Pan Pilgrimage (the book)

It has come. 80 pages based on the trip you followed. Enjoy immensely. :)

Pan Pilgrimage by Ashley Ruth | Make Your Own Book

And so the trip begins to end.

There are so many adventures that have taken place in the past two weeks. From visiting my newly employed old roommate in Oklahoma City to visiting my newly engaged old roommate in Little Rock to seeing old friends in Memphis & Columbia to enjoying beautiful conversation with my cousin and his gal in Nashville on the first week, then from meeting the Phillies, the Vermontians, the Irish, the Dutch, the New Zealander, the English, the Aussie, the Canadians, the Newfies on the second week, my quest to find Peter Pan has been more than I could ever have imagined. The Never-Land is sometimes different than we ever dreamed it could be. But that's only because reality can be beautiful, too.

Loving people and being loved has to be the theme of this trip. Partially because Peter Pan & his Lost Boys missed that. The Lost Boys are lost because no one claimed them. I am lucky to not be lost (and I don't mean driving for two hours to find parking in DC or going to far in New York's Catskill Mountains). There are people that care about me and about others. I have visited them and spent time with them on this trip. Reagan, Heath, Gunnar, Becky, Aaron, Grant, Gretchen, the Tennessee tourism man, Mark, Misti, Stephanie & Lauren in Philadelphia, Ann in Vermont, internationals in Niagara, Richard & Paul in St. John's, everyone who wished me a happy birthday -- thank you for pouring out love through your time and smiles to this fellow traveler.

Now, I believe it's time to go home.

Birthdays & Peter Pan.

Waking up to the beautiful St. John's breeze for the second day, it took me a while to realize I was awake. I scurried off the top bunk to check the time on my phone. But, no worries, it was 8:15. At home, it was 6:45. Yes, I am now in the only time zone in the world that operates on a half-hour time change. The women in my room wake up early, but I never hear them.

This morning, I'm about to go to church with my new Nigerian friend -- who is hysterical. We stayed up laughing with another guy last night. He was from the Caribbean. He says that compared to where he is from, these hills in St. John's are nothing. I find that hard to believe. Remind me to try and find a hill in Holliday to start climbing.

I'm sitting in the hostel lounge waiting for the next bus ride over to the church. It will be my first pentecostal service, so I'm quite excited.

My birthday was quite nice, for those of you wondering. I spend all day going to the park, walking around the park, and coming back from the park. Peter Pan was there, so he was my company. It was lovely to see dozens of kids crawl all over him!

I'm off now. Good morning!

Day One in St. John's

Now that I've updated you a bit on the trip, here's where I am and what I am doing now: After flying in to St. John's around noon today, I walked a ways to a bus stop. At the bus stop, I met 5 girls that graduated from a Bible School a couple years ago. They are all here for their friends' wedding. They asked for my number, plus I know where they're staying, so if I get bored then I have some contacts here. It's doubtful that St. John's could be the least bit boring, though.

Nearly every other person I pass on the streets here stops me and talks to me. They are so friendly! Very laid back. I'm looking forward to a relaxing time here getting to know the people and eventually making my way a few miles to Bowring Park to see Peter Pan for the third time.

I'm staying in a 2-bunk dorm with three elder ladies who like to ski and climb mountains. They'll be here for the next couple nights as well. Again, the trip keeps getting better!

Tomorrow is my birthday! I've just remembered. The guy sitting at the computer next to me is laughing with me. Good times.

Adventures in Ontario

Written in Toronto Airport, today. 6:30 AM.


Wakening to a cold hostel room Thursday morning, which I was lucky to have all to myself once more, was more refreshing than annoying in Niagara Falls, Canada. Autumn is here, and it certainly feels like that in Canada. Later Wednesday night, after the tiramisu, I walked with the New Zealander and a retired photographer from Holland to the Falls once more. From 9pm to midnight every night, lights are projected from across the river onto the beautiful Niagara. It's quite amazing to see really. Thanks to my new friend from Holland, I was able to capture some decent night shots there.

We walked for a bit, and I found myself actually walking faster than these two men. It wa smarvelous. There aren't many times I can say that, but in this case it was true. These men were in no hurry to get anywhere, or to get anything done. Neither was I m but the hectic way in which Americans seem to carry on their day-to-day lives definitely left a dent in the way I walked next to my new friends. We wandered up and down the main road, up and down Niagara Falls, and around a bowling alley.

The next morning, as I said, was cold. But the smell of muffins got me up early enough to enjoy the "Maid of the Mist", a tour boat that goes up to the waterfalls. Until then, we had only seen the falls from above. I say "we" because this day (which proved to be one of the most carefree days of my life), I was not alone on this journey. New Zealand got up with me early, and we tarried down, took some more photos, got our tickets for the boat, and waited in line. Apparently, I need to hand out with New Zealanders much more often! There were absolutely no cares, no worries all day -- at least until I dropped him off at his hostel in Toronto and missed my flight. No worries, mom. I'm sitting in the airport right now about to get on a plane. I just didn't have to spend the night in the St. John's airport. Keep reading.

He was the only one on a boat of dozens of people that chose not to wear his raincoat. I chose not to put the hood on. You see, this particular New Zealander happens to specialize in sky diving, emergency rescue, and much more. A little Niagara shower was nothing to him. It made me very wet and cold. But it was worth it.

Seeing the Falls from below was breathtaking. If we had imagined them pounding their beautiful majesty in mighty ways from views above, we had only begun to grasp what a vast understatement that would have been.We all rocked, all nearly fell over several times, and I could barely speak. It was time to put my camera away and just watch. And I'm glad I did. Plus, New Zealand took photos that he's going to send. Soaked, we walked further down than we had gone the previous day. We went to where the Falls were falling. Like the "Maid of the Mist", this was breathtaking.

I don't even know how to begin to explain these things on here.

We had lunch, said goodbye to our hostel workers, and went to see the world's largest whirlpool. Then we drove to Toronto where New Zealand joined me in seeing the Peter Pan statue. The statue was different in many ways than the New Jersey version. It was in the middle of a playground. Which was wonderful and perfect. The entire atmosphere was carefree and playful -- in perfect keeping with my day.

When New Zealand had been dropped off at the hostel, I headed straight for the airport. The drive took at least an hour to drive when it should have taken 20 minutes. So in between the delay, enjoying myself too much, figuring out which terminal to enter, and finding a parking spot, I missed boarding my flight by a few minutes. It was adventurous though. And a great story for later.

I am now on the plane -- 8:05 AM. It's beautiful. Maybe it's because I've just come from Niagara, but the clouds look a bit like waterfalls. Either that or white cotton candy.

But probably more like waterfalls.

Niagara Falls & the Beauty of Hostelling

Written Wednesday night, September 29.

Canadians call restrooms "washrooms". Which I already knew, I had just forgotten. They also don't let you take pepper spray into their country. But the border officials are actually very friendly. Which means that the mystery of why Canadians I meet overseas are always rude and conceited continues to remain a mystery. They are actually some of the friendliest people I've met. When they are in their own country, they are incredibly nice to Americans.

Driving to Niagara today, the trees become shorter and shorter, There weren't so many hills or mountains. From Buffalo to Niagara, I had the Falls to look forward to since the autumn colors were behind me for a time. The Falls definitely did not disappoint. I went to the hostel first, which was extremely hard to find. There I was greeted by an English boy and his girlfriend, both workers at the hostel. A couple hours later, I was sitting in the middle of a couch between an Englishman and a New Zealander. Moving around the room in a circle was an Aussie-woman and an Irish-woman. The Aussies and the New Zealander drank their Niagara wine and the Irish-woman drank her beer (as I hear the Irish often do). It was quite comedic, all the stereotypes coming true in front of me. My Texas drawl just added to expectations people would have of me. I tried to kick the stupid American thing, though.

With a couple hours left to daylight, I walked down the street on my way to the Falls -- which were only a few blocks down from the hostel. By this time, I wasn't entirely certain there were any waterfalls at all, and this is the reason: Niagara Falls looks astonishingly as I would have imagined Las Vegas to look. Skyscrapers with flashing lights up and down the sides of massive hotels towered over me. I walked by a Burger King that was being attacked by a giant cement Frankenstein, for goodness sakes. The streets were lined with discount souvenir shops (for the Americans, as my friendly Englishman hostel worker pointed out), and in between those were a Wax Museum, a Ripley's Museum, an IMAX, a few haunted hosues, and trillions of neons lights flashing and blinking. I'm not sure why I had imagined Niagara Falls tucked away inside a cozy forest, But I had imagined it wrong. Coming from beautiful, natural Vermont to this hyped-up tourist attraction was a bit of a shock, I'll admit. And there are only so many souvenir shops one can walk into and see "Made in China" before you get a little frustrated at the tourist industry.

As Forrest Gump so wisely put it, And that's all I have to say about tha-at.

Once I got to the actual waterfalls, however, everything changed. They were magnificent. I walked halfway around the Canada side. Down the path to the Falls that seem to bridge the two countries, it was impossible to tell whether or not it was raining. At first, there was nothing. Then, as I walked, mist began to fall. The farther I walked down the path, the more I was certain it was raining -- maybe even about to pour down. It was then that I turned back. Then it all happened in reverse. It was raining less, then it was misting less. Then there was no mist at all.

All I'm saying is that for a person to be hundreds of yards away and hundreds of feet about the Falls and still feel the water pounding from the lake takes an extraordinary God. It's beautiful and frightening to me that this Lover who chases me across the country and keeps me safe is the same God who pounds the mighty Niagara and creates a mist that more than doubles the size of the actual waterfall. It's incredible that the God who parted the Red Sea for his people is the same God that sits with me and calls to me when I take the time to listen.

My friend in Holliday, Mary Cuba, gave me a challenge before I left - a mission to add to the quest for Peter Pan. She told me to find the best tiramisu in the world. Thus far, there hasn't been much of a budget for that. but tonight I splurged. As I write, I am eating the most fantastic tiramisu I've ever had. And I've had pretty good tiramisu. Just thought I'd add that. Hope you read this, Mary. :)

I hope to love God more than I love this tiramisu.

And that's all I have to say about tha-at.

"It must be beautiful this time of year in Vermont -- all those [leaves]"

Ever since watching Bing Crosby in "White Christmas" as a wee little lass, I've wanted to visit Vermont. Yesterday, I drove in, astonished by all the beauty along the way. Growing up with no more than a mesquite tree here and again shows to all the people I've met on this trip. They think it's pretty funny that I get so excited about the trees. But in Vermont, there's good reason. There are colours on these leaves that I've never seen in my life!

The hostel in which I'm staying now is inside the Green Mountains National Forest. Yes. Inside the forest. It's a huge log cabin run by a sweet couple and their son. Since I am the only one here right now, the owner gave me a private room with a large bed! I have a huge bathroom basically all to myself, too. After three nights in big city hostel rooms that were jam-packed with girls from all over the world, speaking all sorts of languages, this is a nice change. Last night, I was able to write a bit and think about the story that will accompany the Camden Peter Pan statue. Following that, there was a long and wonderful night's sleep.

This morning I woke up and drove into Bennington, Vermont. A HUGE adventure awaited me. Upon driving to Robert Frost's home here, a squirrel ran across the street, and unfortunately became roadkill under my tires. Fighting back tears, all sorts of thoughts came to mind. One: I'm going to the home of Frost, who writes about nature. Two: I've just been cursed from ever being a great Romantic poet. Three: I just killed a squirrel, and he's flopping in pain behind me. I know. Awful.

It was really sad, but all I could do was drive on. So I drove onto the road that Robert Frost once walked upon. There was only one car there -- a man from Nebraska that was talking on the cell phone. Neither of us had known what time the Museum/House opened so once he got off the phone, we both walked up the path to the house where we waited for about 15 minutes.

He looked like a poet to me, maybe even an artsy person from a good story. He held a gigantic to-go cup of coffee in his hand. We talked about Texas and how great a country it is. Then we talked about how excited I was to be at Robert Frost's home, then about how I was an English major. His daughter happened to be an English major as well, and she says that she's an English major because it means she'll be smarter than everyone else. I laughed pretty hard at that one. He asked what my favorite Frost poems were. and we talked about those and whether or not he wrote them in the house before us.

The museum lady finally came up the path and opened the doors for us. We followed her in, and I got out my five dollars to pay. He got out some money, too, and he handed it to her, saying, "Let's just make the rest of it a donation." It was apparently a lot of money because she exclaimed, "Thank you. All of it? Why would you want to give this much?"

And then he replied: "Well, Robert Frost was my great-grandfather, so, yeah."

Yup. That's what he said. No lie. And he was acting like it was no big deal. I discussed Frost poetry with a Frost. Now, that is a big deal.

I was stunned. We wandered together throughout the house, and neither of us said anything. It was so funny. Ashley in a state of shock. Eventually, he went down the road to get another big cup of coffee. Enough time to gather my thoughts. The museum lady & I decided that he might like to have some pictures next to his great-grandfather's house. When he came back, we did a little photo shoot, and I even got in on a picture with him!

After my encounter with Frost's great-grandson, I visited Robert Frost's grave. There I met an older man -- from Michigan -- who came to see the grave. He is a poet inspired by Frost as well. We had a good time getting to know each other in the graveyard, which I suppose sounds creepy. But at the time, it was great.

Tomorrow, I'll wake up early and drive about 7 hours to Niagara Falls. Tomorrow, I'll be in another country. The day after tomorrow, I'll see the Toronto Peter Pan statue. Could this trip get any better?

The City of Brotherly Love

Sitting on the pier this morning, I wrote down what I wanted to say on here as soon as I got to internet. But now that scrap of paper is sitting in the locker of my hostel while I sit at Sonny's Cheesesteaks. You'll just have to believe me on that one. What I wanted to say at the time was how beautiful everything was. The weather was perfect and the ferry was amazing. Here's a photo of me on the Camden side of the river.

I was fairly pumped. Peter Pan was amazing. All the goosebumps I could have imagined all popped up at the same time. It was like a movie. Walking around the corner, wondering if he was really there, he suddenly appeared. Here's what he looks like.

There are so many ideas floating around my head about the short story that will go with this statue. More to come on that. On another note, the surroundings of the statue were also amazing. Here's some from the Walt Whitman Center of Arts square.

More of these will be on facebook later. You should look forward to that. :)  Then I went on to a Phillies game.

Today was absolutely amazing. The city of brotherly love surpassed all expectations. Looking forward to Vermont tomorrow, though.

Eating a Philly Cheese(steak).

Sitting here in Philadelphia at a place that claims to have the best philly cheesesteak in Philly, I'm starting to wonder if there is a wee bit of Buddy the Elf in me (you know, like when he goes to all the places that have the "world's best coffee" signs). Granted, I did get chicken instead of steak. My mis(steak). Hehe.

Now I can say that I've been to DC, stayed in a hostel, randomly found a national book festival, and eaten a Philly cheesesteak. Tomorrow, I will hopefully be able to say that I've been to a Phillies game, stayed a second night in a hostel, and seen a Peter Pan statue. The initial concept of my trip will be realized soon.

Here are some photos from the past couple days, including a wonderful breakfast with Misti and a beautiful walk with Hutto.

 breakfast alla misti

Garden in DC

 Franklin bein' smart.

Virginia cotton

 DC pigeon

 random awesome book fair.

Yup. I got to see curious george.

The photos from the people-part of the Pan trip.

Reagan in OKC

Heath & I with my new Beatles cds

a little taste of home in the middle of Arkansas

Aaron Beasley coffee visit in Memphis

What?!!? Me in Nashville?

Me with Beasley's smoothie-creation -- MangApple. Yummmmm.

Rock-Star cousin & Gretchen in Nashville

Yup. Rackin' up the states.

Chia!!!!!!!!!!

Chia doing what chia was meant to do.

Miro satis & me drinking chia.

Little Rock.

Becky wearing her rock.

Me in a super awesome playground tunnel

Me picking a giant head's nose.

Me with the Washington Monument in Little Rock.

Sticky Fingerz in Little Rock.

Adventures with Becky.