Current Location: Sutherland, NE

All I can say for the past several days is... wow. The further along I travel on this new road of life, the more I realize this was the best choice I could have made for myself. I've only been gone for a few days, and I've already seen and experienced so much. I've had very limited internet access, so I'll break this down for you by days.

12/22/10      Alpha, NJ - Easton, PA

We originally planned to leave on this morning, but it just wasn't going to happen. I spent the day cleaning out my room, taking a car load of stuff to a thrift store, saying last goodbyes, packing, and a myriad of other errands. I loaded everything into my car, and realized I had filled up the trunk, back seat, and a bit of the front passenger seat. And none of Arlo's stuff was in the car yet. Needless to say, when I came back to my parent's house later to say goodbye, I ran a few things up to the attic that didn't make the cut. Saying goodbye was hard. I'll miss my family, and my baby girl puppy Tiffany. She never quite understands what's going on in the people world; when someone's leaving the house for a long time, or when her best friend, Comete, leaves in a car and doesn't come back. Maybe I just don't understand her, but she was only interested in playing with her toy when I was trying to say goodbye. I know dogs aren't people. I wonder if she misses me.

After many repetitions of saying goodbye, giving hugs, and then talking more, I finally left. I took one last look at the house I spent the last 13-14 years in, and drove off on a new leg of life.

Actually, it was just to Arlo's house, but it's still another step in that direction. Getting all of our clothes together and into suitcases, duffel bags, and packs wasn't as difficult as I expected. But getting everything to fit in the car while putting almost nothing in the back seat (We took Arlo's sister, Mela, and her fiance, Carl, with us to Chicago.) was a four hour fiasco. What a night.

12/23/10     Easton, PA - Chicago, IL

After packing everything, we set off at 2am. The whole 14 hour drive is such a blur to me now. I was in the front passenger seat for most of the time, with things under my feet and on my lap up to my eyeballs. I don't think it was something anyone would want to be awake for.

To split up the drive, we stopped in Cleveland, OH for breakfast with our friend Red Bear! Red Bear (Brian Fletcher) is someone that Arlo met this past summer while hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was great seeing him again! His stories are always hilarious. We ate at this place called Grumpy's Cafe. This is also where I saw an ad for Drumline Live. Hilaaarrrioussss!

We continued the drive, and arrived in Chicago at about 5pm in the Central Time Zone. I met his Dad's side of the family and we all had diner together. Phew! What a drive. We were asleep by 8pm.

12/24/10     Chicago, IL

This was an awesome Christmas Eve. We all had breakfast together, and then we walked through the Japanese, snow-covered Gardens near the Museum of Science Technology. Arlo, Carl, and I took Damascus to Nichol's Park (no relation to Arlo's family) and he played with a boxer named Titan. I heard from a friend that Nacional 27 was an awesome place to eat, but it was closed. We ate at Mr. Beef across the street. It wasn't bad, but not fantastic. Mr. Beef met Mr. Toilet later that night. We saw the movie True Grit later that night at a movie theater in town with a full bar. That was a first for me. For dinner, we ate at an Ethiopian restaurant. This was my first Ethiopian food experience. I had Ethiopian beer, and drank the best tasting iced tea I've ever had in my entire life. The food was good too. I asked how they made the iced tea, but they said I had to come back. I hope to God I can go!!! S o o o o g o o d ! ! ! It was snowing that night. What a gorgeous city.

12/25/10     Chicago, IL

Merry Christmas! Breakfast and Lunch was had with the whole family together. We spent much time sitting together and exchanging stories about different life experiences. Arlo's family is a very intelligent group of people full of interesting stories! We went to a Blues Club that night. Oh my gawd. AMAZING! They were absolutely mind blowing. The bassist was craaaazy! They were all extremely talented! Great night. Great Christmas.

12/26/10 Chicago, IL

Today, we got down to business. Arlo, his Dad, Carl, and I ate at Velocies for breakfast, and then drove around to view some sights. Arlo's Dad grew up in Chicago, and was able to show us all the cool places only a native would know. We saw lots of neat architecture and also drove around Chicago University. Later, we stopped at Nichol's Park, where Damascus made doggie friends, and we had a snowball fight. The latter part of the day consisted of us sitting in Borders bookstore looking up places to stay in Omaha, Nebraska. We decided to take I-80 across the middle of the US instead of the northern route. We're planning to hit Yellowstone National Park on the way, and I caaaann't waiitttt! We found someone named Jamie to house us for tomorrow night. We'll leave tomorrow at 10am. I'm a bit nervous about my first CouchSurfing experience, but Arlo keeps reassuring me. Our goal is to make it across the US without staying in any hotels. I love this life.

12/27/10     Chicago, IL - Omaha, NE

After saying goodbye to Arlo's Dad, the remaining family had breakfast. Arlo and I gave his grandparents a 6 pack of Dos Equis and a bottle of red wine as a thank you for their hospitality. They were so much fun to be with and their stories were awesome. They were fantastic hosts! We left at about 10am, and set off for Omaha, NE. It was a pretty boring 9 hour drive. Iowa is sooooooooooooooo flat. At least it was pretty and snow covered. We arrived at our couch surfer's house at about 7pm. Jamie, our host, and his family were so nice! Their doggies were very cute, too! Damascus had a great time playing. Jamie was so interesting and helpful with directions and cool places to stop along our trip. I'm so glad we were able to stay at his place.

12/28/10     Omaha, NE - Sutherland, NE

Today was a fantastically awesome day! We thanked Jamie for his kindness and hospitality, and went to a nice diner, Vidlak's, that he suggested for breakfast. It was quite yummy! We decided to spend most of the day in Omaha, as our next couch surfing hosts were expecting us at 10pm. Omaha is awesome! If you're ever passing through, be sure to check it out. We contemplated going to the Omaha Zoo, which is supposed to be fantastic, but decided we wouldn't have enough time to enjoy everything it had to offer. Maybe next time. 

Jamie suggested that we hit the Old Market, which turned out to be a quaint, old-style shopping district with several pubs and restaurants. Very cute! Before we went to the Old Market, I spotted Thrift World. Of course, even though the car is over-stuffed with things, I needed to check it out. Out of all the thrift stores I've been to, this one gets an A, maybe even an A+. We bought Damascus a little stuffed animal puppy. He mauls it every time he gets back in the car. It's so adorable! Arlo and I found a small snowboard/sled and some sort of snow scooter with breaks. Even though it was probably a bad idea, we bought them both. So. Much. Fun! While looking for Old Market, we found a little frozen stream that went through the heart of the business district. Though likely illegal, this was the perfect spot for sledding! We took turns sliding down the hill while Damascus chased after us. When I got to the bottom, he grabbed my sleeve and started pulling me around. He's so cute! 

After all the sledding, we went to this fancy restaurant in the Old Market. Lucky Bucket Lager is pretty good. The bartender realized after we ordered that they only had enough frangelico to make half of his drink. She felt bad, so she made him a Disaronno with cream. She only charged us for my beer. Score! We left her a nice tip. After using the wi-fi at a bank/cafe (those are kinda weird), we left for the dog park.

It took us about a half-hour to find it, but it was a really nice park! Damascus got to play with about a dozen other dogs for a good 45 minutes. When we left, Damascus was more brown than white. It was crazy muddy! I spent a good 10 minuets cleaning the muck out of my boots. It was getting close to the time we needed to leave, but we had to do something about Damascus' filth. 

$45 later, Damascus was clean, brushed, the car swiped free of hair (kind of), and our bellies were filled with Papa John's pizza. Papa's in the house! Off to Sutherland we went. 

The ride wasn't too painful. Arlo drove the whole way, and I was able to upload a lot of pics from my camera and phone. Those will be up soon. Our hosts, Muriel, Mark, and their family are very nice! Wish we had more time to chat, but I'm really tired. More adventures for tomorrow!