Lafayette, IN

I had been looking forward to Lafayette the whole trip because Mychii lives there. She and I have been internet friends since we met at my first COFRA think tank a year and a half ago. I just love her...she's so fricking smart and opinionated and fat positive and...I don't know...just a badass. I'm a fan. So anyway, I was excited to hang out with her, though still riding the wave of funk from Atlanta so I hoped she and Chris wouldn't be bummed if I was all mopey and low-key.

I was following the GPS directions on my phone to get to her house, but apparently my phone had decided that she lived in the house across the street so I went over there first. Their neighbor was not pleased. Finally I got straightened out and knocked on the right door. We hugged, she introduced me to Chris, and everything was cool. Turns out they're pretty low-key themselves, so with my mood I fit right in. We went out to a Mexican place for dinner (can't get enough of that cheese dip!) and talked about all sorts of things, including the future of the fat rights movement and what TFRC should do next. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them...everything was comfortable, like we were old friends.

The next day Chris went to work, leaving Mychii and me to our own devices. We had talked about maybe checking out the local art museum but at that point I was in much more of a mood to just hang out and do nothing touristy, so we watched the Michael Jackson memorial instead and then went to the movies. It was an excellent day.

A quick aside: I have realized, after thinking about all of the visiting of friends that I did on this trip, that I am a total goober when it comes to saying goodbye. In every case, the day I was leaving, I would get up, pack up the car, and then just say see ya and get out of there as quickly as I could. I want to apologize to everyone I stayed with. It's not you...I love you...it's me. I'm awkward.

So that next morning, I got up, packed the car, said my awkward goodbye to Mychii and Chris and hit the road, bound for the Chicago area.