Owner: The Hometown Invasion Tour URL:http://www.hometowninvasion.com/blog.php Join Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 20:02:06 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: For one year Justin Sailor is headed to 50 states staying with host families he has never met, taking the ultimate US road trip. Along the way he is blogging and photographing his experience. Site statistics:Click here
From A to Zoo 2007-08-01 19:01:38 I knew that at some point on this trip I would find myself at a zoo, but I didnt think it would take 45 states for it to happen, even though Im not a huge fan of zoos, theyre just a little strange. Mostly I walk around feeling sorry for the animals. But anyways there we were. Christian moved along pretty fast, stopping in to see everything, but usually only for a few seconds and then off to the next. Hes a great tour guide of the Pittsburgh Zoo
though, he knows where everything is and he knows lots of great little facts about the animals. I was just trying not to sweat too much since it was one of the hottest days of the trip. My favorite animals at the zoo will always be the big cats, lions, tigers, cheetahs, and leopards. Those are amazing animals, a mix of fierce and elegant, sort of like me. Ha!
Later that day Karen pulled out the 1980 yearbook from Baraga High School. It was great to share stories about the same teachers we had 21 years apart. We even found
Warhol and Cheese 2007-07-31 21:48:38 What a day! Full of adventure, new things, and variety. This will go down as one of the best days of the trip probably. Perhaps I should make another list, the top 10 days of the trip. Ill have to give that some thought and see what I can come up with.
It was great that I had my own room. Couches can get old after a while. It allowed me to sleep in for a nice slow start to the day. Shortly after lunch my destination became The Andy Warhol
Museum in downtown Pittsburgh, right next to PNC Park. Brittany played host for the afternoon and we only took one wrong turn downtown. Ive been a Warhol fan for as long as Ive known the name. I had seen a lot of his work before at various museums, but not so much all at one place. Though it still seemed like a small museum for all the work he did. Now for all the works of art that Warhol produced that I would love to hang on my walls, there are just as many that just dont appeal to me. Mostly I love his colorful screen prints. Read more:Cheese
Two Nights in Columbus 2007-08-11 14:14:57 I cant believe it. Am I really in Ohio? If I wanted to I could be back to East Lansing in just four hours. I simply got used to being at least a thousand miles away from home. Ohio just seems to be so blandly American. Dont take it in a negative way, but aside from sports Ohio is somewhat featureless. At least Ive always had that opinion. Please dont be offended; its clearly not my fault that I think that. I was brainwashed in high school from one of my teachers. He was actually born in Ohio, but then swore to never go back again unless it was absolutely necessary. Ohio is kind of like a smaller Texas. Sorry for getting into such a hissyfit (I had to work that word into a blog somewhere Jen), I usually dont. I think I just have a grudge against Ohio State sports. But Ill get over it.
Anyways back to Columbus
. I stopped by for two nights to visit a dear friend Sarah from MSU and her boyfriend Sandip. They are fantastic hosts! Some people just get it! Th
Ohio State Fair 2007-08-10 17:52:12 Ferris wheel. Stuffed animals. Real animals likes cows, pigs, sheep, and rabbits. Elephant ears. Petting zoo. Games that are impossible to win. The heat of summer. Gravitron. And of course there was Grizzly, the 1100 pound big. The list goes on and on, and there is only one place you can find all of these together, the famous state fairs. Today I made it to the OhioState
Fair, great timing to be in Columbus for a couple days.
State Fairs are a staple of USA culture. Im not sure if this trip would have been complete without attending one somewhere along the way. I wonder how much state fairs differ from state to state. Im guessing they cant be that much different, maybe if you go to the Alaska or Hawaii state fairs. They are all modeled the same. I would love to be a foreigner and come to a USA state fair and see what its like. I just cant imagine fairs in other countries having the same random collection of ______ (I cant even find a word for it, I dont Read more:Ohio State
The 100th Household 2007-08-08 20:05:27 Depending how you count it, Ryan and Graceson make the 100th household of the trip! Congratulations boys. This comes during the week of the 11-month mark since leaving home. Indeed, it has been a long time. Ryan and Graceson have been great hosts. They were very considerate of my interests, made some great bacon and eggs, and have possibly become honorary members of my entourage, since we did watch episode after episode of Entourage (the HBO series).
The grand finale of my Morgantown experience was checking out Coopers Rock. You can see across the hills and valleys that surround Morgantown and it becomes a spectacular location to watch a sunset. However, on this particular night the sunset was not that spectacular. It was too cloudy. But we watched the fog and low clouds below us tracing their route through the valleys and along the river.
Another great stop. It was a lot of laying low and being casual. Lots of laughs and goofiness, and a lot of additional sarcasm. Read more:Household
Color Names and the PRT 2007-08-07 21:48:27 So I went to Blue Hole, some people call it Green Hole or Brown Hole. Last week Christian was naming his Webkins when he was adopting them online, he names them things like Pink Nose for the little kitten, Black Nose for the black lab, and the list goes on. Well now Ive stopped into a couple places here in Morgantown including a café called the Blue Moose and a restaurant called the Black Bear (both of which are fantastic local places, be sure to stop in if youre in the area). I see a theme here.
This stop in West Virginia has been great. Ryan took me on a tour of the West Virginia campus. College campuses are college campuses everywhere you go. Ive seen a lot on this trip. Some that are fantastic, some that are bland. Well WVU has something that no other campus has, Personal Rapid Transit, more commonly known as the PRT. I havent seen anything else like it. At first I was expecting something like a monorail. But then I go up on the track and these little boxy ca Read more:Color
, Names
Green, Brown, Blue Hole 2007-08-05 00:01:46 WV Activity #1: Pile into Ryans Jeep and head out of town down a windy, poorly maintained road with nothing stopping you from rolling down a big steep hill. But once you get to the bottom and cross an awesome 80 foot high bridge you get to a parking lot and find that a few dozen other cars made the trek down to Blue Hole. The river is crowded by people in water with coolers and drinking beer, some people diving, some just resting in the water. We walked back through the woods where there was a smaller crowd and found a place to sit in between some rocks and chilled out. Even found a little snake to play with, well I didnt, but Ryan and Graceson did.
What was absolutely disgusting however, is how much trash people left behind, all over the grounds. It was private property where some guy let people come and use his land to chill in the water. There was no respect for it. Piles of trash everywhere, it was disgusting that adults cant pick up after themselves in a beautiful Read more:Green
, Brown
Of Morgantown 2007-08-03 23:13:46 Once again I find myself connect to some peers through the article printed in U.25 Magazine. West Virginia was a tough state to find connections. I was greatly disappointed a couple months ago when a wonderful and enthusiastic family said they were host me, and then backed out. Among the other most difficult states to find hosts were Hawaii, Louisiana, Alabama, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Maine. Notice that most of these are in the second half of the trip, which I havent spent as much time to plan, so its on me.
So a while ago I got a message eon Facebook from Ryan after he read the article. Another great online tool to make something happen. Its strange how meeting people online is a stigma, yet I do it all the time through magazines, newspaper articles, and even cold calls.
Ryan is an incoming freshman at West Virginia University, his roommate Graceson will be a junior, and Ryans brother Pat will be a senior. Its been a lot of universities, more than I expected an
One Month 2007-08-15 09:01:05 The milestones are coming. I remember how big of a deal it was when I made it to Washington, the 10th state. It was also where I first saw the ocean on the trip and was an amazing feeling as I stood at Long Beach, WA and sucked in that fresh ocean air. That was a long time ago. Tonight I will be in Indiana, the 48th state of the trip. And the plan is to be done one month from today. One short month! I have a feeling its going to be one of the craziest months of my life between going to my brothers wedding, flying to Alaska, returning to Michigan, and completing the biggest accomplishment of my life.
I hope it doesnt end fast. I hope I can ride out this wave. Im going to need this whole thing to ease out. I wont be able to end it sudden and just start something else. Its been a new lifestyle and adventure that Im used to. I love being on the go and meeting dozens of new people each week. Im starting to realize that all of this is going to be very hard to Read more:Month
My First Horseback Ride 2007-08-14 20:21:36 About time! At the beginning of this trip I wrote up a list of things I hoped to do in the coming year. A lot of them I knew were ridiculous things that probably wouldnt happen (such as going on a date with a super model), but I had to at least entertain the idea. Well one thing on the list that I had never done was ride a horse. Its something everyone needs to do.
Cathy and Morgan treated me to my first horse riding experience. It was something I truly needed to do and Im pumped that I was able to squeeze it in before the end of the trip. My horses name was Sugar. I was told not to kick her because I would most likely get bucked off. All I thought was why would I want to kick any living thing. I was a little intimidated, just a little. It was a new thing, you sit pretty high up, and when I think horses I think muscle. They are strong!
We went for an hour ride. There were three groups of three, plus our guide. We did do a little bit of trotting, which was Read more:First
, Horseback
Darts and Pool 2007-08-14 00:10:13 The match is 3-3. Jim and I played six games and were split even. We each won a game of cricket, 201, and 301. We needed a tiebreaker. I said first person to hit a 20 can choose what game for the tiebreaker. He missed, I hit. My game of choice: 301. Well I dont play darts often, in fact hardly at all. I was getting smoked. Jim was within just a few points of zero and I was at a massive 82. The pressure was on. I had been missing triple twenties all night. This time I nailed it. Now a reasonable 22 to go with two darts left. I knocked out one 11, then the second. Game over (we didnt play any of that fancy double-in double-out stuff).
It was another great comeback on the trip. There have been several, all while being the visiting opponent. Jim gave me a good challenge. However, I have to say with my highly competitive nature I take an evil pleasure being the non-suspecting guest thats just passing through and the kicking butt in a game of darts, pool, or bowling. Read more:Darts
Rob and Bigsy 2007-08-13 11:03:49 Its official, I have gained too much weight. Not only did I feel slow and lethargic while skateboarding, I actually snapped my skateboard! It didnt take too much to snap it either (it was just a simple fakie kickflip), the only reason could be the weight. That was a little disappointing. But Ive lost my skateboard game, I cant do what I used to. Anyways, rather break a skate deck than an ankle.
The tale of the broken skateboard comes from no other than whats probably the greatest skatepark in the country. Its known as the Skate Plaza, designed by Rob Dyrdek of the popular MTV show Rob and Big. The Skate Plaza is only a few mile drive from where I was staying, in Kettering, OH. Perfect! It didnt even cross my mind until they mentioned it to me.
The Skate Plaza is set up like natural street skating. Its not a park with wood ramps and strange features. Its full of features that you find in downtown areas around big buildings. So they brought those tr
Bellbrook, Oh Bellbrook 2007-08-11 20:59:08 I got a late start leaving Columbus this afternoon. Slept in late, watched a movie, ordered pizza, filled up my tank, and visited. Finally, along the road I went, making my way west once again and driving into more sunsets. Im surrounded by fields of corn and it feels like the beginning of the trip, but its the end. Strange! Bellbrook, OH is my latest stop of the trip, a town of about 7,000 people just outside of Dayton. It seems to be the quiet Midwest life. Maybe after being out of the Midwest for so long itll seem strange to submerge myself in the Midwest life again. Im rambling again
My connection to Bellbrook goes like this. My old boss from Michigan State now lives in St. Petersburg, FL. Her boss nominated his brother Jim. So thats that. A wonderful family of four, Jim, Cathy, and their two daughters Keeley (20) and Morgan (17). You can never go wrong by being greeted with a steak and potato dinner. It was a good start.
Something I havent commented
Coming Full Circle 2007-08-21 23:43:48 I havent quite been to all 50 states yet and Im saving Michigan for the last. So I have a few weeks left to really complete the circle. However, in a great way this stop in Lake Villa, IL is all about coming full circle. Many of you who read the site regularly may not have known about it a year ago. It was back on the 7th day of the trip after leaving home, September 14th, 2006. A long time ago I wrote this blog entry (necessary to read to get the full understanding of the importance of this stop).
Back then, 7th day of my trip, I had no idea what I was doing. I had little experience under my belt and only a couple of stories. Now, its been well over 300 days. Early on I had to learn to adapt to a situation. Along the way there have been several last moment changes on the trip. But nothing as drastic as that, nothing! Murder of a hosts family member, just 10-20 minutes after arriving to their house. There is no doubt that I have matured and have seen several life Read more:Circle
Restauranting 2007-08-21 15:42:49 Wow, what awesome restaurants in Indiana! I suppose they need to do something to get people to come to the state. Haha! Just joking sort of.
Zwanzigz Pizzeria Awesome pizza! Couldnt get a lot down after just playing frisbee. But this is a place everyone must stop in Columbus.
Tropical Smoothie Great wraps, I suggest the chicken almond wrap and then maybe a raspberry smoothie, or whatever the fruit of your choice is.
La Bamba Burritos the size of your head! Honestly, they make them that big. I went with a smaller one. Good place, and if you want to take part in an eating contest in Bloomington this is the place to go.
Dorms Ok, so the dorm food wasnt that great, but it adds to the variety of eating while in Indiana
Mother Bears This is close, very close, to being the best pizza of the trip. Im going to have to sit down and really think hard about this. To be honest, I think theyve got it. Awesome place! Dont dare visit Bloomington withou
Indiana University and Such 2007-08-18 22:42:04 Wow, I can check off another Big Ten university. Booya! I was impressed, Indiana
is a really nice university, Bloomington seems to be a cool town, and I got to stay in the dorms again! I helped Valkyrie and Alex move in, which brought back a lot of memories of the college days. But I have to say that the dorms and caff get a bad rating at IU. The restaurants are a different story, but Ill get to that in the next blog.
I made it up to Indy for an afternoon. Saw a scary situation with a van rolling over on the highway. Went to my first ballet. Went to the best childrens museum in the country. Then saw the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a quick drive-by. Indianapolis gets a good rating, seems like a good place to live, except that the lack of water and mountains.
Val and Alex treated me to a casual life in the dorms, mostly just trying to stay cool. It was a lot of lost sleep over the heat. Heat and Bugsy dont mix. Lots of video games and movies. Interesting movies Read more:University
Columbus Again 2007-08-16 15:17:11 I had no idea, Columbus
, IN is a leader in architecture. I would have never known. Some very interesting buildings around town. Two families in a row who had two daughters of the same age. But very different families. In Columbus, Valkyrie had first heard of my trip through U.25 magazine. Her family shows me a great time! The family has been to all 50 states together, spread over a few years. A lot more questions to answer, some great questions! The enthusiasm always goes a long ways.
This trip has been strange. There is a huge variety of regional foods across the United States, but there are so many Ive had out of their regional areas. Mexican food and cactus in Hawaii. Pasties in Wyoming. And now Navajo tacos in Indiana. I was originally told to try Navajo tacos while I was in Arizona and New Mexico, but never came across them. Strange how things work, here I had them in Indiana. Best tacos of the trip! Well down Howard, well done!
Valkyrie and Alex gave me a Read more:Again
Spelunking 2007-08-15 21:16:55 I dont know what I got myself into this time. I like adventure, but that comes with some limitations. Valkyrie warned me that I was going to get dirty and to wear some clothes I wasnt too concerned about. Well not a big deal, but I wasnt quite sure what I was getting myself into. It was four of us, Valkyrie, Georgia, Jeff, and me. Jeff and I were both rookies.
My first cave diving experience, a.k.a. spelunking! I actually didnt want to leave the cave. It was 90 degrees and humid outside and about 60 degrees and moist in the cave. There were only a few parts where there was room to stand erect. A lot of bending over to make sure you dont bump your head (I managed to only bump my head once or twice). It started by having to get on my butt and slide down these rocks into some nice mud. Then we climbed up this shaky old ladder.
I was a little nervous to get through some of the places, especially with the nearly 20 pounds I have gained. Im just not as flexible as
Leaving Alone 2007-08-15 09:16:36 There are some mornings on the trip where I am all alone and have to hit the road. These are times when my hosts are already off to school or work when I wake up and I dont get to say a proper goodbye. And even after having to say goodbye to hundreds of great new people, I still like my long goodbyes.
The latest of these situations was leaving Bellbrook, OH today. I got out of bed and headed for the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. I was quite surprised. There was a note wishing me the best for the last three states, some kinds words, a bag of chocolate chip cookies, a little stuffed eagle (the high school mascot), a great card (complete with Q-tips!), and the best was a family photo to take with me!
I dont know what I did to deserve all of this. These last few states Im not sure if I have even been on my game like earlier on the trip. Im too distracted! Too anxious! Too excited! to get home. They were very generous, giving me some dollars to fill the gas tank. Read more:Leaving
Finally Made it to Seward 2007-08-29 13:21:13 Seward is a little town of a couple thousand people, about 2.5 hours south of Anchorage. Its a little town I have wanted to come to for a number of years, thanks to the influence of my friend Ben. My dream has come true. Here I am in Seward, AK. For a few summers Ben worked here in Seward and would constantly tell me about it and tell me I need to get there. I even applied for a job here once at the military resort in town. That didnt work out because of schedules and college and all of that jazz. But I have finally made it.
The drive into Seward from Anchorage last night was like something out of a movie. We came around the bend and out from behind the mountains came the full moon. It looked as though it was from a Photoshop-ed image, so big and bright, it seemed like you could see every tiny crater. I thought I had died and went to heaven. I truly entered another world here in Alaska.
It was a long day yesterday, the longest single day of travel on the trip. After a Read more:Finally
50 States in a Year 2007-08-28 22:18:16 Alaska! This is it, I did it, I have now made it to all 50 states in just under a year. All 50! This is the accomplishment of my life. Im not sure whats going to unfold this next week in Alaska, but it should be excellent. After this week I still have to make it back to Chicago to pick up the Invasion Mobile and then Ill be welcomed back to Michigan after a year outside of the state.
50 states. Remarkable. I am only 24 years old and for the rest of my life Ill be able to state that Ive made it to all 50 states. Not only did I cross every border to simply say I was there, I can say I stayed at least five days in all 50 states, staying with people I had never met previously. My traveling life is off to a good start.
I suppose its time to start drawing some conclusions about this trip and our country. Though Im not sure I can draw too many yet. Ill need a lot of time to absorb. I can say this much, our country is vast. There are 300 million people in the Un Read more:States
The Perfect Wedding 2007-08-26 10:24:31 I have never been to a better wedding than this. Im not just saying it because its my own brother, or because its the only wedding I have ever stood in. It was just perfect. After a week of rain we were all a little nervous about the weather for the outdoor wedding. And as we all woke up on Saturday morning we all witnessed the beginning of a beautiful day.
The wedding is on top of a ski hill. Im glad Adam and Kimmie had me in mind when they picked a location. Now ski hills in the middle of Wisconsin arent exactly jaw dropping, but it was beautifully green. It was unique and one of a kind. Everyone at the wedding, including my 84-year-old grandma made it to the top of the hill via chair lift. It was fantastic! Everyone in their nice clothes on a beautiful day just floating up to the top of the hill. It was especially stunning with the bridesmaids and bride, Kimmie herself, with this beautiful wedding gown going up the chairlift. The ceremony overlooked the gree Read more:Perfect
My Family Reunion 2007-08-23 23:23:20 Today was long anticipated. If you look at the map I have now completed a very big circle around the country. Im back in Madison, WI, which is where I spent my 6th night of the trip. That was a long time ago, a really long time ago. The people, new experiences, and stories that fill the that big red line across the country seem to be more than what can fit in a calendar.
This time in Madison is a special occasion. My brothers wedding. We have all been looking forward to it. For me its the first time to see a lot of my family since the college graduation. It was a big reunion of sorts as they were all very excited to see me after this wild year. As for my parents its the third time seeing them (and third state) since I left. Were getting used to the excitement. The first two times seeing them were big surprises (one for them and one for me on national TV), and this time its for my brothers wedding. My brother Adam has now seen me on four different occasions Read more:Family
Prison Break 2007-08-31 21:47:36 Im going to prison! This trip is all about new adventures, new experiences, and trying to get a good strong picture of American life, and prison life is very much a big part of it. Prison
s always seem to make populate plots for movies or even songs from Johnny Cash. The Spring Creek Correctional Center is the only maximum-security prison in all of Alaska and it happens to be right here in Seward, just across Resurrection Bay. Jolund, the father and husband of my host family, works as an administrator at the prison and offered to give me a tour.
Spring Creek has been featured on MSNBC and Court TV and is well known for a number of things. First of all, you walk out onto the prison yard and see that youre in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I would be surprised if there is another prison in the world that has a more beautiful backdrop than Spring Creek. As stated in one of the TV programs I can imagine it plays a role in rehabilitation. They have the well-known Read more:Break
, Prison Break
Kenai Fjords 2007-08-31 03:01:07 Today I was treated to something special. I have seen many National Parks on this trip. Some of my favorites are Redwoods, Arches, Badlands, Arcadia, even a plane tour over the Grand Canyon, and several other parks. Its hard to admit over the Redwoods, but I may have a favorite new National Park. Todays adventure was a six-hour boat tour around Resurrection and Aialik Bays in the Gulf of Alaska around the edges of Kenai Fjords National Park. Why is it possibly my new favorite National Park? Youre about to find out.
They say that August in Seward is usually rainy and overcast. Lucky for me I have seen nothing but sun during the daytime. As we got further away from Seward there was more wildlife. Lots of birds like cute little puffins, there were some sea otters and sea lions. And along the way were beautiful views of mountains, distant glaciers, and beautiful mountain islands piercing the water in the middle of nowhere. Along the way we saw Bear, Holgate, and Penderson
Losing My Glacier Virginity 2007-08-30 02:23:43 Alaska is off to an amazing start. It truly is The Last Frontier. On Day #1 of my Alaskan adventure, Gwendolyn and I found ourselves at the bottom of Exit Glacier. This was my first ever glacier experience and it was incredible. I have always loved snow and ice, everything about it. In front of me was this river of ice coming down from the Harding Icefield. Thousands of feet deep, a hint of blue from how dense the ice is, but despite that the ice is liquefied underneath from the massive amounts of pressure as it glides along. Scientists estimate that Exit Glacier moves a foot per day, but loses much more per day from melting. Seeing a real glacier upfront and in person gives you a different perspective of global warming. There was a map showing how far the glacier stretched 200 years ago, probably an additional mile long. Exit Glacier is just my first and at about four miles its one of smaller ones around I cant wait to see more.
Also as my first full day in Seward I had
Comforts of Home 2007-09-24 21:28:35 For one short week I was able to enjoy my favorite comforts of home. It was short lived. I feel like I needed at least another week it not more. Unfortunately, I was a little sick half of the time I was home. And to be honest I was a little dumbfounded to be home. After a year I found myself not knowing what to do with myself. This year trained me to visit 24/7, always having to try and find a conversation with guests, finding new things to do, and whatever else. The lifestyle of my trip is engrained into me pretty deep. But for the first time this year I was able to say, Home sweet home!
Of course my mom was ready and willing to make any of my favorite meals. I enjoyed cheese dreams, chicken a la king, tuna casserole, pink cookies, orange cookies, raspberry pie, lots of ice cream, taco dip, and various other things. I was able to nap whenever I wanted! Thats something I wasnt able to do at all in the last year. I even went for a couple jogs around town.
Afte
Finding a Place to Live 2007-09-23 00:48:22 Alright everyone, heres the deal, I am homeless and unemployed and have been for quite some time. For a while Im sure I will do the Michigan version of The Hometown Invasion Tour as I follow up with a post-tour promotion. To say it simply, I NEED A PLACE TO CRASH! Hopefully some friends and family in Michigan will be willing to put me up for a while as I recover from my financial shambles. I have piled up a decent amount of debt this year with no income (believe me, not a single regret in the world about it, like Ive said before, I would do it all over again). So I will need some time to recover.
Ideally, it would be amazing if there are some people out there who are wiling to put me up for a while as I write my book and look for publishers. A book is going to be a hefty project in itself. I can get a job and do some freelance work wherever I am at to pay for my own food, electric, internet, etc. So do you have a spare bedroom? Perhaps a summer or winter home that needs Read more:Place
Ready for More, Stay Tuned 2007-09-22 09:35:11 It's a beautiful Saturday morning in Baraga. It's hard to believe after last night. There I was with my parents enjoying the big rivalry high school football game between Baraga and L'Anse. The sky got dark, then darker yet. Lightening and thunder started rumbling, then the rain came blowing in sideways at probably 40 or 50 mph. It would have been perfect for a football game. That's why bad weather was created, for football. Well they postponed the rest of the game. This morning the skies are bright blue and not a cloud in sight. Though I'm sure there is another few inches in the rain gauge this morning.
It was a pretty eventful end to an already eventful day. We had company at the house on a couple occasions and before that I found myself at the high school for three hours talking to four different classes about my trip.
This week has not been productive like I wanted it to be, mostly because I came down with something and was sick for most of it. And a week simply
Home: 375 Days Later 2007-09-17 19:22:53 For the first time in 375 days and over 100 different beds, I have finally made it home and fallen asleep in a bed that I once slept in before. Thats the final count of days, 375 days from the day I left my house in Baraga on September 8th, 2006 to returning here tonight. Of course there are several changes. I know longer have MY bedroom. Since I left the walls and floor have all changed. It has turned into the office and guest bedroom. And the huge pine tree next to the driveway is gone now. Dusty, one of our beloved cats of 12 years, passed away a few weeks ago. And my mom even had to label the cupboards so I would know where to find dishes and the cereal. Its home! And it feels the same as when I left. Although I am only one year older than when I left, I feel about ten years older. As for change, change becomes much more evident.
In addition to over 100 beds, there has also been over 100 showers that I have never used in my life. Finally, tonight I used a familiar
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