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The food-prep team
Tammy and Andy help to weigh and measure the food in our final hours before departing for New HampshireJust a very brief entry for now- we have been traveling "just a wee bit" and have been fairly busy, but we wanted to keep you all filled in every step of the way!
Our final days in Mankato were, needless to say, insanely busy and more than a little stressful. Our last days at work were May 12, I graduated from my Master's program in experiential education on May 13, and we began the drive back to New England on May 14th, sometime early in the morning (in fact, the moon was still setting). In the background of all of this excitement was the ever-present, all-encompassing project of weighing, measuring and packaging some 600 lbs. of food, moving everything we own out of our apartment and into our truck and a UHAUL trailer, and cleaning our apartment. It was a tremendous task, and we couldn't have done it without our good friends Tammy Gibbs, Andy Hollenhorst, and Sam Steiger. Not to mention all the help, positive thoughts, and emotional support from our friends spread all over the country.
We had a great time on the drive east- notable events included me learning to drive standard and learning to
Graduation Day
Master's degree complete... now the fun begins... tow a trailer (simultaneously... on highway 90), a Live (the band, Live, live) concert in Cleveland (which we made by the slim margin of 15 minutes), and a stopover in Grimsby, Ontario to visit our good friends Wendy and Harold Breit. Additionally, we managed to successfully transport the inhabitants of our 20 gallon aquarium all the way from Mankato to New England, using a contraption that Jeff rigged up involving a 5-gallon cheese ball container, an air hose, and a car AC adapter that allowed the fish to bubble away happily in the back seat while we drove for 1500 miles.
We spent 6 days in Maine and New Hampshire visiting family and friends, attempting to relax, and having a going away/ bon voyage/ graduation party. The fun ended too soon on May 23rd, when we boarded a plane for Minnesota.
We arrived in Minnesota and spent an evening with friends, with the plan of packing the car the next morning and starting the drive west, but, as Murphy proclaimed so long ago, "if it can go wrong, it probably will, and to an extent worse than you could have expected". Just when we thought, after hours of
The Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota
By the time we got to the middle of SD, we were bored enough to actually follow the hundred or so billboards advertising this wonder of the midwest. It has been around for over 100 years, and yes, it is indeed, made of corn. careful packing, that we were ready to go, we took a look at the back wheels of the car and (gasp) it was loaded so heavily that the shocks were completely COMPLETELY compressed. Plan B sprang into action, and Tammy and Andy rushed to the rescue. We unpacked the car, removed 351 lbs of food, packed it in 7 seperate boxes, and brought it down to FexEx. When this finally ended around 8:00 pm, it became fairly clear that we weren't going anywhere. We settled for cheap chinese food and a night on Tammy's fouton, and agreed to drive the next morning.
May 25th. Slowly, ever so slowly, the straining sentra pulled out of the driveway and got on 90W. We were off! We drove through Minnesota and South Dakota on day 1, via the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore, and camped in the Black Hills National Forest that night. The next day we were off again, through Wyoming and Montana, and we finally hit the wall that night, after hours and hours of mind-numbing flatness (and about 1000 deer), at Missoula. We found some fantastic food, good music, and great company at Kelly's pub, and after searching for an
Stretching, somewhere in South Dakota
Ahhh... far too many hours spent in the car, and this is only day 1 of driving! affordable hotel somewhere in town, gave up and drove an hour outside of Missoula to the Ghost Rails Inn. We had a wonderful, unique experience at this historic bed and breakfast, and would reccommend staying there to anyone. On the road again, we resolved to finish the drive. Tired, and sick of being in the car, we pushed on through the numerous mountain passes, and finally arrived in Olympia, WA around 5:00 that evening to a warm reception from all of our Olympia friends. We unloaded boats and gear and quickly overtook Meg and Cary Retlin's house, turning it into an elaborate staging area and home base for our expedition.
And there, my friends... is where the next stage of the trip began. The ALMOST final preparations for the trip. Stay tuned for the Olympia update, soon to come!
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LB
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keep 'em comin'!
This is awesome! I love hearing about your adventures... In a strange way, I miss Mankato. I keep telling myself that I don't miss MN but those people I was lucky enough to get to know during my time there... Good luck on your trip. Can't wait to hear all about it! Thinking of you guys often - LB