Ok I’m starting this blog pretty
late this year so until I’m caught up on things I will be keeping it short.
This
year my trip started on Dec 27. But most of the last few weeks were really hanging
out with friends. Started the trip by seeing James Robbins out in Michigan, I
stayed with them until the 30th. I had a good time and I hope I get
a chance to see him again before the trip is over. From there I drove straight
to NYC. My friend Matt Ott lives in Brooklyn, he wasn’t getting back until the
31th. So I meet his roommates CJ, and Jordan. On the 31st, Matt had
a New Years Eve party at his place. There were about 25 people or so; some of
us went out to a bar after the party. I stayed in Brooklyn until the 6th.
I meet a girl named Natasha on New Year’s Eve and she lived in NJ. So I meet up
with her for dinner. The 7th I drove up to West Point, this is a
really cool looking place. I took a tour around the campus and walked through
the museum. All the buildings are large, grey, stone with a beautiful view of
the Hudson River. That day I drove down to Washington DC. Jan 8th I
woke up late and spent most of the day at the Holocaust Museum. It is a very
sad place to say the least. They had an exhibit that focused on the people in
your own neighborhood and how the government really turned everyone against
each other. That night I was able to
meet up with my cousin Mandie and her husband Logan with their 2 year old for
dinner, and stay at their house. On the 9th I went to the Natural
History Museum, American History Museum, sculpture garden, American Indian
Museum, and the Botanical Gardens. That night I helped Logan mount some
cabinets. Jan 10th I went to see the National Archive, Marian
Koshland Science Museum and the Building Museum. Then I packed up and drove
down the Richmond VA. Here Sarah Howard made some chili and corn bread; this
would be my grandpa’s sister’s granddaughter. We didn’t have much time to catch
up but it was nice to have dinner and I was glad to see her. Tom Howard,
Sarah’s’ son, had a camping weekend planned and invited me along. So Katie,
Tom’s younger sister, Tom, and I drove up to the mountains near Harrisburg VA.
Camping for Tom and his friends is a little different then what I’m used to.
They all have jacked up 4X4 jeeps and trucks. So of course when we get there
everyone is drinking and we should all drive up the mountain. The “road” is
more forest, mud, and stone than anything else. It was a ton of fun and
everyone was having a good time. Katie, the one not drinking, managed to flip
Tom’s friends’ jeep at about 4:30am. So we called it quits after that and drove
back down to camp. Saturday the 11th we meet up with about 20 other
people with Jeeps and went climbing up and over 3 mountains. Sunday we all
packed up and I stayed in Harrisonburg to take care of laundry and get
everything clean. Monday the 13th I tried fly fishing for the first
time. Didn’t catch a thing but I do like it. After that I started driving west.
I stopped in Charleston WV, just to find out there was chemical contamination
in the cities water. So I just kept driving, all the way to London KY. I spent
the day cat fish fishing, unsuccessfully.
