I woke up at 8 the next morning and got ready. I ate breakfast at the hotel; it was amazing: you could smell the fresh baked chocolate muffins all over the hotel. When I got my food they smelled amazing: there was a muffin,some pancakes, fresh scrambled eggs and some watermelon. Everything was nice and warm when I bit into my muffin the chocolate melted in my mouth it was so good. When I finished I packed up what I brought into the hotel and checked out when I got to the college which is right by some off campus houses and some nice hotels then at about 10,I need eight semesters of college to be able to pass. I also need 30 s.h. to pass. I must take 30 different classes to be able to pass and I have to pass all of my classes to be able to student teach my last semester.I must complete all my s.h. with a 3.00 grade average to pass. When I was done I went to the gift shop to buy an Iowa Sweatshirt. When I got done with my tour I went to Giv Jani for lunch I got the Three Cheese Ravioli for $16 it was really good it was stuffed with Grilled Italian Sausage, Spinach, Mushrooms, Roasted Peppers,and Spicy Red Sauce. The restaurant smelled like pasta, steak,and ravioli. I had a water with my meal because the sauce was so spicy. I thought my tongue would start on fire. I left Giv Jani to go to Casey's
for gas which cost $45.48 to fill up since I still had half a tank of gas left. I left Iowa city around 7 to go to Boulder City. To get to Boulder City from Iowa City takes 24 hours to drive so on the way i’m going to stop at a park to eat some of the food I had brought from home and slept in my truck. The park was nice at about 1 in the morning there wasn’t much noise except for the whistle of the wind and the leaves rustling and the smell of the trees and bushes was so relaxing I fell asleep quick.

I took only a quick nap which was about 3 hours long so that I could get going again. I left for Boulder city again which was still an 18 hour drive. While I drove I saw all the crazy summer traffic which made my drive even more boring and a little more frustrating. Because you had people honking and yelling at you to move your butt,but you couldn’t because of the person in front of you. I stopped at another park for a nice little picnic for lunch. I saw such great scenery like all the animals running and playing with eachother and just being their cute little selves. I heard the birds chirping and some tried to swoop at my food so I would throw some bread crumbs to them and I had those annoying ants trying to come and steal my food. I smelled the apple trees and the berry bushes which made my lunch even better. When I was finished I hopped back in my truck and head toward Boulder City which was now a 10 hour drive. I again had to sit in the traffic in the hot summer sun with all the impatient tourist who just want to get to the beach and jump in the nice cool lake. I could smell the hot tires, the sweaty drivers, and the smokers as drove down the highway. When I finally reached Boulder City I checked into my hotel which was Siena Suites Hotel at 10 that night. Because it was so late, I just went down to Arby’s to get a burger and some fries to eat for about $8.95. Then when I finished I checked out what I was going to do for the next day and then went to bed.

When I got up at about 8 I had breakfast in the hotel it wasn’t as good as the last hotel, but it was still pretty good. I had the same thing as the last time except the muffin and pancakes weren’t chocolate chip, and it didn’t smell or taste very fresh. I packed up, checked out, the went to go hang out at Lake Mead. I went down to the lake to do some water quality testing. I had to pay $5 to get in when I got down to the lake I got a sample of the water and put it into a container and then started my test. I wanted to do this experiment to compare Lake Mead to our Lakes because their is a chemical called effluent in Lake Mead and I was wondering if Eastlake had some in it. When I got done there I took out my sample of East Lake and the tools I needed for the lab. I got the sample of the lake and then I got a drop of each and put them on the construction paper. I then dumped some of each into the construction paper in the beaker and then I waited for a little while for it to dry and then I looked at them to see if there was particles in the samples and there were a few in each of the samples of East Lake. And there were a lot in all of the Lake Mead samples so the conclusion would be that Lake Mead has more bacteria than East Lake. The history of Lake Mead was formed in 1964, and was named after Elwood Mead. Lake Mead washed out the city of St. Thomas Nevada and when the water levels are lower than normal you can see some ruins of the city. When I left Lake Mead I went to get some gas because now I was running on empty and didn’t feel like getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere. I went to Rebel for gas and it was $3.69 per gallon,so I spent $88.56 on gas. Now I will be heading out to UCLA which is a 17 hour drive. I start this journey at about 1 in the afternoon when everyone was trying to get to lunch and back to work from lunch. As I drive I again see all the college kids leaving going home to see family and friends and hit the beach and just relax. I smell all the new mulch in the fields as farmers start planting all of the crops. I drive off the road to a rest stop to use the bathroom and have another little picnic where this time I have little hungry squirrels trying to steal my food. I find some acorns and throw them far so they run and try and find them as I finish. I call my parents and tell them how i’m doing and how i’m learning from this. I pack up and take off again. As i’m driving down the road I ran over something sharp and popped two of my tires, so I had to pull over. I only have one extra tire so I fixed one then I called for a tow truck, but they couldn’t come and get me because I was too far out of town and it wasn’t an emergency. So I sat there for about 15 minutes when a car pulled off the road and asked if I needed help I said, “ I have a flat tire and I already used my spare.”
The man said “he had an extra I could buy.”
I said “ How much?”
He said “ 5 bucks.”
I said “okay” and he gave it to me and I took off again. When I finally got to Las Vegas to stop to sleep it was about 1:30 in the morning. I stopped at a rest stop had a little snack then went to sleep. When I got up at about 8 I had breakfast in the hotel it wasn’t as good as the last hotel, but it was still pretty good. I had the same thing as the last time except the muffin and pancakes weren’t chocolate chip, and it didn’t smell or taste very fresh. I packed up, checked out, the went to go hang out at Lake Mead. I went down to the lake to do some water quality testing. I had to pay $5 to get in when I got down to the lake I got a sample of the water and put it into a container and then started my test. I wanted to do this experiment to compare Lake Mead to our Lakes because their is a chemical called effluent in Lake Mead and I was wondering if Eastlake had some in it. When I got done there I took out my sample of East Lake and the tools I needed for the lab. I got the sample of the lake and then I got a drop of each and put them on the construction paper. I then dumped some of each into the construction paper in the beaker and then I waited for a little while for it to dry and then I looked at them to see if there was particles in the samples and there were a few in each of the samples of East Lake. And there were a lot in all of the Lake Mead samples so the conclusion would be that Lake Mead has more bacteria than East Lake. The history of Lake Mead was formed in 1964, and was named after Elwood Mead. Lake Mead washed out the city of St. Thomas Nevada and when the water levels are lower than normal you can see some ruins of the city. When I left Lake Mead I went to get some gas because now I was running on empty and didn’t feel like getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere. I went to Rebel for gas and it was $3.69 per gallon,so I spent $88.56 on gas. Now I will be heading out to UCLA which is a 17 hour drive. I start this journey at about 1 in the afternoon when everyone was trying to get to lunch and back to work from lunch. As I drive I again see all the college kids leaving going home to see family and friends and hit the beach and just relax. I smell all the new mulch in the fields as farmers start planting all of the crops. I drive off the road to a rest stop to use the bathroom and have another little picnic where this time I have little hungry squirrels trying to steal my food. I find some acorns and throw them far so they run and try and find them as I finish. I call my parents and tell them how i’m doing and how i’m learning from this. I pack up and take off again. As i’m driving down the road I ran over something sharp and popped two of my tires, so I had to pull over. I only have one extra tire so I fixed one then I called for a tow truck, but they couldn’t come and get me because I was too far out of town and it wasn’t an emergency. So I sat there for about 15 minutes when a car pulled off the road and asked if I needed help I said, “ I have a flat tire and I already used my spare.”
The man said “he had an extra I could buy.”
I said “ How much?”
He said “ 5 bucks.”
I said “okay” and he gave it to me and I took off again. When I finally got to Las Vegas to stop to sleep it was about 1:30 in the morning. I stopped at a rest stop had a little snack then went to sleep.

I got up at about 7 that day to continue on my journey to UCLA. I had 4 hours left to get to UCLA. I saw all the people who were just getting out to go to work. I saw tents at the beaches and RVs there were college students slept. I was so tired of driving that I was so tempted to find someone who would drive for me, but I knew I couldn’t afford it and I wouldn’t be able to trust that they wouldn’t steal from me. When I got to Los Angeles I checked into my hotel and went up to my room and I layed down and watched some T.V. for a little bit because I was exhausted. The warm weather didn’t help my exhaustion. It was amazing how fast the climate changed from the midwest to the west. I wish it was a little cooler and not so hot, but that’s life. At about 12:30 I went to lunch at Bottega Louie I had TAGLIATELLE Bolognese Traditional bolognese meat ragu with bechamel & grana parmesan for $14. After lunch I went up to UCLA to talk with the superintendent. UCLA is right by movie theaters, restaurants, and the beach. The department is organized into a matrix of divisions and teaching programs. The academic programs (MA and PhD) are administered within five divisions, with all ladder faculty belonging to a division. The undergraduate minor and the professional programs (MEd and EdD) are administered by a combination of ladder faculty from within the divisions and professional faculty belonging to each professional program. When I got done I got a shirt from the gift shop.Then I went to the hotel to just relax. I ordered pizza from Pizza Hut which was $10. Then I called my parents and told them all about my day and how the visit went. My parents said that they were so proud of me wanting to do this all on my own, but my mom still missed me since I’m the baby of the family. When I got done I got to bed by 8 for like the first time.

When I woke up at about 7 I packed up checked out and went to the Hollywood corner for breakfast. I got Blueberry Flax-seed Pancakes served with a side of mint yogurt and fresh seasonal berries for $9.95. The place smelled really good it smelled like fresh fruits and eggs. My yogurt tasted like fresh squeezed strawberries.Then I stopped at a gas station to clean out my car because my car started to smell like garbage, and I couldn’t stand it. I got to the gas station, and when I was cleaning out my car people kept giving me weird looks. One person came up to me and asked, “Why do you have so many things in your car?”
I said “Because I’m going across the country to look at colleges and I have all these things to help me on the road.” When I finished I got some gas which was $45.48. Then I took off for Phoenix AZ. It was a 6 hour drive. As I drove I again like in every other state saw kids going to the beach. I heard the honking of cars in traffic and the smell of burning tires in the hot summer sun. When I got to Phoenix it was even hotter than it was in California, and it makes me even more exhausted. I checked into my hotel then I went to ASU and went to the head office to talk about their teaching program. ASU is right by some off campus housing that’s really it. The Bachelor of Arts in Education for Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education program is an initial teacher certification program that prepares students for certification in early childhood education from birth to age 8 or through grade 3 and early childhood special education for birth to age 5. This degree incorporates early childhood special education, which is the only program of its kind in the state, and in high demand in schools. When I got done I went to the gift shop and got a shirt. Then I went to The Outback and got the WoodFire Grilled Pork Chop A lean wood-fire grilled pork chop. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, fresh steamed green beans and our own Creole marmalade $13.95. It smelled of home when my dad makes stakes and baked potatoes. The restaurant smelled of a glorious smell of meat. While I was eating, a young girl came up and said “why are you eating alone?”
I said “Because I’m going on a summer road trip across the country.”
The young girl says “oh,that must be lonely.”
I said “It’s not too bad I call my family every night.
”The young girls parents came and said “sorry she’s a bit of a pest when she sees new people.”
I said “it’s okay.” Then I paid and left when I got in my car was as chilly as a snowman’s house because I left the air on while I was in The Outback. When I got to my hotel I got ready for bed then I was as tired as marathon runner and didn’t stay up too late when I fell asleep only like 8.

I woke up at about 7 the next morning and went down to the lobby to eat breakfast. I had the same as every other morning. This was good,but not perfect some things weren’t that warm. When I finished I packed up and left for the Grand Canyon which was a 10 hour drive. While I was driving there was a car accident. The police had blocked off the road and we had to drive down into the ditch and then up again. The crash looked as if one car was trying to pass and didn’t see the other car coming and tried to get out of the way but didn’t intime. I don’t think anyone survived. As I continued I never passed and when someone would try to pass I got a little nervous that they would get hit so I would pray that they were being smart. When my nervous finally started to settle down there was a car that was trying to pass another car on a hill that I was coming up and they obviously didn’t see me because they kept coming and I started to freak out when I realized that It was a two lane highway. When I stopped freaking out I pulled off the road to have some water and just breath a little before I headed again. When I finally reached the Grand Canyon It was about 5 so I went and checked into my hotel then I ordered room service because I really didn’t feel like driving anymore that day. When I got done eating I bought a movie from the hotel it was a comedy I found. It was a movie that I have never even heard about, but it was really good. Before I went to bed, I called my parents and told them all about the accidents, and when I told them about me they said that I have always been really paranoid when it comes to things like that. And that next time I just need to trust that people are being smart and safe drivers. Then I said goodnight and went to bed.

When I woke up at about 9 the next day I went down to the lobby for breakfast. This time I had French toast with scrambled eggs and a blueberry muffin. Then I checked out and headed to the Grand Canyon. When I got to the Grand Canyon there were so many people there it was bad. It took me about two hours to get even passed security and to get in to have the tour. I wanted to have have a picnic there, but there were too many people there to enjoy it. So I took the tour listened to the guide about how old it was. The grand Canyon is 277 river miles long; it’s 18 miles wide. It is also only 1 mile deep. The only people that go in the inner core is hikers, mule riders, and river runners. When you are at the Grand Canyon you can ride a mule, or backpack in the inner core. when I left Instead of having a picnic I went to Horsemen Lodge Restaurant Beaver Street Brewery & Whistle Stop Cafe.I got a Beaver street Burger with fries for $10.95. It was so good the cheese was nice and melted on the sandwich and was nice and warm. The restaurant smelled like burgers and fresh salad. When I left I started to head toward San Antonio. Which is a 18 and a half hour drive so I won’t get there till late. I left at about 3 in the afternoon. While I was driving it was as busy as the last places. There were no dumb drivers, no traffic jams,no wild teenagers driving around just a nice quiet ride. Since it was so quiet it was a little boring so I cranked up my music and started to kind of lip sing and then of course when I want to do something fun and not worry about anything a car comes speeding by me and then two cop cars come up and speed around me to. When I thought I could pull back onto the road another car comes speeding by me, but when he saw me he stopped, got out of his car, and asked if a car and two cops came by here I said, “Yeah, like not even 5 minutes ago.”Then he jumped into his car and sped off after the cars then a cop came again and slowed down and asked if I saw like 5 different cars speed by I said yeah like 5 mins ago. He said okay and sped away. Then I headed off again and turned my music up again and just forgot about the car. Then I called my parents and talked to them for a little bit and then I pulled off road at a rest stop at about 1 in the morning I had dinner and went to bed.

When I woke up at about 5 I was still a little tired, but I needed to get going so that my trip doesn’t turn into a 4 month trip. So I kept going I had 10 hours left of the trip. It was again a quiet trip and I got really bored and then while I was driving I saw a family of deer trying to cross the road so I stopped and threw them some bread to eat. Then I continued on my journey to San Antonio. While I was driving it started to rain hard and it got really dark out and since i’m down south and kind of by where a lot of tornadoes form I got a little scared. Then the wind started to blow really hard in all directions sometimes my car would even fall of the road because the wind was so bad. I was only a few miles away from the nearest gas station when I heard the weather guy on the radio say that a tornado has been spotted just a few miles behind me. I knew it wasn’t safe to stay or to speed down the road, but I had to make a decision. I sped all the way down to the gas station and parked my car away from trees and things that could crush it, but still safe from being swept away by the tornado. When I got into the gas station I saw all the people running down into a cellar I yelled, “Wait!” and the guy almost didn’t hear me, but then he turned and told me to hurry. I ran as fast as I could to get into the cellar and right has he closed the door we saw just a little bit of the tornado before we were completely in the cellar. I felt so weird because I had never experienced a tornado and everyone in there had and they were all calm and could tell that I had never been in this situation before. About an hour later the tornado was gone and when we all went outside everyones car, but surprisingly mine wasn’t too bad it had been moved from one side of the parking lot to the other as for the others some of their cars were nowhere to be found and some had flipped. The gas station still looked good and people could still use it so I filled up my tank which was about $90 and I gave the guy working $5 to help with anything that needed fixing around his shop and then I head off. As I was driving I saw little destruction the only things that got damaged were the cars on the sides of the streets and mailboxes. So it looked like the tornado only went down the middle of the street. When I got back onto the highway and everything looked nice it started to rain again, but it didn’t get dark it was just a little cloudy. The rest of the trip was like that when I finally got to San Antonio I was happy because not only was I done sitting in my car it was nice and sunny there. It was about 3 when I got there and I checked into my hotel and unpacked my things then I went down to the lobby to ask if they knew any good restaurants and they said, that they were serving mini crab cakes if I wanted to try them it was only $8.75.
I said, “Sure why not.” When I went down to the dining room which was really nice. When I got my crab cakes and tried it was extraordinary they felt like butter in my mouth when I was eating them. It was a little different because I don’t normally eat sea food because I always found it weird. When I finished I went up to my room and just relaxed for a little while. It was about 4:30 when I was finished resting. Then I went down to the Riverwalk at the San Antonio River; while I was walking around looking at the river it was a little cold because the wind was blowing a little bit. I was used to this cold weather, but most of the people there weren’t.
Some would come up to me and and ask, “How aren’t you cold?”
I would say, “I live in midwest Iowa where it’s cold 9 months out of the year.”
They asked, “Why wouldn’t you move to someplace warmer?” I said, “Because there is a lot less chance of horrible storms in the winter than in the summer, and I like boating in the 5 great lakes in Spirit Lake.”
they said, “Oh that’s smart.” Then they left when you saw all the people that were use to the warm weather it’s kind of funny because they are all huddled together and wearing winter coats when it’s only like 60º out. When I got done I went to the gift shop and bought a t-shirt. Then I went back to my hotel to go to bed before I left for Nashville.

When I got up at about 7 that next morning I went down to the lobby for breakfast when I realized that they didn’t have it I was like ok I’ll just eat a muffin from my car. So after I checked out I started to head toward Nashville. While I was driving I saw people drilling for oil to make a living and while I was going down the road since I didn’t feel like sitting in the car for 15 hours which is how long the drive is I stopped for about maybe 10 minutes. I thought that watching what they were doing would be more interesting than it actually was so I left. As I was driving I saw a family walking their dogs down the side of the street it made me remember how my family would do that on Sundays and much I can’t wait to get home and just relax and enjoy summer vacation. Just as the day got started it rained again it kept getting harder and harder and the sky kept getting darker and darker and the wind started to pick up I was like oh my goodness is there another tornado coming and just as I turned on the radio to see the rain and wind stopped and the sky was blue again and I’m like are you kidding me. At least is was nice and not raining. When I was on the highway I saw like 5 dead skunks and like 4 dead raccoons on the side of the street. I was like ewww, but I was also sad because people are never careful and just hit the poor defenceless animals. Then I saw and smelled that my car was getting gross again so I stopped at a gas station to dump out all the crap while I was cleaning I saw some ants I kind of screamed. Then I started to clean faster and took all my food out and searched it quite good to make sure that I wasn’t eating ants. Then I grabbed my bug killer spray and sprayed the back of my truck then I let it sit for a little bit then I put everything back in my truck and took off again. It was around lunchtime when I left so I went to go find a little resturant to eat at when I got to a little rest stop they were selling little sandwiches so I grabbed two and some chips and went to a bench and ate my lunch. Then I headed again while I was driving I there were a lot of impatient people that were passing me by like the double I swear because one car would pass me then two seconds later another car would pass me. I was like jeez people I’m going the speed limit why are you all in such a hurry. Then I saw a police car coming up so I pulled off the road and let him pass I was just about to pull back on when two more police cars came up behind me. I saw that it was a chase in progress. Then I headed again hoping that no one would come up behind me.
When I got tired of driving it was about 4 I started to look for a place to stay the night. I took me about an hour to find somewhere for me to stay when I did it was about 5. Then I got settled I made myself some soup with a little fire that I made. While I was eating I thought that it was nice outside so I thought that I would sleep outside so I started to put my tent up when all of the sudden I heard a wolf then I turned and thank god I hadn’t taken my tent out of the bag yet because the wolf was about 10 feet away from me and was growling at me. I started to back away slowly because my car was only like 5 feet away so as I was backing up the wolf was walking toward me and I sped up a little bit and jumped into the back of the truck and slammed the trunk and the wolf jumped right at the car and I screamed then I climbed into the drivers seat and took off when I looked in my mirror I saw that the wolf was following me and I sped up a little more to get rid of it. Then When I saw that it was gone I kept going for a little bit then I went to a different rest stop and stayed in my car just to be safe. Then I went to bed.

When I got up at about 8 I headed off I still had a 5 hour drive and I just wanted to get home and rest so I had some scrambled eggs that I made myself over another little fire and then I took off. While I was driving I saw all the people, out in their pastures riding their horses, playing horseshoes, and all sorts of farm things. While I was driving I called my parents and told them about the drive and how I thought there was going to be another tornado and how the wolf was chasing me and that I know how to make a fire and cook things over it without burning them. I asked them, “How they were doing how is it feel being an empty nester for this time?”
My mom said, “I don’t like it the house feels so lonely without you kids here.”
My dad said, “About the same thing, but he actually got some sleep at night now.”
I said “I’m not that loud am I?”
He said “Yes you are.”
I said, “Ok whatever you say dad.” When I got off the phone I saw that my battery was about to die so I grabbed my charger and and plugged it in so that I could keep in touch with everyone I would occasionally text my brothers and tell them how much fun it is to do this. They would say I wish mom and dad would have trusted me to do this. I would say times have changed. Then they would have to go. I only had about 3 hours left by this time and I was getting bored so I tried to entertain myself but it was hard so I called my friend Gracen and talked to her and asked how her summer was going and she said boring because she was on her road trip as well so we talked for like about 2 hours telling each other what we had seen and what we had learned about on this trip. Then she had to go to a thing and we said good bye see ya soon. Now I had only an hour left and was getting hungry so I found an Dairy Queen and got some chicken strips,fries,water,and a blizzard for lunch and I ate it in my car so that I could just get to Nashville already and get out of my car. When I finished I found a trash bag that I didn’t know I had and threw my garbage away. Then when I finally got to Nashville it was about 1 and it was a little cooler than in Arizona and I felt a little better and was happy. I checked into my hotel and then I went to Vanderbilt for a tour and to talk to the head office about their teaching program. Vanderbilt is right by some really nice restaurants, and there are many little areas with lots of things to do. The department is distinguished by faculty and students who are committed to understanding the most effective teaching tools in science, math and language arts; who use data, experience, and technology to bring forward the best in student learning. offers four specializations with plentiful opportunities for research and publication. These specializations are:Language, Literacy, and Culture Development, Learning, and Diversity Mathematics and Science Education Learning Sciences and Learning Environment Design. When I left it was about 3 it was a very informational talk and tour about the college. Then I headed back to my hotel for a little bit to just relax and I sat in the hot tub for an hour then I went back up to my hotel showered and then watched a little bit of T.V. Then I went to the lobby for their pasta dinner and I got the special which was angel hair noodles, with marinara sauce,peas,and parmesan cheese. Then I went up to my room it was only like 7 by this time and I put my PJs on and went to bed.

I woke up at about 8 because I was so tired that I needed all the sleep I could get then I went down to the lobby and had some breakfast they were serving strawberry pancakes and muffins which I just had to try they smelled so good and when I tasted them they tasted so fresh. When I finished I packed up and checked out and headed on my way to Gatlinburg which was a 4 hour drive. It was about 9 when I left so I headed off and on my way I saw many different people helping the elderly cross the street, walking dogs, and cleaning up trash along the road. I found that really cool that people would take time out of their day to help others because you don’t really see that up here as much. It was about 11 when I started to get hungry again and I was looking for somewhere to stop to get some lunch after about a half hour I stopped and aske, someone where are some restaurants?
They said, “Just 5 miles down.”
I said, “Thanks and headed off again.” When I got down there I noticed that there was only fast food places. So I just made myself a PBJ sandwich and sat down at a table and ate my lunch. While I was eating I kept thinking that their is only 3 stops left and then i’m home finally and I can relax with my friends and family. When I got done eating I hopped into my car and headed off, I only had an hour left in the car befor I got to Gatlinburg. While I was driving I saw some kids on their bikes taking a little bike ride. I liked how they each had mirrors on their bikes so that they could see if a car was coming up from behind them and they could get out of the way. When I got to Gatlinburg I checked into my hotel. Then I went to The Great Smoky Mountains and while I was looking at them I saw the little white tips showing that it was snowing up there. When I was there I was thinking to myself wouldn’t it be fun to climb up a mountain. When I got done I went to the gift shop and bought a SMB bandana and a smoky mountain shirt. It was about 3 when I got done so I went back to my hotel and I went down to the pool and swam for a little bit then I went into the hot tub for a while. When I got done it was about 5 so I went up to my room showered and then I went to the Smoky Mountain cafe and I got The Smoked trout spreads smoked trout, cream cheese, dill, & sour cream served with toasted French bread for $8.95. The place was so cool it seemed like you were actually at The Smoky Mountains. Then I went to my hotel and got all cozy and fell asleep right away and it was only like 6:30 or 7 because I was really tired today.

I got up at 6 since I went to bed really early that night. I went down to the lobby for breakfast,they were serving fresh french toast and cereal. While I was eating I was thinking two to three days left and i’m finally home. So I kind of ate a little faster so that I could get started I packed up checked out and headed for New York which is a 4 hour drive. As I was driving I saw many animals running in the fields since it was still a little dark out and about 6:30 in the morning. I was driving down when I saw a baby skunk crossing the road after his mom and he got mesmerized by the lights of my car and stopped and stared at me I slammed on my brakes so that I wouldn’t hit him and that’s when his mom realized he wasn’t with her and turned around and ran to go and get him. When the light started to come up it was a really beautiful sunrise with all the colors. When I got back into a town I realized that I might want to get some gas so I pulled into a gas station and filled up my tank so it cost $90.98. Then When I left I was about 5 miles down the road when I heard a really loud “BOOM!” sound and I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a huge fire and a bunch of smoke so I turned on the radio and heard that the gas station that I was just at blew up and everyone that was there died in the explosion or if they were even a mile away. I started to freak out a little bit because I was just there like 10 minutes ago and I could have died in that explosion. Then while driving I saw and heard all of the police cars, firetrucks, and ambulances coming to try and find out what happened. It was amazing how fast that the radio had started to talk and tell everyone around the world about the explosion and that everyone is trying there hardest to find out what had happened and why it did. When I finally got to New york it was about 5 and colder than Tennessee which was really nice and a little more relaxing, then I drove over to Columbia and went to the main office to ask about their teaching program. Columbia is by off campus housing and restaurants Teaching: Our weekly workshops provide practical advice about course management, course design, grading, lecturing, and leading discussions.Services: Our services include classroom observations, departmental-based workshops, formal for-credit courses, weekly workshops, and one-on-one consultations.Then I went the gift shop and bought a Columbia shirt. Then It was about 7 when I got done I went to the Atlantic Grill and got the Smoked Atlantic Salmon Grilled Cheese for $15. While I was there It smelled of grilled fish and a little like salty water. Then when I was finished I got on my phone and looked to see how far away Millennium Park was from Columbia. It’s a 12 hour drive so I decided to stay the night so I checked into my hotel and went up to my room and went to bed right when I got ready for bed so that I could get up early.

When I got up it was about 6 I wanted to get going so I checked out and just had a muffin that I had in my truck. While I was driving I was so happy that I was almost home I just couldn’t wait to get home and see my family again. I thought I would call my parents and tell them where I was and that I couldn’t wait to get home and both of them said they couldn’t either. I talked to the them for about an hour telling them all about the explosion and my mom started to freak a little bit and told me to be careful I said that I am and that I keep to myself and don’t talk to any strange people. Then I called Gracen to see how her trip was going and when she thinks she’ll be back. She said she didn’t know, but hopefully soon so that we can hang out and talk about our trip and help each other decide which college to go to. When I got done talking to her it was about 8 and I was a little tired, but not too bad. I was getting really bored and I didn’t know what to do so I thought I’d listen to music. Well music didn’t help because I was still bored and so I thought I would count how many cars passed me going the other way. I did that for about an hour and counted over like 200, but I was still really bored. I still had a 9 hour drive till I got there and I was so bored. While I was driving to make things worse it started to rain and thunder. So I thought well this just makes today worse because for one thing I’m bored and lonely. I saw a bunch of cars starting to come in by like the 50’s so I assumed that there was like a show. When it got closer to lunch I started to get hungry so I pulled of the road at a little rest stop and had a little picnic because I was tired of going to restaurants then I checked my tires and made sure I had gas then I headed out again. I was driving a little over the speed limit and there were like 6 cars riding my bumper for like 5 miles then one car sped ahead of me then 5 miles later the another car went ahead of me then it just kept going like that till all of the cars were gone. When I got into a little town I saw all of the same cars and they were all at the same restaurant and as I was passing they were coming out and I think they knew that I was the same car and they all hustled to their cars I started to freak out a little bit so I kind of sped up and then they all got into their cars and started to follow me and I tried to find another way to get out of town, then I knew that I would just get lost so I continued to got straight then they all came up closer and started to throw eggs at my car and I saw a police station a block down and I went and they still came and continued so I wasn’t able to get out of my car. I was hoping that the police would come and after about 10 minutes still no one came so I started to ask God for help and right after that two cops came out and started to arrest all of the guys and asked if I was ok and I said that I was. Then they helped me clean my car. Then I left again to get to Chicago as soon as I could. I was driving down the highway and I kept watching for something bad to happen because it seems like everytime I’m on the highway something bad happens. Then the rest of the time it was really boring. When I finally got there it was about 6 and I was hungry so I went to a Grill and had the Reuben Sandwich sliced corned beef or turkey, swiss cheese, sauerkraut & thousand island dressing on grilled rye bread for $11.25. It smelled really good like summer grilling which reminded me of home. Which reminded me of how close I was to being home. Then when I got done I went to Millennium Park to look at all of the interesting art that was there some of my pictures didn’t turn out that well because it was getting dark, but some turned out really well. Then I went to the gift shop and got a shirt. Then I went to my hotel and checked in when I got into my room I got ready for bed then I went to bed.

When I got up at about 7, I really wanted to get home,however, I was still really tired,but I packed up and left I had breakfast in my car because it is an 8 hour drive home. I knew that I would get home around 3 so I called my parents and said I should be home around 3 and they were so happy and said that they are going to make me a welcome back lunch so they told me not to eat a big lunch. I said ok and hang up. Since I knew that something bad would probably happen since every time i’m on the highway something does happen. I kept watching for cars behind me in front of me and was watching the weather listen to the news. Because I wanted to come home in one piece. While I was driving the weather was really nice so I turned from the news and started to listen to music with my windows rolled down. As I was driving I would only pass maybe two cars every 45 minutes and once in awhile a car would be behind me and I would watch it or slow down a little bit and then they would pass me. It was about 12 now and I was getting hungry so I pulled off at a gas station and filled up and I only needed about half a gallon which was $45 to fill. I had my last PBJ sandwich. Then I hopped into my car and took off toward home because I only have 3 hours let “Yes!” As I continued my journey the weather stayed nice the cars didn’t try and run me off the road. I was in Algona and I saw all sorts of high school kids coming home from their two week vacation in Spirit Lake and I just thought to myself 1 hour left and i’m like “Yay!” I’m almost home. When I got home I saw that no cars were in the driveway, so assumed they though I wouldn’t get back when I said because I might have stopped on the way. So I walked into the garage and no one was there not a care then I walked inside and no one was there I yelled “I’m home anyone home.” Then I went down stairs and as I was walking I could feel someone down there then when I turned on the lights all my family jumped out and yelled “Surprise, Welcome Home!” and the basement was all decorated with posters pictures of me and the places I went. My parents came up and gave me a hug and and said they were so glad that I was home and that they couldn’t wait to hear all about my trip. So after we all ate and I opened a few presents from my family I started to tell them all about my trip and all the scary things that happened and they were all shocked at some of the things I told them about especially the wolf, tornado,explosion, and the egging. Then everyone went home and I started to unpack my truck and clean it out with the help of my parents and then we watched movies and had leftover food from lunch.