Ok, so I thought through about six different permutations of road-trip chronicling possibilities, and most of them seemed like they would be

a) Way too much work for me, and

b) Way too boring for you. I mean, we traveled for two weeks. I don’t want you to have to spend the same amount of time looking at my pictures and listening to me babble about what a terrific time we had.

So, what I’ve decided to do instead is twofold:

c) Gradually post photographs on my Flickr page, with amusing commentary* appearing underneath each picture. These will take a while to post, so for now I can offer you only Days 1-3. For the moment, things are in basically chronological order, so if you start with the first picture and keep hitting “next” on the little thumbnail to the right, you’ll experience things as they happened. However, I should note that almost half of my photographs (the ones I’m most excited about showing you, because I took them with my Dad’s old Minolta which I was using for the first time) will only be available to me sometime next week. So at that point, depending on what I decide to do, you might be seeing things from Day 1 or 2 while you think you’re in, say, Day 5 or 6. Which, I’m sure, would completely destroy your sense of global synchrony and order and reduce you to a gibbering mess under your table. But hey — I’ll be under there with you. For Days 1-3, start here and keep pressing “next” until you can’t anymore.

d) I’m also going to write a bunch of entries here on Distances Between Ports, whenever I have time — entries containing longer stories, stories that are not attached to photographs, or more reflective, essay-like pieces such as I Really Believe Vacations Ought To Be Spiritually Challenging, But I’d Be Grumpy If I Had To Forgo Modern Plumbing And Comfy Sheets. Or People Who Own Bed And Breakfast Hotels Aren’t Always As Charming As Their Rooms. Or Dear God, I’m Eating In The Saddest Restaurant In The World (parts I and II).

Got the plan? Good. Then go here. And if you’ve really missed me, I’ll know because the next time I talk to you, you’ll remember the sparklingly funny comment I made buried under the picture you only get to after twenty seven “nexts.” Come on. Prove your love by looking at my holiday pictures!

P.S. Since coming home, I’ve been to a meeting about my newest volunteer project, started a new book, and watched several hours of TV in a fit of worry about the lack of appearance of the letter from the DHS telling me to go get fingerprinted, which I must do before they issue my work permit. If anything really interesting happens, I’ll keep you posted.

*Amusing commentary not absolutely guaranteed, but I’ll do my best.