Everything you need to know from 24 days on the road!

Bests:

Best homemade preserves, bread, everything else: Marilyn in Deer Park, WA

Best pizza: Jupiter in Berkeley, CA

Best donut: Voodoo Donuts in Portland, OR

Best Travel buddy: (can I answer this one without offending a family member?) Leann

Best host: I cannot answer this. I was truly, truly blessed!

Best home-cooked “Midwestern” meal: juiciest hamburgers of my life made by Vic in Seattle

Best lunch: Thai (both in Deer Park…Yum! And in Colorado Springs with Dad and Jim…their first Thai!)

Best car snack: dried mango and berries from Costco in Chicago, IL

Best home-cooked breakfast: Marilyn’s pancakes in Deer Park, WA

Best bought breakfast: blackberry pancakes at Wade’s Café in Colorado Springs, CO

Best Groupon: Crepes Francaise in downtown Colorado Springs, CO (it was much more expensive than I expected. We wouldn't have gone with the Groupon)

Best Yelp suggestion: Bridgeview Inn in Chamberlain, South Dakota

Best Couchsurfing hosts: Eric, Kathy, and Blaze in Colorado Springs, CO

Best chain hotel: Courtyard by Marriott in Las Vegas, NV

Best Gas Price: $2.53/gal in Missouri

Best carrot nickname: “nature’s popsicle” from Deer Park, WA

Best unexpectedly borrowed tool: the Garmin that the Browns loaned us in Madison, WI

Best gas station purchase for the car: the 3 in 1 car charger that fit in the cup holder!

Best car tool: the 3-prong wall charger to car charger converter (I could charge EVERYTHING in my car!)

Best world event I was apart of: the grand opening of the new Hoover Dam Bypass in Hoover Dam, NV (it was featured in last week’s USA Today)

Best news I received on the road: Kylie’s birth (my cousin’s baby)

Best “thank you” present I received: the blackberry tea candle from Jim bought in Old Colorado City, CO

Best new friend I’ve made: Wendy in Deer Park, WA

Best late night conversation: Blaze in Colorado Springs, CO

Worsts:

Worst meal: the fly in mayo at Subway outside of the Redwood Forrest

Worst breakfast: grilled jelly and oatmeal at our campsite at the Grand Canyon

Worst gas station snack: dried papaya from Greybull, WY

Worst item that got left behind: huge Costco sized Dove ultra moisturizing shampoo and conditioner in Seattle, WA

Worst case of taxidermy freak out: a little store in Alsea, OR

Worst set back: hitting an animal on the first day (4 hour delay!)

Worst accident when I was in a hurry: the blow out of the bladder of my camel bag on our way to Pike’s Peak…needless to say, we didn’t make Pike’s Peak til the next day

Worst wifi hotspot: the Hilton in Las Vegas (16.99 a day! No thanks!)

Worst Gas Price: $4.59/gal along the coast of California at a little gas station ran by a sneaky little old man (it was a dollar more a gallon than anywhere else around! ie: Santa Barbara was only $3.09)

Worst traffic jam: 4 miles in 45 minutes at Hoover Dam, NV

Mosts:

Most boring stretch: toss-up between Kansas and the Eastern side of Wyoming

Most exciting stretch of road: Yellowstone, WY

Most beautiful stretch of road: the Californian coastline

Most taxing on my body: all the time changes back to the Midwest. Ugh.

Most taxing on my ability to breathe: Jim’s smoking. Ugh.

Most memorable shower: the pay showers at the Grand Canyon campgrounds (8 quarters = 8 minutes!)

Most expensive tolls: Illinois - $4.20 (the only others were in Kansas - $2.50)

Most pointless National Monument: Four Corners (though we’d do it again!)

Favorites:

Favorite people I met: the people of Christ’s Church of Deer Park in Deer Park, WA

Favorite baby: Olivia…the walking cabbage patch doll...I love her little laugh!

Favorite dog: just kidding…you all had dogs, except Jenny…she had cats, super soft cats… I loved them all: Bennington (and the other two), Gypsy, Jessie, Frida*, Buddy, Elsie, & Bristol!

Favorite bridge: Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA

Favorite national landmark: Mt Rushmore, SD

Favorite national park: Redwood Forrest, CA

Favorite mountain to explore: Mt Spokane in Spokane, WA

Favorite volcano: Mt St Helen, WA

Favorite train ride up a mountain: the COG railroad up Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs, CO

Favorite “dam” joke: “You all know our official photograph policy, right? Take all the dam pictures you want. Hehehe…” – our weird little underground tour guide at the Hoover Dam, NV

Favorite animal sighting: bison in the road in Yellowstone, WY

Favorite Museum: tie: the Getty in LA, CA and the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs, CO

Favorite geek out moment: walking around the soundstages of Chuck on the WB lot in Los Angeles, CA

Favorite Hollywood star: Charlie Chaplin’s on Hollywood Blvd in LA, CA

Favorite city that we drove through too fast: San Francisco

Favorite movie to reference during this adventure: So I Married An Axe Murderer

Favorite Vegas show: Mac King Comedy Magic Show

Favorite slots in Vegas: Mermaids on the Fremont Street Experience

Favorite random sighting: a cowboy herding sheep in Big Horn Mountains

Favorite random sound: seals calling each other from the rocks in Crescent City, CA

Favorite state: Idaho

Favorite picture:

Favorite Souvenir: Geode necklace from the Western Mining Museum in Colorado Springs

Favorite roadside saying: “Raising a teenager is like trying to nail jelly to a tree” a storage unit saying in Washington State

Favorite random Indiana question: “You know that hamburger place that Indiana’s known for? C’mon, you know it… no, no, no…the other one…c’mon…” a guy in a coffee shop in Portland, OR (I ended up realizing he meant Steak N Shake) He also asked me repeatedly if I lived on a farm. I do not.

Favorite place to tell people I was from: “the Midwest” (sorry, I have no specific town or even state anymore. it’s been a weird decade)

Favorite state highway symbol: Washington State (it’s a bust of George Washington, not just a state shape…Kansas is a sun…weird…)

Favorite color of the road: pink

Favorite quiet place: The Writing Lab in Santa Monica, CA

Favorite cd: Megan's random mix

Favorite activity with Mom: driving through the mountains of WY, MT and Idaho

Favorite activity with Catie & Kelly: traipsing about in the Redwood Forrest

Favorite activity with Leann: camping in Grand Canyon

Favorite activity with Dad & Jim: the Pike’s Peak train

Numbers:

Number of water bottles left: 2

Number of boxes of cereal left: 1 ½

Number of pounds of prunes left: 3 (I got on the road and realized they would not actually be a good snack)

Number of travel buddies that didn’t leave something in my car: 0

Number of pictures: 6,955**

Number of state license plates I saw: 37 out of 50 (plus I saw 2 Canadian plates and a couple government plates)

Number of wild animals: 11 (deer, sheep, big horn sheep, cows, horses, buffalo, bison, turkey, elk, pronghorn, seal/sea lions) ... I'm not counting all the unique birds I saw; the number would be much higher... seriously a blue pigeon!

Number different “beware of ______” signs: 7 (deer, big horn sheep, mountain lion, horse, elk, cow, some kind of bird)

Number of wild animal I wanted to see but didn’t: 1 (bear!)

Number of celebrities I saw in LA: 7

Number of sleeping bags I carried with me: 2

Number of tents I carried with me: 1

Number of people who could have fit in the tent: 6

Number of times the tent was used: 1

Number of people in the tent when it was used: 2

Number of days I was on the road: 24 days and 3 hours

Number of states I traveled through: 18

Number of gas station stops: 25

Number of pages in my $ tracking ledger: 6

Everything Else:

Total hours of driving completely by myself: 29 (5 Deer Park to Seattle, 4.5 LA to Vegas, 19.5 Colorado Springs, CO to Kokomo, IN) – this doesn’t count all the alone driving in LA

Longest solo drive: Topeka, KS to Kokomo, IN (10 straight hours!)

Shortest solo drive: my cousin’s house to Hollywood Museum (3 blocks)

Amount left in my checking account: $19.79

Lowest Elevation: sea level

Highest Elevation: 14,110 feet

Average speed: 68mph

Average mpg: 31.5

Starting mileage: 141,955

End mileage: 148,324

Total mileage: 6,369

Well, my dear friends, I think that about sums it up. If there is anything else you would like to know about the past month, please feel free to ask***.

Thank you so much for following this. On the road, I’d think of you all often. I referred to this blog as my “job” though honestly it’s become a job that I’ve loved. Sorry for the blank spaces. I know some of you (mom) were disappointed when I didn’t update. I got the angry texts (mom!) and emails (MOM!). Haha… Sadly, not everywhere is as wifi compatible as they should be in 2010 (I’m looking at you, Vegas!). I hope you’ve been as entertained reading about it, as I have been living it. Honestly, if anyone knows where I can get a job traveling and writing it up, just let me know.

Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart…

--the nomad

*I’m ashamed to admit I had to ask for the name of Brent and Martha’s dog. I forgot her name. darn it!

**And the winner is…. Aunt Becky with the guess of 6,839! Hooray! I’ll deliver your prize in person next week. How’s that? J

***I will not be closing this blog. I intend on continually writing in here. After all, what really makes this adventure over? Nothing. I’m saying at my mom’s until the weekend and then I’m off again to Cincinnati for a few days. After that, God only knows…I still wish He’d let me in on at least a bit of it. But, ah…adventure! J

For the love of mercy, never click your heels.

When Dorothy clicked her heels and returned to home did she really know what she was getting into? Kansas. blech.

After driving through Kansas today, I've decided to never click heels again...unless I can finally master that cute little jump click that leprechauns seem to be able to do so well.

In others ... Colorado was a really nice place. Too nice. I realized yesterday (and then more so today) that I have neglected to purchase souvenirs along this journey. There are, of course, a myriad of reasons for that. 1. Who needs junk in their possession? 2. Why spend on the money? 3. I have all the memories already on this blog and pictures*

That being said, I fell in love with too many things in a little mining museum's gift shop. (I currently have a geode hanging around my neck) That's not even the worst part. Today some lucky gift shop guy scored a big scale. (definitely not "big" by anyone else's terms but my own, I'm sure)

I now have geodes, toys, jewelry, gold flakes and magnets of every state I hit on this trip (18!).

I now have $118 to get home.

I now have worry...

In other, other news.

I got a job lead in Deer Park... so be praying for that.

I got an apartment offer in Cincinnati... so be praying for that

I got to be staying with my momma til I figure it all out... so be praying for that!

Well, dear friends, I believe you are now mostly caught up. oh except for the 4 Corners story but I'll let the anticipation keep building. why? because you will really feel the story when I tell it.

the next post should be from homebase...how weird is that... only a quiet, lonley, ten hour drive stands in my way. (fell free to call...555-da-nomad or my real number if you have it)

thank you so much for following along for the last 23 days. Fear not, this blog is far from over. I have so many things to discuss, pictures to post, and stats to amaze. For instance, I don't think I've ever told you about "the Book of Nerd" or my ledger. ah...the fun that awaits. :)

--the nomad

*stand by for an official photo number on Tuesday. It's staggering. In fact, let's hold a contest... the person who guesses the closest wins something I bought in Colorado. you can even go over. just be closest.

The road to no where

I'm tired. exhausted really. The phrase "road weary" finally has meaning in my life.

I've been on the road for 12 days. (technically there is a few hours more but Mom says I'm not supposed to count those...) I still have another 13ish.

So far, I've:

hit an animal in Wisconsin,

admired wind turbines in Minnesota,

slept in a super sweet mom and pop motel in South Dakota,

watched bison walk in front of my car in Wyoming,

driven over mountains in the dark in Montana,

been amazed at the beauty of Idaho,

left my heart in Washington,

conquered Pike's Place in under 2 hours in Seattle,

got VD in Portland (voodoo donuts),

heard seals in Northern California,

stood in trees in the Redwood Forrest,

ridden world famous coastal curves in Central California,

and walked the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

Currently I'm in a writing lab in Santa Monica, CA. This is the first silence I've had in weeks. I'm enjoying every bit of it. I'm also, unexpectedly, getting a lot of work done while typing this blog. Batteries are charging, thank you notes are being written, pictures are being uploaded, and breathing is happening. hooray!

Oh, I should mention Catie and Kelly are at LAX waiting for their flights. It was good having them with me. I'm glad they were able to come. We had quite a few laughs, most of which over meals (sorry about that, Kelly!). We had really only one major fight and only a couple scuffles. not too bad, if you ask me. I have decided though, adding people adds stress. I'm glad it's just Leann when she joins me in 4 days.

During this journey, laden with adventure, I have still not forgotten my goal. I am constantly straining to hear God's voice through all of this. I'm seeking wisdom everywhere I turn. I'm asking questions and listening to the answers. However, I must admit, at this halfway point. I'm more confused than ever. I fear other things have become distractions in my mind.

There are three things I need: housing, job, and healthy, healing church. I have discovered this:

Chicago - job

Cincinnati - housing

Kokomo - church

hmm... so maybe not any of those options...well, then things really get hairy.

New Zealand? I tried not to think it's "God's will" every time I hear an accent or see a NZ t-shirt (there have been a surprising amount).

Deer Park? oh, I'd love too but I feel this one is out of my hands.

LA? no thanks. I've been here 20 hours and I'm done.

Where else? I don't know...

I know what the answer is. The answer is pick somewhere, anywhere. Plant yourself and do God's work. The rest will work itself out. I know that's the answer. It has to be. That is what everyone says. Besides doesn't God call us to just be content?

I picked up the Bible and opened it as we were speeding down the coast yesterday (it seemed fast, it took over 10 hours!). I decided to let the Bible fall where it fell. It fell open in Job. It was one of the passages where his friend is telling him to give up. After reading that, I skipped ahead to God's response. I just kept thinking two things over and over. 1: "I love God's sarcasm. This guys cracks me up." 2: "I know I'm not wise. I know nothing. So what now?" I still don't have that answer.

Do you?

--the nomad

What ever happened to predictibility? The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV.

I sang those lyrics on the Golden Gate Bridge today.

I thought of Phil Hartman & Mike Myers while staring at Alcatraz today.

I tried not to imagine puking up the San Francisco treat while going almost straight down a hill today.

Ah, what a good day (hour?) in San Fran.

I'm sad to sad I did not wear flowers in my hair or even leave my heart there.

but I'm glad I went.

3 sisters + 2 days of straight driving = 1 crazy adventure

Hello again friends,

I'm writing to you from the backseat of my faithful Ford Focus. She's a beaut, she is! (I like to refer to her like she's a boat. Also, sometimes I refer to "her" as a "him", never, ever an "it".) I began the driving today around 9 am and, aside from Catie's hour drive in the Redwood Forest and the hour of my life I'll never get back thanks to Subway, finally traded drivers about 30 minutes ago. It's currently quarter to 6 pm. That, my friends, is a long day!

The day has been a good one. I was able to cross off and thing or two off of my bucket list. We awoke in Cresent City, CA and started down the coast.

I'll let you guess if we spent the night in a tent.

Here are some hints.

1: It was raining last night and this morning.

2: We heard seals from our sleeping quarters.

3: It was cold and dark.

4: I didn't care.

5: We did not camp in a tent.

The coast was breathtaking. Yesterday was a day filled with the Oregon's trees and coastlines. I'm fairly certain we squealed the first time we saw the ocean. We learned yesterday 3 reasons why no one would ever leave Oregon.

1. It's gorgeous!

2. They pump your gas and it still costs less!!

3. No state taxes!!!

Sadly, even though we learned these things, we still left. (Fear not, we didn't leave before we took Catie to 3 different stores to find an Oregon keychain. ugh. Everyone ask to see it, please.) Leaving Oregon was rewarded by entering California. I'd love to say it was all sunshine and rainbows but yesterday was a day of dark rain clouds. The Oregon coast was lovely but gray. And once we hit California the clouds outside did been replaced my own grey clouds. What can I say? I like my space. Actually I can say more. Please humor me...

This paragraph can be skipped because it doesn't deal directly with the trip but more me as a person. Feel free, I won't be upset...ok? .... .... Okay, that was your warning: So I have a problem. I can admit it (at least most of the time). I'm a performer. constantly. a constant performer. This means sadly that even with my family and close friends I often feel like I have to be "on". Truthfully, while this is second nature (first nature?), it is exhausting. And when I get exhausted, I get snappy. And when I'm exhausted and hungry, I get extra snappy. This happened last night. We didn't eat dinner until about 9 pm after being in a car cracking jokes and throwing silly dance parties for/with 2 people for 8 hours. Needless to say, it was a lethal mix. I got quite mean over the fact that I no longer have conditioner on this trip because someone else had used mine and my big, beautiful, Costoc-sized Dove shampoo and conditioner got left behind in Seattle. sigh. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It'snotabigdeal. I just wanted craved alone time. Thankfully (?) my sisters didn't listen and drug me to dinner. (Though honestly, at that point I don't know if they really wanted me to come along or just my debit card.)

After dinner at The Apple Peddler, where I had the waitress rolling, thankyouverymuch (especially when I compared Catie's head to a goldfish bowl that could hold 3 goldfish), we went to our hotel. It was a lovely hotel. We were given the bay side and could, in fact, hear the seals from right outside our door. Not bad for $70. The weirdest thing was the television that would automatically turn itself on and automatically switch channels. Oddly enough the remote would change channels but not turn the stupid thing off. ugh. Needless to say, I fell asleep with the tv on but the volume way, way down. Who wants to get out of bed at a hotel?

Oh, I should include here that I'm slightly freaked out at the idea of bed bugs. I don't care if they bite me and I'm not "afraid" of them. I just don't want them in my stuff. It can cost tens of thousands to get them removed. I don't have tens of thousands. This issue is so big that I've included it on the list of questions that I ask potential hotels (along with "Do you have any taxidermy", of course). Last night, I stopped and asked a hotel clerk if they had any. He basically laughed at me and told me they were a made up things that parents used to scare children. I corrected him on this matter post haste. He then told me I was welcome to look in the rooms and show him any if they had some so he'd know what they'd look like for the future. Needless to say, we stayed in a different hotel. That's not to say I didn't dream about bedbugs last night. yuck!

This morning, once we got on the road, we continued our drive down the 101. (We discussed the 1 and all decided we'd rather a shorter trip with redwoods, then a long trip with beach...we'll beach it later.) I'm so glad we spent the night in Crescent City last night. Everything was more beautiful this morning. The sun was actually out. We were able to see the beach and rocks and trees.

For the sake of time, I will skip ahead to the Redwood Forrest. I love trees. When I was 6 years old I convinced myself that my best friend was the tree in my front yard that I stood by/talked to everyday while waiting for my little first grade bus. I cried the day it was cut down. Ask my mom. It still pains me to see a tree get preened. And, yes, I have been called a tree hugger more than once in life. All that is to say, those redwoods are amazing. I wanted to hug every one. Honestly, reflecting back, I don't think I hugged one. I did, however, hug a bear made out of a single tree. I also took numerous pictures with trees, by trees, on trees, and even in trees. I want tress back in my life. There aren't really trees in Chicago.

I drove halfway through the Redwood Forrest and then Catie took over. She was a rockstar. This was her first time driving on the trip and she could handle those wooded curves with ease. The thing that really, truly makes her a rockstar though is the fact that she (the only one of us!) drove through a tree! She is my hero.

I feel I need to quickly clear up some Redwood confusion.

Are they big? yes!

Are they tall? yes!

Can you drive a car through them? barely.

The opening for your car is only 7 ft wide and 7 ft high! Catie, like an expert, guided my car through the tree. It fit like a glove. She will always be the-girl-who-drove-my-car-through-a-tree to me. And I will always be proud!

We left the Forrest and headed for the first exit we saw. (I'll skip a major sister fight here. Kelly was smart and just went inside as Catie and I duked it out.) Little did I know as I entered that Subway/gas station that this was about to be the most adventurous hour of today's trip.

So...to set the scene: Catie and I aren't talking to each other, Kelly is trying to stay out of it, there is one guy working at the counter, and a group of people all ordering footlong subs. As I get into line this is the first thing I hear:

"No, sorry we are out of meatballs"

"They're out of meatballs!" "Oh man, I wanted meatballs. Okay, how about Ham and Swiss"

"Uh...sorry we're out of swiss" Then someone in the back room calls out, "We're out of steak too!" The sandwich maker adds on "oh, and we don't have a toaster."

Already I can tell this is going to be awesome. By "swiss" Catie and I had apparently made up because we were snickering at each other. It just keeps getting better and better as 4-5 different people keep coming in and out with this order, all passing down the same, "they don't have ____" information. Seriously, this went on a long time. So long, in fact, that I took out my Droid and begin yelping for other places around Garberville, CA. Unfortunately, neither "Nacho Mama" nor "Getti Up" held any appeal of any of us. So we waited...for about 25 minutes.

Finally it's our turn. Kelly's up first. By this time, two workers come out. Still no idea why only one guy was making all of the footlongs. She orders a tuna sandwich. "We don't have tuna." He quickly adds, "but we could make some." Off goes guy number one to make Kelly's tuna fish salad.

Catie is up next. Oven Roasted Chicken with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Hers gets put together nice and easily. Some may even say "fast."

By this time, the first guy is back with Kelly's tuna. The second guy is finishing Catie's. And third guy is finally ringing out the big order.

My turn has come. After staring at the board for the past 30 minutes, I'd realized that the club was cheaper was turkey. "What's on the club?" I asked when my turn finally came.

"Turkey, Roast Beef, and Ham"

"Can I get it with no Ham. I don't eat eat pork."

"Sure," and then, no lie, he whispers "are you a Jew?"

"No. I just stopped eating pork in 5th grade. It's gross."

"Okay, because, I mean, it would be ok"

"Well, sometimes I tell people I'm a Jew but I'm not really..."

This conversation continues as I tell him, in my ridiculous, public, effervescent way, that I want all of the toppings except the hot ones, like peppers. So he was chatting about the fat cucumbers that had been hand sliced so they were too big, and I was making stupid jokes about it being redwood country so every thing's bigger, when he asked me what sauces I wanted. "Light mayo and spicy mustard."

As he lifted the mayo, I could see a dead fly on the bottom on the bottle. ugh. Before I could even say anything, he squirted it on the sandwich...dead fly and all! blech! I froze. Kelly yelled out, "hey, there's a fly!"

He looked down, "Where? I don't see it."

Seriously? It was easily one of the biggest flies I've ever seen. I'm not accustom to seeing flies in mayo on my sandwich so perhaps I'm exaggerating on the size a bit. But it was a HUGE horsefly. ugh. yuck. yuck. yuck!

Thankfully, he quickly made me a new sandwich as he apologized and apologized. Apparently, he was legally blinded and didn't like to wear his glasses. uh...what?!? At any rate, I got a free sandwich, which I barely had the stomach to eat (but I did because it was well into the 2 o'clock hour and I had been waiting for it for 45 minutes!).

And that, friends, is the perfect way to get over a family fight. After a disgusting adventure like that to bond other who can even remember who started what about what? no one. We are just all happy to get out alive. Oh, and I almost forgot about the creepy guy who was telling Catie he was going to go get drunk for the first time in 12 years because he was tired of getting high. He even showed her the 12 proof substance he was going to use. Oh, northern California...

So after the Subway fiasco, I continued driving toward Oakland, CA. We are spending the night with a college friend's best friend. I will let you know all about San Fran next time we meet here in the cyber world.

- the nomad

PS> At the insistence of others, I added ads. What do you think? I'm I now a sellout? Can you be a sellout if you've only really been a blog writer for two weeks?

PPS> Happy 10.10.10

A Couple of Days with Strangers

Hello Friends,

Please forgive my tardiness. The past two days have been filled with all kinds of adventures and no kinds of wifi.

Yesterday, Catie and Kelly joined the trip in Seattle. I drove over in the morning from DeerPark. Twas only a mere 5 hour drive. ugh. This is why the entire trip is not by myself. besides I get distracted too easily. :) "Does that say beware of rattlesnakes? sweet! I need a picture!"

Thankfully, our super kind hostess of the evening, Vic, was able to pick the girls (ladies? women?) up from the airport for me. We reunited in a fantastically, beautiful house right on Puget Sound (or as I call it "the Sound"). These wonderful people, who I had never met, were in their late 50s and had a wonderful black labrador, Jessie. She, the dog, was hands down the best part of Catie's trip so far. The lady of the house was my former college professor's wife's best friend in nursing school. It was a great, fun way to meet a safe new friend.

After reconnecting, we took Seattle by storm. We headed straight to Pike's Place and, after figuring out that Vic had left out an important street, made it without too much trouble. We sampled and then bought some wonderful Turkish Delight. (Strawberry! yum!) We tried to watch the fish mongers throw. We ate mini donuts. A bird attacked Catie's head. We walked around the entire place looking for deals. We got awesome parking (and Catie paid!) I took pictures, some standard, some "corny" (just wait til you see it!). We gazed at the ocean. When we were finished at Pike's Place, we headed to the Space Needle. We didn't go up. We decided it would be cool but not $18 a person cool. Leaving the Space Needle was probably the worst part. My Driod and Garmin kept trying to get me to turn where I wasn't allowed. ugh! technology...

When we got back to Vic's (Jessie's!), she had dinner for us. A "midwestern meal" as she called it. It was sweet. And though it was hamburgers in the land of seafood, it was free and QUITE delicious. Thick, juicy, perfectly browned hamburgers win every time. Why, yes, I am midwestern. Why do you ask?

After dinner, we just hung out and enjoyed The Office together at Catie's gentle insistence (it was the Sweeney Todd episode, after all). Then we all started to fade off and head to bed. The sleepiness is starting to catch up with me. I don't know if it's time change or the go-go-go attitude but I'm getting tired.

Anyway, we woke up today and, after a major setback of not being able to find my heart medicine (we finally did!), headed out toward Mt St Helens.

Mt St Helens is beautiful. However, there are a few things you should know:

1: It is a much, much longer than you would think.

2: If your gas tank is at a half a tank when you start, stop a fill up before heading up the mountain. There are no more gas stations and it is at least 60 miles.

3: There are bridges. You aren't a baby if you scream on the first one. especially if you are the driver. and someone tries to pass you. and you hate bridges anyway. not saying that happened but if it did, try not to scare your passengers too much

4: the roads are windy, don't worry about trying to hit 55 it won't happen. Because when it does, the sign will then read 25

5: it's better to let someone else drive.

Seriously, though, gorgeous views! Catie may have developed a photography complex. Poor girl had to shoot while I was driving. I may be a tad bossy about shots. maybe.

At the top of volcano, after you had parked your car and walked to the top and stayed away from migrating toads, they want you to pay $8 a person. We snuck away. silly rule.

So Kelly drove us down the mountain (way easier!) and into Portland, Oregon. Talk about your bridges!

Portland has been a lot of fun. Tonight we are staying with Nathan' best friend, Brent, and his wife, Martha. They have been showing us a good time. We started everything off with Thai food at a place called Jade. yum! It was Kelly's first Thai experience and I think it left her loving it like all the rest of us.

Everything there was perfect except a slightly problematic money situation. What situation you ask? Well...I left my debit card in the car. As I started back for it, I remembered that I had my other bank card on me. no problem. I went back inside, ordered the food, and handed over the card. After one swipe, she handed it back to me explaining that it was expired. oops. That explains why the parking meter wouldn't read it at Pike's Place. I looked down. sure enough. dang. Thankfully, with Brent & Martha's help, I could scrap together enough cash for our delicious meal.

After dinner and a quick stop by my car to pick the card, we headed to a Christian/community coffeeshop where she works. It was delightful and reminded me of my best friend's coffeeshop. At "the Living Room", there was a very talented laidback guitarist/singer. We could have listened to him for hours...which I think we did. I even left with his cd.

At this coffeeshop, I was a bit of a rockstar. People kept coming up to us saying different things: "You're from Indiana?" "You're a comedian?" "You do look like that girl who smells her armpits (Molly Shannon in Superstar), I can see it." "Have you ever eaten at the Steak N Shake in Indianapolis?" or they would just sing the Beach Boy's "Kokomo" lyrics at us. It was a very funny, though slightly surreal experience. Apparently, Indiana is like India to these people.

When we finally left, we scampered off to do true Portland things. Thing 1: Visit Powell's Bookstore. Things 2: Eat at Voodoo Donuts. I got a Tango Mango. Kelly got a vegan oreo. And Catie got (please excuse the name) the Old Dirty Bastard. They were all delicious.

Now we at back at Brent and Martha's. Everyone else is asleep. I'm about to join them. Tomorrow were driving down the Oregon coast! beauty await!

--the nomad

PS> Sorry if I don't post tomorrow. We are camping in Redwood Forest! :)

Goodbye Mama, Hello Washington

I'm currently writing you from a house! not a hotel room, a house. And not just any house, a house in Washington State. And not even just any house in Washington State, my friend Nathan's parents' house.

It is a lovely house. A lovely garden. A lovely landscape. I think I'm in love. :)

But before we get to all that, let's figure out where I left you all last night. I was in Missoula, MT exhausted. I went to bed. Then I woke up. That's about as abrupt as it felt too. It was my turn to drive.

Our plan the entire trip was for each of us to drive in every state. We knew Idaho would be tricky because we were in it such a short time. We didn't really have time to stop either because we were running on such a tight time frame.

So I began driving through Montana. It is gorgeous. Sadly, it was raining. I don't know if I'll be able to share many pictures with you because of the rain. But trust me, beautiful. Mom and I could not believe how lovely the trees and mountains were. Keep in mind, I have seen a LOT of mountains.

Due to the rain, though, I was driving even slower (65 vs 75) which was eating away our time. As we neared Idaho, Mom reminded me that I had driven through Idaho briefly as we went from Wyoming to Montana. With that reminder, I pulled over for gas and a driver switch.

As we entered Idaho, the beauty intensified. I had always thought Idaho = potatoes. Then I thought potatoes = Irish. Thus Idaho = Ireland. However, I also thought Idaho was brown and boring. (Caution: never try to keep up with my thoughts.) Turns out that (whatever "that" actually is) is Southern Idaho. We were in mountainous, beautiful, overwhelming Northern Idaho. I even changed my facebook status to say "is in love with Idaho." Never thought I'd say that.

As I gaped out the window, Mom drove. She drove through rain, fog, and even sunshine. She is a superstar, for real. She was a lady on a mission. And that mission was to make her 1:20pm flight out of Spokane. Thankfully, we went into the Pacific Time Zone right before we hit Washington.

We made the airport in perfect time. She was there by noon. "Bye, Mama! I love you! Thanks for the past 4 days!" I knew we could do it! 8 states in 4 days! ha!

I, then, continued to Deer Park. Sure, I got lost a bit and had to consult the Garmin. Sure, I hadn't told me friend that I was almost here until I was in Deer Park. And sure, I even got so mixed at one point all I could do was take a picture of a horse, put my car in reverse, and try it again. However, that doesn't matter. I'm here!

Since I've been here, I've picked apples, harvested HUGE carrots, plucked green beans, and snuck a grape or two off the vine. I've also watched some Planet Earth and napped. what a relaxing afternoon! I cannot put into words how much I love it here.

This evening I went to Nathan's small group, or as they say, "cell group". There was a lot of really great stuff going on there. I could write a huge blog just on it. I won't. fear not. However, I will say the tacos were delicious. I will also say that it felt like home. The people were everything I've been missing. They were welcoming and interested/interesting. It was everything I've ever known the church to be but haven't see in a year.

They are currently studying a Shane Claibourne book. Again, the theme of living fearless and out of the comfort zone came up. "God, is that you? Where is out of my comfort zone? Chicago?!? Do you what me to stay there?" Also there was a big discussion about tearing away the things that make us feel "cool." They compared it to Eustace in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader as he tore off his dragon skin become a boy again. It was painful but made him who he really was. I've been wondering what my cool thing is. And I think my cool thing is being the girl who does crazy things. I feel like if I'm the girl who is adventurous that will make me cool. So here I am in an adventure. Does that make me cool? maybe. But I need to remember that the goal of this adventure is not to be cool. It's not to write this blog. It's to get to the heart of what God needs to tell me. "Thank you God for this small group!" Tonight was a much, much needed refresher.

Now I'm headed up to my Sleep Number bed. I will tell you all new tales tomorrow. Tales that may included Thai Food. Goodnight friends. Thank you for praying for this journey. Mom is officially safe again in Indiana. And I feel like things are sorting to sort out. Please keep it going though. Thank you.

-the nomad

Bits and Pieces (print edition)

1. South Dakota is really, surprisingly pretty.

2. Wyoming is not. Until you are getting close to the end. Then there are mountains and they mock you because they are hours away.

3. I will never be able to sleep in the car. Yesterday I was taking everything in. Today, every time I closed my eyes Mom would “oh, wow, that’s beautiful. No, go ahead and sleep…” Yeah, that’s gonna happen

4. Taking silly pictures at Mt Rushmore is much harder with my fancy camera that insists on focusing on the closest subject.

5. That will not stop me from trying to get really, really silly pictures and inspiring strangers around me to do the same thing.

6. I have a new appreciation for the phrase “cattle on thousand hills.”

7. I really love prairie dogs. We did not go to prairie dog town.

8. I tried to take a picture of 1880 Town and ended up with a picture of a dinosaur. Not quite sure how that happened but I like it.

9. I also got the pictures of 1880 Town.

10. I saw where Dancing with Wolves was filmed. Mom is currently watching it at school so she was geeking out when we passed it.

11. Everyone and everything in the northern plains loves their stuffed animals.

12. I went to Wall Drug. I just didn’t go in.

13. I took over 700 pictures today. I am my mother’s daughter. There will be a slide presentation when I get back. Keep in mind this is day 2. J

14. The Badlands aren’t as really all that “bad.” You just don’t know their sweet side. I suggest buttering them with flowers and chocolates.

15. Our parking ticket into Mt Rushmore is good for the rest of the year!

16. Mom would like me to mention the friendliness of the manager at McDonalds. He was quite friendly. He chatted with everyone, made sure everyone had internet that wanted it, and gave us directions. Nice guy.

17. The ‘free WIFI’ at McDonalds didn’t work.

18. We pilfered internet from the restaurant next to McDonald’s. score.

19. Trains are the best part of Wyoming. However every train we’ve seen has had 3 engines. One backwards on the end and two on the front, one of those also backwards.

20. John is finally my text friend! Hooray.

21. I'm not sleeping in Yellowstone tonight. boo.

Mom is trying to move her ticket to stay another day. We are quite a bit behind.

Pray for our 13 hour drive tomorrow.

goodnight

-the nomad

Yelp to the rescue

So last night, we were supposed to go as far as we could in order to make Yellowstone today. The plan had been to get super close Mt Rushmore, see it at night, and then find somewhere to sleep.

As you all know, our first day car trouble halted a few of my wonderful plans. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about read the last few posts.)

Instead of making it to Keystone, we pulled over in Chamberlain, South Dakota.

As we exited the interstate, there was an Americinn Suites. It looked nice enough from the highway. However, as I drove closer, the AmericInn Suites looked more and more like an AmericInn Lodge. (You know where I’m going with this?) The building resembled Abe Lincoln’s cabin on steroids. Or worse, a live version of the hunting lodge that Gaston sings his song in during that dreadful scene in Beauty and The Beast. Needless to say, I pulled up feeling uneasy.

“Mom, uh, look in the windows and tell me if it’s safe.” (safe = nothing dead, stuffed, and hanging on the wall for all to admire, of course)

Before she could even glance, I saw him. You know, the deer. He was hanging right over the entry door. Nope. Not a chance I was going in there. For you are like me, you see one from your car and you can imagine at least 5 more inside. (Mom has just verified that there were at least 5 more inside including an elk.)

I immediately drove to the first parking space I saw, grabbed my Driod, and opened up my Yelp app. While Mom tried to figure out what Yelp was, I had realized that there weren’t really all that many choices in Chamberlain. And of the few that were listed, only one had even been rated. In fact, it had only one “$” for price, a 5 star rating, and been rated 7 times!

I called. No one answered. Boo.

I left a message. And they called back!

I asked all the important questions.:

“Do you have rooms available?” “yes”

“Where are you located?” “Just come down that road. Turn right at the Mcdonald’s and go 2 blocks.”

“Oh, and one more question, do you have any taxidermy?” “huh uh” “I’m sorry, what did you say?” “No, we don’t.” “Okay, see you soon!”

Little did we know that we were embarking one of our favorite adventures to date. We pulled up to a quaint little mom and pop inn. Mom immediately loved. I immediately made comparisons to the Bates Hotel in Psycho.

The innkeeper was charming. Her adorable granddaughters kept peeking at us from behind the counter. She gave me a $5 discount for finding the inn. She asked us if we wanted 2 queens or one for no price difference. Then she even offered us the room right on the river. Uh, yes please!

The room itself was simple: 2 beds (turned different directions), a basic tv, and a bathroom. But seriously what else could you ask for $50? There were a couple little cute features like atwisted hand towel in the bathroom and a rag (with a super cute poem) to wipe down your car’s windshieldin the morning. (just realized we neglected to use it. Bummer.)

When we woke up this morning, we were greeted to gorgeous views of the river. Mom was greeted up coffee. I took a shower without being slashed. It was a definite win for each of us.

After staying at A Bridge View Inn, wewere able to attack today’s drive with vigor. Of course, that vigor wore out by hour 5 but more on that later… J

The nomad

The Car Saga finished (hopefully ;) )

Well, friends, my deepest apology. I neglected to explain out how we got out of the pickle in Madison.

On Friday morning, Mom woke up and called AAA. I believe I stayed in bed. :)

After getting the wrong directions from headquarters, our friend arrived around 10:30. ugh. Anyway, he was there and got right to work.

Do you see this face? She is up to pure evil. Right after this picture, I was busy gagging and trying not to puke in the grass. What was this picture, you ask? Fear not, i'll never show you. But I'll tell you... intestines wrapped around my axle. YUCK!

Anyway, first, he attacked our "major" problem. The animal had exacted it's revenge and pulled down the brake line. Thankfully, it was the parking brake. I'm from Indiana and as many of you can attest, I don't even know how to use my "emergency brake." Fear not, it's not worn all the way down.

For our hero, it was an easy fix. Step 1: reattach clips. Step 2: wire up the rest of it using a coat hanger.

Here are a couple frivolous pictures. However, it took us a long time to get this dog on hood picture. Thus, it's being included. Sorry. ha.

After he fixed the brake issue. We showed him the light problem. They still didn't come on. This had him scratching his head for sure. He then sent us off to Batteries + Bulbs. (This, of course, sent me in the a frenzy of saying "Bulbs" over and over. Seriously, that is a silly, silly word.)

Sorry, I have no pictures of Batteries + Bulbs. (bulb! ha!) However, I can tell you they fixed it! Yay! And, I can tell you that it was only a broken bulb. I can also tell you that my car did not cooperate and all the lights came on and worked at first. I can't tell you why. Oh, car...

The final car fact you should know is that my car's battery and alternator are so strong it completely surprised the man at Batteries + Bulbs! (bulb. bulb. bulb. haha...seriously, done.) Yay!!! God is good!

Needless to say, we were quite late getting on the road. However, we made up some good time and ended up only 4 hours behind schedule. We found the most perfect Mom and Pop inn in Chamberlain, SD. It is absolutely perfect and adorable. I'd love to tell you more but it's time to get back on the road so I have more to share with you later. :)

the nomad

PS: How cute is Mom in this picture? This is our friend, Bennington Brown. :)

I've been in 3 states today. How about you?

Today was a big driving day. (9?)

Tomorrow may be worse. (12+)

Or maybe worse is not the right word. Maybe "longer." And, maybe, "longer" is not so bad...

After all, I today I saw wind turbines. And I'm talking tons of turbines. Wisconsin, you certainly love your turbine fields. I love them too. Thanks for your fields and fields of them. They provided hundreds of photo ops.

I ate and ate and ate today. The Costco bag of dried mangoes and berries has almost disappeared completely. oops. Road trips are for snacking.

Also, I continued my nerdiness by beginning record logs of cost, funny phrases, and of course, license plates. I think we already have about 10.

I spent most of today trying to capture the beauty of Wisconsin and Minnesota with my camera lens.

I tried to capture the fun stuff, too: Home of Ringling Brothers Circus, PUPRLE roads!, a Minnesota soda machine, crazy cool barn, and a sign for the Hormel SPAM museum!

Did I mention I shot some wind turbines today? ;)

Today, I slept in the car. Well, I tried to at any rate. Mom drove most of Minnesota and Wisconsin. I somehow keep getting the night shifts. Fear not, I have driven in every state so far. Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

I also witnessed something today that I've never seen before: my mom turned up the music! up! up, I said, not down. And guess what it was? Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen'll get you every time. She even kept the volume up (that, of course, being a relative term) throughout the entire cd. When it looped, we listened to it again. That Megan, she makes a heck of a mix. :)

Finally, today, I got to talk to my mom. She listened to me as I struggle to figure out what "big" means in my life. I listen to her talk about work, friends and frenemies. We laughed at her hilarious "kid" as he continued to send us humorous texts throughout the day. (My mom is an interpreter.) We included my sister on speakerphone as she got off work. Amazingly, we only fought once. (Someone didn't get the picture of the sign that said "Home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. And someone else pouted like a baby. You can decide who was who.) Mostly, we just relaxed in each other's presence. After all, if you get the meat and potatoes of it, that's exactly what this trip is all about. It's about sharing stories, sharing adventures, and, mostly, sharing life.

And, here's hoping that tomorrow's 12 hours, brings even more life. :)

the nomad

Adventure #1

If I were a betting lady (which remains to be seen, right Vegas?):

I would have bet 10 to 1 we'd have car trouble during the trip.

I would have bet 50 to 1 we'd have car trouble during the first week.

I would have bet 1000 to 1 we'd have car trouble on the first day.

I don't know I would have even touched a bet about the first 10 minutes.

As I drove away from my house to pick up Mom from Union Station, I felt like something was going on with my headlights. I wasn't for sure until Mom said "you know your passenger side headlight is out?" drat. I didn't know that. I didn't know that was a possibility because the last time I drove my car (last weekend) I had 2 working headlights. In fact, they checked my headlights at the oil change...or at least they said they did.

I threw Mom a headlight bulb that I just happened to have in my car and "what about this?" She looked at me a little incredulously and said, "yeah, that should work." Well, it may work but not right then. No, then we continued on. right out of Chicago.

Alright, fast forward an hour or so, I'm driving along and there is an animal in the road. Now, it's important to note that this animal was already dead and also seemed small. Not that I like to hit animals. not at all. In fact, I have what has been labeled as an "irrational fear of dead animals." That being said, I hit the animal. It was loud. It was a fairly major hit. After it, my foot was shaking and I was asking questions like, "was that a deer?!?!" and "AH! Do you think part of it is on the front of my car?" My ever patient mother responded with, "no" and "do you want to go through a car was?" She's silly.

So now it's time to fast forward even more, let's say about an hour forward in our journey. We have reached Madison, WI and trying to go through the neighborhoods to find my friends' house. The radio starts to sound scratchy. Clearly, I think, we've lost signal. It's going annoying so I turn it down. Only problem, the scratchy sound isn't going away. I end up turning the radio all the way off and still hear the scratching. uh oh!

I pull over. Mom looks at me and says something like, "So, I bet your not getting out, right?" I look at her shake my head and inwardly say, "earn your keep."

She takes a flashlight and heads out into the night. She starts at the front of the car and begins to look around. "Turn off the lights," she requests while being blinded. She then continues around the passenger side of the car. Her door has remained open so I'm expecting to hear a "hmph" or something when she finds the culprit. I hear nothing.

As she gets back into the car, she stinks. "You've been near death, haven't you?" I ask. (Seriously, why am I so creepy.) "I'm not going to tell you," she responds. Well, great. There's my answer.

She explained that when we hit the animal, it had exacted his revenge and pulled some of the car down with it. That was what was dragging.

Okay, now we knew the problem, time to continue to my friends'.

I turned on the car, reached for the lights, turned it and nothing. nothing. NOTHING! No lights came one. uh oh. Both lights out! I tried the brights. The passenger side bright came on but not the other. uh....

We drove to the Brown's dragging something under the car with one working bright light.

I'd say that's an excellent way to begin a road trip, right? At any rate, AAA should be here any minute.

the nomad

(PS: My mom and I are completely in love with my friends' house and hospitality. They are the best! I wish I had more time with them.)

My friend

Well, I'm down to counting hours (19) now instead of days. After months of planning, it snuck up on me. I can't believe I'm actually doing this and I can't believe it's tomorrow!

My car is mostly packed. I still have various things to shove into places. Everything would fit beautifully, but now that I have an extra person for 5 days. Needless to say, I'm a little worried. Where will we all go? Packing for this trip is frustrating because it all has to go. I have no where else to put anything. In 19 hours, I'm homeless and jobless.

Seriously, I was sofrustrated and discouraged, wondering how I was going to pull this off alone when my friend, without me saying a word, offered to come over and help. This friend was in the process of giving me a two hour full body massage.Later after the massage, my same friend told me I was a "phantom" and my appointment had simply been erased from the the log. This is some friend!

So, Megan, this blog entry is totally foryou! You are amazing. Thank you so much for being the friend that I've needed these past few months. You easily came to more Second City shows than anyone else. You introduced me to some excellent movies. And, you made totally killer roadtrip cds. I'm so glad that I finally broke down that day and got a massage. That 5 pack deal was one of the best choices I've made in Chicago.

So, my favorite 6'1", Big Islander, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being my friend. my real friend.

I will miss you and can't wait to see what God has in store for you next. Keep me updated!!!

:)

the nomad

The SuperTrip WonderMap

Hello friends,

I am a smart lady in a lot of respects. Tonight I learned Google Maps is not one of them. So sorry to say instead of one big map you get 13 pieces. They should line up though and then you can see the entire plan. Also, the last half is not 100% correct, more like 90% but I just didn't care anymore. I was too tired of fighting. stinkin' Google Maps...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7-8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Again, I'd like to blame Google apologize for the weird things like those random airplanes.

In other news, my car is squeaky clean but still empty. My boss told me if I packed my car, it would get broken into. I started to argue the point but stopped.

1. I live in the safest neighborhood I've ever lived in.

2. If they want my water bottles, I suppose they can have them.

3. I'm packing my trunk.

4. It doesn't take much to convince a lazy person not to heave heavy items out to her car, especially when she has to it by herself.

Instead, I've paid off my debt to society, or at least Chicago. Take that parking tickets! or as I call them "my Chicago tax." I got another "Chicago tax" last night. ugh. At least it's the last one.

The biggest news tonight, though, has to be the fact that Catie's tickets are FINALLY BOUGHT!!! Yay! Of course, always the complicated one, she ended up being super afraid of flying so now Kelly's tickets are bought too! hah. Flying buddy. I'm pretty excited about it though. It will be nice to have a third person for the ocean cliffs. It gives me a chance to have more fun with my D3000 and spend less time about worrying about killing my family with a turn that wasn't quite soft enough.

Alright kids, that's all I've got. I need sleep. Only one more full day in the city. Today, we had a lot of appointments and the such so the boys stayed super busy. Tomorrow we have a free day. You know, what's fun? Taking my stuff to my car. yes...there's got to be a game there somewhere. hmm...I'll keep you posted.

Goodnight.

the nomad.

the one where I announce my new camera

Let's finish up the weekend, shall we?

So Friday night, post warning, I got home exhausted and still ended up talking to my mother until 2 in the morning. ugh! I love her, but she can talk!

Saturday I was off to a slower start that I was intending due to the large volume of people in our house. (My mom had neglected to read the email and 3 texts I had sent her confirming my weekend and had invited another family to spend the night too. At least, I ended up on the longer couch.) First thing I did, after leaving my mom's, was take my car for an oil change and basic fluid check. I also walked around WalMart comparing tent prices and picking up a few more essentials, though I keep forgetting laundry detergent.

After the first major fix was out of the way, I decided to visit my aunt and newborn cousin in the hospital. It was a fantastic afternoon. The baby is adorable. And spending time alone talking to my aunt was priceless. Only one problem. I don't know how to leave places. I ended up staying 4 hours! Great bonding time. Bad fixing car time.

By the time I'd left, the tire store had closed. I had wanted a rotation and possibly a new tire after learning at the oil change that one of my tires is at 4/32. yikes. But no, I missed that. Also because I was in Smalltown, Indiana it wasn't open the next day either. Nothing is open on Sunday.

Instead of tires I ended up heading to Best Buy. My mom met me there and we scoured the store looking for the perfect camera. It had been my intent to look around, try a few out, and then purchase one online. Instead I found one a really wanted, found out it was on sale (which ended that day), talked the saleslady into a slightly bigger discount ($23), and bought it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce my new....(drumroll, please)

Nikkon D3000

I also picked up a 55-200mm lens and a camera bag.

It is lovely. I can't get over the clarity. I can't wait to actually learn how to use it. You know, aside from the automatic button.

After that huge purchase, which felt like it cut me deep (I hate "impluse" buys. I wish the sale had lasted one more day), I went to Chili's with my mom and her friends. Yum.

The rest of Saturday night is kind of a blur. I think we spent most of it talking about the trip, gathering mom's personal trip items, and calling my sister to yell at her because she STILL hadn't decided if she was coming or not.

Sunday I woke up, after sleeping in a bed, and went to church. It's always nice to be back at my home church. I love it. love it. love it. Being with people who actually full like family is refreshing. People whose lives I've invested in and they've invested in mine. I simply love it. I am still loving our new minister. He is wonderful and really studies before he preaches. Though he is in my my mom's age range, he studied at a sister school to mine back in the day. I can't describe how great it is to be among like-minded people. After a year in the Chicago church scene, the only word I can find is "refreshing". I wish I could find a church like that up here. I know it's one of the reasons I still don't have roots in Chicago.

After church (we, true to form, were the last ones out), we headed to Long John Silver's, much to my mother's chagrin. Thankfully it wasn't up to her, my 2 year old "nephew" decided. I appreciated.

By the time we left, I was getting nervous. We still had things to buy and I STILL hadn't found anyone to fix my cigarette lighter. My mom, aka. Ms Fix-It, decided she could do it and headed off to Auto Zone. Leann and I and "nephew" headed to Meijer and then Walmart where I finally bought a 6 person tent.

We reconvened back home. It was there that the most devastating part of the entire weekend happened. Mom got to work on my cigarette lighter. She worked and worked to get it out. Finally, she was able to pull in the new one. Nothing happened. She decided to check the fuse, though my sister's exboyfriend, a mechanic, had told me he had checked it and it was not the problem. Guess what? It was the problem!!!! AGH! I have been living without the ability to charge my phone in my car for about a year because of his stupidity. Truthfully, I could have checked it. I've changed fuses before but silly me, I trusted the guy who fixes cars for a living. Ugh. I could punch him. Needless to say, it actually works now.

After that, I pretty much finished collecting stuff, solidified some more plans, ate dinner, and headed from my dads to sleep.

Thus concludes the final weekend. shoo... If you had read every word, you probably deserve a medal.

the nomad

A Few More Lasts

I'm writing this post from one of my favorite places: Portillo's Hot Dogs

(that's right, they're air conditioned!)

Just look at this piece of deliciousness:

yum yum.

The sad thing is for dinner at the house I ate a hot dog. It wasn't very good and I ended up wanting something else. Who knew that would eating being another hot dog!

Fear not, that's not all I got though...

this is the crown jewel. The Shortberry Shortcake. a steal at $2.99. it's huge and just look at all that cream! This cannot be healthy at all.

Ah, Portillo's, I shall miss you.

In other news, I'm still exhausted. But instead of sleeping, I'm on my way to Indiana. Hooray! I ended up getting off work early. You should also know I had the van to the shop by 7:45 am and we still don't have it back. My boss moved the only piece of furniture that I hadn't completely cleared out (don't look in my bathroom right now!) and the chairs. Bye-bye deer chairs! I scored a new down couch for my room of 4 more days. I can't wait to actually sit in it.

Furthermore, I did not make it to Costco, Target, or even karate class. However, I definitely think I've found my replacement. She even speaks French and Sign Language! If I wasn't leaving, we'd probably be friends "for real life", as my boys say.

Well, it's been fun catching up but it's time to get back on the road now...

the nomad

PS. I'm sure this is gonna start a huge discussion but I'm asking everyone, I'm thinking of getting a SRL camera for the road trip. What do you suggest?

The Great Divide

Boy, I'm exhausted. It's 12:54 am here in the Windy City. I have to be up tomorrow to take my boss' vans to get the brakes fixed at 7am. ugh. I just saw the schedule for tomorrow and I'm scheduled to work until 9pm. double ugh. During those 14 hours, on top of getting the brakes fixed, I also am supposed to take care of the 3 boys per usual, take one to karate, do a huge shop at Costco for a Saturday party (without a car?), shop at Target (without a car?), conduct 2 nanny interviews (one of which was schedule during the karate class), and allow someone in my room to rearrange the furniture. it's gonna be a long one....

The furniture situation is particularly irksome. Not only is this something that could been put back a week, but this also means I have to had my room clean. not super clean. but clean enough for movers. and much cleaner than it's gonna look 6 days before a MAJOR road trip/life change. After all, even if I come back to Chicago, I'm not coming back to live here.

But fear not, it's done. It's now 1 am and I have finished. Nothing in the chest. Nothing on any chair. Nothing on the floor. The bedside table stuff could be easily transfered. I'm exhausted. have I mentioned that?

exhausted.

The silver lining is everything is now separated to go home or go on the road trip. My car is currently sitting empty. My closet is sitting full. And, my eyes are sitting heavy.

Goodnight.

the scary side of the fun roadtrip

I do not intend for this to become a whiny journal. I've had one of those before. ah, the Xanga days... (I was going to hyperlink an entry or two but decided it was in my best interest to refrain. I'm still friends with some to the boys I was fawning over back then. truestory)

Anyway, tonight, I make an exception. After all, this blog is all about the truth of the trip. Well, here's tonight's truth. Tonight's no-good, whiny, poor-me truth:

I'm scared. I'm frustrated. I'm overwhelmed. I want to cry when I actually stop to think what I'm doing. I want to call it all off. I want to puke. I am terrified of the cliffs on the 101, the traffic in LA, the long stretches of road, the lack of proper rest stops in South Dakota, the way I will smell after the first 3 days, the animal skins in the Indian villages, the living bears in Yellowstone, my car getting a flat tire in the desert, the infrequency of solid sleep, but, mostly, the uncertainty of life after the trip.

I feel like I'm so close to the trip that I'm starting to lose focus of the trip.

Everyone is talking about it like it's a huge vacation. I'm getting huge discounts places (I just got upgraded at the Hilton! squeal!), which is cool. I'm researching the best things to do in every city. But that's not the point. That was never the point.

I put this trip together for one purpose: to see what God has next for me.

It's hitting more and more that I'm not leaving time for that. Where did I schedule that in between the Lake Mead paddleboat ride and the iO tickets?

I think I'm starting to get really scared because it's one thing to say you want God to direct your path, it's another to let Him. God and I haven't been bffs this year. We've been more like office friends. The kind you see on the street or at the grocery so wave and smile to but keep walking on. I don't want that. I haven't wanted that. I think that happens when you are away from the Bubble. I want God to tell me what's next. However, I also want to be in control. I'm very good at control. Just ask my sister who I left in tears tonight at the end of our phone call. But, so very, very, uncomfortably soon, I will no longer be in control. The time for planning will be over and it will be time to do nothing but trust.

It's like when I do air swings. I love being cranked up. I love swinging down. I hate letting go of the cord. The second I have to let go, is the worst second of the entire experience. Up to this point, in my warped mind, if anything went wrong, I could pull myself to safety with the little piece of rope. But as soon as I let go, everything will fall apart: the rope holding my up will mysteriously be severed in half in midair, the entire apparatus will collapse, and the aliens will finally come to collect all earthlings. Yes, it's for your safety, as well as mine, I hold on.

How conceited am I? It's time to pull the rip cord.

wish me luck. but more importantly, pray for me. thanks.

the nomad