, the whole family except for our cousin Andrew was off of work. I was able to take Golfer in to get serviced to keep its maintenance up to date. When I got back from that, we went on a rafting voyage down the Shenandoah River. This was truly one of the most relaxing things I have done in a long time so it helped me out a whole bunch to get everything out of my mind for a little bit.

 

Uncle Dave has a pretty good talent for barbequing meat. For dinner last night, we had some of his special "Texas Crutch" brisket that he smoked days earlier. We had a good last night with Heather being up here and was able to play a little cornhole after dinner.

It was good seeing you Heather!
Ryan