Day 13 - Saturday

Hello from ATHENS, GA!!!

Sorry that it took me a few days to post the past two updates, I didn't have internet access and I was really bummed but it was out of my control.

We woke up to probably the hottest morning so far, put gas in the tank and air in the tires and started driving south. I'll go ahead and kill the suspense, there won't be any pictures in this, the last post. We didn't really have any predetermined destinations left, and I took a post-road trip picture of us once we got back to the apartment but I took it on Amanda's camera and I don't have a cord for it (I've been using Chris' and Bryan's pictures this trip).

We drove through Nashville and saw the stadium that the Tennessee Titans play in, but we kept on going. We stopped in Kennesaw to meet up with Mr. Edwin and eat pizza with him, which was a great way to eat our last meal on the trip.

Then we pulled into the Exchange at 8:15 EST.

We were on the road for 13 days and 12 nights by my calculation.

We drove through 18 states: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.

We saw and did more things than we can probably remember without sitting down and thinking about it.

Partly because we were probably ready to return to familiar settings, and partly because it all happened in such a short time, I know that we will not fully appreciate what this trip meant until the passage of a little time will allow us to look back on it. That isn't to say that we didn't have an amazing experience - we did. During the past two weeks, I saw so many things - the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Ocean, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, the Great Plains - that I had before seen in pictures, but had always wanted to see in person. Bryan and Chris have said the same.

I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that this has been a trip of a lifetime. Over the past two weeks, I saw so much of this great country with two amazing friends.

We're glad to be back safe and sound, and we thank all of you that kept us in your thoughts and prayers while we were on the road.

Highlight of the trip:
Chris: The Grand Canyon
Bryan: Las Vegas
Wes: The Pacific Ocean. Aside from the obvious, just knowing that we had gone as far west as we could was a pretty awesome feeling.

Worst part of the trip:
Chris: The rain. From about central Nevada to Missouri, we basically followed a big rainstorm across the country. Not fun.
Bryan: Driving through Wyoming. There may be parts of Wyoming that are pretty, but we didn't drive through them.
Wes: Santa Rosa State Park, New Mexico. It will probably go down as the worst night of sleep in my life. Knock on wood.


Well, this is the last post of the trip. Thanks to all that read the blog, it was a nice way for me to reflect on our daily experiences and I hope all of you were able to feel as though you were following us as we went along our journey.

Later on.