...and i suddenly realized i was 3,000 miles from home.

Following is the account of my drive from Bethel, CT to Azusa, CA. Much of it is directly from the journal i kept during mine and Corey's journey and some of it is reflection. It is poetry, it is literature, it is truth, it is bullshit - however i perceive it at any given moment is irrelevant. This is my story:

JUNE 3
As I packed my car in the cool summer morning i could hear the hum of the distant highway. I was only 20 minutes from joining the innumerable commuters and travelers on the road we all share. It wasn't quite rush hour and the feeling of anticipation i had felt for the past several months all but disappeared. This is real now. The night before i kissed my sweetheart goodbye. I stood in her doorway and touched her face, saying, "3 months is not that long to be apart." This was a lie. It was a lie to her and to myself. I am missing her comfort, i am missing my home as i set out to the west, to a new place, a new culture, and new experiences. Was this the right move, going west? It's too late to ponder this. All I can do is follow the atlas to the place i have dreamed of since January - California.

We drove through the rain to Pittsburgh. We arrived as the rain slowed and became an inescapable dampness. We found ourselves in the North side of the city - the ghetto side. Corey's friends were waiting for us. A hipster and his hipster friends invited us in and we sat and talked for a while. Our conversation felt juvenile. A girl talked about her ex-boyfriend and her new boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend. The drama...the importance of it all. It was fun. We listened to some vinyl and decided we were hungry. We ate Thai food. As the night went on and i conversed with the hipsters i learned of a Christian artistic community in the Northside. They are mostly filmmakers who use their gifts to tell stories of truth, of God, and of life and love. I loved it.
We went to Banjo night. It was the best experience. At the Elks Club we found about 25 old men on stage playing Banjo together, singing songs and performing for a packed house of 50+ women and 65+ men. the $5 pitchers of Yeungling was the icing on the cake.

Soon we drove to Cleveland to see Ryan. We arrived at 1am and chilled until 4am.

June 4
We planned to leave that day, but Ryan got off work so we stayed. We hung out by the pool, Corey bought a camera (pictures of the trip are on facebook). We went to Ryans Girlfriends house to hang out. She owned like a million acres and a barn. We hung out in the barn and played Stop. A few of their friends came, it was fun. I was just glad to be with Corey and Ryan.

We left in the morning.

JUNE 5
We drove through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois...not much to say. Sitting in traffic while passing through the Chicago area on I-80 i saw two children riding their bikes on an empty street about 80 yards off the road. They rode in the direction we were headed. It seemed quiet and simple. I miss childhood. I often think about moving to a small, quiet, uncomplicated place. I miss the simplicity of youth.

The sun began to set as we drove through Iowa. We stopped at the 'Worlds Largest Truck stop'. I bought an Orange Julius. As we drove through Iowa i asked Corey the question, 'does anyone actually live in Iowa?' Neither of us could answer this question. When we reached Des Moines i was pleased to find an answer to this question - yes.
It was 11:30pm. Corey was asleep in the passenger seat. The moon haunted me from my left window. It's full, sad face followed me. I imagined he was wondering where i was going. I began to reflect his sad disposition...or perhaps he reflected mine.

JUNE 6.
I let Corey take over so i could sleep. I woke up a while later in Nebraska. I awoke, appropriately so, to Corey listening to Bruce Springsteen's 'Nebraska'. He didn't even realize this until i told him. The clouds had overtaken the moon, and soon they opened up and it was like driving through the river Styx. We were crossing over into death, there was no escape...we were our own ferrymen. The rain lessened and the sky displayed its awesome beauty and power in a brilliant light show that opened my eyes to the power of God. I now understand why my sweetheart loves storms.

We entered Colorado at sun-up. The landscape almost immediately changed from flat to hills. Fog rolled over the state, and i felt depressed. It was dull. After a couple hours the fog broke and i beheld the Rockies for the first time in my life. They were awesome. We stopped in Denver to use the internet and grab a bite. The Rockies loomed in the west and i was not anxious to challenge them, but i knew we had to and i prayed that my car would make it. We drove through the Rockies.

I never knew that people lived in the mountains. There are whole towns there! i was amazed. I saw several churches, all modern looking and i'm sure exploding with the tithes of rich Colorado professionals.

After the mountains we came into the Canyons. Looking up from the bottom of these billion-year-old works of grace left me wanting more. But what more could i want? I had seen the awesome power of God in nature and was excited for more...but it was tiring. There was much to take in.

We drove into Utah, which is probably the most awesome state of all time. It began as desert outlined by painted cliffs. The desert gave way to a landscape in which i am sure i saw Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner. Desert and mountains. Up and Up we drove. Down we cruised, up we went, the whole time surrounded by unforgiving formations of rock and sand.We stopped at a Denny's in the desert. Our waiter was a creep. I'm sure he was a child molester.

Eventually the desert became lush forest and high mountains. We came into a valley and saw towns and Walmarts and CVS and life. We were happy. We cut down a back-road highway to make our way south to the Grand Canyon. We stopped at a mountain lake and trekked about 1/4 mile off the road in order to understand its beauty. There was a dead stork on the shore so we turned back.

That night we slept at a rest stop on the side of a mountain highway. I thought a murder would find us, but i slept 7 straight hours in the passenger seat.

JUNE 7
We woke at 5:30am and drove into the Arizona Desert. We had to turn around to get gas, and backtracked some 20 miles through the sands to find a place to fill-up. Luckily it was 6:30am and heat did not yet exist.

We arrived at the Canyon, which is a long way to get to. It was awesome. Corey and I, but mostly Corey, ventured to take the most dangerous pictures. We stood on ledges that were there for our death but we conquered them and felt like gods, gods that set the limits of the world and we laughed.

We ate at a diner on the way out of the Canyon. The waitress talked us into getting a slice of pie. we shared it and were happy to have experienced the day together. It was only noon.

We drove back through Arizona and into Nevada. Vegas was all we could think of. We desired to see the lights and the people and to know what recklessness felt like. We found a Super 8 Motel for $40 and cleaned up. It had been 4 days since we showered and it felt good to be clean. We walked over the the Bellagio, to Caesars, to Mirage. We felt fake. We felt tired. We felt poor. Vegas was too much for one night. We slept.

JUNE 8
We left Vegas for LA. The desert of Nevada and California is hot. It was only a few hours and then we entered into San Gabriel Valley. We were close. We entered Azusa, my summer home, and were pleased to see Chris waiting outside his apartment. I unpacked, settled in and we went out to experience Azusa. We went to a dive, i loved it. We ate at In n Out. I was impressed. I now have to deal with the fact that i am here for the summer. I am jobless, without family and without security. It is only for two months, anyone can deal with it and i look forward to the challenge.

More to come.