These are journal entries from Annie and Jill's road trip this summer. Scroll down to see where we've been and the adventures we've had!
Still packing. Don't quite know what to bring, it's all up in the air how the weather is supposed to be in Alaska and even when we're on the road in July. Probably hot for July. Tank tops, shorts, etc. Who knows. Everybody moved out today, so it's a little lonely. Still haven't figured out where exactly we'll be going. Oh well, we have all of June to get that settled, right?
-- Jill
Arrived in Alaska today. It's so weird, it's 11pm and still isn't dark. 9pm looked like 6pm, and it's really warm! But a sucky part of today is that I lost my water bottle on the plane. I know, I know, they're a dime a dozen these days. But this one was the one they gave me last summer at camp, and there were some nice things written on it for me! Bah. So that's no good. But Annie's dad is really nice to us and I enjoy it here so far. Yay!
-- Jill
First day of work. Didn't say much, just kept my eyes open, my mouth shut, and my hands and feet moving. Seems to be the best policy when the wind is blowing dust in your mouth and you don't know anyone. It's not too hard though, at least I don't feel tired. Annie says she does, and I'm cranky, so maybe I am after all. Who knows? The fair seems like a nice enough place so far.
-- Jill
I saw something amazing today. I even touched it and walked on it. It was HUGE and blue and white and black and gray and cold. It was a glacier! This massive body of ice, moving ever so s..l..o..w..l..y between two mountains. It is just too cool to describe (no pun intended!). You can see pictures when I get home, if you want to. It's called Matanuska glacier.
-- Jill
Today we said goodbye to the land of the midnight sun and hello to the grand vistas of my home, Tacoma, Washington. The flight was nice -- there were few people aboard so we got our own row and the stewardess (who was hilarious) gave her dinner to Annie since Annie forgot to order a vegitarian meal. It's weird being back because of the light difference, but mostly it being dark just makes us tired sooner. It was also hard to say goodbye to Gregg since he was so nice to us! Hope everyone is doing well,
-- Jill
We're in Manteca, Californa now, and we were supposed to head out this morning. Aparently the DMV doesn't want us to leave the state though, because when we tried to get the necessary paperwork for the registration of the car, they were closed. Thanks, guys! Hopefully there won't be any more delay and we'll get out of here tomorrow at the crack of dawn. *yawn*
-- Jill
Today we drove from Ojai, CA where we were staying with Sarah Mellein and her family to Las Vegas, Nevada, where we are staying two nights with our friend Adam at UNLV. Tonight we walked the strip starting at the MGM Grand and turning around and coming back at the Paris/Eiffel Tower after going inside that. What a crazy, crazy place. It was past midnight when we got back to UNLV and we were exhausted. On the way here the thermometer in the car said 108 degrees F. outside at one point, and at 9:30pm when we came out of IHOP it said 110 degrees. Somehow it doesn't feel that hot though... I have no idea why. Well, we're safe and we're leaving on monday for Denver, CO. Hope you all are well!
-- Jill
Today was such a long drive! We got a late start, granted, but we drove until past dark. I can't believe it, we traveled through four states today! We started in Nevada, then we went through the north-western corner of Arizona, then through Utah, and we finally got to Colorado as the sun was setting. We ended up having to make camp in the dark tonight, and we discovered rather belatedly that we don't have a real flashlight. You know those fun key-chain ones campus safety gives out? Thank god for Campus Safety, even if they're a thousand miles away. To top it off, someone stole our campsite even though we paid $26 to reserve it. Bah. People. Oh well, camping is supposed to be an adventure, right?
-- Jill
Well we arrived in Denver (Parker actually, a suburb to the south-east) thinking that we were fifteen minutes early for an interview but we had neglected to change our watches to Colorado time so we were actually 45 min. late! Luckily my interviewee was very understanding and told me lots of interesting things. She even fed us. :-) Then we headed over to Dan and Donna's (friends from church when I lived in Worland, WY) and they also fed us :-) and stayed up chatting with us even though it was probably way past their bedtime! We also enjoyed playing with their new puppy, Missy who's an adorable minature Datson.
~Annie
We're in Laramie, Wyoming now, staying with my friend Karen (whose friendship helped me survive my senior year of high school in Worland) who attends the University here. It's been great spending time with her and meeting her friends and seeing a few old ones as well. We rescued Jill's friend Becca from crazy roomates and too much testosterone (she's taking courses at WyoTech). I also got to see my friend Emilio, also of Worland High School fame. I'll be doing some interviews tonight and then tomorrow we head up to... [drumroll please]... that's right, folks, fabulous Worland, Wyoming! Actually it should be good to see some old friends and (hopefully Jill won't read this as it's a surprise) maybe go horseback riding. :-) I hope you are all well and enjoying your summers!
~Annie
Wow, this is more internet access than we've had in a long time! Good to keep things updated. We're in Worland, WY now, staying at Karen's parents' house. On our way up here we saw lots of cool things. We stopped at "Hell's half-acre" (which is actually 300-some acres, but you can't see more than a half-acre) where they filmed "Starship Troopers" and we saw a couple of herds of antelope. We also witnessed a huge, amazing lightning and thunder storm that turned the power off for 2 minutes where we're staying. We also drove through reservation land and by a huge lake out in the middle of nowhere and we saw lots of horses and cows and sheep. We also saw the "world's largest mineral hot springs" although we didn't have time to take a dip. We didn't even get lost today, although we almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere! Good thing you can run pretty far when that light comes on... Don't worry, we won't be doing that again! Hugs and Kisses to everyone!
-- Jill
Today we left Worland and the wonderful company of the Bensons! This morning they took us out on their horses (thanks for the surprise, Annie!) and we rode around for a little bit. We even got to help catch, brush, and saddle them! I had so much fun, and I was sooo excited! Unfortunately, that meant that we didn't get going until almost 1pm, and so we had to drive and drive (only one potty break!) to get to Deer Lodge, MT before our hosts went to bed. We had such a crazy experience driving today though, because we were advised to take a road that we thought was a main road, but it was actually a dirt road in the middle of nowhere that wound around all kinds of oil wells and pipeline and there were "Warning: Danger!" signs all around where we were driving. We kept saying "This can't be right!" But we kept going and it ended up being right. So we're safe in Deer Lodge now, despite our adventures. But that's what a road trip is all about, right?
-- Jill
We are leaving John and Sheila's house today in Deer Lodge, Montana, after spending a wonderful two nights with them. We had so much fun playing with their kids, Margaret (almost 4yrs) and Adin (5 months, but wearing 12 month-old clothes!). We also met a bunch of their family yesterday at a BBQ and that was fun. They have been so nice to us, putting us up and feeding us and everything. We didn't leave the house yesterday, but that was okay. I haven't gotten to play with Leggos and Lincoln Logs in a long time!
-- Jill
Arrived at Eva and Bill's house yesterday after leaving Deer Lodge. We wanted to go swimming on the way up, but while we stopped at the perfect place for a potty break, we didn't have time to do more than put our toes in! Maybe we will go while we are here in Whitefish, MT. Annie is happy to be here since she will get to see a bunch of her old friends. I am happy because Eva gives me things to do to keep me busy, like getting her new printer/copier thing working and disconnecting the old one! I had fun with that. It's hot here, but not so bad as other places we've been.
-- Jill
It's a new month! We arrived in Spokane, WA today at our friend Trevor's house. He was happy to see us (we hope!) and we were happy to see him too. It was good to get out of Whitefish when we did, not because we didn't like it there but because the fire in Glacier Natl. Park has gotten worse and worse and last night when we went out to eat the smoke around there was so bad that it made the sun look blood-red. It was weird. We probably shouldn't have, but you could look right at the sun, it was so blocked by the smoke. Anyway, Trevor took us out to a movie and we had an adventure cooking salmon for dinner. Actually, the whole day today was an adventure: we went through Idaho and stopped in Coeur d' Alene at the lake and swam with some people who Annie was interviewing. They were SOOOOO nice to us! I played with their kids and they took us out on their boat and Annie got to go intertubing behind the boat. We had a lot of fun and it was a great way to cool off.
-- Jill
Arrived in Tacoma late this afternoon (more like evening) as the sun was setting and we got caught in traffic before the Puyallup bridge, due to construction on it. It is good to be in a familiar place, but it also has made us feel really lethargic and we kind of lost all of our steam. Interviewing Erin tonight at her house, then tomorrow we go to church, I guess!
-- Jill
Arrived in Portland! We left Tacoma super late (like 3pm), but once we got moving we did fine. Plus, if we had left super early we wouldn't have gotten to see Kaely come home from camp! We are staying with David and Janice here in Portland and it was an okay drive, even though it took four and a half hours instead of two! There was a wreck on the side and we drove in bumper-to-bumper traffic for EVER. But we are safe and that's what counts, right? Plus, before we left we stopped at the post office and Annie got me a coloring book, so I'm happy as a clam!
-- Jill
Today we drove down to Salem, with a quick stop in McMinville to say hi to Claire. Then we stayed in Salem with Ryan and Dayna and went out to dinner with them. We also saw our friends Sean and Adrienne in their new house. Stayed up WAY too late.
-- Jill
Slowly but surely, we're making our way down Oregon! We drove back and forth all day today on I-5 and I-205, but it was worth it since we got to see Katie and Annie got her longest interview yet! We eventually got down to Corvallis to stay with Annie's great aunt Anne and that was fun and relaxing.
-- Jill
Things are winding down for us, no more interviews (except mine!) and no more staying with friends & family. Tonight we stay in a motel in Redding. Before Redding, CA we stopped in Eugene to visit our friend Eric and Annie got stung by a bee (she's okay, don't worry!) and my shorts got all wet 'cause I unknowingly sat in a wet spot. Ooops! But it was nice to see Eric all the same.
-- Jill
Last day! This is it! No more entries! Annie and I drove to Sacramento this morning so that I could get on my flight and come back home. The drive was rather uneventful (although I forgot my water bottle as usual in the car and didn't take it with me on the plane), but the goodbyes were tearful. I love you Annie, and I'm going to miss you sooooo much!!
-- Jill
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