The following is a piece of my catalog of travels from the great state of Virginia to the great state of California, up the coast to Washington (also great), and then back east, back home. Nothing in this account has been embellished and/or fabricated. It all really and truly happened. For real. Seriously. I would not lie to you.

Thursday, June 22 2006

NEW YORK

Niagra Falls
What's up, New York?!? Did you miss us? It's good to be back this close to home. I'm saddened that the trip is ending but reality awaits back at home.

We woke up early this morning in Michigan and headed to Buffalo. Dan and I had both seen Niagra Falls as Freshmen in High School. It was on a school trip and we traveled to the Canadian side. I remember there being a lot of water.

This time, we drove to the New York side and guess what? There was a lot of water.

We observed the Falls from the observation deck for awhile. They thundered and crashed about 400 feet below us. An elevator took us lower and we walked a path up to the side and middle of Niagra Falls. The intense splashing of the waters against the cliff rocks got us soaked. If any part of that was undesirable (I didn't necessarily appreciate the drenching of my socks), it was surely made up for by the euphoria brought on by being a part of the overall scene.

Six Flags
The very last thing on the agenda was to enjoy ourselves at Six Flags. My favorite ride of all has always been (and still is) the antique cars. We went on all the rollercoasters (except Dan backed away from the Superman ride ... wuss), and enjoyed the beautiful day. Although, as nice as it was to let out two weeks worth of travelling steam at a fun-filled amusement park. I have to say that I felt just a tad bit old there. At the end of the day, I had a headache and an upset stomach from being tossed and turned violently in every possible direction. The place was bursting with middle school and high school age students. They ran from ride to ride, we sauntered.

Friday, June 23, 2006

CONNECTICUT

Home Reflections
Home again, home again, jiggity jog. We got back very late last night. Dan stayed briefly. Just long enough to clean out his car and grab a bite to eat. I was sad to see him go. Not because we won't see each other soon, we will—but because he had become a permanent fixture in my life over the past two weeks. When you spend that much time and conquer that many miles with someone, you either want to kill him or hug him at the end of the road. I opted for the latter.

I am now thoroughly exhausted and looking forward to a nice, long weekend as I slowly assimilate back into reality.

I bought The Lewis and Clark Journals somewhere along the way and I intend to take a good look at it in the coming days. Lewis and Clark were great pioneers of this country 200 years ago. Today, we take it for granted. After my extensive trip to the west and back again, I have a much greater sense of history and country. I'm so glad we made the trip and I look forward to taking the southern route somewhere in the distant future.

In the meantime, I'm just happy to be home. Although the driving was at times arduous, although Dan and I experienced brief (and trivial) arguments, although we nearly died in Fulford (and I'm still not convinced we didn't), it was a trip for the ages. Everyone should do it when they get a chance. America is out there, everywhere. It's a great place to visit and you gotta love living here!

Did we drive by your town? Click on any state below to find out.

Connecticut
New York
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Illinois
Wisconsin
Minnesota
South Dakota
Wyoming
Montana
Idaho
Washington
Oregon
California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Nebraska
Iowa
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
West Virginia
Virginia