It's usually only by turning around and looking down the path that's led us to where we are now that we can truly appreciate how far we've come..

I often feel like im stagnating or stuck in a rut, but in retrospect, I've done quite a lot with my short time here so far.. more than many others I know.

Welcome to my..

**Life.*

continued from part two...

From New Jersey, I set out west.. The first 13 hours were pretty uneventful to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to be on the road, it was a dream come true.. I felt liberated.. but I had been down that stretch of road every year since I could remember.. My mom is from Ohio, so we went out every summer.. The Pennsylvania Highway (I-76 W) was nothing new to me..

I even stayed with relatives for a few days.. See what was different this time was that:

I was on my own.
I had all my worldly possessions in the back of my car.

It was fun to spend a few days frolicking around with the cousins and having some heart to heart with g'ma! But that wasn't why I set out.. the real goal was to venture into the unknown.. (at least by my standards..). So after a nostalgia filled weekend, I said goodbye and carried on West up to the Windy City..

I had never been further west than Columbus so this was new territory.. but coming from Manhattan.. Chicago seemed.. let's say "quaint" Millennium Park was a wonderful place to spend the summer afternoon, as was a walk around the theater district and a drive over to Wrigley Field (the cubs were away unfortunately..).. or perhaps fortunately.. I wasn't looking for baseball, and metropolis.. I was looking for something less saturated with capitalism.. so after a day or so, I continued west..

I had a friend who was living in South Dakota at the time, doing his Air Force training, so I decided to head his way.. a few days up through Milwaukee.. Wisconsin.. on to Minneapolis.. Minnesota.. vast tracks of flat farm land.. patched together like quiltwork unravel into undulating hills.. and a bit more mountainous and rocky as you head over the Missouri River towards Rapid City..

I was trying to make my journey last as long as possible.. so I had purchased a one man tent before I left and was staying in campsites every night.. Not only was it a LOT affordable than the seedy hotels/motels found just off the highway exits, but it allowed me to break up my trip and set mini destinations every day..

Being out in the mid west was amazing.. the weather was crisp at night, even in the dead of summer.. and the most spectacular thing for me was sleeping under the expansive starry night sky!

In New Jersey.. the sky is a constant maroonish, purplish color at night.. and your lucky to see a small speckling of stars dotting the night sky here or there.. but out in the open.. this was incredible for me.. like a humongous firework shot up in the air and exploded covering the sky as far as you can see.. and then froze there.. this was the type of experience I was looking for..

src