"Have you written the final entry in your road trip blog?"
"No."
"Well, you should . . . after you get some rest."
I actually don't remember a lot about the fourth day of driving. I do remember wonderful breakfast of banana pancakes at Eric and Kristin's and forcing ourselves to leave early because we didn't know how much snow had fallen to the south of Bloomington. I remember looking out the windows at the Smoky Mountains and really seeing them for the first time. I'd visited them and drove through them throughout my teenage life, but I didn't realize how beautiful they were until Sunday. I remember Todd driving a lot and being a total champ. I remember asking Todd if he recalled a time when we didn't spend all day driving. He laughed and said he didn't.
When I do something big in my life, I get worked up for it, do it, and then afterwards feel tired, empty, and often depressed. I felt that as soon as we stopped in Derek's driveway. My mission was complete; I got my brother to Hickory, North Carolina in as many pieces as we started, but for some reason I felt terribly sad. Even though Todd is a lot closer now and in the same time zone, I knew I was going to miss him a lot. I shed the foretold tears when I asked Dannon (Derek's son, who is working on being 2 years old, I think) to "take care of my brother".
I'm glad I got to drive with Todd across the US. Derek, Ginny, Todd, and I played Empire Builder, which is a board game where you build train tracks and drive trains across North America, after dinner on Sunday. Ginny asked us to show our route, and I pointed it out on the game board starting in Seattle, going through Boise, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, St. Louis, and then across and down to North Carolina. I was astonished as I traced it, thinking to myself "we did that? In four days? That's crazy!" There is one thing to know in your mind that from every road, you can get to almost every other road; when you demonstrate it to yourself, it is an entirely separate and more potent realization.
This is the last entry in the blog. It's been a struggle to type out entries after 12+ hours of driving, but I've enjoyed writing it. Hopefully you've enjoyed reading it as well. With all my mind, spirit, and body, I pray that Todd and Derek are able to do something great with Gopherwood Studios and sustain themselves full-time. They are reaching for a big goal - far bigger than driving across country. I hope that no matter what Derek and Todd remain friends and are able to laugh, smile, and enjoy each other's company even during the tough days before deadlines.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
On the final leg
9 hours from Bloomington to Hickory, North Carolina. We would take it easy if I didn't have a plane to catch.
Leaving Eric and Kristin's was tough, would have loved to stay another day at least.
-scott-
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Day Three Complete!
Whew! Today was our shortest trip so far, but our most stressful. I drove first in the morning, making good time, then Todd took over around 10:30 and I passed out in the passenger seat.
Todd woke me up with saying something along the lines of "We're getting lunch and it's snowing." I looked out the windshield and saw a gas station framed in white. snow had accumulated a few inches on some nearby cars. We knew Bloomington was likely to get some snow, but we didn't expect to see it outside Of Kansas City.
When we got back on the highway, the roads were fine but visibility was a serious concern. We couldn't see more than a couple hundred feet in front of us and the snow continued to fall. After a while, the roads got bad too and things were pretty scary; icy sludge was accumulating between the lanes and areas of the road were clearly slick. It was the most stressful part of the trip.
The snow let up about half an hour After St. Louis, and while there was snowy precipitation the rest of the trip, we were able to travel fast and get to Bloomington around 9:30, only an hour and a half after our first calculations.
The day ended wonderfully though. I'm now typing away at Eric and Kristin's house with my belly full of great pasta and some amazing homemade ice cream and warm brownies. I always forget how great it is to visit Eric and Kristin and it breaks my heart we have to leave so early in the morning to catch my flight tomorrow night from Charlotte back to Baltimore.
Most surprisingly, Todd and I are still talking. There have been some tense moments, but overall it's been really wonderful, better than I anticipated. It's been a wonderful adventure, and while I may get teary-eyed leaving tomorrow, my backside will be delighted to get out of that stupid Honda Civic.
-scott-
Todd woke me up with saying something along the lines of "We're getting lunch and it's snowing." I looked out the windshield and saw a gas station framed in white. snow had accumulated a few inches on some nearby cars. We knew Bloomington was likely to get some snow, but we didn't expect to see it outside Of Kansas City.
When we got back on the highway, the roads were fine but visibility was a serious concern. We couldn't see more than a couple hundred feet in front of us and the snow continued to fall. After a while, the roads got bad too and things were pretty scary; icy sludge was accumulating between the lanes and areas of the road were clearly slick. It was the most stressful part of the trip.
The snow let up about half an hour After St. Louis, and while there was snowy precipitation the rest of the trip, we were able to travel fast and get to Bloomington around 9:30, only an hour and a half after our first calculations.
The day ended wonderfully though. I'm now typing away at Eric and Kristin's house with my belly full of great pasta and some amazing homemade ice cream and warm brownies. I always forget how great it is to visit Eric and Kristin and it breaks my heart we have to leave so early in the morning to catch my flight tomorrow night from Charlotte back to Baltimore.
Most surprisingly, Todd and I are still talking. There have been some tense moments, but overall it's been really wonderful, better than I anticipated. It's been a wonderful adventure, and while I may get teary-eyed leaving tomorrow, my backside will be delighted to get out of that stupid Honda Civic.
-scott-
You got to be kidding me
Day Two Complete!
That was rough. 900 miles between Ogden, Utah and Licoln, Nebraska and we covered it in 16 hours. Neither of us has tried to kill the other yet, but Todd threw me another dirty look when we were driving around Lincoln and his fuel light came on; I'd been trying to get to the hotel ASAP before we passed out and didn't want to slow down at all. We have gas now and everything is ok.
Highlights from today:
- Ogden, Utah (and Salt Lake City) is pretty darn beautiful. The whole city being surrounded by the Rocky mountains is breathtaking. I hope I have a chance to visit again.
- A semi that was carrying tons of dog food caught on fire right next to the highway. We didn't get to see it on fire, but we saw the black husk, dozens of dog food bags, and smelled lots of burnt meat. I really hope the driver was ok, because I'd feel horrible for laughing so much if he wasn't.
- Todd's Pokemon slapping all the other Pokemon. We were probably punch-drunk at that point, but I laughed a lot.
- We found a place where iPod FM transmitters work: it's called Wyoming. Too bad they're so fussy and high maintenance near cities.
- Wyoming was nice to drive. I wouldn't say beautiful, but nice rolling hills. Nebraska? Uhhhh, thank goodness the speed limit is 75?
Alright good people, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow will be a great night because we're going to Bloomington, Indiana to stay the night with my brother Eric and his wonderful wife, Kristin. I hope they'll be ok with us showing up bearded and grumpy!
-scott-
p.s. Sincere thank yous to those who have invited us to dinner, to stay the night, and to have lunch with us. If we weren't in such a hurry (so that I don't miss too much work) I wish I could hang out with all of you. It means a whole lot; thank you so much and I'm sorry we weren't able to do any of them.
Highlights from today:
- Ogden, Utah (and Salt Lake City) is pretty darn beautiful. The whole city being surrounded by the Rocky mountains is breathtaking. I hope I have a chance to visit again.
- A semi that was carrying tons of dog food caught on fire right next to the highway. We didn't get to see it on fire, but we saw the black husk, dozens of dog food bags, and smelled lots of burnt meat. I really hope the driver was ok, because I'd feel horrible for laughing so much if he wasn't.
- Todd's Pokemon slapping all the other Pokemon. We were probably punch-drunk at that point, but I laughed a lot.
- We found a place where iPod FM transmitters work: it's called Wyoming. Too bad they're so fussy and high maintenance near cities.
- Wyoming was nice to drive. I wouldn't say beautiful, but nice rolling hills. Nebraska? Uhhhh, thank goodness the speed limit is 75?
Alright good people, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow will be a great night because we're going to Bloomington, Indiana to stay the night with my brother Eric and his wonderful wife, Kristin. I hope they'll be ok with us showing up bearded and grumpy!
-scott-
p.s. Sincere thank yous to those who have invited us to dinner, to stay the night, and to have lunch with us. If we weren't in such a hurry (so that I don't miss too much work) I wish I could hang out with all of you. It means a whole lot; thank you so much and I'm sorry we weren't able to do any of them.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Alive in North Platte, Nebraska
We're alive and are currently waiting for our food at Arby's. We were going to Wendy's, but Todd couldn't figure out the one-way roads.
He was a hero today; I was trying to sleep while he drove and he slammed on the brakes and swerved. A grill fell from a vehicle in front of us and Todd smoothly dodged like a cat or something. We eventually passed the vehicle-now-without-a-grill, it was a truck towing a trailer that had a truck in it, and we think the grill was in the bed of the second truck! Crazy.
4 hours to Lincoln. We'll sleep well tonight.
-scott-
Why I haven't posted today
I'm not tired and cranky! Just let me sleep some more! Get me out of the car! Ahhhh!
-scott-
Day One Complete
800 miles from Bellevue, Washington to Ogden, Utah and we made it. Still have a challenging day coming up tomorrow; perhaps the toughest of the trip. ~900 miles across all of Wyoming and most of Nebraska that Google maps says will take 14 hours to drive without stops. Thankfully the two days after that should only be 11 and 9 hours respectfully.
Morale hit a bump when we pulled into the hotel parking lot. I couldn't remember which hotel I booked and we were in front of a really strange hotel-like building with sort of a neon-sign that said "VALUE!!" and "Monthly Rates start at $169!" I was really confused because I didn't think that was the hotel I reserved and I also was having a hard time figuring out where the lobby was at. Todd looked about as cross as I've seen him quite a while because he thought the hotel looked like a dump and I wasn't totally sure that it was the right one anyway.
After a few minutes, we figured out that we were at the wrong hotel (or whatever that place was) and went down the street to our Comfort Suites hotel. Todd apologized for getting upset, but I don't blame him; we both just want to end the day and go to bed.
I'm looking forward to a few things tomorrow:
1. Driving through the Rockies in the morning. Hopefully we didn't miss the great views while driving into Ogden tonight.
2. Playing Pokemon and Swords & Sworcery tomorrow. Today had a lot of great scenery to look at and talk about. I'm thinking Wyoming and Nebraska may not be as compelling.
3. Talking with Todd more.
I probably won't blog tomorrow morning when we get up, so I'll write something later in the day.
Morale hit a bump when we pulled into the hotel parking lot. I couldn't remember which hotel I booked and we were in front of a really strange hotel-like building with sort of a neon-sign that said "VALUE!!" and "Monthly Rates start at $169!" I was really confused because I didn't think that was the hotel I reserved and I also was having a hard time figuring out where the lobby was at. Todd looked about as cross as I've seen him quite a while because he thought the hotel looked like a dump and I wasn't totally sure that it was the right one anyway.
After a few minutes, we figured out that we were at the wrong hotel (or whatever that place was) and went down the street to our Comfort Suites hotel. Todd apologized for getting upset, but I don't blame him; we both just want to end the day and go to bed.
I'm looking forward to a few things tomorrow:
1. Driving through the Rockies in the morning. Hopefully we didn't miss the great views while driving into Ogden tonight.
2. Playing Pokemon and Swords & Sworcery tomorrow. Today had a lot of great scenery to look at and talk about. I'm thinking Wyoming and Nebraska may not be as compelling.
3. Talking with Todd more.
I probably won't blog tomorrow morning when we get up, so I'll write something later in the day.
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