Chapter 10: Reflections – outoftheswamlows

I am currently reading “My Own Devices” written by Dessa, and on Friday there was a quote that stood out to me. “Loneliness is the fare that you pay to be free.”

It has been two months since we left Minnesota. We have seen and done some incredible stuff. The four weeks that we spent in Maine will not be forgotten. We were very spoiled with dramatic beauty everywhere we looked. I was sad to leave and thankful for the extended time we spent there and the nice people that we met. We will definitely be back.

We left Maine on Oct. 22nd. Dave had spent the entirety of our time in Maine working from our apartment because there were no colocation places for him to go work at. We were both very excited that our week in Plymouth, MA would give him the opportunity to go work at the one office his company has in the US, located in Boston. When we originally planned this part of the trip we knew that we wanted to go to Boston so that he could take advantage of working with some of his coworkers in person and we thought we should stay in Boston. I am so thankful that Boston was too expensive and it led us to look elsewhere. That is what brought us to Plymouth.

I would have never picked Plymouth as a place that I would want to visit and I was pleasantly surprised. It is SUCH a cute town! Right on the ocean, very walkable, tons of shops and restaurants, and a few historic sites as well. Namely; Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II. We also got super lucky with the weather. It was in the upper 60s, low 70s, all week and bright sunshine! It was glorious!

I was also excited about being in Plymouth because of its easy access to Cape Cod. I had been to Boston before but never have been able to explore The Cape and I was excited about being able to do that. I was able to visit Provincetown (P-town), Hyannis, Eastham, Truro, Falmouth, Woods Hole and Vineyard Haven (Martha’s Vineyard). I know there are probably people reading this that have spent a much longer amount of time in this area and might be like “I can’t believe you missed….” x, y, or z, and I think I did a pretty good job. I saw some beautiful lighthouses and beaches and got very lucky on my ferry ride back from Martha’s Vineyard to catch a spectacular sunset reminiscent of Hawaii.

Even though Dave and I were both ready to have some time apart, which we hadn’t had since we were in Quebec City, I missed him last week. As I’ve mentioned before the learning curve is very steep and after four weeks non-stop together, and then basically not seeing him Tue, Wed, Thur, was rough. Also, going back to Dessa’s quote, I haven’t seen my people in two months either and I missed them terribly. Multiple things can exist at the same time! It comes up often. I could be seeing and doing incredible things, and want to not be out exploring. I can be very excited about Dave being able to go work somewhere and miss him while he’s gone. I could be so happy that I am on this amazing adventure and wish my people were here with me.

Well, after two months of waiting, yesterday I FINALLY got to see my people!!!!! We arrived in NYC (the Bronx) for the week and we are staying with two friends that are very dear to us. Dave is going to be able to go work at a colocation place and meet us with some friends he has here and I am just going to chill. I am thankful that I have been here, most recently in April, and have zero anxiety or desire even to see or do much. I am just looking forward to quality time with other hearts that know mine! And probably some Fresh Noodles from Chelsea Market 😉

I am thankful for our circle and how everyone in it has continued to show up for us even though we are in different places. I am so thankful to all my friends and family who have made time to chat and catch up. Hearing your voices have really carried me through my lonely spells, trust me I am loving solo exploring and am not lonely all the time, and I am incredibly thankful for you!

Until next time,

Love, Al 🙂

Plymouth Rock