So I drove across the country...

"What have I gotten myself into? Why am I allowed to do this? You know you have to drive BACK too, right?"

I'm in the middle of Nebraska on day 3 of driving to Syracuse from Portland. I haven't pulled over in about 300 miles, and these thoughts are racing through my head. There's a sign for a rest area coming up so I pull over, get out of the car, walk a couple laps around the grass, snap a water fountain photo, and get back in the car.

"This is awesome! I'm so excited to see the country and listen to music and be out on my own!"

I decided to drive back to NY on a bit of a whim. The idea occurred to me as I was falling asleep one night, about 2 weeks before my 16 day vacation. I reached out to my scheduler to see if I could connect some days off beforehand and maybe get a few extra afterwards, expecting nothing but the standard "no." Still though, my mind raced with the possibility. When I talked it over with friends, I got two basic responses - 'why in the world would you do that?' and 'that is amazing!' I had a hard time explaining why. I thought it would be a cool experience, it would be nice to have my own car with me in NY, I wanted to see the country, I could bring as much luggage as I want, and I really enjoy driving and the head space it puts me in. I like putting on music and just driving. It helps me sort things out in my life and think about things going on in a different way. I feel like I've had some of the most revealing epiphanies about life while driving. Approximately a week before I would leave, I got a magical email that said "Yeah I can work that out for you!" All praise be Dacia!

I left Monday morning at 8am. I worked most of the time between when I got the "ok" and when I had to leave, so I didn't have much of a chance to prepare. I got Cruglethor (my car) looked at, I got some supplies (granola bars and Gatorade and sunscreen), I put some finishing touches on my 1,000+ song "no skips allowed" Road Trip Playlist. I didn't have much of a plan other than to just drive east, however, so I wasn't sure what else I should be doing to prepare. There was a bit of a time crunch for getting to NY so there wasn't much non-highway touristy sight seeing trips, but that ended up being completely fine. The first day I went OR > ID > UT, then UT > WY > NE. This part of the drive was jaw-droppingly beautiful. I took a few pictures but it's impossible to capture what it's like to turn a corner and see an exposed mountain pop out at you. Besides, I was really trying to just LIVE the experience for myself, something I need to get better at. There were times I doubted myself and why I'd do this (alone), but I found that just getting out of the car and walking around for awhile did so much for my morale. Another thing that a lot of people commented on was that I was driving alone. It was such a long, specific trip I think it would have been impossible to find anyone who would be free and wanting to go where I was going. Besides I could listen to whatever music I wanted, sing as loud as I wanted,  be quiet and just let my mind run without being interrupted, and pull off to see whatever I wanted without worrying if the other person was entertained or bored or wanted to do something I didn't care about.

Some observations:
-Why was there only 1 sign on the highway telling me I was changing time zones? Two time zone changes went unnoticed until I pulled over and saw my phone clock was different than my car clock. What did people do before cell phones?
-Do people really not wear seat belts? There were SO many signs on the highway reminding people to wear seat belts - are there people out there who don't automatically do that and need to be reminded?
-Some highways had "Text Stops" which I had never seen before. They're just places to pull off on the side of the highway without getting off that just had a place to park and text or make a phone call.

I drove about 700 miles each day and pulled into my mom's driveway in upstate New York Thursday evening. I was really excited to be HOME home for the first time a few months, and the first time Cruglethor has been back since I drove out 7 years ago. I was able to hang out with my brothers and some friends, but the first big item on the agenda: go to Connecticut with my mom for a few days to see the college BFF/fam for the first time in...way too long. I somehow ended up driving most of the 5 hour drive (seemed short after being in the car for 12 hours a day for 4 days...) which was fine and kind of fun. It was amazing seeing a really close college friend for the first time in maybe 7 years. A lot of hilarious memories were shared and a lot of catching up on life and just a really good time seeing CT and hanging out with her family (how are we old enough to have our own families?!). I've always meant to get out there when I go home to NY, but my trips are so short it's not all that feasible. I'm really glad the stars aligned and we were able to get together for a few days and I really hope we don't go another 7! Had some great food, went to a cool aquarium, saw a movie, played some games, talked for ages, and left way too soon. I miss having you in my life every day, Allison!!!

We got home late on Tuesday and I had to be at HOBY Thursday afternoon. For those of you unfamiliar - HOBY is a leadership conference for high school sophomores that I attended in high school and have volunteered with almost every year since because it's... outstanding. It has played a huge role in my life in so many ways and I could go on and on about how fantastic it is, but I won't (for now). I hadn't been back to HOBY NYCentral in a couple years and this year I was thankfully able to attend/was accepted back as a Senior Facilitator. I was a little anxious about returning for a few reasons but one of the big ones was that I hadn't been back as a volunteer for awhile and there were going to be a bunch of staff I didn't know. In my head I knew that wasn't a big deal because HOBY people are the best but I couldn't help it. My group was so great they hardly needed me to facilitate anything, which was a weird (but good) feeling. I lost my voice the first day (I can't remember the last time that happened at HOBY honestly) and then allergies took over and I still haven't really gotten my voice back.

I laugh the hardest I do all year at HOBY and this year was no exception. It was a bit of a different 21+ staff group than the last time I was there so it was rad getting to hang out with them all and talk to some people I hadn't spent as much time with in the past. Needless to say, I had nothing to worry about and I was welcomed back with open arms and had a really fantastic weekend. HOBY is such a family. Even though I've volunteered at so many seminars with HOBY, each year I walk away feeling this renewed positive energy. It's so uplifting and something I've really missed and am looking for more of in my life. Everyone involved in HOBY is amazing and inspiring and I'm so grateful to be able to volunteer with them, not to mention watching these 10th graders learn and grow over the course of 2 1/2 days. One of my favorite memories - there were a lot of Madison's in attendance, so we got a Matteson/Madison family photo. So funny. It's also great to see Morning Motion Club is still as active as ever. Talk about dedication and/or excellence!

Monday I drove down to Ithaca to hang out with a HOBY friend that I've gotten closer to recently. We basically sat in her apartment and talked for 4 hours, but it was really insightful and personal conversation. I don't have anywhere near enough of those so I really valued that. Not to mention getting out to see more of Central New York before I left it again was important to me (also getting in another Dunkin Donuts trip before I return to the Land of Starbucks).

Come Wednesday I was off on another adventure...