the lows of life - the highs

what a night. very uplifting. i was just bumming around portsmouth, nh for the second day - and i had a good day. in the morning i got up and out to explore and saw a farmers market just around a pond, so i walked up there to peruse the local food offerings. really, i just wanted an apple but, surprisingly, there were only two folks selling apples and they didnt look very good. so i passed and walked on back towards my truck and sat at the library for a little bit.

when i left later i was just setting off to explore, it was a nice day. i wanted to walk along the water so i set off in that direction. shortly the sound of fiddles and flutes invaded my ears and a smile crept across my face. something pleasant awaited me. that pleasantry was the strawberry banke museum grounds. kind of like a reenactment of earlier times. it cost $15 to get in, but i slipped on by and started milling about.

i got to see some wine barrels being made, wool being loomed into yarn, a number of houses that were historically preserved and a number of other things. there was also a beer garden and a large food court area. at first i steered clear of there because i wasnt going to spend any money anyway, and the temptation might be overwhelming. but, after walking around some more i decided to go on into that food area and mill about.

there were hundreds of people around and many of them had multiple bowls in their hands, and i was really taken aback because who would buy so many of the same foods in bowls. and why were so many people purchasing so much of the same thing. shortly i figured it out. the bowls contained chili and all of the vendors inside were offering it for free. it was a chili contest. so i walked up to a vendor and said "i would like a bowl of chili."

she prepared one for me and handed it right over. then went on back to serve other people. i stood there for a moment and then asked her for a utensil. she looked at me a bit odd and reminded me that you got a spoon upon paid admission. i turned around quick and procured a spoon for a nearby wastebin. i proceeded to eat that chili and was happy. then i went to about three other places to have their chili and was soon very full. and very happy - free food is awesome.

then i went out and explored the grounds some more. i toured the orchards and the gardens, which was very nice. i picked some apples off a tree. very pleasant. then i left, i had been there for awhile, i continued walking toward the water. eventually i got to prescott park and sat there for awhile in the breeze and the sun, reading a book. it was just a beautiful autumn day with leaves of all colors fluttering in the wind, lovely.

after that i walked around downtown again, and then i started to get a little bit depressed. it was getting dark out and i hadnt found a nice place to just go sit for awhile, use the internet or read or something. there was a coffee shop but i was there the previous night and the wireless didnt work. really, i was just sad because it had been so long since i had seen someone i knew. it had been weeks since i showered and i just wasnt feeling very good about what i was doing or where i was at.

hey its garret!

i was just walking down the street, attempting to convince myself to just drive until i found people i knew, to just be around friends. and then. and then, a car turns the corner and someone yells out my name. divine intervention, i guess. staring at me with a smile on his face was my friend garret. how amazingly random. he went to park his car and then we caught up.

garret was my friend from work at the last place i worked in portland, i would take him to work every day and we would go out about once a week and just be friends. and that was a dark time for me, i was increasingly reclusive and cut myself off from all the friends that i had made the previous six years of living in portland, i hated my job and alot of aspects of my life. i took alot of that aggression out on garret, but we were still friends.

in the morning, when i was getting dressed i decided that i would wear my vest. it has been at the bottom of my closet since the beginning of my trip, i had been wearing my hoodie and a sweater instead of the vest, but for whatever reason this morning i decided to wear the vest. and that was how garret even saw me. he was as amazed as me to see my unique vest back walking down his streets. he had moved back here about a month ago. i tried to call him but we hadnt been able to reach each other.

so, we went to the coffee shop and hung out for an hour or so and then we went to some bars and met some other people, it was just so awesome. it was just what i needed, a huge pick-me-up. it is so nice to just have someone to show you around, to no longer be alone and invisible in the sea of people cascading around you. the first bar we went to was kind of fancy, but most of the places here are fancy. we had a couple beers and some good conversation.

and his friends!

then we went off walking some more, moved his car and had a slice of pizza. then we went to another bar, kind of like a sports bar, and had some more drinks, eventually some of his friends showed up and hung out with us. and it was just a fun night. i hadnt drank alot for awhile, and i was easily influenced by the drinks. five beers and about three shots of whiskey. eventually we went back to his friends house and hung out for a little bit longer.

i slept in my truck, and in the morning i went back into the house and took a shower. oh, how fucking glorious. i hadnt been able to shower since i left ithaca. i took a nice long shower and lathered well. i was happy. i was also a bit hungover. garret and his friend had to work this morning, at a popular diner downtown, i was invitied to come have some free food. i went there after the shower, but the place was so packed i decided against trying to get in there. instead i continued to walk around the downtown area, except with brand new eyes.

i slept in the municipal parking lot that night and it was the coldest i have ever been in my truck. i think some of it had to do with my truck being exposed on all sides, but it was also just a cold night. i slept, if you can call it that, fitfully. my feet were so cold that i had trouble staying asleep. garret called me in the morning and said that he brought some blankets for me. without prompting. that was a nice gesture.

me with sad brett.

we got together later in the day and, with two of his friends, went to a little mountain in new hampshire to have a hike. that was really fun. i havent gone on a hike in a place for awhile. when i was in ithaca, jesse and i walked around the park and finger lake there, but a hike, to me, involves uphill walking and some kind of vista. while this wasnt a large mountain, more like a hill, it peaked to a nice vista and we could see forest all around us. there were a few towns in the distance, and it was very pleasant up there.

i cannot stress enough how much being around friends has helped my demeanor. i feel totally rejuvnated right now and although it is getting colder much quicker than i had anticipated, i am looking positively on the rest of this trip. yay.