by Chris Gajewski | May 26, 2023 | Current Journey, Friends of GInA, The Coffee Chronicles
Hello All, It’s been a busy couple of months. Four or five now? What month is it? Anyway, I finished one of my projects and it is now available on Amazon. The ePub is available free for the last five days of Mental Health Awareness Month, now through the 31st. I...
by Chris Gajewski | Dec 4, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
…and that is a sucky title for the final column. Toes in the sand? The end of the beginning? Across 50 states? How do you you wrap up 40,000 miles through 50 states and 110 columns over five months? Anything I write will seem anti climatic to me. But these are...
by Chris Gajewski | Dec 3, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
It was tough figuring out which picture to use as the “featured image.” Papakolea Beach is my favorite place. Ever. I think it is the uniqueness of it. There are only four green sand beaches in the world and one is right next to South Point on the Big...
by Chris Gajewski | Dec 3, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
As the sun sets on this adventure, how could I not make a pilgrimage to KOA Coffee Plantation, the coffee I have been trying to better this entire trip? It came close in Alaska but everything else just palled in comparison. So, I went back down south, to Kona, the...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 30, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
I hate making generalizations about people, but I found two generalizations that have fit everybody I have met from Hawai’i. The first is, off the islands, Hawaiians have absolutely no sense of direction. They can lost in a parking lot. North, south, left,...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 30, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
And around we go. I wasn’t planning on doing it today. The weather on the Big Island can be hit or miss believe it or not. It really is like a microcosm of the US. Depending on where I am on the island, and what elevation, I can go from 60-80 degrees. On the dry...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 28, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
Well, close to a year after I first expected to be here, and after 5 months, 49 states and about 32,000 miles, I finally made it back to the Big Island of Hawai’i. A journey through 50 states of Covid America has come to a close. I am going to cheat a little bit...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 23, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
I do love Seattle. I just wish I could, well, get rid of a mountain range? The Cascade Mountain range is what keeps the Pacific Northwest lush and beautiful. It is also why there is such a gloomy winter. Despite popular belief, Seattle (and Portland) are not even in...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 23, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
The final leg of the journey is really the first leg. It was the only leg. Hawai’i. This time last year? I was just exhausted. So damn tired. I remember exactly where I was and exactly where I would be: at work. I’d be spending Thanksgiving at work and...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 19, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
Every time I have gone to write a “road to” column, I’ve been wanting to write “The Road to Escondido.” I didn’t even know where it was. It pops into my head because it is one of my favorite albums, a collaboration between Eric...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 17, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
I know, I’m going out of order here if you are following me on Facebook or Instagram as well, but this seemed like a good spot to write about something I came across months ago in National Geographic: Friluftsliv. Friluftsliv is what we all need to embrace right...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 16, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
(I’m trying to catch up here) With a packed car, half of the stuff from my storage area, I headed out, just sopping for a night here and there as I made my way down to Austin. Friends, a winery and a Bloody Mary were awaiting me. And I place to finally unpack my...
by Chris Gajewski | Nov 14, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
“I’m not finished!” –Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman, slamming his walking cane down on the table and rising up to deliver a blistering tirade. How apt. In the movie, he’s blind. I was blind. I was blind to a lot of things. My vision is...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 27, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
This particular journey has come to an end. Or maybe it is just the end of this segment? The final tally was about 108 days, 49 states and 28,000 miles. I found a hotel room a few hundred yards from where I started. Well, where I started the second or third time. Now,...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 25, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
The day started out in northern Michigan before the sunrise. That’s been something interesting about the trip: latitude and altitude. It’s just something that you don’t think about much, but it’s important as you zig zag across America over a...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 23, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
And then I slept. And slept some more. My body had been telling me something. I had been ignoring it. So, it took the wheel. I arrived in Gaylord, Michigan about 4 (EST), yesterday. I thought about doing the things I had done a hundred times: unpacking, setting up the...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 21, 2020 | Current Journey
I found Minneapolis! I didn’t have much luck with it’s Twin, St. Paul. I’m not quite sure what happened. The “downtowns” are only 15 minutes apart. GPS took me into downtown Minneapolis. Then, it took me on a road (35 I think), and it got...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 19, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
Cheers as I start my way to state #44? #43 Is it Wednesday? Sunday? I’m in Central Time zone, right? Where the hell am I? –“Chris’ World” gets pretty confusing when I start paying attention. But I think I have grown as a person. With over...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 18, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
Something that has been on my mind as I traveled the country was a computer game I used to play far too much: Civilization. You start off and build one city. It is essential you build it in the right place. Your goal at the beginning of the game is to build three...
by Chris Gajewski | Oct 17, 2020 | Current Journey, Musings
Let’s talk Chicago! I’m not there. I’m not even going close. The ride to Peoria from St. Louis was close enough. I absolutely love Chicago in the summertime. I’ve been there mid winter. Who the hell holds a conference in Chicago in the middle...
