christians a slacker number 2

Well, we have been in a humongous circle that encompasses most the ,midwest, west, and northwest borders of the United States. Since my last post i know sarah has somewhat continued to blog but im going to tell where we have been, how we have gotten there, and the fun and not so fun aspects of the trip from my point of view.

Leaving oklahoma was hard. i miss my family. i miss seeing everyone grow up and despite the distance i feel like with age our relationships have become more meaningful. After oklahoma we headed to amarillo. Not because its a vacation hot spot or a place on the map i really cared to see but it was our outlet to the west coast. The plan was to go to colorado and meet up with some friends but things never seem to go as planned. So instead we found ourselves on a 35 hour freight train ride through New Mexico, Arizona, and a significant portion of California. The trip was enjoyable up until we found ourselves in the desert with no water. To be honest, it was the first time in my life i ever considered dying to be a real option. The lack of water was not so much life threatening. The issue was what we were doing was illegal and therefore nobody knew we were on there. Had one of us passed out, it could have been a very very bad situation. Luckily with lots of prayer and the good lord stopping our train next to a courtesy water jug on a golf course we were able to make it our alive. Ive complained about being thirsty before, but up until that train ride i had never really "thirsted" for water in such a way.

To be completely honest that was a very spiritual moment for me. Not to many of you know but i have had alot of issues concerning my faith. It was a moment in my life when i really understood what it meant to thirst for something and i could only think that if i thirsted for God in such a way he would reveal himself to me in a way that would reassure me of my faith in who God is and what he wants from me. Saying that i dont want anyone to worry about me. Heck, i dont know if anyone actually reads this, but i am okay and doing find. I still love God i just have questions that i need answered. All in all it will make me a more devout and sincere lover of the truth, once it is revealed to me.anyway.

After our near death experience on the train we found ourselves in Barstow California and we decided to rest for the rest of the night. The next morning we decided to try and make it to our actual destination of Los Angeles. We decided to hitch hike the rest of the way simply because we had a bad taste in our mouth from the previous trip. Gus and Louis, a father and son from somewhere in california was our first and only ride for the day and he took us the entire way. Gus happened to be a beef jerky factory owner and we spent the majority of the day riding around with him taking care of some business and grabbing some food when the time came. After a couple hours in the car Gus finally took us into LA and gave us a tour around the different areas of LA from the hood to the hills of hollywood. He took us to a jewish pastry shop where Al Capone had spent some time hanging out with his friends back in the day, a fancy fancy coffee shop in the heart of hollywood, and then on to ventura california where he proceeded to purchase a hotel room for sarah and i to rest, relax, and cleanse our bodies of the filth accumalated from the sleeping outside and riding of the rails. A true God send. We continue to keep in touch with him and he has even offered us jobs in Las Vegas and somewhere in Arizona working his beef jerky shops and a recently purchased coffee shop. But the adventure must continue.

We spent about a week in LA and on our first day there we found ourselves wandering the streets searching for things to see and do. In our search we ran across a lady by the name of sister Nikki, another God send. I happened to ask her for directions and we got to talking about our adventure and she gave us a few pointers on where to find cheap eats and fun places to visit while we were in town. She eventually proceeded to invite us into her home for the next 5 days where we were able to get great rest, showers, and some weight off of our shoulders while we explored the city. (most the time we are carrying 30 lb bags on our back which sort of dampers the excitement of exploring the city). any chance to leave our bags somewhere safe is a major major blessing in life. During our stay at her house we were able to help her do a little housework to somewhat repay her for her hospitality although it was not near enough work to repay her. While in LA we visited the basic tourist spots, long beach, venice beach, hollywood, and a couple other places that have left my mind for the moment. The culture of california is amazing. There is a huge variety of people from all across the globe and for that reason i did love LA, but there is absolutely no way i could live there for too long and be content. Too many people and the "hollywood" industry has pretty much consumed that whole bottom half of that state. AFter LA we caught up with some friends in San Francisco. Honestly san francisco was a lame experience. We stayed at some peoples house that i personally didnt feel to welcome at so it made it hard to relax. I think if i were to go back and had time to explore i could enjoy it, but for now my view of san fran is kinda negative.

Next we found ourselves just north of San Fran along the infamous highway 1. Point Reyes was the town that i most remember and to be honest i could definitely live there. It was a tiny little community that had everything you would ever need to survive and live happily ever after. Beautiful beaches, tight knit community, and beautiful landscapes were all around us and despite a short stay i really did appreciate that portion of California. Our trip continued up a short portion of highway 1 where we got a ride over to the 101 and continued our trip north into the beautiful northern california. As far as natural beauty goes Northern California took the cake for me. I dont remember exactly where we were along the 101 but we did get to camp out one night along the highway in this secret spot that our ride happened to know about. We found ourselves on a beach along huge mountain bluffs with the clearest and coldest river water i had ever seen. Despite being in close proximity to the highway our campsite was out of this world. We hung our hammock up just feet away from the water and we were the only humans in sight. There is something about being alone along the river in the mountains that brings a sense of peace to my heart and mind and thats the reason i wanted to go on this trip. The next day We found ourselves right in the middle of the Coastal Redwoods where the freezing cold water and beautiful rocky beaches border the most magnificent trees i have ever seen with my own two eyes. It was a combination of everything i could have ever wanted in a natural sense. Had we had more time i think i could have camped out there for months but we had other places we wanted to see before we had to make our way back east for my sister inlaws wedding.

Our next stop on the map after a few days of camping in the redwoods was along the highway in a beautiful portion of southern oregon. i had no idea that northern cali and sourthern oregon were so beautiful but im glad we found ourselves along the highways that we did. again we were surrounded by natural beauty. Portland Oregon was the next major city we found ourselves in and we got to spend a couple of days walking around the city exploring. Voodoo donuts was a major part of our life in portland and if you dont know what it is i wont ruin it for you but if ever in portland you should check it out. DELICIOUS is all i have to say. and they have a major used book store that if you like to read you HAVE to visit. just ask anyone in town about a used bookstore and they will send you in the right direction. The name has escaped my mind for the moment. One problem with the trip so far is that i have been too lazy to journal and i have seen too much to remember the names of all the places and things i have seen.

Im tired of writing now. so ill continue this later.

as of now we are in louisville kentucky visiting my wonderful mother sister and mothers boyfriend. its been a good time of relaxation. After leaving portland we made our way to washington, idaho, montana, north dakota, minnesota, wisconsin, illinois, indiana, and finally kentucky. alot has happened in between all of these and i dont have the patience to think or write about it. we are headed to nashville to see friends and get my dental work finished that was started right before we left, if i have time ill finish the info from all of the states mentioned above. this trip has been everything i wanted it to be and more. i know people worry about us and think we are somewhat crazy but i can say that so far it has been nothing but good times accompanied by good people and a good God who is taking care of us in a way that you cant understand nor can i. im excited to see where we end up and the things we get into.

i am hoping to slow the pace down after the wedding we just sort of hurried around the country with the time we had but plan to go back and take our time in the places that have stuck in our hearts thus far.

the east coast is on the map and i am sooo sooo sooo soo pumped to head up to the northeast. hopefully gonna hike a couple hundred miles of the app trail while we are out there. looking forward.

christian

Highline Activities

I had started a post, but then read Christian's new one and was embarrassed about mine being el-boro. So now I have to start all over and try to spice up mypost a bit and make it a little more personal. We both have been lazy about journaling, so when i write these things it's hard to remember specifics and I just throw out a general story. I will try a little better...

Christian and I are now in Louisville, enjoying time with his mother and sister and mom's boyfriend. We had a looooong journey getting here. Sometimes it seemed like we were just stuck in a place and could not get out!

After L.A., we met up with some old friends in Portland got to hang out with them while we were there. We ate way too many donuts and watched as many World Cup games as possible. After that we hitchhiked up to Seattle, Washington.
Seattle was probably my favorite city yet. We were lucky enough to be there during the summer/non-rainy season so we got to enjoy the bounty of delicious weather. It was sunny with balmy winds and good smells. We watched MORE World Cup games and ate a few more donuts. We also went to Pikes Place Market on the sound where they have famous fish markets. People would buy a fish and then the men would start throwing them around, skinning them, chopping off heads, cooking or seasoning them. The whole time i was there i kept wistfully daydreaming of the movie Sleepless in Seattle, the city is so gorgeous! This is me at the market:

We also swam in Lake Washington, which was really too cold, but there was such a great view it was hard not to get in. I personally could have passed on the dip, but Christian and a friend got in and started laughing and splashing around being all jolly and i didnt want to miss out, so i begrudgingly swam out.



One of the major train routes in the country is one that runs 2,000 miles from Seattle to Chicago. It takes days to get all the way across. Christian has always wanted to ride on that so we decided to hop that one out of the city, since we need to be on the East coast soon for my sister's wedding. Friday afternoon (July 2nd) we camped out beside the tracks and waited for one to stop. Around 8 p.m. the lucky one came along. We found a good car and hopped on. That train went through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. We stayed on for three straight days basking in the beauty of all of these states. And the neat thing about the ride is that the train travels through areas of these states that cars don't. Most of the time there were no roads or people in sight, just hills, plains, mountains, trees, and sky.

The thing I loved most was the sky. They call Montana 'sky country' or something like that, and it rings totally true. It seemed to envelop our whole selves. I would get dizzy looking up into that pure blueness. For some reason I am so much more aware of God in places like that. Seeing His work, His cleverness and care in land and sky. I can't wait to go back to some of the places we passed and spend more time there. I saw things I didn't think existed anymore. There was so much untouched land, so many wild areas. Like places in books and movies just passed right before my eyes, close enough to touch. It was glorious.



The third day on the train we ran out of food got rained on. The rain wouldn't have been bad, but when you have all you own on your back, you don't want it wet and mildewed, especially sleeping bags. So, a little before our original destination, we got off in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We spent the next day at the Mall of America walking off our aching joints. We decided to stay there one more night and head out in the morning. That was the beginning of the minor hardships....

We had a hard time finding a place to sleep that night because we were in a city. We try not to sleep in big cities to stay away from murdering psychopaths, but it would have been a few miles walk to get far enough away, so we went to a good part of town to search. We finally fould a spot, but as soon as we laid down we started to get eaten alive by mosqitoes. It was too hot to cover up with sleeping bags, so we dragged our exhausted bodies up to search again. We finally found a spot under a bridge and we rolled up in a ball and slept for a few hours. The next day we headed out to the highway. It started to pour so we got under a bridge and stuck out our thumbs. 20 minutes later a police officer pulled up and told us it's illegal to hitchhike there (which we did not know) and frisks us (VERY thoroughly, I might add...) and escorts us across town, in the wrong direction, to try to get a ride.
We got on a metro bus, road around for a while trying to figure out a way out, and ended up at a truck stop in St. Paul. It was dark by then so we found another bridge to sleep under. But we didn't sleep too well, considering this bridge was really spiderey and cobwebey.
The next day we headed to the truck stop to see if anyone was heading toward Chicago. (note - we normally don't ride with truckers, just because of the horror stories and because I saw that movie Joy Ride, but we really, really wanted to leave that city and it wasn't a bad part of town, we were just going to look for someone normal to ask.) We found out there that it is illegal for truckers to have anyone else in the truck because of insurance policies. So, we sat by another road and tried to hitchhike again. And ANOTHER police car came. The man was really nice and said this place was also illegal to hitchhike in (although the officer the day before said it wasn't). We told him we had misunderstood and about our situation, and he offered to take us 20-some miles away into Wisconsin so we could legally hitchhike. WHAT A BLESSING! Back in another cop car...
From then on it was a slow moving day. We stayed a night in Chicago at Jesus People U.S.A., a Christian commune. We kept getting a few miles ride here and there but progress was slow. But we finally rode into Louisville the next night in the bed of a truck wrapped up in our sleeping bags. It was so nice to be in Louisville.

We are leaving tomorrow for Nashville and then fro there to Virginia. It has been great being with Christian's family. They are great to be around and they pamper us to death.

It will be nice to see old friends in Nashville and to climb again, but I am really ready to get home. I love being home in the summers and I really miss my family. I can't wait to see them all again, to go crabbing, and cook big dinners, and work in the garden, and see people at church, and play Scrabble with my grandparents, and stay up late telling ghost stories with the boys... it will be a homecoming long in the making.

I'm going to get back to Cake Boss (they are making a horse cake!) and cuddle with my Boo. Please stay in touch with us and comment on these things.

-sarah

I hope this was exciting enough. We have some videos to upload on here as soon as I figure out how. It is about 1 a.m. and I am watching Cake Boss. This sandwich cake looks delicious!