꒰ Tuesday 04.14.24꒱

My first ever solo daytrip (out of the city i live in) was a big success! ^o^ This entry will be very image-heavy!

Today I woke up early because even though I'm prone to sleeping past noon, it doesn't feel like a daytrip if I don't wake up early... My outfit for today consisted of my red axes femme cat sweater (which I showed off in this diary entry), a long brown plaid skirt, lacy socks, and brown mary janes. In my tote bag, I packed my sketchbook, watercolor paints, a bottle of milk tea, volume 2 of The Summer Hikaru Died, and a calico critter to keep me company!

Public transiting to my destination took 2-3 hours, and transiting back the same amount of time... I took a lot of buses today. I'm proud of myself for not getting lost or missing any buses, I always got where I needed without a problem! Thanks Google Maps.

Heres the scenic view from the window of one of the buses I took. As someone from a state known for its flat terrain, mountains never cease to amaze me.



While waiting for the bus after this one, an older gentleman sat down on the bench next to me and made small talk with me. Usually I'm wary of random men approaching me, but this guy passed the vibe check. He was very pleasant to talk to and we ended up continuing our conversation throughout the duration of the bus ride. I noticed he was riding a bike, so we talked a bit about our shared interest in biking. He told me he bikes/takes public transit everywhere and frequently explores new or interesting places. He gave me some suggestions for places I could try visiting and enthusiastically recommended taking a bike to the beach and biking along the shore. I definitely feel inspired after chatting with him, when I get another "free time and fun" week I'll be sure to take my bike to the beach!

The first thing I did when I arrived at my destination was stop by a restaurant to get lunch, as I had yet to eat. The restaurant I chose to eat at was featured in an article about newly opened restaurants. I think it's newness was the reason why I was the only customer in the entire restaurant! The waiter was really friendly and chatted with me since he had no other guests to attend to. He let me try some free food since he was in the process of reworking the menu and wanted to hear some customer opinions!







Pictured: the pasta I ordered and a free bun
Not pictured: free soup he also gave me

After hearing I finished up my classes for the school year, he even offered me a free beer to celebrate LOL. I was handed an entire bottle of beer so I invited him to sit at my table and share the bottle with me. We had a really pleasant conversation and he told me a bit about the restaurant, how it's family owned, and his plans for the future of the restaurant. I made a quick watercolor sketch of the front of the restaurant to thank him for his kindness (and the free food), as I often like to do with local family-owned restaurants with friendly staff. He asked me about my preference in music and I told him about Lamp. As I left the restaurant I could hear Lamp playing over the speakers...

Next I wandered around the area, visiting whatever shops or buildings caught my eye. At a thrift store, I found a light blue, lace-trimmed maxi-dress that I tried on and ended up purchasing. It fits my style and I don't have much blue in my wardrobe! Plus I imagine it would look cute with a sunhat... It would be perfect for my future beach biking trip!

I then went to a public garden that piqued my interest because it's free to visit and looks ideal for plein air painting. The garden was really beautiful, and smelled so nice with all the flowers... It was so tranquil and had plenty of quiet nooks for visitors to sit and read among the foliage. I took lots of nice photos while walking around. I even met a rabbit who was fine with me sitting next to him and watching him eat grass!! I also made a plein air painting-- I'll upload it once I add some finishing touches.



^This is my favorite photo I took today.































Finally I went to this lovely cafe that had a jewel-toned antique theme to it. I felt like I fit right into the setting with my vintage-inspired axes femme outfit that day LOL.











I ordered a rose au lait, cozied up with my volume of The Summer Hikaru Died, and soaked in the atmosphere of the cafe. I read until the cafe closed...



It was then time for the 2-3 hour transit back. The time passed by quickly as I listened to music and texted my friends about my day.

I took a lot of buses and a train. I got really lucky.. the bus connecting to the train was late so when I arrived at the train station the train was seconds away from departing. I was still confused and double checking to make sure I had the right train on the right platform, when a woman on the platform told me to run. so I did. I jumped through the doors just as they begun to close!! I asked a passenger on the train if I was on the right train and she excitedly answered "yes!!" Turns out it was the last train, too!

Today was so fun! I was afraid to travel alone but the universe was good to me today and I encountered only kindness and kind people. I think because I was on my own, strangers were more inclined to approach me. Luckily they were all kind strangers. I feel grateful for the brief but lovely connections I made today. I really do feel happy to be alive! "Free time and fun" week is off to a strong start! I'm excited for the rest of the week.

(I'm really sleepy so I'm even worse with words than usual but I wanted to write this right away so the memories are fresh.. I'll go back and edit things tomorrow..)