Day One: rain, and lots of it. Rained continuously from Holyoke, MA to northern PA – I’d been looking forward to the Merritt Parkway but I could hardly see it due to the fog and rain and car-spray. But it was beautiful, and fitting for a day of last goodbyes.

Spending time with the Rings and getting to know them better was a blessing. The kids and I bonded over Pokémon and Minecraft and super heroes, and their parents and I stayed up too late talking about missions and the Church and gender issues and knitting and just sharing our stories.

Day Two: started off positive pleasant enough with sunshine. Filled up my tank at the God Bless America gas station and I was off.

But in Maryland things took a turn when my car refused to start after stopping for gas and coffee….

Over five hours and three faulty starters later, I was back on the road…. and arrived at my destination in North Carolina seven hours later than planned. All part of the adventure, right? Maybe a part I could have done without, but a part I certainly won’t ever forget.

Road Reflections:

– The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel is terrifying. 1.45 miles of two lane, fast-moving traffic with no shoulder and no way out except through.

– As far as I can tell so far (after driving through it in the dark), North Carolina is nothing but highways and trees. My journey took me from one highway to another, passing by hardly anything else but a few sagging motels.

– Crab cakes = meh. Maryland Crab Soup, on the other hand = yes. More, please.

– Virginia has an abundance of rest areas with bathrooms and vending machines. I was thanking God for this at 10:30pm when I desperately needed a quick stop to stretch and pee and re-caffeinate.

Today: visit with Bart in North Carolina and find out what about this place convinced a perpetual wanderer to finally settle down!

Stay tuned for more updates from the road!

(You can read about days 3-5 here.)