Tommy Del Greco

Domo poses next to the Kansas capitol building on his journey west!

Monday morning brought a wave of emotions.  Nervous and excited, of course, but it still hadn’t quite hit me that this was really happening.  I took care of a few quick errands before heading out.  I drove out to Time Warner to turn in a modem, and made one last run through the apartment, leaving my roommate Eric a note about how much I appreciated him as a friend with the key.

After a last run through of my mom’s house, Domo and I headed in the direction of Overland Park to pick up Aubry.  I admit I worried that it would be awkward meeting her parents, but it wasn’t bad. Her dad answered the door and summoned Aubry.  It made me a little nostalgic for days as a little kid when I knocked on other kids doors and cheerfully asked “Can so-and-so come out to play?”  Awwwww, life before cell phones…

Domo is all packed and ready to go!

Once I saw Aubry appear in the doorway, I knew this epic trip was going to happen.  She said good-bye to her dad, and he handed me an Ink magazine for some reason. Finally, all the awkwardness, all the packing, all the errands were over. It was time to adventure!

As soon as Aubry and I got settled in the car, there was immediately a slight sense of awkwardness along the lines of “Soooooooo… we’ve got 5 days in the car together…how shall we start the conversation?”  You can add to this that I had a crush on her, and you can imagine it being a little hard to figure out where to start.  We focused on the task at hand, though, and ran to Wal-Mart to recharge Aubry’s cell phone.  She felt like a burden, and I had to remind her that she was awesome.  This was a common theme in the trip.  I also bought her some caffeine.  That was another common theme.

As we got on 1-70, though, our conversation started pleasant enough.  Whenever an awkward moment came up, we’d bring up Julia and how we wished Team Incredible could ride again.  Aubry connected my Ipod, and just as I’d plan, we played “The Lonely Shepard”, the classic riding into the sunset music, as we exited the Kansas City area.  The first couple hours floated by, and we found ourselves approaching Topeka.

Domo, Kitty, and Aubry blow bubblies at the Pioneer Woman Statue in Topeka!

Now, this is why Aubry is such an awesome traveling companion.  Me: “Man, the capitol building would make an awesome Domo picture” Aubry:  “Lets do it”.  (Deciding to suddenly take the exit ensues)

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Final Badass Gourmet Society Meeting: The Whole Group!

The time has come to start recounting the epic, magnificent, and beautiful journey that Team Awkwardly Irresistible Force (Aubry and I) ventured on from a childhood home in Kansas City to a new life in Portland!  Don’t worry Domo and Hello Kitty were there the whole way.  With all the priceless memories this journey offered, it’s easy to forget how close it came to not happening.

I needed all the Domos for this decision!

My new job at One Economy offered to reimburse my relocation expenses.  Considering this, my mom strongly favored flying to Portland and paying to have my car moved.  I was tempted.  Less romantic yes, but with all my apprehension about moving, it felt reassuring to think that after a few short hours, I could be there; this opposed to a potentially long, lonely ride in the car.  Everyone told me driving alone was a bad idea, so I searched for a partner in crime.  But even during the summer, to find someone who can take a week off and travel across the country with you is a hard sell.

Two people came to mind: my friends Aubry and Andy.  Andy, Room 312 alum, had a sister who lived in Portland, and Aubry occasionally mentioned some friends up there from unschooling camp.  At first, Aubry seemed like a longshot because we’d trying to get sushi together for two months with no success.  Maybe she doesn’t like me! (A VERY ironic fear in retrospect).  I loved hanging out with her, though, especially after the Team Incredible adventure.  Andy seemed more likely at first just because he was out of school, bored, and I was offering to buy him a plane ticket back to KC.

Andy dropped out at the last BAGSKC meeting; Aubry seemed game, and after a tense of weekend of worrying I’d have to go alone, I learned Aubry would be able to come.  Yay! Domo and I were quite happy.  I knew how much I liked Aubry and that she was awesome.  Spending a week traveling alone with someone made me worry we might get sick of each other, but somehow with Aubry, I felt things would be alright.

A Peruvian Feast!

That Badass Gourmet Society Meeting was epic in many respects, of course.  The crafty Peruvian Fabio led the Gourmet Society on perhaps it’s most badass creation: a Peruvian feast, Bisteck a lo pobre.  French fries and eggs and steak and vegatables, it was… beautiful!  I mean, holy. shit. it. was. AWESOME!  Andy led us on making some wonderful mint cookies.  We all shared memories and hugs and incredible food; it was such an amazing get-together of so many friends from so many places; Gaians and family and old roommates and high school friends I’d reconnected with.

Hannah, Bryan, Fabio, and Andy enjoy the Worlds of Fun lights.

I spent my last Saturday in Kansas City saying good-bye to Fabio, Andy, Bryan, and Hannah; an interesting mash-up of KU friends I managed to get together over the past year.  We went out to Worlds of Fun on a muggy day that kept threatening rain (or to quote Bryan: it be all drip-drop and shit).  It managed to clear and we had a good time.  Fabio and I were both much braver about roller coasters this time around.  I remember keeping my eyes open on the Boomerang and feeling amazing!  At night, the lights at Worlds of Fun are truly breathtaking.  One more memory that I won’t forget:the Timberwolf roller coaster during the sunset.  Stunning.

Kansas City was clearly having a hard time saying goodbye.  I spent Sunday furiously packing until 1 at night, though, and that got me eager to leave.  Once I knew Aubry could come, I felt beyond excited and beyond nervous.  A great adventure with a great friend!  I felt like I was on the verge of something incredible.  Little did I know what awaited in the coming week.