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01/29/2004 Entry: "visited map"



create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide


So I stole this link from Guy's Blog.
Most of the states I have covered have been driving trips. In Summer 2001 I drove from California to Washington with a lot of the feedback poets and Jeannie to the poetry nationals in Seattle. I took a trip around the southwest with Jeannie in 2002 where we went to Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada( las vegas baby!!!!), then last August the Louder arts support group drove from NY to Chicago to another poetry nationals, stopping much too often along the way, taking pictures of dirty billboards and scaring people at gas stations.
The reason I have visited most of the southern states, besides having lived in Miami, and having relatives in North Carolina is that when I was thirteen we, my family and I, drove to mexico. That's right to Mexico from New York. It took us six days altogether. We stopped in every state along the way, eating in greasy diners and taking pictures of local stuff, none of which are in any photo albums. It was a fairly comfortable trip in the 1977 Powder Blue Cadillac Seville with a white vinyl top and white leather interior. The only problem with that car is that we slid along the back seat every time my Dad made a turn. We went sloshing from side to side hitting whichever door was closest to the turn. It doesn't sound so horrible but it really added to car sickness. Everyone in the back was always throwing up the baloney and cheese sandwiches that my Mom would make for us at the gas station convenience stores.
We stopped in Texas for a few days to visit with my cousin at one of the Air Force bases. HE took us to visit the Alamo and crap like that, it looked like an adobe restroom house in some wild west truck stop, complete with snack machines and water fountains. I liked Mexico much better. We drove all the way down to Acapulco and over to the Yucatan to see the pyramids; Vomiting after every narrow mountain curve. We made it to the Aztec ruins. I remember running up and down the steps to the pyramid of the sun. I remember it gave me a sense of sadness, and loneliness even though it was crawling with tourists, like some part of me belonged there but knowing most of me didn't.