The Sam May Welcome Back Tour 2013.

I'm not really sure if you can have a welcome back tour after only being gone for 6 months but who writes the rules here?  From Mid-September to Mid-October I embarked on freaking long road trip with countless hours to myself and many more miles under my belt. I drove about 6100 miles and one day drove 20 hours straight from California to Oklahoma.  In total it was about 91 hours of drive. Crazy right? 

It was fun, I saw so much of the United States that I had never seen before. At moments I felt like I was in a National Geographic magazine. I was constantly on my toes. I think I hit every type of weather situation including a strange snowstorm. I found myself excited to be drive the flat plain lands after all my mountain driving, especially at night.  I plan on explaining more and giving some of the major spots a spotlight blog post.  A lot of this depends on what pictures I have. My memory card crashed the other day and I'm still trying to sort through the salvageable photographs over the last two months. Story of my life.

With that, I'm going to leave you with some of the songs that kept me awake. Don't worry, there is very little 90s music in this one. That might be on the next roadtrip mix. 

Wake Up: Roadtrip Mix from beautyinherveins on 8tracks Radio.

Boston: The Magical City

Okay, okay.

Boston, magical? 

Yes, Boston is a historically enriched city. It is also a beautiful beautiful city and the surrounding suburbs lead you to enchanted woods and hidden railroad tracks. 

I've had the best time with my friend Ashley. 

I landed back in the United States on Wed., September 11. Ash sent me on a wild goose chase with all my luggage taking the bus and walking blocks with a huge suitcase and backpacker's backpack. The chase left me at the Thinking Cup for hours. But it was great to finally be able to sit and kind of just turn my brain off. I had kind of an overwhelming emotional almost meltdown  once I landed and the first thing I saw was the American flag and the questioning,  What the hell am I doing here? 

But once I saw Ashley I knew we were going to have a great time. But had no idea how amazing of a time we could have in just 2 days. We've had no agenda that's taken us to the most amazing places. 

I remember on Thursday at the end of the day, I was laying on the floor saying this was the best day ever. This was the most perfect 24 hours. But in return, it became the best 48 hours. 

Day 1: Amazing Omelets, Walden Pond, Swimming, Traintracks, Flower fields, Peach Berry Ice-cream

Day 2: Cambridge, SOFRA Bakery, Sesame  Latte, Harvard Bookstore, The Garment District, Beautiful Vintage Skirts, Flour Bakery and Cafe, Rain,  Indian Food 

Now, I'm going to overwhelm you with photos. Enjoy.

\

A seasoned traveler

who manages to always, ALWAYS have a mishap. 

Smooth Sailing- i breeze through the ticket counter thanks to my muscleman. That's boyfriend in case you didn't catch on. Grabbed a cup of coffee, said the suppressed tearful goodbye, breezed though airport security (although, this is Africa. I'm not sure if that really is a good thing.. what else is new) saw my terminal was A1. I went and sat and waited- then waited. Boarding time was 7:30.

I glance at my phone, it's 7:28...hmmm not too much going on down here, looked at my gate. A1. Seemed to be in the right place, then i start seeing attendants and not in the correct airline colors. 7:35, I get up and decided to ask an attendant once i hear jabbering from other people sitting next to me about Munich. I looked confused, the attendant looked confused. Finally I was told I needed to be at A11 which is all the way down on the opposite side of the airport. Well shit. 

I call the boyfriend running down and around screaming I've been at the wrong gate for the last 40 minutes. As if i'm already drawing enough attention to myself, i realize my boots give the appearance that there is a galloping horse in the airport.  I hang up the phone and arrive at A11. It's desolate, NOONE is there. No signs saying anything. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. 

I run and ask someone. they have no clue. Run into a lounge where a woman tells me my gate is A30. Just go back the way you came, take a right at the escalator and down there ramp. Say what, I have no idea waht you're talking about. 

"Well you better run, because boarding started 20 minutes ago..." 

Frantically running and finally finding an escalator hidden in a secret corner. Sweating. Out of Breath. I made my flight and 30 minutes later another group of people rush onto the plane. 

I ran for this ?

Being a tourist, finally.

Yesterday was good. Not just good but great.

I finally felt like a tourist in the city I live in. Not the annoying kind but just truly curious kind. I had the perfect excuse too. My friends, Debbie and Paul, from Scotland were visiting a township in the area and had a day to spare. Luckily for me, they spent it with me.

I managed to convince Jayde to take a half day as well. I'm so glad he could take off work. I went to the embassy earlier in the morning and killed a couple hours in Sandton at Nelson Mandela Square. I went into a store and spent money I didn't mean to. So, after decided to kill time in a coffeeshop and grab a sandwich to keep myself from the temptation of spending unnecessary money.

After a couple hours, Jayde, Debbie and Paul picked me up and we went on a whirlwind tour of Johannesburg. We went over the Mandela Bridge and headed to Newtown.

Newtown was pretty dead on a Monday but Paul got some much needed fried chicken to make it worth our while. Newtown is a really cool part of the city. It's filled with history, old buildings and is known for it's artistic culture and museums.

Then we went to braamfontein. I like braamfontein a lot. It's filled with lots of little coffeeshops and boutiques. We went to one and I can't remember the name for the life of me but we all got the daily brew which wasn't coffee at all but a mix of mint + honey + lemon + one other ingredient that has left my mind blank. The shop designs of the area are so fun and colorful. Very much the minimalistic style.  Also, my kind of style. My next goal is to head to braamfontein on a Saturday to check out the Neighbourgoods Market.

After we got our architectural and coffeeshop kicks we went to the Johannesburg Botanical gardens. Despite it being winter right now, it was actually a perfect afternoon to take a walk and explore nature.
The botanical gardens have a lot to offer and my personal favorite. The rose garden with perfectly placed benches to take the beauty in and smell the aroma.

It was a great day and we ended the night with sitting down for dinner, drinking sangria and chatting the night away until we had to depart from our friends.

Although it was a whirlwind of the city, I'd say it was a pretty successful Johannesburg in 24 hours.

Phase two: Oregon and the art of being lost

What a lovely day for an adventure and a perfect day to get lost.
The day after I quit my job I went to Oregon for a few days ro rejuvenate and spend some quality time with friends and family. I even managed to adult-nap Jessi Duke and put her in my suitcase.

It was great fun. We surprised everyone with her arrival. There were laughs, hugs and quite of a few tears. Truly, there is nothing fabricated about that statement. It was refreshing to be back with familiarity and be with a handful of people that know me. I miss that.

For the weekend, there were two teams. Team 306 and Team Ritz. It's not like there was really a competition or anything of the sort, it's just easier for clarification. Team 306 consists of two of my best friends, Jessi Duke and Bethany Lomas. Jessi Duke is the map master and Bethany Lomas and I, not so much.

Adventure One: A superbowl party in Albany, Oregon with the Marks Family. 

Let's be honest. I don't care about football in the slightest. Although the Destiny's Child reunion was worth it. Guilty Pleasure.  I have a lot of adopted families that take me in as their own. The Marks' family being one of them. Team 306 and Team Ritz set out. We mapped the location and got to a place where Beth said, "I got this." Miscommunication happened. I thought she knew the rest of the route but "I got this meant" she know how the interchange worked. We ended up 20 miles out of the wrong direction. Eventually on the right track, and a few messages inquiring about our ETA, we managed to get there. Spending the afternoon eating and hottubbing and watching the concert with a football game. Then we were off.

Adventure Two: Saint Helens, Oregon.

"Sam, Are we supposed to be in Washington?" Bethany asks.
"No, but the map says we are going the right way." I say.  "I think we are going to cross back into Oregon.

Lesson learned: Always trust your instinct. Especially if you've been there before and all of a sudden going a completely different route than normal.

Normally the "map master" would have charge of the map but her phone fell down a toilet and she  was using one of those non-smartphones. About an hour later, we find ourselves driving in the middle of nowhere, surrounded my darkness.

"Do you recognize where we are going" Bethany asks.
"Oh sure, I think we are really close." I reply.

To be honest, I had no idea where we were but I continued to follow the directions.
Then began to look at the map.

If you are noticing something wrong you are absolutely right.

"Beth, don't be nervous but I would recommend driving slower. We might be running into a body of water soon. I'm sure it's just me misreading something though."

Nope, I was reading correctly. We were in fact running into a body of water. Wazemaps, There is no bridge!

We get to our final stop where we cannot go any further and I make a phone call. See the thing about that body of water is, it's the distance to where we were wanting to go, which was less than a mile. If we would have flashed our lights, my family across the water would have been able to see us.

This little mistake cost us over an hour. We were not supposed to be in Washington, we were supposed to be in Oregon. But it's the little things that keep us with an adventurous spirit. Plus, it was quality time with some of my greatest friends.

After a while, we made it. Greeted with laughs and wine with friends and family. Later graced with Team Ritz, we spent the rest of the night chatting, drinking wine and hot tubbing.

I always love going to my family's house. They have this amazing house that overlooks the water and it's the perfect retreat. We didn't get to go sailing this time around. Sadly, there was no wind but we did get to take a boat ride and enjoy the day.

I could get used to waking up to this every morning. 

Adventure three: Portland hiking. 

Another scenario of finding ourselves lost and no idea where we the actual trailhead was. Once we made it, it was lovely but we only have 40 minutes to spare. But it was nice to be in the woods with the cool air against my face. 

It was a perfect four days. Thanks to all who made the weekend a success. 




In the air. Northern California.











\\

quick hello's

Just wanted to drop by and say "hello." 

I've been super busy and will be for the next few weeks. So, if you can't find me, you know why.  I can be found in various coffee shops, various planes and hiding under the desk in my office taking catnaps. Places you won't find me: yoga or the beach. I miss all the above. I have enough things to write at the moment to equal my college thesis. That might be an over exaggerated statement but not far off. 






1.milk+honey= the lavender latte is to die for /// 2. this little gem found me by spotting the back of my head /// 3. christine stephens loves me  

>>> no worries though, I have mixes like this to get me through.
and things like this to make me giggle. It's like my childhood and guilty pleasure all mixed into one.

momentarily silenced.

 

I should have updated you all ages ago. Sorry for the silence been on vacation and am having a blast wandering the streets of chicago, curling up on the couch in indianapolis and watching the priceless faces of Jayde while we fly. Onward to Oklahoma in the morning.

a little get away

a retreat, if you will. 

The Oregon trail.  I've seen a lot of people on the way from Lindsay Jo, to Diane, the hair stylist, to Oregon Family (Marks and Mitman.) Destination Wedding. Today's Destination: Saint Helen's, Oregon. Overlooking the harbor with mountains, trees and sailboats. Last night consisted of steak, halibut cakes and fresh green beans harvested from the garden and booze. Then an hour in the hot tub with sporadic rain while watching a family of raccoon attempting to find food.

Thanks my Oregonian family, I love you. 

(I honestly should snap a few photographs but I'm just a bit lazy at the moment and that also means putting my coffee down. We all know that's not going to happen.)

///edit/// I ran out of coffee. here's a photo.

A S L U T: t u l s a

Home sweet place I resided from the ages of 0 to 18 and some change.

*please note: this post drags on... 

It's always strange going back. 

I'm  a Midwestern.  Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma-- in a city, nonetheless. I still appreciate sweet tea and lightning bugs and that slower draw that most men seem to develop by the time they are grown men. Women can hide it some but the men, nearly impossible.

I don't ever get to spend a lot of time in Oklahoma; nor do I ever see half the people I want to see. It's always a secret affair. I see a few close people and I'm grateful for that. I get to catch up and it's like I never left. Minus the fact that in the last 5 years the city has change dramatically. In 10 years time, I probably won't recognize the place.

A little recap to humor myself and compartmentalize memories labeled "The Oklahoma Box."

My dear friend Benjamin Woolslayer fetched me at the airport early morning. First things I told him "I need a hug and coffee." All were delivered and the 15 minutes he listened to me vent about the last 12 hours of my life from what I consider airport hell. I caused a ruckus screaming the F-word more times than I can count. Not my finest, but all considered it was well deserved. We drove to Wild Fork in Utica Square and had breakfast outside.  We went back to where he stays and talked and chilled for hours in a room surrounded by books at art.

I used to go over to Ben's house every day in High school. I never knocked on the door, I always walked in. To some this might be considered rude, but it was the routine. I went to his room or the studio in the garage and would just listen to him play guitar for hours and every so often a random band he was playing music with at the time.  But this time around, instead of music, we filled our time with spiritual discussions.

Later on he dropped me off at a coffee shop called Shades of Brown where I met the lovely Marisa Brown who is a Graphic Designer and dreams of being an art teacher. She's another high school friend of mine. I adore her. We click and always pick up where we left off. She's one of those gals you just want to keep in your life for forever, no matter the distance. I always randomly send her craigslist job offers in southern california or the weather update. I'm still attempting to convince her to move closer to me. Selfish? Maybe. But I think there are a lot of benefits for her... As in the beach... and me? haha

We chatted for hours and the time flew to what seemed like a short amount of time until later that night I received a text message. "We were there for four hours, I'm really embarrassed."

I laughed.

I met Marisa the first week of school. There was a fire drill.  I still didn't know anyone at my school and we were standing around outside. She was in my Spanish class. We kept looking at each other awkwardly. Smiling, both not really knowing what to approach the matter. Then it happened. We introduced ourselves and the rest if history. Match made in heaven.

After, Lor picked me up and we went to Elote. A place that never existed when I lived in Tulsa but now seems to be a favorite of mine every time I visit. I loved spending the weekend with Lor. We ate lots of food, chatted lots, went garage saling, planned some crucial things in her life, went to a wedding and church, explored downtown Tulsa, took pictures, and partook in the "Bridesmaid" frenzy. We laughed, we cried. We cried and we laughed. We cried while laughing. We laughed while crying. Catch my drift.

Then again, we laughed and cried for 45 minutes in the scene from "Garden State" when Zach Braff drives away with the gas nozzle still in his car. We have strange humor.

Lor is my best friend of 17 years. Crazy? She is my soul sister.

I'm going to speed my thought process up.

I went to Oklahoma because my friends John and Rachel were getting married. Finally after 5 or 6 years.  They got married in our home church and it was fabulous. They pulled off a great day and it was so great to celebrate with them.  As well as see hundreds of people I grew up with. You Oklahomans have a special place in my heart and continue to make me feel loved. I can't thank you enough for always opening your homes to support my cause to visit. Or offering yours homes to me as a bribe to visit. My favorite was the lakehouse offer.

One of the eyeopeners of my trip was Sunday Morning at Foundations Church. My old Youth pastors' Justin and Casey started Foundations with the support of many generous supporters who believed in the cause of this church. God's doing some pretty awesome things there and the people there have such servant hearts. But as I'm standing there for praise and worship I search around the auditorium and see random people from my youth group. Not random, people I grew spiritually with. People I learned about God and perspective and what it means to fall and be redeemed. They've seen me at my best and worst.  Some of us just visiting from the wedding and others who have made Foundations their Church. Some even in the Worship band.

A lot of this trip was reflection based. In high school on Wednesday before service and Saturday before Sunday service we would meet in prayer in a darkened room with praise and worship blasting. These are people I prayed with and experienced with. I was so greatful to be connected to them once again.

I've never been more proud of the people I grew up with.

I often times long to be in those dark corners crying my eyes out wondering why things are as they are or crouched on my knees awing at the existence of God and how marvelous he is. I often long to just sit and be in the presence of God and watch my friend's, Mimo, Chocolate, Will, Lindsey, John and various others hearts break for the world around them.  All wanting to change the world and they are. We're grown up now.  Ahh and some of us are married or engaged. Is that even allowed?

Should we still be toilet papering peoples houses and staying up figuring out our place in the world together.

We are dispersed. Some close and some far.

They've changed my world and I couldn't be more blessed.

Weekend randoms- Enjoy. 

... and they fell into love