By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion San Francisco, Oakland, & Sausalito Right off the bat, our first concern after departing the hotel was whether they would let us stay because none of us had our “papers.” Remember, this was in the Fall of 2021. Things were still a bit over the place, especially in California, where I…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion The Meditations On Saturday, October 2nd, Mayk had to improvise. A few people from Spain were supposed to be on this trip and have some cool stuff planned for us, but because of the Coof restrictions at the time, they could not fly from Spain to the United States. We met…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion Up the Mountain and into the Valley The rest of the day went on, and we went up the mountain. Regrettably, much of my memory blends between the days we spent in Shasta because much of it involved us going around the various beautiful landscapes. In memory, they all very much…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion From East Coast to West Coast This trip begins unlike any other. My grandparents, mom, and I will all go on a mystical tourist trip to Mt. Shasta, the Grand Mountain in California! My mom invited me and my grandparents to Mt. Shasta a few months after my Arizona trip. Mt.…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion Art Begins Art is in the past tense. Writing is in the past tense. Music is in the past tense. Rhythm is in the present. Flow is forever As the painter is to the brush, the pencil is to the writer, which is the method of wording. We hold instruments…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion Remembering Spain “There was another life. One where you excelled highly in what you were born to do.” The Monk in blue robes said to me. “Let’s review then. Which one was it?” I asked the monk “Present day, about 600 years ago, 15th century, in a land whose people would…
Santa Maria Cathedral By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion On April 1st, we took a guided tour of one of the biggest cathedrals in Vitoria. They told us some artists from Philly had come to work on it. On April 2nd, I went on a family trip to a small town, where I met my host’s aunt.…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion To the Basque Country! This was my first big trip outside the United States and over the Atlantic Ocean. In 2016, the year I graduated from high school, this was my “senior trip.” Almost everyone else in my graduating class had decided to go to Disney, but not me! Although it…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion For the last few days, all I remember was we went back-to-back to the Scottsdale Mall, I’d say. The mall was huge, as I had mentioned earlier! I didn’t buy much, but I did buy these unique stance socks that I still wear a pair of these days. They have palm…
By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion The day we left to go to Sedona, we stopped at a busy diner packed with people waiting to get in outside. Once we got in, the food was good! We were served by a blonde waitress who looked relatively young. From what I saw, the other restaurant staff looked Mexican.…