Happy Birthday, America
My first time back in the great U S of A since moving to Guatemala in January, it was a doozy of a trip and had no shortage of good times and great friends. The original plan for the trip spawned from the nuptials of two good friends from the University of Michigan that would happen June 25th, and in order to make my ~$600 plane ticket worth its price I set out to see as much as I could while back in my home country.
The first leg included a flight back to Detroit, Michigan via Ft. Lauderdale. Scooped up from Detroit Metro Airport by my father, we made a late night run to my childhood home in Grand Blanc, where my parents still reside. Along the way we stopped for some great, American, late night, fast food in the form of Taco Bell. Humorously enough, my father asked me while I chowed down a taco, "Well, those tacos you're eating down there in Guatemala must be quite different than that, huh?" which I couldn't help but snicker at given that I eat my fair share of Taco Bell even while down here in Central America. God Bless corporate America.
I spent a little time the next morning running a few quick errands in the greater Grand Blanc/Flint area, which was more charming than I remember leaving it. Taking a 6 month leave of absence from the Flint area in Guatemala has certainly boded well for my former home city. Admittedly, Flint has cleaned up nicely in the past 10 years and certainly the fine summer weather makes for a pleasant backdrop, but it is undeniable that things look nicer after being surrounded by the shotty masonry, cracked sidewalks, and metal siding shacks of Guatemala. Don't get me wrong, Guatemala has impressive landscapes, natural beauty, and a charm all its own. However, it certainly puts things into perspective back home for places you once thought were dumps (*ahem* Burton).
After some friendly chit-chat with the Flint locals I was given some odd looks and slight tilts of the head when I exclaimed it was "great to be back in Flint, Michigan." All the zeal and gusto of being on vacation and back home must have gotten to me, as the friendly ladies behind the bank counter gave me an odd look and simply asked, "really?"
I then took off on a 4-5 hour journey due south to Cincinnati, Ohio where I was to reunite with my two best friends, whom I've known since the days of Little League baseball and Middle School. As any good Michigander would do, I chose to stay at the friend's condo who lived on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River so as not to actually sleep in the state of Ohio. A fine American barbecue with pork ribs, buffalo wings, and macaroni & cheese was devoured and washed down with fine beer. All to be followed with a night of sipping on fine whiskeys at a local watering hole while soaking up a fine dose of Americana and re-hashing the good old days with old friends.
Fine, American cuisine
A good night's sleep and I was on my way to Washington DC to spend the Father's Day weekend with friends in the city I called home from June 2007-January 2010. Home to some of the finest years of my life and still home to the many friends I left there, DC was certain to be an amazing time, even if the summer humidity makes sitting in an oven sound like a pleasant release.
After a good 9 hours, I arrived to DC and immediately met with friends for a special treat that I had been craving since the first day I left: a Chipotle burrito. Yes, a 1/2 chicken - 1/2 barbacoa fajita burrito with all the fixins was a welcome greeting the Nation's capital. Followed up with a night on the town with old friends, I immediately felt back at home. A perfect weekend with scorching DC summer weather was capped off with an American ball game at National's Stadium on Father's Day complete with some Papa John's pizza at a friend's apartment close to the DC Navy Yard. Good pizza, a baseball game, a walk along the Anacostia River with the Capitol Building in our sights, and a night viewing of the Miss America Pageant on a large, flat-screen TV made me feel as American as ever and I relished every second of it.
As my friends returned back to work after the weekend passed, I saddled up in the car for another 9 hour drive back to Michigan where the wedding festivities would soon commence and I'd be reunited with old friends from my University days.
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