Bristol PA, and the people you meet.

I'm cramming two days into one here. What a wild rollercoaster ride. On my way north through Pennsylvania, with no real plan, I was hungry. I saw a sign for a diner on the highway. I got off and followed said signs. It got weird and awesome after that.

Okay, so weird because I am still flabbergasted by the universe. I made a random spontaneous decision and it led to a super cool interaction.

I sat down and shortly after, a man across from me began to poke in with chatter. After a bit of it, I felt like I could converse with him so I invited him to sit with me.

My server was, surprised for sure. And we began going over all the things! He is very intelligent, cute, empathetic, and real/whole/connected. So we had no trouble going through it. As a welder he had a van with all his gear. So we went outside and showed off our vans to each other. And he went on his way. It was getting late.

After he left, my server and I began chatting about him. It was pretty cool and I gander this kind of thing doesn't happen too often. Then she says "don't turn around". What? uh... okay.

He came back! Bearing a gift! He brought me a plant in a small pot. This cute pink flower with a raspberry middle and tiny little yellow pedals on the inside. So we kept at it.

He wanted to hear me play my violin so we went to a park down by the river in our vans at nearly 2am. I played a bit. Then he offered to let me stay the night in the parking lot to his welding business. Awesome.

morning after

I was woken by a knock on the van. Thinking it was my new friend I gathered myself quickly and opened up. but it was his boss! A quick explanation settled the confusion and I waited for him to show up.

We went out and got coffee. He showed me his garden which he keeps in a community garden. We went separate ways shortly after.

Holy heck right!? That was awesome. And, he was only a few years older than me. Nice to talk with people closer to my own age. I am grateful he had the gumption to speak up and talk to me.

midday

After stopping for a pee, I happened to roll past a shoe store that was closing in 9 days. 70-90% off! I bought 7 pairs of shoes for $31. No, not all for me. Three are for my niece :p

Then I went to a local park. It had a boardwalk along a lake that is filled with lily pads. I took my violin out and did something totally new. I walked while playing.

A man passed me, offering a compliment. I alter ran into him sitting on a bench. We spoke for a bit. I played for him.

He offered some really nice words. And thinks I should have zero anxiety about playing. That I am very good. And when I close my eyes playing I look peaceful. That meant a lot to me. I am getting much better at performing with an active audience. How soon will I go busking?!?

Back at Vanessa I younger man with a bike approached me and we talked for a bit. He wants to be a comedian and is in school right now. I showed him my van, he recorded me playing a violin song. It was a nice calm chat. Kinda cool that younger people have been approaching me.

phew!

This has been a perfect start to my travels after Maryland. Exactly the kind of experiences to set me back in motion. Turning on the habits to live like this. And getting excited about moving forward.