i'm on my way, don't know where i'm going

i've always loved this paul simon line, and use it a lot or sing it in my mind. though i love to live by this motto, i still like to plan a little. haynes and i have made a list of places we want to see over the next three months plus and have placed those places into a geographically-intelligent timeline. now we will see if we can enjoy every space, nook and cranny.

to keep y'all in touch with our travels and give you the ability to enjoy these places with us (both through words and photos), haynes is going to join me on this history-keeping narrative on another blog (goldrushof09.blogspot.com). we will also keep up with the service aspect of our trip on different site (reducereuserecycleread.blogspot.com) as to provide an online resource for the elementary school children we will be speaking to. both of these can be accessed at your right.

for now, however, here is a highlight of our trip plans.

we will be heading out next wednesday on a formidable trip around the western U.S. and bordering Canadian provinces. i say formidable because of the list of places we want to see, and the only three months that we have to see them (this list has changed more than three times now and even once since i originally started this entry).

i will be based out of Tempe now until December so we have cut some time out of Arizona and southern Utah stops, knowing that we will have time to see those from this base. and we have a two week journey planned for July to head from a wedding in St. Louis to a wedding in Sacramento, a week apart, and then back to Tempe. so we can revisit or see anew some of the planned stops. with those possibilities and the restrictions of a few of haynes' grad school interviews and my graduation and two weddings in Georgia, we have planned to start on wednesday heading up to Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

from there to Zion and over to L.A. for haynes' first interview. then zigzagging over to Las Vegas, up through Death Valley and to Kings Canyon/Sequoia and back down to L.A. for haynes to fly out to Detroit. Then straight up the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts to Vancouver (with a couple more stops along the way, zig zagging to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and other national parks, ski resorts, and cities along the way). Then to Whistler and Banff and down to visit friends in Montana and Grand Tetons in Wyoming before heading to a few more stops in southern Utah and back to Tempe for Pat's Run on April 18. And then across New Mexico and Texas to be back in time for graduation on April 25.

our next leg starts with some of the Mississippi delta to New Orleans and out to Savannah for a wedding. next to the Rockies front range in Colorado and up to Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, etc. and family and friends in Omaha, Kansas City, etc. and finally back to Georgia for a wedding outside of Atlanta.

all of this will have to be done by June 2 when i have to be back in Tempe for my job at the Pat Tillman Foundation. and that ends the trip (for the most part).

now a call for "hitchhikers" and additional volunteers - we have extra room in the car and will be doing some service along the way and so could always use the extra set of hands. we have committed to picking up 300 pounds of trash and talking to 15 elementary school classes along the way. i tell you all of this because if you are somewhere along the way, find haynes and i in our big white truck or noticeable red tent with an orange fly and join us for the journey.

a day trip through the Delta and a trip home for Thanksgiving

While I was home for Thanksgiving I took a day trip through the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta. After dropping off my busted computer at the Clinton School I took off toward Pine Bluff, trying to pick up a passenger along the way but Geoffrey was in Cambridge for the Harvard-Yale game. So my first stop didn't come until Dumas where I stopped in at Miller's Mud Mill and picked up a cheese tray for my mom.
While driving I passed through so many small southeast Arkansas towns like Lake Village...and kept remembering the road which I had taken countless times to Hamburg, Arkansas, to see Uncle Dane and eventually down to Monroe, Louisiana, to visit Mama, Pop, Aunt Lynn, Amanda and Hailey Haynes. But before I could make it there I turned left to cross the bridge to Greenville, Mississippi, the first planned stop on this trip. I was supposed to meet Frances, a friend I met in Spain and who attended the Mississippi State University. Frances had just taken the CPA exam the day before and thus slept through our engagement. But that didn't leave me with nothing to do. I headed to downtown Greenville and got an amazing meal at Jim's Place where I had some of the best greens and strawberry shortcake I have ever tasted from this man:Afterward I headed next door and shopped for some boots at Looking Good.No luck with the boots but I hopped in my car and headed to Helena-West Helena, Arkansas. Once I crossed the Mississippi River for the second time that day and entered town, I ran across a sign that James Mitchell mentioned in his writings.I stopped in Helena-West Helena to visit my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Dana who bought two houses there within the past year and are currently living and working on the nicer and bigger of the two. I sat with them for two hours in one of the living spaces with this amazing stove place:This was a long, but relaxing day on the road and was just the start to my trip back home.

Ten days for Thanksgiving might still not have been enough but I enjoyed every minute of it - getting to play soccer with Zach's teams, run and hang out with Imhoff, spend a couple evenings with the Shadids and a couple more with the Harrisons,...pick Haynes up from the airport, join in on a great meal at Yo' Momma's with a great crew, eat the best food on Thanksgiving and welcome Tina and Ricky into the house, spend some quality dessert-eating time out at the Oates', cover up on a rainy and cold but still amazing Razorback football day, shoot my first shotgun and get challenged by Sam on our Saturday Thanksgiving at the Boultinghouse's, play some football with North Little Rock kids from all ages, hang out with my crazy sisters and little brother, and spend almost every non-working time minute with Zach or the dogs.

Now I'm back in Tempe and already almost on my way out again. I spent the last week doing a lot more work on my project and working out a Foundation trip to D.C. around the inauguration to meet with Veterans' Affairs stakeholders, working with Tillman Scholars on their CGIU commitments, spending a Friday night seeing art with Katie, Eric, Joel, and Erin, and going to an bonfire/beer pong party at Ari's, a Saturday being active riding around town taking photos, climbing A Mountain and walking through the Tempe Arts Festival before seeing Katie's cousins' metal show and then just relaxing, running, and reading the rest of the time. Next stop, Las Vegas to the Rockies and back to Las Vegas for the new year.

Peace.