Road Tripping

R.J. and I have been on the road for four days now and have covered nine states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. We still have one more state and two Canadian provinces to travel through on our way out: Maine, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. We have seen license plates of 43 states (and three provinces) – 40 in the first two days, only one on the third day, and two more today. We have stayed two nights with friends, and this will be our second night in a hotel. We have tonight and then one more night on the road, which will also be spent in a hotel, before we stay put for a few days. We have traveled 1390 miles (almost 29 hours of travel time) and are well over halfway to our final destination of Prince Edward Island, where we will arrive on day six. Right now, it’s all about the journey, and the journey is great!

Us as we started the trip

 With only two more days on the road going east, I thought I would take some time to reflect. First of all, friendships are fascinating. I love how you can be together with people you haven’t seen in a long time and you can just pick up where you left off. Conversations flow easily and lives are shared intimately. Keeping in touch is easier now than it has ever been, because of technology, but what technology doesn’t give you is a hug. Actually being in the presence of people, loving them where they are, and seeing all their favorite things really does lift my spirit. I am grateful for friends who opened their homes and their hearts to us.

On our first night on the road with long-time friends the Fergusons and the Barneses

Us on our third night on the road, playing Talisman with our college friend Teri Franzen

Secondly, we have a lot of miles to cover. I think we found a comfortable pace this time around. Our longest travel day on the way out is 418 miles. We are able to stop and take things in as we travel. Or stop and rest. Rest is good too! When we travel these long trips, R.J. does all the driving. That’s the way he likes it, and I sure don’t mind at all either – but it can put a lot of pressure on a person! Not being in a hurry or having a ridiculous amount of miles to make in a day helps relieve some of that stress. Figuring out how to have fun in the car also helps with that, especially during the long Interstate miles. R.J. made us a great travel play list which we have been enjoying. Silly things like playing that license plate game or making sure to get a picture of every state sign also make the miles go by more quickly. And I think the most important element of having a joyful road trip is the ability to let go of small things that might otherwise start brewing discontent. We will both be frustrated with each other at times, but there is no good to be gained from hanging on to little irritations. 

Thirdly (and you knew this was coming), what an AMAZING world we live in! God’s artistry is all around us. I see it at home too, but when I’m on the road I get to glimpse a whole bunch of different pages in His book. We have been traveling through mountains for the past couple of days, yesterday on the Interstate and today on some winding, twisting “lesser” roads that get up close to those mountains. My eyes have been glued to the scenery and my mind keeps exploding every time we pass some new landscape feature. I simply love it all. R.J. might not be so enthusiastic. After he teased me that it was all pretty “samey” with mountains ALL THE TIME, this was the poem he recited to me this morning:

Beauty
By R.J. Traff

Forest, mountain, lake,
Blah, blah, blah.

See? I’m not the only poet in the family. Ah, he makes me laugh.

After waiting so long for this trip to come, I’m savoring each day. I can’t wait to see what comes next!  Here are a few pics of those mountain scenes (and one of me enjoying them)!

Just me, looking out the window at ALL THOSE MOUNTAINS!