It Is Trish

Day one is done, and I’ve covered three states!

I’ll admit, about an hour into my drive this morning, I had that rush of worried feeling.  All the talking and planning was suddenly doing, and the reality of roadtripping for 32 days felt ridiculous.  I’m an introvert!  Why am I staying with friends and strangers every night for over a month??  The good thing about over-hyping something is that the humiliation of quitting publicly is enough to get you through those panicky moments.  And I’m glad it did, because the rest of the day went great.

Well, kind of.  I’d planned to stop in Indianapolis and picnic on the Funky Bones exhibit (as made popular by The Fault in Our Stars) at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  After four hours of driving, I discovered the museum is closed on Mondays!!  Agh.  Determined to fulfill my plan, at least partially, I picnicked on some colorful tables underneath weird sculptures, trying to ignore the yard workers passing by with weed-eaters and leaf-blowers.  

I drove around downtown Indianapolis a little before leaving the city, and wow!  It’s super cool.  The architecture is fantasticly imposing, and some of the cathedrals almost made me wreck my car as I strained to take in the whole of their beauty.  I considered parking and walking a bit, but downtown was really crowded, and I had visions of my car being impounded on day one of my road trip.  Instead, I drove on to Ohio.

The Midwest is not terribly interesting to drive through, which makes audiobooks (The Son of Neptune!) and music (song winner today:  “Then the Morning Comes” by Smash Mouth) necessary.  But what the scenery lacks in hills and forests, it makes up for in pumpkin trucks and wide vistas that make the sky seem enormous and inviting.  I quite liked it.

My first stop is with Christy and Ron.  Already I am imposing on the kindness of (almost) strangers.  Christy is sisters with Libby, one of my best friends from Dallas.  I met her once when she was visiting our church group, and she generously opened her home – and fridge – to me as I pass through her state.  She’s been incredibly welcoming, her kids are cute, and her food is delicious.  A+ hostessing, all around.  It’s moments like these that remind me why, despite my introversion, I love to travel.  Meeting new people, hearing their stories, experiencing their kindness…it fills my soul.

The trip is off to a good start.  My next stop is Rockville, Maryland, and I am positive it’s going to be SO GREAT.

States Visited:  3 (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio)