On the Road!
After much anticipation and prep, I’m off! Off on my adventure to explore not only new physical places but also new aspects of myself.
Something you should be aware of as I kick off this journey is that historically I have not been a huge fan of road trips… WHAT?! Whit… you just sold most of your stuff, tetris-ed what you have remaining into your Subaru (shout out to Yoshi Le$bean), and are LITERALLY adventuring from place to place ON. THE. ROAD. Welllllll, funny you mention it, I, Whit the Shit, love a good challenge and what could be more challenging to start than being by myself in a car for hours and hours and hours when I’m typically not a fan?! HA!
I will say that when I was planning the first few days of my trip, I purposely planned to drive only 6 hours at most in a day. I knew any more than that and the boredom would turn this adventure from “Woo hoo, look at me go!” to “OMG… what the f#@$ am I doing?!” Know thyself, ya know? So! The first day I started in the AM in Minnesota and the plan was to make it to Omaha, NE by evening. I recognize I wrote that last sentence as if there was a chance I didn’t make it or that there were some big dramatics along the way…
Day 1! I’m still in Minnesota here.
To be honest, the drive through Southern Minnesota, down the West side of Iowa, and then into Nebraska was extremely easy and uneventful. I listened to the radio stations I loved for as long as I could (I rock out to 80s and 90s on the radio mostly) and then switched over to Spotify. I ended up at a rest stop in Iowa to grab some hot tea, eat some lunch, and stretch my legs a bit, but other than that, I didn’t stop except for quick bathroom and gas fill-up breaks. I will say, that first rest stop in Iowa, while gathering some items from my cooler for lunch, I noticed my big camping water jug (that I had filled from a natural spring so I had fresh water along the way) was leaking all over my trunk. Luckily I packed most of my items in plastic tubs so aside from water sloshing around on the tub lids, no other mess was made. I emptied the jug on a rest stop tree and continued on my way.
It wouldn’t be a Midwest rest stop without some fields of corn!
My first overnight stop was absolutely lovely in Omaha, NE. In my early 20s, I interned and then worked for a nonprofit down in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and it was there that I met Beth amongst other rad humans. Beth and I remained Facebook friends over the years but it had been a while since I had seen her in person. Leading up to this adventure, I posted links to this blog on Facebook and it was there that Beth reached out and said, “If you happen to go through Omaha at any point, you’re welcome to stay with me and Jason!” When Beth first messaged me, I didn’t know where I’d be going, so I told her I’d let her know. As my first stop became clearer and clearer, I realized, that yes! I would be going through Omaha and actually, I’d be staying there overnight to rest up for another day of driving.
So! It worked out perfectly (as things often do when I’m in flow) that I not only had a place to stay on night one, but I got to reconnect and catch up with an old friend. I know I said it a bunch of times in person already, but thank you Beth and Jason for your hospitality. Even though I’m soooo excited for this adventure, having familiar and friendly faces embrace you along the way is comforting and helpful. :) I am so grateful!
Stay tuned for the next installment of this blog, which will include the THRILLING tales of driving clear across Nebraska. lol I promise there will be some fun nuggets in there :)
With joy and love, Whit
