I made a lot of plans for my days in Boston so that I could see as many friends as possible, but Mother Nature had other plans. It started out well enough. On Saturday morning, I went to see my friend Scooter (her real name is Mary Beth) and her family. I had a lot of fun playing with her kids and catching up with Scooter by telling stories about our lives using grapes, carrots, and celery to keep the kids entertained while we chatted.

That evening, my sister Vanessa had her engagement party. She made beautiful charcuterie boards and Logan, her fiancé, cooked up a feast. We had porchetta, mashed potatoes, pasta salad, and brussels sprouts. Vanessa made a tres leches for dessert. That night, I finally understood how parents feel when they see their kids happy and loved. It was very heartwarming to see Vanessa with her fiancé and her friends and to see how much they love her and all her quirks. It made me so happy.

On Sunday morning, I went to Mass with my friend Hijung and her family. Then we went to her house for lunch and games. I hadn’t seen her in 6 years and had never met 2 of her kids. Spending time with them was so fun! The two older kids were very excited to teach me how to play Sequence (the kids version) and Ruckus. They got very competitive!

After that, Mother Nature started messing with my plans. I was going to have dinner that night with my friend Morella. We decided to meet a little earlier than originally planned since a blizzard was going to start that night. We went to Petit Robert Bistro and had their unlimited steak frites. It was delicious!

Up until that point, I still had hope that the blizzard would end up being only a little bit of snow, but the next morning it was clear that I was wrong. It snowed all through Sunday night and all day on Monday. That meant that all my Monday plans were canceled. It wasn’t so bad though. I never got to enjoy snow days while I lived here because I could always work remotely. Now I’ve finally experienced a snow day where I had no other responsibilities! I read, had a lot of warm drinks, and Vanessa, Logan, and I (but mostly Logan) spent a few hours shoveling out our cars and playing in the snow.

Originally, I was going to head to Hamilton yesterday, but I decided to stay one more day in Boston so I could see my Runkeeper friends, who I was supposed to see on Monday. We went to a brewery and caught up. We talked about how special the people who worked at Runkeeper are. You don’t often work at a place where you make good friends, who you enjoy hanging out with even after you’ve left the company, and who support you in anything you need. I was very lucky to work there for 6 years.

Today, I drove to Hamilton and experienced winter driving complications. Either my windshield wiper fluid or the fluid lines froze, so the fluid wasn’t coming out. It was snowing when I left Boston and the combination of snow and salt from the road made my windshield very dirty. At times, it was hard to see and I couldn’t clean the windshield because the fluid wasn’t coming out. I kept waiting for enough snow to melt on my windshield so I’d have enough water on it for the wipers to clean the windshield. Every time I stopped for gas, I poured water on my windshield to clean it. Luckily, it stopped snowing pretty soon and the rest of the drive was fine. Now I’m safely in Hamilton for a few days and I’ll see my sister, more Runkeeper friends, and my godmother.

Two days ago, I drove from Ponte Vedra Beach to Miami and made 2 stops along the way. First, I saw my cousin Ana Belén, who I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. Then, I saw my friend Isabella. She’s a friend from high school who I hadn’t seen in 4 years. It was great catching up with both of them!

In Miami, I stayed with my Aunt Lali and Uncle Hernán. Yesterday, we had lunch together and then my aunt showed me around Miami. In the evening, she made us mangoritas with mangos from a tree in their backyard and we watched the Super Bowl. I was rooting for the Patriots, since I lived in Boston for 8 years, and was disappointed by the game. But the mangoritas were delicious and made up for it!

Now I’m back in Georgia for a few days. I drove to Savannah today. It was an 8 hour drive, my longest drive so far, and I’m really starting to feel it. I’ve started looking forward to stopping for gas so I can stretch my legs. I never would have thought that I could be excited about getting to a gas station.

I’ve officially been on the road for a week and it has been better than I could have imagined. I have felt so loved and spoiled by all the people who have taken me in, made time in their busy days to see me, checked in on me, kept me company on phone calls while I drive, and by all of you reading and commenting on this blog. Thank you!

Two days ago, I drove from Biloxi to Atlanta. This time, instead of feeling a mix of excitement and nerves, I kept thinking about how cool it is that I’m driving around the whole country. I’ve only driven through the Southeast and it’ll be fun to see all the different landscapes the US has to offer.

In Atlanta, I’m staying with my mom’s cousin, Marion, and her family. We kept trying to figure out what our relationship is and found a chart that told us that she’s my first cousin once removed. (Tez, I know you taught me all the relationship stuff a few years ago, but I had completely forgotten all of it. I did have a feeling that there was a once removed involved, so don’t be completely disappointed in me.) That makes Marion’s daughter my second cousin. And Marion is my niece’s first cousin twice removed. It’s all very confusing.

Yesterday, Marion and Marcia, my great aunt (not removed), took me to Stone Mountain. We took the cable car to the top, saw a cool but controversial carving, and enjoyed the nice view. We also went to the Civil and Human Rights Museum. Every time I tried to pay for something, Marion would tell me that I couldn’t pay because I’m an unemployed vagabond living out of my car. She’s not wrong, so I really couldn’t argue with her.

This morning, I went to the YMCA with Marcia to play pickleball. It was my first time playing and it was a great experience. The people who were there are mostly retired and are so kind! I didn’t win any games, but I had a lot of fun and I learned that I’m not as bad at pickeball as I thought I would be.

In the afternoon, I went to the aquarium with Micol, a friend from high school. We hadn’t seen each other in 8 years! It was really nice to catch up and meet her two kids. I loved the aquarium! It was big and a lot of fun, especially with the kids looking in wonder at all the animals.

The day ended with dinner and ice cream with the family. Atlanta has been wonderful! I’m really glad I got to spend time with this side of the family. I always see them as part of larger gatherings with extended family. In this visit, I was able to get to know them better. I will definitely be coming back to Atlanta!