Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Reflections

By The Numbers...

Total days: 128
Total miles: 17094.7
Total states traveled: 31 + District of Columbia...New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Oil changes: 4
Speeding tickets: 1
Accidents: 0
Visitors: 4...Shawn, mom, Jen, and Madeleine
People visited: 24...Jen, Shawn, Lesley + Deran, The Phillips (Barry, Therese, Zchary and Charlotte), The Lentz (Aunt Sandy, Uncle Steve, Katherine and Michael), The Goldsteins (Lisa, Sam and Noah), Ian + Marita, The Elstons (Uncle Rog, Aunt Tana, Polly), The Minters (Judi, John, Maya and Dede)
Lesson learned: countless

Some final thoughts:

This is a truly beautiful country. If you ever get the opportunity to see it all go for it. You will be amazed at the similarities and differences that exists within our country. I think I have a better understanding of what it means to be American. Every state and every city in this country has a history and a story. When given the opportunity residents want to do nothing more than tell their story.

There are so many amazing people in this country. I’ve definitely learned to relax more when meeting new people. I’ve learned that more often than not people can be trusted. I made a lot of new friends on this trip that I will hopefully continue to keep in touch with.

While the core of who I am is still the same but I have learned so much about myself. I am more comfortable with who I am. I am more confident. I mean if I can make it 5 months on the road by myself, what can’t I do?

There are so many places that I visited that I absolutely have to go back to and places that I didn’t get to see that I absolutely want to visit. This of course means that at some point I’m going to have to get over my fear of flying. I’ll get there.

Before I left on my trip various people had some predictions. My grandmother decided that I would meet the man of my dreams while my mother was convinced that I would find the place that I want live. Well grandma wasn’t right but mom was. One of the most important things that I learned on this trip was that I want to be where my family and friends are.

So my trip is over and it’s time for me to enter the real world. Time to get a job and find a place to live. But first things first…time to talk to and see everyone that I have missed so much the past 5 months.

posted by Jenna Dabney @ 4:25 PM 7 comments

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been

Day #128
Tripometer: 17094.7
Mile #17000: Tannerville, Pennsylvania

I’m home!! The drive home was so long. My drive today was a relatively short one, only 4 hours but it felt like so much longer. Something I’ve noticed on my trip is that the long drives are harder than the short ones. On the shorter drives I tend to count miles and exits. My mom, dad and I all got home within a few minutes of each other which was really, really nice. I got a quick tour of the house so that I could see al of the work they had done since I left. It looks great. We had lunch and caught up on a little. It’s a little strange being home but mostly it’s really wonderful. I'm so greatful to have had the opportunity to go on such a journey. In a lot of ways I still can't believe I did it. Even more though, I can't believe it's over.

posted by Jenna Dabney @ 4:23 PM 1 comments

Monday, May 23, 2005

Rock And Roll Dude!

Day #127
Tripometer: 16832.6 miles

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a wonderful place. They do an exceptional job looking at the history of rock music and have an incredible display of music memorabilia. Which I guess is good considering that’s what the museum is supposed to have to whatever. I was a little disappointed with the gift shop however. They of course had many items with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame logo on it but there’s so much more they could have done. I then made my way to one last baseball game (that is until I get home and get to root for my Yankees). This time I went to Jacobs Field and saw the Indians play the Twins. Good game. I can’t wait to get to a game where I actually care about the outcome.

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Guitars


posted by Jenna Dabney @ 4:17 PM 1 comments

Sunday, May 22, 2005

A Day Of New Experiences

Day #126
Tripometer: 16603.6 miles
Mile #16500: Toledo, Ohio

There’s not really much in Detroit but cars and baseball. Since I don’t know so much about cars I decided to check out the baseball. I went to Comerica Park to watch the Tigers. Unfortunately it started to rain. Now they must grow them kind of fragile in Detroit because it wasn’t what I would raining. It was more dripping. But since it wasn’t my decision the Major League Baseball people decided to wait until the rain stopped. So I sat and waited. Now the wonderful thing about this game was that I was experiencing something new. For the first time in my life I was sitting the very last row of a stadium. I was sitting next to this very large family having themselves a wonderful time. I was incorporated into their family reunion. It was a great way to kill over 3 hours until the game started. Once the game began I thought I would try to make my way closer to the field where I had another new experience. This time I sat in the very first row of the stadium and watched a pretty good game. Ex-Yankee Javier Vasquez pitched a complete game 5-hit shutout. What was George thinking giving up on him so quickly? Anyway, the game lasted just over 2 hours, yup that’s shorter than the rain delay.

Comerica Park

Rain Delay

Front Row Seats

posted by Jenna Dabney @ 4:09 PM 1 comments

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Farewell Chicago…I’ll Definitely Be Back

Day # 125
Tripometer: 16382.1 miles

Today I left Chicago (sad face). It was great to see Maya and her sister Dede and I’m so glad I only have to wait a month before I get to see them again. Chicago is a fabulous city. I’m definitely going to have to come back. Hopefully Maya and her family will let me come visit them again. Unfortunately I didn’t get to Wrigley Field to see a Cubs game. That will have to wait until the next visit. On my way to Detroit (where I am now) I drove a little out of the way and drove down Lakeshore Drive, down the coast of Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day and therefore a wonderful drive.

posted by Jenna Dabney @ 4:07 PM 1 comments

Friday, May 20, 2005

Checking Out The Neighborhoods

Day #124

This morning I walked around Oak Park. Frank Lloyd Wright lived in the area and designed a lot of houses in the neighborhood. I bought a map and went on a walking tour of the area. This afternoon Maya's mother took me on a driving tour of some of the various neighborhoods in Chicago. It's interesting how similar major cities are but at the same time how very different they are.

Frank Lloyd Wright Houses


posted by Jenna Dabney @ 12:10 AM 1 comments

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Downtown Chicago

Day #123

Today I took the Green Line into downtown Chicago and went to the Art Institute. What an awesome museum. There was such a variety of exhibits. I was really impressed. It is one of the best art museums I've ever been to. It's so big but not overwhelming. After the museum I went to Millenium Park to walk around a little. It was a very foggy day. I looked up one minute and couldn't see the tops of the buildings. The next minute I looked up and couldn't see all of the buildings. I went to the Chicago Cultural Center which is located in the old Chicago library. The inside of the building is absolutely beautiful. The entire lobby and upstairs is this incredible mosaic. There was also this really awesome photography exhibit done by a guy who went on a road trip from NY to Reno in the 60's. Of course I loved it.

Art Institute

Paperweights


Paintings



Look Familiar Mom?

Millenium Park

posted by Jenna Dabney @ 8:51 PM 0 comments