An update from the road...

Day 1: (October 25th)
I got a late start due to goodbye breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my Nashville friends. We were very loud and joyful at the breakfast table, so much so that we actually received a compliment from a couple strangers. They said we made their breakfast more enjoyable by how much fun we had. We took a bunch of group photos outside of CB, which made some people stare. Tears were shed - mostly by me. It was a long day of driving which ended near Topeka, KS at a rest stop. This was when I discovered the amazing rest stops that are actually service stations in Kansas. They have, not only clean bathrooms, but also gas pumps, convenience stores and fast food restaurants all in one location in the median. It was great!

Day 2:
Sleeping in a car packed with all your worldly possessions is not the most comfortable thing. I Kept startling awake thinking I had fallen asleep while driving. I left the service area at 6:15am and witnessed a beautiful sunrise which made up for the lack of sleep. :) When driving through Topeka I saw a small car (similar to mine) with a Vermont license plate, packed full with belongings. I wonder where they are moving to? I drove on the part of I-70 which was the first section of interstate to be built in the US. Why did they chose Kansas for this first section? I saw a church called 'JC Naz' which was apparently a Nazarene church. I arrived in Denver at a very decent time (about 3pm) and had a very nice chat with my good friend Sweet Leesh, before everyone (her husband, brother and sister-in-law) all arrived for dinner. I really enjoyed dinner with all of them, and we played some fun games afterwards too.

Day 3:
Denver has been issued a Winter Storm Warning. They are expecting it to snow, starting tonight and going through Thursday. Up to 18 inches is expected. So I am going to stay a couple extra nights with Sweet Leesh and her husband. This afternoon we went to Red Rocks Amphitheater and took lots of pictures. Tonight we had dinner at Sweet Leesh's parents house and got to play Apples to Apples with the whole family afterwards. It brought back many fun memories, due to the fact they were the ones who helped teach me to play that game in the first place.

Day 4: (October 28)
I slept in this morning and by the time I woke up there was a couple inches of snow. Sweet Leesh and her husband went to a special lecture at the Bear Valley school this morning. It was bad enough when they got out of that, they decided to go get more food supplies for the next couple days. When they got back we ate and watched movies all afternoon. Its about 10pm now and there is at least 9" of snow from what I can see. It is still snowing too. I think I may have to change my route home from here, in addition to waiting a couple extra nights.

A Summary...

I originally was going to go back and blog about each adventure I had this summer, and even started doing so. However, after a couple entries, I realized just how many things I did this year and I decided maybe a summary would be best.

As you know, this year started with a bang - our New Years party at Micah and Miss Grey's house was an awesome start to 2009. It inspired me to make goals that seemed somewhat impossible, but also to realize that if you don't shoot for the moon you probably won't achieve much. Here are some of the things I accomplished this year so far:

• Read the Twilight series.
• Finished the Harry Potter series, and subsequentially watched all of the movies that are out.
• Visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, Cheekwood Botanical Garden, The Hermitage, Riverfront Park (downtown Nashville), Warner Park, the Loveless Cafe, The Parthenon, and the Natchez Trace.
• Visited West Virginia twice (once for a Redding Brothers concert, and the other for Mawmaw and Pawpaw Redding's anniversary party)
• Visited 2 out of my goal of 5 National Parks - the Great Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Cave.
• Walked 4 miles at the Nashville 'Walk 4 Water' to help raise money for water wells in third world countries.
• Saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
• Visited North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama for the first time.
• Saw Lake Michigan for the first time.
• Witnessed my little brother graduate from Navy Bootcamp.
• Met cousins I didn't know I had, and also spent a day with my Great-Uncle from Arkansas who I hadn't seen in 10 years.
• Went to a drive-in movie theater for the first time.
• Went to a 'real' country fair.
• Went to a Greek Festival.
• Walked in a waterfall for the first time.
• Fell deeper in love with Bluegrass music.
• and finally - developed close friendships with Sunny B, Tberry, and Lady Dee, and deepened pre-existing friendships with BarlowGirl, Miss Grey, Micah, Gabriel, and Josiah.

I am so thankful for having been able to do all of these things this year. Especially since the year isn't over yet! I feel like I have used this spring and summer to its fullest, and don't regret any of the things I did or places I visited. Thanks to my friends who have helped come up with things to do and have helped made it possible for me to do all these things! I love you all!!