Got up super-early, late-night rains again in NE. The rest of the drive back home was probably the most boring leg of the entire bit, plus there were cops *everywhere* (mind you, the drive through eastern Colordado is about as desolate as it gets). Finally pulled into my driveway just before 11 am. To tell you the truth, it was kind of sad - I felt like I could have just kept driving, maybe out to the West coast or something. The Pacific NW is the only part of the country I haven't been to yet. But it's done, and I [View Full Entry]

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Slept in probably a little too long this morning, then left from my parents' home on the long road to Nebraska. It was a really overcast, humid day, which unfortunately didn't make for the best scenery to look at. Spotty rain all the way west. Again, not a whole lot to report, just powering through the long drive on the way back. Again though, lots of time to think and reflect. I *love* driving for that reason! [View Full Entry]

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Woke up (once again) with the sunrise, still coming off the amazing experience of Boston. It was no mistake in my head that today was to be a travel day, seeing as I only had 2 full days to get the little rental car back to its home in sunny CO. So I busted through NY and all of Pennsylvania. The roads by this time were getting awfully clogged with holiday travelers, and the multitude of construction zones throughout PA sure didn't help. By the time I got through OH and back to my parents' home, it was 8:00 at night. [View Full Entry]

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Well 1st off, the Motel 6 was *sketchy* last night...not so much by the neighborhood or the room quality, more just the people that were hanging out/staying here. Yikes. But still I slept really well, my only night in a hotel so far! I decided to take some side roads through Connecticut on my way to Boston. They started through some small New England towns, which gave way to a heavily forested, really hilly & curvy road past a couple state parks. It took a little longer, but well worth it! Some of those images will stick with me for a [View Full Entry]

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I got up really early this morning - I just can't seem to sleep past the sunrise! Which is great, since I'm maximizing my time enjoying the trip and not sleeping in. I knew I didn't want to drive into DC since the traffic is so notorious, so I found a road in Fairfax and just took it until I found the Fairfax Metro station. Easy! I was along with all the commuters as I boarded the subway into DC. I was always led to believe that DC was this kind of dirty, dangerous place with lots of crime - but [View Full Entry]

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This morning was weird - I woke up in Nashville, of course, but it took a few seconds for that to register when I first woke up. So in the meantime, I was all, "Um, *where* am I?" All good, we figured it out. And I had company for most of the night - the creature known only as "White Kitty" kept me from feeling lonely. Seriously guys, that cat needs a name before it develops serious behaviourial difficulties. Dave and I took Winston the dog for a walk as Brooke got ready for work, then after some coffee I was [View Full Entry]

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This morning I took off from Ohio and headed to Evansville (via Louisville KY), where I went to undergrad what seems like a very long time ago. I'm going to paraphrase what I wrote in my paper travel journal while I was there: "Hanging around UE (University of Evansville) this morning, and it's tripping me OUT! Making me really nostalgic, all these memories just flooding back. Studying Russian on the library steps, prayer walks around campus, RA staff meetings, archaeology class. Best of all, having all my friends within 1/4 mile of me. "It's so odd - being here is bringing [View Full Entry]

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This morning I went out for a run since my body was craving physical exercise by this point. So I went up to the high school track/cross-country course and had an awesome run in the woods! Afterwards I ran into my old coach, Mr. Beard, who is still pretty much a regular fixture up there. This afternoon I hung out with my sister - we went to Meijer and I stocked up on some food for the road ahead. Soon after I headed towards Indy to see my friends Brian and Jodi from college, along with little Asher. Jodi is 9 [View Full Entry]

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Woke up early this morning - I always seem to wake up with the sunrise on the road. It's kind of primordial or something, kind of like the way life is supposed to be, and most likely the way it was for generations - going to bed when you're tired, waking up with the sun ready for the day. Drove thru Indianapolis and on to Ohio to see my family. I was really exhausted when I got there, just built up tiredness from the past couple days I guess. So I took a nap and that evening we all went out [View Full Entry]

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Woke up this morning with only 5 hours sleep and positively ready to drive! Got the rest of the way through NE, stopped by Lincoln to look around. Nebraska's football stadium is really impressive. I was really surprised by how much I liked Iowa, especially the western parts with large, green rolling hills and little farms. I stopped just outside Des Moines for lunch at a Wendy's, which was completely packed full of, um, how do I say it? Obese people. This is an observation that I've already had on this trip. I sometimes forget living in Colorado that lots of [View Full Entry]

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