I decided to write this post with two purposes. Firstly, to try and sum up one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and secondly, to call out acknowledge all of the wonderful people I met along the way. If your photo appears on this page, I make no apologies - I loved meeting every single person along the way and I'm not sure I can do justice to the awesomeness of you all in a post. But I'm gonna give it a damn good go!
Have you read my travel posts? There were ten in total, plus a bonus post about meeting 100 Monkeys. If not, start HERE and read on until you're all caught up.
During my time in Seattle, I went for a big long walk. I was listening to music and I realised that one song kept coming up. Not just that day, but throughout the trip, on the radio, on TV, all the time. It was the PERFECT song for me, having the time of my life (don't worry, I'm not gonna go all Dirty Dancing on ya). Give this a listen as you read on:
It really is a Good Life. Or a great life, or whatever. I realise as I write this that yesterday was (and in America, today is) 11/09/11 - an anniversary the world will never forget. I did not set out to write a memorial post, but you know, it's all about living life to the fullest, and making the most of every day.
Since I've been home, people have asked me what the highlights of my trip were, where my favourite place was.... those were kinda tricky questions to answer, until I had a brain wave. The places, while awesome, weren't the highlights. It was the people. I really did have the time of my life and am going to take a few moments here to talk about my times with each and every twitard I met.
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| @TwiredJen |
Jen - my lovely Jen: Where do I start? One of the first people I met online and not-coincidentally the first one I met in real life. When I saw you waiting for me at the airport, me almost delerious with tiredness, you were exactly how I knew you'd be. Zero weirdness. I had the best time with you and DG and I wish you all the very best in three weeks' time on your big day. For those who don't realise, the pic above is Jen at her RL bridal shower, that I was privileged to attend. I met Jen's friends and family and was welcomed with open arms. That lingerie is lovely, by the way.
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| @Elusive_S |
Sarah - Jen's fabulous sister and twi-partner in crime: Sarah, I loved meeting you, and Mr and Mrs M, not to mention your gorgeous pooch. I love that you rock the 'thong on your head' look so well, even with Kiwi Ed taking full advantage of your cleavage. You organised that bridal shower so well and I loved that you included some twi-trivia in the quiz! And who knew your veterinary skills translated to mini vampires - Kiwi Ed thanks you for saving him after he nearly drowned in your wine glass. He says you gave the 'best head of his life'. Oh dear.
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| @Rikki_DD |
Rikki - The gal from Sin City: I was so excited to meet you in Vegas. You might not have realised it, but you helped me through a bit of a tricky time for me (on the Vegas emotional rollercoaster). Our trip to Madame Tussauds was so much fun, regardless of the fact that Rob was hiding from us. Kiwi Ed has yet to write his blog post about our trip to the wax museum, but he is getting around to it! I hope you enjoy every second of your Forks experience babe, I can't wait to see the vampirate outfits.
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| @Jaymes805 |
Jamie - love of my life: Seriously. You need to talk to Amanda about a divorce so we can be together. Haha. They all think I'm joking. I don't know when I last came across someone with whom I have so much in common - not least of all our teensy tiny bladders. So nice to take a road trip and not be the one who is always having to stop to pee. Notice how I'm all about the important things in life? You have educated me about certain Monkey voices, enabled me to meet said Monkeys, and generally been my all-round Monkey whisperer, for which I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Oh, and your pussy is gorgeous too. (Of course I am referring to Jasper, people. Get your heads out of the gutter. Geez.)
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| @luvsmesumEdward (and D) |
Jess & Short Stack: It was so awesome that I got to meat meet you, even if only for a short time. You observed as I lost my pancake virginity, and educated me in American vocabulary. Seriously, your daughter is the cutest kid EVER, she is gonna break some hearts in a few years! I think you need to keep working on getting Jamie to relocate to SD already for more hijinks!
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| @amandakmelby |
Amanda, princess, queen of the heels: Sweetie! I will never forget you. From lettuce-wrapped burgers (it's still weird, no matter what you say) to champagne... oh, the champagne. It's lucky that what goes
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| @AllTwiedUp |
Charla - little miss wanna-be-kiwi: God I want to hug you again, like, now! From the moment you told me you like Flight of the Conchords I had a feeling you'd be keen to hear my accent... little did I know the fun we would have (mostly!). Your version of my accent still sucks, by the way. I think the only way you'll be able to perfect it will be to spend at least a month here. Immersion therapy. I had the best time at your place, from education about restaurants in America, meeting Bella and your kitty cats and playing video games. Thank you so much for your wonderful hospitality, even though I don't think your house wanted us to stay.
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| @theppmonster (and @travellingmocha) |
Tom - "I'm her Edward": As much as you put on your mask, you totally love the whole Twilight thing, yes? You can't hide it anymore Tom. It was awesome to meet you, I'll always think of you as 'one of the gals'. The one with the snake. And the poop. Ewww. You know, once you're on twitter, you can't go back, right? Enjoy Forks! I'm disappointed I didn't see the footie PJs, by the way.
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| @norcaltwitard |
Kate - Norcal's finest: Thank you for educating me about which parts of California qualify as 'Norcal' and which don't.. hehe. Oh, and introducing me to Cherry Rum. WIN! I love that shit. It's so cool that you've joined the blogosphere and I'm super impressed that you can write a post on your phone with such accuracy! It was great being couch-bedroom buddies, even when the pets and dishes decided to frighten the crap out of us in the middle of the night.
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| Me and @dangrdafne |
Sharon - the nicest person I know: Sharon, I am lost for words at how excited I was to learn you would travel across America just to see me. It was fantastic to meet you, and it's true. You are niceness, personified. But I knew that already. Thank you so much for being so organised, we are definitely on the same wave length! Good thing we didn't need the Hampton after all. I hope Mocha enjoyed his experience too, even the sneaky sip of red (don't tell Mr DD). It's kinda hard to find words here, TBH. You know how I feel.
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| @twi_lin & @tipsy_daisy |
ChyLynn - Monkey girl: I look at this picture of your gorgeous smiling face and that's exactly how I remember you, so smiley! You're the coolest grandma I know, sweetie. It was amazing sharing my Monkey experience with you and hearing all your tales of Monkey adventures pre and post. Your Toy Story bracelets were genius, I'm sure the boys are still wearing them. Thanks also for your chauffering in Seattle and for the 100 Monkeys wristband, all the way from Spokane!
Lesa - iPad girl: It was so cool to meet you and get to know you in Washington. I absolutely love that I was able to make new twi-friends as well as solidify friendships with existing ones on this trip. You'll always be a part of my Monkey memories, I wish we could have spent more time together.
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| Me, @Twi_Lin and @Kitty_Elvis |
Seattle Sharon: (As you are in my head to avoid confusion with DD): It was so lovely to meet you, even though only for one night. Dinner at Lola was fantastic and I really enjoyed hearing all about your Jordan nuptuals. I really hope your American Wedding goes well too! You're a gorgeous person with a fabulous smile and I'm sorry we weren't able to meet up again before I left Seatlle.
Melinda (@kintail): I don't have a decent photo of you, Melinda! Thanks for being part of my Monkey experience. I loved the rubber monkeys and mine is pride-of-place on my dresser. I'll never forget the nasty little things Jackson was doing with two of those finger puppets!
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| @starlitviolets and @musingbella |
Amy B - Purple's cool: You and your damn Washington Red Apples, eh? Now that I'm finally over the hangover I can take a moment to thank you for coming with Erin and I to Olympia. So much fun was had. You are an awesome gal, larger than life! I wrote my shopping list yesterday with your purple pen and giggled to myself. I miss your arse slaps already.
Erin - karaoke queen: You, my dear, are a fucking amazing woman. To hold your head high and keep smiling through the shitstorm is admirable and you do it with class. I loved meeting you and Kiwi Ed is still pining for the 'lets... I think there's more to it than friendship, at least on his part. The donut shop shop will forever make me smile and I'm so glad you resurrected Thirsty Thursday - although my liquor cabinet could do with more stock!
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| @mandysmind & @lorabell |
Mandy, Marvellous Mandy: It was so interesting hearing you talk about your experiences when the movies were being filmed and learning everything there was to know about sites around Vancouver. Thanks for hooking us up with the freebies from Glowbal, too! That dessert was positively sinful.
Lovely Lorabell: I will always think of you with that glamorous hair and makeup... something you just threw on, right? It was a privilege to be part of your farewell evening and I'm glad you got home ok without Irene throwing a spanner in the works.
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| @red_bella and I |
Deb - sewing queen and bulshy Canadian: It's hard to know where to start! You came all the way to Seattle, rescued me from a dry evening, met me in Vancouver, acted as chauffeur, tour guide and burger advisor. I was humbled by how you went out of your way for me and I was just sorry we couldn't find the Cullen house. It was awesome meeting your fur family (and your hubs) and seeing your gorgeous island. Thank you!
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| @JacksonRathbone - but then, you knew that |
My 'wonderful people I met' post really wouldn't be complete without a shout out to this guy, wouldn't it? Nuff said.
As you all saw, I dragged a massive suitcase around with me for five weeks. And towards the end, one turned into two, as my contents... expanded. The shopping was fantastic (and affordable), so of course I needed to partake! Here is a stocktake of all things 'twi' or 'monkey' that I acquired...
I also collected Christmas ornaments from each place. My tree is gonna look awesome this year.
Oh, and my most visible - and absolute favourite - Forks souviner? My hoodie!
This song is one of my all time favourites, and also fits well here. I did have the time of my life. (Ignore the 'Good Riddance' message... I ain't goin' nowhere!)
So there you have it. That about sums up the trip of a lifetime. Maybe its because I have a cold and am taking lots of drugs, maybe its because I'm all misty-eyed and reminiscent - but I really just want to say a massive, massive thank you to everyone I met. You made my experience what it was.
I'd also like to mention the many, many people that I could not meet on this trip, but who followed my adventures via twitter and this blog and sent me words of support. We are all one big family here, regardless of whether some of us meet often, or some of us never see each other face to face, we are all important and the bonds of friendship are strong. I love you all, h00rs.
I'll leave you with this image of sunset on Rialto Beach. For those of you going to Forks very soon... I hope you have the time of your life. Give everyone a hug from me, yes?
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