Capital of Seattle

Today, one of the boys I nanny asked me “What’s the capital of Seattle?” I was about to launch into my “Cities do not have capitals” speech, when he gave me the answer. “Starbucks,” he said. I laughed and thought to myself how right he was.

I know that those of us not native to Seattle joke about how important Starbucks is to us, and how crazy people in Seattle must be about it. I’m here to tell you that our jokes aren’t that far off base. Furthermore, if I continue my current caffeine intake, I’m going to become a blood born native (based on blood-caffeine level). I’ve even established "my" regular Starbucks – no home church yet, but I know where to get my coffee. I'm not a Starbucks loyalist or anything. There is just one close to my job and thanks to many of you I have a couple gift cards I'm still making good use of during the cold, snowy winter days.

Anyway back to today's story. I went to "my" Starbucks today to order a Vanilla Crème and the staff, some of which I actually know by name, were concerned by my choice’s lack of caffeine. They assured me that when (not if) the headache set in, they would be there to help. I left feeling a little concerned that perhaps I was getting too friendly with the natives. Perhaps I was being corrupted by the allure of caffeine. Surely this was not an addiction. Surely the streets really did smell like coffee everywhere I went. It couldn't possibly be just my imagination. I was considering the possible addiction and ease with which I was willing to give up my Coca-Cola only Southern upbringing for this capital of coffee. Then it dawned on me. What is it they say – “When in Rome do as the Romans”? I’m not addicted. I definitely am not. I'm just being a wise steward of gift cards. Furthermore, I’m not laying aside my Southern Coke roots for some flakey coffee drinks. No way. I’m just becoming a “Seattle-ite” on the outside. I’m just studying the full scope of the culture in which I am now immersed. Ahhhh, I'm so glad to have that settled. Now I can sleep in peace. Well, when the caffeine from the Starbucks Caramel Macchiato (the one I drank to counter the Vanilla Crème headache) wears off.

Writer's Block

I’ve discovered that writing is one of those tasks for which I require a creative mood. A couple of you have asked where I’ve been or what I’ve been up to. I’m happy to report that I am fine, just suffering from writers block. I'll work on getting the creative juices flowing again.

The weather was nice on Friday, but other than that it has been cold and cloudy. While I’m still actually enjoying the weather, it puts a damper on motivation for sightseeing. I did make it to Discovery Park on Friday afternoon. It is the largest park in Seattle and also home to West Point Lighthouse. I was disappointed to find that I must be accompanied by someone under the age of 7 in order to be allowed to drive to the lighthouse. Otherwise you are required to make the 2 mile hike in each direction. I wasn’t up for that on Friday nor did I have the time. I think I'll "borrow" Toni's kids and come back later. I decided to still enjoy the nice weather and take a short hike. For some reason when I'm hiking I tend to get caught up in two separate worlds. There is the "big" world of landscapes and knowing where you are, and then there is this whole other "little" world that generally goes unnoticed by joggers and walkers. I decided on this hike to just explore that "little" world (and use the excuse to get more familiar with my camera's macro settings). I really didn't walk very far, but I had fun looking for color in the otherwise dead winter forest.

Hole & Whole

So I’ve had those words rumbling around in my head for the last few days and it’s really been bothering me. I was reading a past journal entry in which I had used the word “hole” and being the bad speller I am, had to concentrate to determine if I should have spelled it “whole”. Ever since then, the two words have been tumbling around in my head much like a pair of heavy jeans do in the dryer. My mental dilemma and thus conversation with myself has been centered around why the English language made homophones of two words that have opposite meanings. One spelling means an absence of something and the other means to be full. There is a certain irony in it.

I’ve pondered this irony for several days now and while I still have no idea why the English language made homophones of the words, I have come to a conclusion. The words make sense from a Christian / spiritual sense. When I look at the “holes” in my life, I discover that those are places God has filled to make me “whole”. I know, it is cliché and a complete play on words, but something about it made sense to me. Perhaps it is the result of too much time with the words rumbling in my head or perhaps it is a true yet simple commentary on life. Like much of the Bible the irony baffles me.

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Cor. 12:10
“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first”. – Matt. 19:30
“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” – Matt. 20:26

None of these sayings make sense from a human perspective. There is nothing about using holes in our life to make us “whole” that makes sense either though. I think that is the miracle of it. We don’t need to be perfect for God to use us. He takes our holes, our shortcomings, our weakness, my poor spelling, and uses them to make us whole in ways that we never imagined. Somewhere in the process He also makes us “holy” (but that’s another blog.)

Lighthouses, Ferries & Art

Yesterday, I spent the morning doing a little more sightseeing. I drove out to Alki Beach where the first settlers to Seattle landed. My main mission was to get pictures of Alki Lighthouse. However, as often happens when I have a mission in mind, I was unable to accomplish the task at hand with any real success. The trip was none the less enjoyable. I did manage to get this photo of the light house, but failed to get the photo from the beach. The lighthouse is closed until July, which I knew, but thought I could still get my desired photo. The community at Alki is well developed. The lighthouse is surrounded by private homes and condos which are under construction. I decided with my already tarnished “criminal record” that trespassing would not be a good addition and I thus settled for this photo.

Alki beach lies to the South of Seattle and thus affords great views across Puget Sound into the city. I took some time to just take in the sites and take some more photos. I really do have to ride one of the ferries. Despite previous calamitous events surrounding ferry usage, I still have an unexplained desire to utilize them even when alternative transportation is possible.

I still had a few hours until I needed to report for work (I found a nice family for which I nanny and tutor in the afternoons.) I decided to tour the Seattle Art Museum’s outdoor Sculpture Park. I enjoyed the experience even more than I thought I might. I like the straight and geometric lines of industrial sculpture even when I am oblivious to the true artistic meaning behind the piece. This piece is called "Eagle" (which I do understand the meaning of). I liked how it framed out the Space Needle.

Noises

My day started with a disconcerting noise; a noise with which I am unfamiliar; an annoying, grating noise. At 5:30 this morning the snow plows came down our street. If I ever heard this noise while I lived in Connecticut, my mind had long since forgotten. Anyway, I went back to sleep soon enough, and when I awoke I had completely forgotten the annoyance. That is until I looked out the window to realize it had snowed the previous evening.

The roads were in fairly good shape, thanks to the plows, so I decided to visit Snoqualmie Falls. It is one of the few Indian names I’ve actually learned to pronounce with out completely giving away that I’m a Southerner. (It is pronounced snow qwal mee.) I just like to say it, spelling it – not so much. The only photos I could get are pretty misty because of – well - the mist. I think it looks pretty cool in black and white though. I discovered that the sound of water dropping 270 feet is so much more beautiful than that of snow plows. Every time I visit a waterfall I'm reminded of Ezekiel 43:2 that says God's "voice was like the roar of rushing waters." There is something incredibly powerful yet calming about the roar of a waterfall.

Since it was a fairly clear day (by Seattle terms), I decided to head back to Kerry View Point on Queen Ann Hill. I wanted to get the shot of downtown and Mt. Rainier. While it was bright and beautiful, there was still cloud cover on Mt. Rainier. I enjoyed the view, but have ultimately failed in my mission again. I'm okay with it though, because now I have another excuse to go back.

Church Tourist

Today was a bright sunny day! I haven’t had one of those since I arrived. There have been moments of sun (I think the technical term here in Seattle is “sun breaks”), but not a whole entire day of unadulterated sunshine. It was brilliant. Of course, I did not let the sunshine hinder me from my traditional Sunday afternoon nap. I mean I do have priorities.

Before my magnificent nap, I continued my search for a new church home. This process has to be the most annoying aspect of moving. I’ve decided to visit many churches before deciding or settling into a church home. As someone put it, I’m totally being a "church tourist”. Being grounding at my church in Charlotte gave me a wonderful sense of community that I wasn't willing to part with in order to find out what was going on in the rest of the religious community. Thus I made the decision to take a few weeks and explore here in Seattle. While Seattle is known as the “least churched city in the U.S.”, there are still a plethora of choices. However, not all of them are so great. A web search and a little deeper digging reveals doctrinal errors or “flakiness” galore. Was it not such a serious matter, I might find some of the statements hysterical. I’m quite sure this problem is not unique to Seattle, but being grounded in a great church home for the past 5 years has helped me avoid this harsh reality. I could rant and rave for hours about all the doctrinal and biblical inaccuracies, but for now I’m off to bed. My Sunday naps are just never long enough.

Seattle has hills!

After grabbing the mandatory cup of Starbucks (you can’t tour Seattle without Starbucks), I set out. My first goal was to get a picture from Kerry View Point Park. Evidently, on a clear day you can see Mt. Rainier from here too. I think it is just a myth, because since my arrival I’ve not seen one of those days. When we get one, I may venture back to this spot to find out for myself.

I then headed to Pikes Market. It was crowded and it had started raining (as opposed to "just" misting). So I opted out of the stop. I’ll return some other time.

I drove around for a long time with no goal. I know it is an odd thing for me to be without a goal, but it was fun to just take in the flavor of the city. I discovered that Seattle has lots of restaurants that smell really good, people in Seattle actually use their turn signals (yes even if they are already in the turn lane), and more importantly to this particular discussion; Seattle has hills. In fact, Seattle has hills with stop lights at their peak. To understand why this is part of my blog, you have to understand that I recently gave into my preference for a car with manual transmission. This would have been no big deal had a car not pulled up onto my bumper before the light turned green. After ten thousand very loud heartbeats the light turned green. I was suddenly 15 sitting on a hill learning to drive our ugly, brown Datsun 510 hatchback with my dad in the passenger’s side. His words were echoing in my ears. “Let out on the clutch and push in on the gas all at the same time.” While it took what seemed like 100 tries to get it right at 15, I am happy to report that I made it through the stoplight on the first try. I guess it is like riding a bike . . . it all comes back when you need it.

I ended up near this park I had read about earlier so I stopped. The location used to be a gas plant, but after it was shut down it was turned into a park (aptly called Gas Works Park). Only in Seattle !!!

Eat the Dessert First

I hate that every time I move away from a city I take with me a list of sites that I never saw. I left Connecticut never having been to Mystic Seaport; Texas never having been to the Stockyards; and Charlotte never having seen the Speedway. I decided not to let that happen this time. I'm going to eat my dessert first this time and go out for some site-seeing in the Emerald City. I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when I say that. Don’t worry, I don’t own any red slippers and if I did, I certainly wouldn’t wear them. I mean let’s be practical; if you are going walking that long on a yellow brick road, you need comfortable walking shoes. I’ll be sure to post some pictures later tonight.

Someone asked about the picture that is now in my title bar. It is Mt. Rainier. I took that picture on my visit in October and thought it was a good addition. On the rare, clear days you can actually see it from here (although the picture was taken from much closer).

By the way, I’m so happy to see that those of you who voted in my poll are just as unenthusiastic about making your bed as I. It is such a waste of time when you are just going to unmake it a few hours later. Although, I have to admit that writing the post must have triggered something in my subconscious, because I’ve made my bed every day since.

Love

I’ve done it; I’ve moved to Seattle and fallen in love. My electric blanket has captured my heart and we’ve developed quite the tight knit relationship. While I think the two space heaters are trying to vie for my attention, I’m not sure they can compete on the same level.

Yes, it is cold and rainy again today, and as much as you all know how much I hate cold weather, I am loving every minute of it. It is nice to actual experience the “dreariness” and cold of winter. I never realized how much I missed it. There is something about the cold that is invigorating. I’m not saying I want to go stand in it all day, but it does give me a little extra spring in my step (if only to get back into the warmth).

Little Things & Puzzle Pieces

Today is exactly what I expected from the Seattle weather. It is a little dreary and cold, but not freezing. Normally I find these conditions less than appealing, but given the South’s complete lack of real weather the last six months, I am enjoying it to the full extent possible (without going outside and getting cold of course)!

Things are going well. I so much appreciate all of you checking in on me these last few days. I finished unpacking today and I feel pretty settled into the place. A special thanks to Toni and Juan for making me feel so at home.

It is times like these, times of transition, that I find myself looking back on my life. There have been times in my life that the logic of God’s involvement was completely veiled from my view. While this is no so unlike those times, there is also an unfamiliar glimpse into the logic of it all. As I look back at how I landed here in Seattle, there are so many “little” things that had to fall into place at just the right time and in just the right way, that it leaves no doubt in my mind that God is involved. I don’t have a clue what He is doing, which is frustrating to someone as logical, scheduled, and planned as I tend to be. However, I’ve diverted from my initial topic already.

There were “big” and “little” decisions that I made before coming to Seattle. I’ve often been guilty of thinking it was the big decisions that determine where I end up, but now I wonder if those small decisions don’t affect things just as much. I don’t mean to put more pressure on decision making; rather just the opposite. I think it points toward God in a bigger way. The fact is that even the decisions we consider rather insignificant are painted into the picture that He is creating of our lives. To Him every single “little” detail is important and that makes Him a personal and involved God. That leaves me amazed. Let me see if I can explain further.

Before I left for Seattle, Shannon and I spent a day putting together one of those puzzles with such a plethora of tiny little pieces it drives you crazy – the kind where you have to hunt for all the edge pieces first (if you do it the right way). We were working on a particularly hard section of red flowers when my mind began to wander . . . what if I had put one of those flowery pieces into place and it had jumped up and said “But I don’t want to go here. I don’t understand why I go here unless you put all those other pieces around me first. How can you be so sure I fit? I don’t make sense without that piece to my left. Besides, I think I fit better as a red roof.” (Yes, I really did have this conversation in my head. Now you know that while I think a lot, it is not often deep thoughts.) Then it dawned on me. My life is not really like the entire self contained puzzle I had imagined it to be. Instead, I am only a single puzzle piece in a much bigger, grander picture that involves all of history and all of creation. When I look at it this way it takes the focus off of me and puts it firmly where it should be, on God. He is painting on the puzzle piece of my life all the “little” details and all the “big” decisions. He’s the one controlling where I am placed in relation to all of history. I’m just a small part of a much greater, much more beautiful, much more significant picture.

Each of you reading this is in some way a piece that touches mine. God has used each of you in some big or small way to impact who I am. In essence He is placing each of our pieces together to make something of beauty, and in doing so He is also creating beauty on our individual pieces, in our individual life stories. He is using all the big and little decisions to craft pieces that fit perfectly into His immense, immeasurably beautiful plan for all of creation. I don’t control how or where I fit into this grand puzzle; I only have to be obedient and agree to go into the place He has prepared just for me. Only there will I have true peace.

Sorry to ramble. I obviously had too much time on my hands today.

Sat. 01.05.2008

So the real adventure has begun. Yes, the adventure of driving across the country is over and I do have sense of regret that I’m not still traveling on that particular adventure. However, I will not miss sleeping in a different hotel each night, or the hassle of packing the car every morning, just to unpack it each night. (The same seeming lack of productivity that keeps me from making my bed in the mornings)

I’ve unpacked everything; though I do need to make a run to Target for some clothes hangers. I’m settling in and things really couldn’t be going any better.

There are still thoughts of the trip running through my head and the reality that I’m now three hours behind most of you, has definitely not hit me. I know there are a few of you who are celebrating that you can now call me at 11 PM and actually find me awake. However, some part of me feels like I’m living in some strange reality, where time is relative. I can’t explain it or put it into words, maybe it is just a symptom of “driving lag”.

So, as I think back on the trip there are tons of things I learned along the way. God and I had lots of time to talk. If you never use alone time in your car to talk to God and more importantly be quiet enough to let Him speak to your heart, I’d highly recommend it. I have to admit that I came on the trip with enough music and audio books on the I-pod to last for 2 trips across the country, but I found a lot of the time I was just so amazed with the beauty around me that I preferred the silence. Silence has a strange way of making time slow down. It has a unique power, unlike any other, in that it actually makes me slow down. That is not something I do often, but I think it is something I’ll be doing a lot more of now. There is something about being still and silent that allows my heart to feel things. Maybe they are things I feel all the time, but I’m just not quiet enough to hear them, or maybe it is actually the silence that brings them to the surface for me to feel them. Either way it brought to mind the verse: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) There is something about the stillness and silence that makes me keenly aware that God is. Not that God is ___ and then fill it in with whatever adjective you want, love, peace, powerful, Savior, Healer. No not that kind of God is (which He is), but the fact that God is. He just is. He exists. When I am still and silent I am able to know that He is. While there are other challenges in life, knowing that He is puts things into perspective.

Oh yeah, there are no pictures from yesterday’s drive. I’ll explain: It was snowing part of the way and while the scenery was beautiful there were two reasons I didn’t take pictures. (1) I was in a hurry to make it over the mountain passes (I like the one named Snoqualmie Pass) so that I didn’t get stuck with and unplanned extra night on the road, and (2) I had been lectured by several of you about taking pictures from a moving car. Honestly, there is no way I would have done it yesterday; the little bit of snow on the road mixed with the curves made it way to dangerous – yes, even for a professional multi-tasking driver like me.

Let’s see there is so much more to share, but I can’t blog it all now (and I haven’t processed it all yet). I’ll share more in the days to come. In the meantime, here is the answer to the “How many deer?” question from the Thursday 01.03.2008 post. I count 8, but the one farthest right on top is only an ear. I had the advantage of having seen it move. I know you were all just hanging in suspense for the answer weren’t you?

Fri. 01.04.2008

Albert Einstein once said “I love travel but I hate to arrive.” When I read that this morning I knew exactly the emotion he was conveying and I completely agreed. However, if you asked me tonight and I’d tell you Einstein was a raving lunatic and probably not all that smart either.

I'm in Seattle!!!!. It was a tough driving day and I'm tired, so I'll write more about the trip tomorrow. I did want to let you all know that I arrived safe and sound. I appreciate your prayers, phone calls, emails, and comments to the blog more than you realize.

Again, I'll post more tomorrow and in the days to come.

MILES DRIVEN: 710.8 today (3,557.5 total)

TIME DRIVING: 10:06 today (2 days 7 hours and 3 minutes – And, YES, those 3 minutes do count.)

STATES COVERED: 2 today (17 total)

Thurs. 01.03.2008

Today was more a day of driving than anything else. I had decided to make a stop at Devils Tower (the nation’s first national monument) and then drive as far as possible. The site is in the corner of Wyoming, so my drive was beautiful. It was exactly what you would imagine Wyoming to be in the winter. Unfortunately for you, God and I were having a discussion about how wonderful His handiwork was, and I forgot to take pictures. I’d just round one corner after another and find something more breathtaking than before. I was jolted back to picture taking mode when my eyes took in the first glimpse of Devils Tower.

As I headed out of the park I found this pack of mule deer. How many can you spot in the picture? Feel free to double click to get a bigger picture.

Since the visitor center at Devil’s Tower was closed I decided to stop at this shop for a few souvenirs. The couple that owned the store was really nice. I must have been their first visitor in some time as it is the off season. When I walked in I saw the wife and she immediately made eye contact and said to me “This sink is not working. It sprays me with every time I try to use it.” I thought to myself., “What about a hello? What on earth makes you think I’d care about your sink? Wait, I’m finding myself caring.” There was just something endearing about her quality that made me want to engage her in conversation, which is a rare thing for me. About the time I was conscience of my concern for her sink, her husband poked his head around the corner to add that he thought he had it the problem identified. As I looked around their little shop they chatted with me and even helped me find what I was looking for. There was something cool about interacting with these people that I had never met before and would never see again.

Like I said before. the rest of the day was just driving. Yes, I did take this picture from a moving vehicle, but I wanted you to have and idea why I got so caught up in the scenery. They don't call it Big Sky Country for nothing.

MILES DRIVEN: 534.9 today (2846.7)

TIME DRIVING: 9 hours today (1 day 23 hours 45 minutes)

STATES VISITED: 2 Today (15 total)

Wed 1.2.2008 - PM

Today was a wonderful day. It is probably one of those days I’ll remember long into my old age. I have a ton of pictures yet to sort through. I’m only going to attach a few to the blog. Once I get settled, I’ll set up a public album for those of you who might actually be interested in seeing more pictures. Ok, on to the day.

My first stop was at the world renown Wall Drug in Wall, SD. Sometime before I was born, a long time ago, the owners of Wall Drug were barely making ends meet, so they decided to entice shoppers into their store with free ice water. They started with a few road signs and expanded as more shoppers began to stop in at the store. The rest, as they say, is history or in this case a unabashed tourist trap. Anyway the only picture I really took was this one which made me feel so much better about how I looked on this bitter cold morning.

From Wall Drug I was off to the Badlands. This was the part of the trip I had looked forward to since beginning to plan. It was everything I expected and much, much more. I went a little camera happy so here are just a few of the pictures. I can’t think of the adequate words to describe this vast, desolate, immense landscape. Oh, look I did come up with a few. Anyway the pictures are better.

In the park I ran across a herd of deer and got out my binoculars to take a look. They looked much like the White Tail Deer I'm used to. At the Visitor Center I learned that they are called Mule Deer. Later, I encountered another herd and I decided to take a closer look. I soon discovered that they were not deer, but antelope.

Across from the antelope was a pull out, so I pulled off and took a few pictures. On the way back I decided to avoid the slippery ice covered boardwalk and opted for the unpacked snow. As I walked I caught something in the corner of my eye move and I jumped, only to realize that this cute little jack rabbit was what scared me. I must have been about a yard away from him. The little guy let me take a few pictures and then scampered under the boardwalk.

From the Badlands, I headed to Mt. Rushmore. The nice park ranger told me it was about 2 hours away and she was about right. However her timetable reminded me how unaware of time I’ve been lately. I’m not acclimated to the right time zone and since I abandoned my watch 3 days ago I’ve been fairly oblivious to time in general. It is not often that I let myself live outside the confines of a fairly strict schedule. Once I adjusted to the lack of structure, I actually enjoyed it. Anyway, back to the story . . . .

Mount Rushmore was rather anticlimactic for me. It has been on my “Life List” for a while, so I was looking forward to it, but not as much as the Badlands. Turns out, you show up take a few pictures and you are pretty much done with the whole thing. It’s nice, but nothing great. Remember though, I’m a girl who is much more impressed with the nature that God creates than anything man has ever put together. I am glad I visited though, because now I can mark it off my list.

Realizing it was still fairly early in the day, I asked the park ranger how close I was to Custer State Park. I’d heard there were buffalo in the park and thought this might be a cool unplanned diversion for the remainder of my day. He told me I was only 30 minutes away, but the 2 of the 3 roads into the park were closed. He gave me some great directions and I made my way to the park.

Once in the park I saw another herd of deer and pulled over. When I did, I noticed this cute little prairie dog pop his head out of his hole. I snapped a picture and got out to try and take some more pictures, but he and all his buddies went hiding into their holes. I decided to take a strool into the middle of their little prairie dog town. I couldn’t see any of them, but I could hear them barking to each other. Actually it sounded more like chirping, kind of like a squirrel chirp. Anyway I stood there for a while and just listened.

From there I was out to find what I came to see, buffalo. I drove for a few more miles before I looked over the edge of the hill I was driving on and saw a huge herd of them. I meandered my way down the hill. (Well, maybe it was more of a rapid but safe progression than a meander). The buffalo must be fairly used to the cars because several of them stood in the road and only moved slowly to avoid me. I think the were attracted to the salt & snow mixtures that had fallen from the passing vehicles and the just stood there licking the road. The sounds in this video are all the buffalo. They are noisy eaters.

After the buffalo, I'd had my fill for the day. I had seen all I’d come to see and was ready to head to the hotel. I headed for the park exit, only to be met a few miles down the road by this group of mules. Someone obviously feeds these guys from the car, because I could only get pictures of their faces as they attempted to lick their way into my car.

I’ve had this song in my head since seeing the antelope this morning. Come on sing along with me. . .

O give me a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play.
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.

I’m not sure the location that inspired this song, but I think I must have found it. As for the “seldom is heard a discouraging word” part, I think that’s due to the fact that there is no body to speak them. I encounter all of 4 cars in my traverse of the Badlands. I did see 3 or 4 families at Mt. Rushmore and maybe 4 other cars in Custer State Park. I know it is off season, but I’m glad I came during a time I could enjoy the land for myself. I found myself at times thinking God did all of this creating just for me today. I don't mean that in a selfish way at all. It's just that there weren't that many people driving around and the part of creation I witnessed was amazing.

MILES DRIVEN: 217.2 today (2311.7 total)

STATES COVERED: I was only touring today. No new states.

FAVORITE THING: I’d have to say the jack rabbit, after that the buffalo and the Badlands landscape.

Wed. 1.2.2008 - AM

My body is not cooperating with this time change thing. I’m now in the Mountain Time Zone. I thought I had adjusted to the Central Time Zone, spending two nights there, and that this extra hour from the new change would be easy. However, when I woke up at 4:30 I decided I was wrong. I did manage to sleep until 6:30 and now I’m up and getting ready for the day. Perhaps my excitement is also contributing to the early wake up. Today is the day in this trip that I’ve looked most forward to. I’m visiting the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore. I’ll write more about all of that tonight.

In the meantime, I wanted to offer my dad and uncle proof that I am watching the weather. :-)

And most importantly, let's not forget to celebrate that the UGA DAWGS are the 2008 Sugar Bowl Champions. (Or is it 2007 champions? I always forget how that works.)

Tues. 1.1.08

When I reached to turn off the 7AM cell phone alarm this morning, I was sharply met with a realization that had been building since yesterday - the combination of walking 4 miles and driving almost 800 miles does not make for happy muscles. I had been doing some serious stretching yesterday to try and avoid this, but my legs tell me I didn't do an adequate job. After some morning stretches, I was feeling better and hit the road.

I checked out and headed to the car. I was shocked when I opened the door. I knew it was going to be cold, but I was not prepared for the degree of cold and wind chill. I hurried to pack the car before my poor little body became a frozen mass. While letting the car heat up a bit, I decided to head into Omaha, Nebraska. I had two agendas in mind. (1) Be able to mark Nebraska off my “states visited list” and (2) get a cup of Starbucks. I accomplished both in short order and headed to get some gas. Did I mention it was cold outside? As I got out to fill up, I noticed that the owners of the vehicles surrounding me where warmly ensconced in their running vehicles. With my history where traveling is concerned, I opted for avoiding the exploding car scenario. However, after swiping my credit card, unscrewing the gas cap and setting the nozzle to pump, I quickly got back in my car. I was going to write down my mileage, but I couldn’t get my hands to work. Maybe I should have left the car running!!!

I headed back to my main route , only to get distracted not too far down the road. I noticed on my GPS that I was running close to the Missouri River, and that there was a road that ran out to the river. I decided this would be a great side trip, since I really had no agenda for the day. Evidently in Iowa "streets" can be unpaved. If you click this picture you will note that 305 Street is unpaved. Within 500 feet of the interstate ramp it turned to dirt / gravel, but still had the nice green street signs. I found this funny for some reason, however, having learned to drive on the dirt roads of Butler Georgia, I decided I’d be fine and headed off for an adventure laughing to myself at the irony of driving on a dirt road while headed across the country. With the help of the GPS I found this cool little campground along the river. I soon realized my fascination. Only on TV or in books have I heard of flowing bodies of water having ice in them or being frozen over. So being the Southern girl that I am, I took a video.

From there it was back to the main road, where I took a 10 mile side trip into Minnesota (again just to say I’d been there.) then headed for Wall, SD. The more I drove the more and more my GPS started looking like a piece of graph paper. From the time my brother and I were old enough to think about driving, we began planning a cross-country trip to see the U.S. From that time I’ve always wondered what it would be like to drive on such straight and organized roads. Now that I’ve done it, I have to say it was just as great as I imagined. It might even be better, if only for signs like this one.

I crossed the fold of the map today. You know, on the map of the US in the atlas? I’m now on the left side of the fold. Other than my trip to Colorado, I haven’t spent much time on this side of the fold. I’d have to say it is nice. The scenery is spectacular. I tried to take pictures, but the landscape is to immense to capture all that the eyes and heart can see. In some places the hills were like miniatures of the Rocky Mountains. In other places they were . . . the only word I can think of is gentle and that seems so cliché. I’m so used to the foothills of the Smokies. These hills seem to compete for attention; each getting bigger and taller than the other until they eventually get classified as mountains. In order to better compete with one another they grow trees that are tall. This blocks the view to the other hills unless you are atop another hill. The hills I’m used to are competitive and prideful. These South Dakota hills are not like that. They don’t compete. They don’t block the view of one another. Instead of trees they are covered in a soft brown grass that gives them an even softer appearance. There is something about their refusal to compete, their refusal to be prideful, that makes them beautiful. If I were Gulliver and this were the land of the Lilliputians, I’d find these hills a great place to take a nap.

If you click on the images they will come up much bigger in a pop up window. It might give you a better idea of the landscape.

This snow in the front of this picture is actually the frozen Missouri River.

Since there were about 500 miles to drive and no stops (other than for gasoline and food) I had lots of time to think today. If you are familiar with how much I think, you have probably likely come to the conclusion that you are finished with today’s reading of my adventures. Those of you who read on please do so at your own risk and realize that I ramble when I think. . .

Something about crossing the fold of the map and driving into totally new places is invigorating. I loved every mile I drove today - always wondering was out past the horizon or the space curve. Like I mentioned yesterday, I imagine that is what motivated the early settlers. I can’t imagine another motivator sufficient to cause a settler to walk, take a wagon train, or ride horseback through this landscape and leave so much safety, comfort, familiarity, and family behind. There is that sense in me that I’m not just encountering something new around each bend, but that life as a whole has something new and exciting for me. I had an emotion today that I can’t label, which is not at all uncommon for me. The closest thing I can compare it to is full. Maybe it is the evidence of the Hope thing I talked about earlier.

Oh you are in luck. Halftime in the UGA Bulldog vs. Hawaii - Sugar Bowl is over. I'm going to go watch my Bulldogs win. I'm not arrogant, I'll just edit if they happen to loose, but they do look good with 24 to 3 lead. GO DAWGS!!!!!

MILES DRIVEN: 531.5 today (2094.5 total)

TIME DRIVEN: 7:22 today (1 day 11 hours 8 minutes)

STATES COVERED: 3 today (13 total)