A Summer Itinerary

Last summer I think I changed time zones something like fifteen or sixteen times (not counting the ones I flew across in a single flight) between the end of the spring semester and the start of the fall semester. It's starting to look like this summer might rival last summer, as I am planning several trips and starting to iron out some of the more specific details. Apart from the fact that I'm going to miss my spouse and dog like crazy, I'm pretty excited about my trips!

May will take me to Vancouver for a long weekend for some downtime with my spouse and for a half marathon. Then later that month I will fly to NYC to spend about two weeks there doing some final database work for the project I was working on last summer. I'm also planning to do some research of my own while there and to visit some museums -- the Met's PUNK exhibit is seeming a pretty likely destination -- to do some running in Central Park, to hit up a yoga class or two, to do a bit of writing in the amazing New York Public Library, and to try to stay out of Century 21.

I'll spend most of June in Saint Louis, as I'll be participating in a four-week long NEH Summer Institute that's being held at a university in that city. I'm psyched to have the chance to hang out with and collaborate with a bunch of other early modernists, as I'm the only one in my department here in the Greater Whiter North. I'm definitely excited to explore a city that I haven't spent much time in up to this point, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to meet up with the fabulous Joanna before her big move. I also hope that Mark might be able to come out to join me for one of the weekends. From Saint Louis I'll head to Spain. I'm planning on spending four or five weeks there and splitting my time between archives in Madrid and Seville. I'm not sure if it will work out yet or not, but I'm considering a weekend trip to Burgos and possibly one to London or Amsterdam to visit friends. I still have to figure out accommodations for the Spanish portion of my travels, but I'm hoping that Madrid friends will let me stay with them for part of the time to help my budget stretch a little farther.

After I leave Spain, I'll probably meet up with Mark in Toronto for about a week to visit his family and to use the rare book collection at the University of Toronto Library. We'll head back home together and have about a week or so before classes start. What does all this mean for my running plans? I'm not yet sure. However, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to maintain higher mileage this summer than I was able to last, as I'm registered to run the Big Wild half-marathon here about a week after I plan on getting back into Anchorage.

Do you have any summer travels planned? What strategies do you use for getting in your runs when you're doing a lot of traveling? Also, I'm definitely taking recommendations for restaurants and coffee shops in Saint Louis, so if you have suggestions please do let me know!