Me, April, Julie, and Jonathan on the color slides in Estes Park, CO.
This is the continuation of How I Became A Nomad: Part 4. Make sure to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 first.
I arrived at the bar that April had told me how to get to. I will have to admit I was a little anxious. I had no idea what to expect. When I got inside I spotted Julie at a table with a lot of people. There were probably 15 people at the table. I was introduced to everyone including April. I sat next to April and everyone began to ask me questions.
Everyone was so interested in my sudden move to Colorado. I told them the story about the events leading up to me getting there. Then April asked where I was staying. I told her I was staying in my car for now until I found a job.
“Your not staying in your car. We all have places you can stay. How about you stay with me?”
April was a flight attendant for United Airlines. She had recently moved back in with her parents while she waited to move into a house her and some friends (who were sitting with us that night as well) had rented. She told me her brother was off at college and I could stay in his room.
This was great. I didn’t have to sleep in my car another night. Everyone at the table that night was very accepting and fun to be around. I ended up staying at April’s parents house for about a week until she moved in to her house. She told me I could move as well and sleep in the basement.
Me, April, Eric, and Julie
The house was on a street off of Table Mesa Drive. It was a split level house. When you walked in the front door you were immediately met with two sets of stairs. One going up and the other going down. On the top floor was the main living room and kitchen. There were also 2 bedrooms. On the bottom floor was another living room area, a laundry room, and 2 other bedrooms.
Besides April there were three other people living in the house. Three guys. One was an engineer, one was a high school teacher, and the other was in grad school. I was very thankful for everyone being so laid back and not caring that I would be sleeping on the floor in the downstairs living room.
I still did not have a job and was not paying rent. I was diligently applying for jobs, but no one was calling me back. I felt like a mooch, but was consistently reminded that I could continue to stay. I continued to meet new people and Boulder quickly became my home. I had a group of friends that I hung out with everyday. We would go on day trips together to places like Estes Park, CO. I started to rock climb whenever I had the chance. I mostly did bouldering since it didn’t require much gear.
April, Julie, Me, Jonathan, Alli, and Ross
April’s job as a flight attendant allowed her more days off in a row than my other roommates. She would usually work for several days and then be back for several days. This meant that I spent more time with April than the other roommates since we were home a lot at the same time.
One night when we were hanging out I told her we should get out of town and go on a trip. I told her I didn’t want to go too far because I didn’t want to have to drive for a long time. Her response:
“Why would we drive? Let’s just fly.”
That sounded like a great idea. She had buddy passes so that I could fly for free. She pulled out an International Hostels book and said we should pick a hostel we want to stay at. In the US of course.
We came across an amazing looking hostel in Washington State off the coast of Seattle. It was on Vashon Island. The reason this hostel was so great is because you could stay in a tee pee. So we decided that is what we were going to do. We were going to leave the next morning and leave a note for our roommates saying, “we went to ??”
There was only one problem, April had to work the next day. Since she lived in Boulder you would think she worked out of Denver Airport, but she actually worked out of Chicago O’hare airport. So every time she went to work she would jump on a flight to Chicago. Talk about a commute. She thought she might be able to get out of working so we headed to the airport destined for Seattle.
When we got to the airport she went to find out if she could get off. No luck. She was going to have to work. Oh well, I thought, we can just do it another time. Then April asked if I just wanted to come to Chicago with her and stay there while she worked and then we could go to Seattle. April had an apartment in Chicago with two other flight attendants. So we were off to Chicago.
April was working for three days. I did not know anyone in Chicago, so I went out on the town by myself. Her apartment was right off the blue line (one of the train routes in Chicago). I would get on the train everyday and head downtown to explore. I tried to see everything I could that was free. I spent a lot of time in bookstores and on Michigan Avenue.
Once April returned we were off to Seattle. When we arrived we met up with one of her friends. This is the same friend that was having the going away party when I first moved to Boulder. We hung out for the day with her and then she dropped us off at the fairy.
It was my first time to visit Seattle. I loved how green it was there and how you could see Mt. Rainer in the distance.
After the short ferry ride to Vashon Island we were picked up by a van from the hostel. When we arrived, there they were, the tee pees. The hostel was no where near anything. There were no other buildings or houses. We were surrounded by forest.
The weather was perfect. During the day it was in the 70s and at night got into the 40s or 50s. Perfect temperature for camping in a tee pee. The tee pees were big and had enough room for two cots. We spent our days there exploring the trails that ran through the forest. We made a great choice for a hostel.
After our short stay on Vashon Island we were headed back to Boulder. I forgot to mention that each flight we got bumped up to first class. How cool is that.
I stayed in Boulder for a short time longer before moving on to my next destination. I had officially become a nomad.
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Good stuff. I’m inviting others to read. I hope that’s okay.
Jonathan – I’m sending this to my son Dan in Lbk. TX. Good stuff!!!!
I enjoyed it very much. But since your father is an English major and pastor, I think the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Way to go!
Thanks Sharon. I am not so sure that my writing quite compares to my dads, but thanks for the kind words.
write more! you got me hooked!
I have to laugh a little at your adventures… My mother lived in Chicago with flight attendants when she was single. I think about seven of them shared the apartment, but no more than four were home at any given time. They all decided to move to Denver after a while, because it sounded like fun. That is where she met my father. Her first cousin owns a home on Vashon Island and rode the ferry to work at Boeing everyday. He was an engineer and raised his family there. His oldest son worked for Intel before Intel became a household word. He was also a rock climber and mountaineer in his younger days. I always loved visiting them–that part of the country is so beautiful! Mt. Rainier is one of my favorite places. You have been fortunate in your travels!
It is crazy the connections we all have with each other. It is exciting to hear similarities in others lives.
This is soooo fun to read!!
I am glad you enjoyed it Julie. I have only good memories from my time hanging out with you guys.
Definitely an interesting story. Its funny how one can have unexplainable urges to move to new locations.
I am always feeling that urge. Right now I have a strong desire to learn a new language and really want to move to another country to learn. I have a few places in mind and hope that soon we can make a 3 month trip to fulfill that dream of mine. I think 3 months of strictly not speaking any English period should get me well on my way, after some pre-trip preparation of course.