Winter Epic: Michigan, New York, Washington DC, Harrisonburg VA, London KT

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 30^th. 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 31^st, 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 6^th. 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 7^th 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 8^th 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 9^th 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 10^th 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 11^th 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 13^th 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.