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The Travelling Futon

a travel blog by Amber

I am the owner of a futon, more appropriately a yo, that has more frequent flier miles than most people. Well maybe not most, but definitely more than the average American. Speaking with friends tonight I've discovered that I've owned this futon for almost 15 years now and we jokingly talked about how it's travels should be recorded. Thus this blog was created. Hope you enjoy!

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The day I recieved the futon

Hilo, United States

The guy I was dating at the time was getting ready to leave the islands. As a result he gave me a futon as he no longer had any need for it and would be unable to transport it back to the states easily. Therefore I inherited it, more appropriately it is a yo, not a futon, but I like to call it the travelling futon. This is the tale of it's travels and experiences.

We squished it into the back of "Greybie" my little Toyota Tercel and off it went on it's first journey from his apartment near the bay to mine up near Rainbow Falls. I think I kept it propped up in a corner of my room and there it rested.

permalink written by  Amber on May 1, 1993 from Hilo, United States
from the travel blog: The Travelling Futon
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Moving back home

Pahoa, United States

Well it was a short-lived stay in the house near Rainbow Falls. I soon moved back to the parent's house in Pahoa and thus the travelling futon got it's second journey in Greybie as it was moved with all the rest of my stuff back to Nanawale Estates and the downstairs apartment.

It had a bit of company there in my living room as it was one of many sleep options, including 2 twin beds, the couch, and the massage table. It spent many a time supporting drunken friends as they dozed in a stupor both in the apartment, and while out "camping" on my lot.

I then left Pahoa in August of 1994 and said good-bye to the futon as I flew off to college on Oahu.

permalink written by  Amber on June 1, 1993 from Pahoa, United States
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Island Hopping

Honolulu, United States

After spending a semester at UH-Manoa in the dorms, I decided that dorm life was just not for me. So I located an apartment in the back of Palolo Valley. Since it wasn't furnished I needed to locate a bed, and a friend had one to give me but we just needed to arrange transportation. In the mean time I was home visiting my parents on the Big Island and decided to attempt to squish the futon into a tv box and take it back as one of my checked luggage pieces so that I could have something to sleep on other than the cold tile floor. I think it took 3 of us to get it to fit in the box, along with lots and lots of duct tape, but finally it was achieved and the futon came back with me on the flight to Honolulu and the house in Palolo Valley.

During this time I got fed up with school, became a beach bum, met a guy, and decided I was moving to Ohio. Thus, I now needed to find a place for all my stuff. I gave the futon to my best friend and thus it was transported in Greybie to her apartment in Kalihi. While it was in her care she moved to another apartment in Salt Lake where I would visit it when I came to stay at her place.

permalink written by  Amber on January 4, 1995 from Honolulu, United States
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Navy tour of duty

Flint, United States

My best friend was married to a guy in the Navy and when he seperated they moved from Honolulu to Flint, Michigan. The futon was packed up in their household goods and transported to Flint. I don't know a lot about it's time here, although I do know it lived in 2 different apartments.

permalink written by  Amber on June 1, 1997 from Flint, United States
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Driving to the Dust Bowl

Stillwater, United States

After a year or two in Michigan my best friend and her husband decided to move to Stillwater, Oklahoma to be closer to her family. The futon was packed in the U-Haul with the rest of their stuff and driven down to Stillwater and moved into their first apartment.

I came out to visit in September 1998 and helped move it from one apartment to another across town, and low and behold it became my bed again -- or at least for the weekend that I was in town.

permalink written by  Amber on August 1, 1997 from Stillwater, United States
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Rescued from the trailer

Oklahoma City, United States

At some point in Spring of 1999 my best friend, who was newly divorced, has met someone new. She moved to be with him in this teeny tiny town outside of Oklahoma City, whose name escapes me -- perhaps because I'm trying to block the memories of my time spent there one Summer weekend in 1999.

At any rate I flew out to visit and was reunited with the futon again. After seeing the amount of animals that were living in the trailer I decided that it was time to rescue the futon and bring it back with me to Ohio. Thus it was squeezed into another large box with lots of duct tape and transported back to the Oklahoma City airport for its next adventure.

permalink written by  Amber on May 1, 1999 from Oklahoma City, United States
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Airport Delays

Memphis, United States

On the way back to Cincinnati from Oklahoma City, I got delayed in Memphis long enough to have to stay overnight. Since I had checked both the futon AND my luggage, in order for me to have clean clothes for the next day I had to agree to take both my suitcase and the futon box. Thus, the futon was transported by shuttle bus to the Holiday Inn where the airline had put us up for the evening. In the morning, I returned to the airport, futon box in tow and continued on back to Cincinnati.

permalink written by  Amber on August 1, 1999 from Memphis, United States
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Home again home again

Cincinnati, United States

My little brother picked me up at the airport and transported the futon in its box back to the car on his skateboard. Eventually we made it back to the house in Blue Ash and he carried the futon upstairs where he commandeered it for his own during the duration of his stay.

A month or two later we moved to another house in nearby Deer Park, another suburb of Cincinnati. The futon moved with us, this time residing in the spare bedroom across the hall from his room. Here it stayed for quite some time, allowing me to read on it in the early hours of the morning when I came home from work in the bar, before my boyfriend would wake up for the day.

permalink written by  Amber on August 2, 1999 from Cincinnati, United States
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Leaving on a jet plane

Honolulu, United States

Well things went sour in Ohio and I moved back to Hawaii in May of 2000. I left most of my stuff at the ex's house, including the futon. On one of my visits back to Ohio, I transported the futon back to Honolulu as part of my checked luggage (if only I could of gotten the frequent flyer miles for it as well).

It got lots of use at Trouble Townhouse as we often had visitors staying over, up to 27 in the first month alone. When I moved into the apartment in Kapahulu, the futon moved with me, this time being utilized as a couch for awhile.

I finally finished my MLIS in May of 2003 and moved most of my stuff into storage and moved back to the Big Island in interest of saving money. I gave the futon to a girl friend of mine who used it in her loft in Manoa Valley.

permalink written by  Amber on June 30, 2001 from Honolulu, United States
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Surpise!

Aviano, Italy

I since moved to Alabama and then accepted a position at Aviano, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. I pick up a girl friend at the Venice airport and she's carrying a rather large box. We get back to my apartment about an hour and half north of Venice and open up a bottle of wine and begin reminiscing. At some point throughout the evening she tells me I need to open the box. Imagine my surprise when I open it and there's the futon, which has now travelled half way around the world to be reunited with me.

It's a good thing she did bring it, as it was promptly set into use a few days later when a friend of hers came to visit Italy as well and we needed the extra bed.

Since then I've loaned it to my upstairs neighbor while she was waiting for her bed to arrive, and it now resides in the shoe room.

Who knows where the futon will travel next?

permalink written by  Amber on April 15, 2005 from Aviano, Italy
from the travel blog: The Travelling Futon
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Amber Amber
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I'm an ex-bartender turned librarian who adores travel and doesn't tend to stay in one place for very long. I've lived in 4 states and 2 countries and visited many more. A nifty little widget at another site had calculated that I've seen 12% of the world so I better get off the computer and out...

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