CONT'D: Adventures of a Gold Rush Bride | Page 1, 2

#3) San Francisco was literally in a cloud the day we visited. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge was much more painful than fun as we could not see anything - no sky, no water, no city, practically no bridge, but no matter - we amused ourselves with a little bit of our roots. Paul began telling me of a woman he had worked with in Boston, a woman who spoke with a very thick accent and frequently used the phrases "You're gross" and "I'm gonna break your face." (as you read these you must insert your own accent for effect). He had me in stitches, and then of course I joined in by mimicking him. Before we knew it we were carrying on a conversation like two true Bostonians, and before we knew it we had nearby tourist squirming in our presence. This day, of course, marked the birth of our Bostonian personas. Being the attention lovers that we are, we continued to talk in our newly acquired tongue for the length of the trip, turning heads everywhere we went.

#4) Paul has a fantasy about being the Greek god Dyonysis. He even has a pose to announce the presence of the character upon entering a room. I was fortunate enough to not only accompany the great god to the grocery store one day, but to drive him in his royal chariot, commonly known as the grocery carriage. We arrived at Safeway, and my twenty-three year old friend jumped into the steel buggy and adamantly pointed forward, directing his slave through the aisles. Yes, we have a healthy fantasy life; yes, our fellow shoppers were jealous of our fun; and yes, when I grew weary of his noble attitude I merely walked away from the chariot leaving him abandoned, helpless and begging me to return. It was a very exciting game that we ended up playing more than once - what can I say, we are young at heart and a little bit foolish too.

#5) I love being able to move my body, push its limits, feel its strength. I love it even more after being cooped up in a car nearly everyday for a week and a half. In early November, Paul and I stumbled on the mighty pacific ocean in northern Oregon after driving over the mountains from the inland. We were both restless from the winding road which on that particular day seemed never ending. The mid-afternoon shot us out of the mountain forests and onto the beautiful shoreline - a beach that we immediately designated as the beach from our favorite childhood movie "The Goonies," due to the rock formations which stood out in the water. We walked to the water and put our feet in, stared at the sun and became silent. As we turned around to head back to the car we began running, and then racing. Each stride, each breath filled my body with an undeniable energy which I carried with me for the rest of our trip.

Being on the road, wandering without a plan filled me over and over again with a certain energy like no other. I often hear that tourists and travelers grow weary of their journeys, but Paul and I were not tourists or travelers, at least we didn't consider ourselves to be such. We were more like explorers - setting out for the biggest sights and finding joy in the littlest moments. That kind of joy surfaces when least expected. Hit the road and find it.

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Laura Regis recently returned to Massachusetts following her trip west. She liked it so much that she returned there to bring in the New Year.
E-mail: Lauraregis@aol.com