Into the Mystic: A Venture From East to West: I Need More Synonyms for Beautiful

I stumbled into the kitchen and turned on the faucet, letting the water get cold before putting the glass underneath it. I brought the opaque basin to my lips. Across from the kitchen, I watched, through the two narrow slits in my skull, as Graciela walked into view. I made breakfast.

6 eggs, 4 pieces of toast, butter, provolone cheese, and a cup of cold coco (delicious nonetheless).

Graciela and I had a fairly joyous morning... or I did. I took forever to get all of my things packed this morning and felt like a mooch using the shower, eating her food, drinking her coco. But, we laughed quite a bit and smiled often. I had a morning soundtrack special blasting through my phone from 1030 until 1230 when I left.

I biked over to Abdullah's from yesterday to say goodbye to Audrey and Hannah. I got there and learned the two had not slept and were reeling from the night before. They were actually still pretty conscious. I was impressed. The goodbye turned into a hangout and before I knew it, Abdullah got home from class. Since the day before, he had been trying to get me to stay an extra day to cook me dinner. As soon as Abdullah laid his backpack on the couch, he was already chopping onions on the kitchen counter.

Kabsa, a favorite Arabian dish, was in the process of being made.

If there's one thing I can agree with all foreigners on, it's the fact that American cuisine sucks. On the contrary, Arabian cuisine rules. Abdullah laid a sheet of plastic upon the floor and set a gigantic dish of spicy rice with baked chicken breasts on top. We all ate from the same plate while Abdullah and Aziz (very quiet roommate) ate with their hands. It was awesomely different. I gave it a shot as well.

Eventually, Hannah and Audrey went to the library to meet someone, leaving the boys to party. Abdullah and I talked and watched a t.v. special on Rihanna. It was pretty sweet. Seriously though, Abdullah is my boy.

When 415 rolled around and the girls still weren't back, I knew I had to rollout. I stopped at the library and said my goodbyes to Graciella, Hannah, and Audrey.

For kicks, I stopped at the bike shop one last time to get my chain checked out quickly.

I needed a new chain and cassette.

I almost lost my shit. I tried to laugh about how pissed off it made me... and I guess that kind of worked. Stupid bike.

I don't mean that, baby. You're a beautiful piece of molded aluminum.

The ride out was absolutely gorgeous. It made me ponder why I don't always bike while the sun is just going down.

Oh yeah, darkness.

But was the black void really as impossible to navigate as us cyclists believe? Well, twenty five miles later, I ran into Charles (coming from Oregon) and Ian (coming from San Francisco). Two very pleasant gentleman. At the mention of biking at night, the two balked at the idea, Charles noting, "There's no way you'll be able to get to Chanuke".

I retorted, "Based on what?" The fact the sun's going down? We have lights on our bikes for a reason. Plus, I was banking on the moon being bright from its recent escapade 16,000 miles closer to earth then usual (on Sunday). As Charles told me to get a move on, I stood up on my pedals, and said cooly (I thought, so probably not), "Let's see how bright these stars get".

Mystifying. Breath-taking. Mind-blowing. Luminating. The constellations in some of the more desolate prairiers shined so brightly, I more than once almost drove off the road, losing my mind in the space above.

One particular moment that struck me was in a small section of foliage. This area was covered with a few trees on either side and had an innumerable count of fireflies glowing every few seconds. The sheer amount within the shrouded darkness of the trees, surrounded by space and the stars, proved to be a beautiful scene.

Although I was really enjoying the ride, there were still more cars than I would've liked. There was also a distance of 30 miles separating two camping areas so I elected the one in Erie. I arrived in the small 2,000 person town around midnight and I just set up my tent.

Also, I electrocuted myself attempting to charge my phone with the outside outlet of the city hall building. I hope you're all happy.