A Road Trip of a Lifetime

Last Thursday, I had my first visit from the West Coast. Alan came out to do a short road trip on the East Coast. I picked Alan at the Baltimore airport up just after midnight on Thursday and we drove to a hotel about 30 minutes outside of Washington D.C. to spend the night. The next morning we parked our rental car and hopped onto the metro into D.C. We stepped off the Metro at the Smithsonian stop and immediately when we got off we heard bull horns blaring. One guy was yelling, "audit the fed." Once we ran past the people asking us to sign petitions, we realized the ugliness of the National Mall. In between the Washington Monument and the Capital building was not much more than a mile of dead grass. After taking a few pictures, we found our way into a few different Smithsonian museums. It didn't take too long for the fossils in the natural history museum to become boring so we decided to head over to the Holocaust Museum. We picked up tickets to go through the exhibit later in the afternoon so we could grab a bite to eat first.

Alan and I are extremely indecisive. We walked around for close to an hour before deciding to go to a Thai restaurant for lunch. We had an awesome lunch and then began our long walk to all the sites. We walked to the White House, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, and the Capital Building (After the trip, we mapped out how far we walked and it added up to 10 miles). After seeing all these sites we headed back to the Holocaust Museum and did a quick tour of the exhibit. The exhibit was intense and I am looking forward to going back there in October to spend more time.

That night we left D.C. to visit some friends in Virginia. On the way to Virginia, we decided to stop for dinner at Five Guys, an awesome burger chain out here. This was the first of many times we found ourselves lost on the drive to Virginia. We arrived in Charlottesville, VA around midnight at our friend Justin's house. Catching up with him for a couple hours after we arrived was great.

Spending the weekend at Justin's house was refreshing after spending so much time at the crowded International House back in Millersville. On Friday morning we made a huge breakfast and headed out to see Charlottesville. Justin took Alan and me to the University of Virginia and then to Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello. These were both incredible sites to see, but not the best part of our trip. Next, we headed out to the Atwell's house for dinner. Alan and I hadn't seen the Atwells since they left Modesto five years ago to come out to Charlottesville to start a church called Portico. Hanging out and reminiscing with friends was my highlight of this trip.

Driving through Pennsylvania, Maryland, D.C., West Virginia, and Virginia was fun to see each of these states. On our way out of Virginia, Alan and I stopped at a winery by the name of Veritas and did some quick wine tasting. On the 5 hour drive up north to Pennsylvania, I introduced Alan to Dunkin Doughnuts because out here America truly does run on Dunkin or at least I do.

We arrived back in Lancaster on Sunday night. On Monday morning I showed Alan the Amish countryside. In the afternoon he came into HOPE with me and sat in on a meeting. Our trip was winding down and the next morning I drove him to the airport in Baltimore. This was an awesome break to this summer's internship.

Since I was gone this weekend, I had to do some mowing on Tuesday evening after work. It was 90 degrees when I left the office and by 5:45 I was mowing in the rain. Lightning bolts were splitting the sky. I kept thinking, "hmmm, I wonder if I should be mowing in this lightning storm." I am learning to roll with the punches out here whether that be at HOPE or when I am mowing. My experiences this summer has taught me to be more flexible and spontaneous. I thank God for today and know tomorrow isn't a promise but this verse is comforting as I am growing this summer.

For I hold you by your right hand-- I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am here to help you.'

Isaiah 41:13 (NLT)