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Journals: Week 20 (August 27-September 2, 2007)

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DAY 134: Monday, August 27, 2007 (Chicago, IL)

Today we left our gracious hosts, the Nichols, and began our trip to Chicago. Before we left, though, I woke up early enough to say goodbye to Jess and Lindsay before they left for school. (Elena was not so fortunate as she was still sleeping, but she said goodbye the night before.) We both had the honor, however, of walking Josh to his bus-stop and seeing him off to school. Ed, Elena, and I walked him out there as we took a few final pictures (the kid LOVES the camera!) before he got onto his bus and we said our last goodbye. We were quite sad to see him go and I think he felt the same about saying goodbye to us, but we sure had a great time with him and his whole family, giving us some great memories to remember and reminisce about the next time we see each other (which I'm sure we will at some point in the future).

A few hours after we left the Nichols and were on our way to visit with my sister and her husband, Samantha and Michael, in Chicago, Elena heard from her family that her grandmother, who has been sick for quite some time, was not doing well and might not make it through the day. It was at this point that we decided to change our plans of staying several days in Chicago and then visiting my friend Dave in Lansing, MI. Rather, we decided to meet with my sister in Chicago and stay the night there to get some rest in preparation for a full day's drive back to Connecticut the next day to be with Elena's family.

We made it to Chicago by 6:00, meeting Samantha and Michael at their home. We took a short walk to a local restaurant, the Village Tap Bar & Grill, where they have a "beer garden" in the back, basically a patio area where one can partake in drinking beer as one looks upon green vine-covered walls. Though none of us partook of the former, this is also a pretty good place for vegans and vegetarians to dine as they have a nice hummus platter, falafels, and veggie burgers on the menu. Unfortunately, they were out of the first two, so we all enjoyed veggie burgers (that tasted very similar to a falafel on a bun, and since we all like falafels, this was a good thing!) and fries. (Thanks for treating us to a delicious meal!) After some good conversation and a nice walk back to their place, we turned in for the evening as we prepared for tomorrow's drive back to Connecticut. Though it was a short visit with Samantha and Michael, we were glad we were able to see them.

We're planning to leave pretty early in the morning (like 6am) since we've heard the drive is somewhere between 14-17 hours. Hopefully we'll make it in one shot and get to Mansfield Center (we'll be staying with my dad and Jane) before midnight. Until then... ~J

DAY 135: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 (Mansfield Center, CT)

I absolutely cannot believe that I am saying this, but this will be the last journal entry of our amazing journey across the country. Although my grandmother was not expected to make it through the night (which is why we left at 6am to get home), she did amazingly live through it. When I spoke with my mother and cousin this morning, they told me she still had a very strong heart beat. She lived for a few more hours, and died early this afternoon with my cousin, Kathy, beside her. My grandmother was a beautiful and very lovely lady. She was quiet, and kind, and very sweet. She will be missed very much by her family. And although it is sad that she is no longer physically with us, she had a long life and a wonderful spirit, which will most certainly be celebrated these next few days by everyone who knew and loved her.

It is difficult to express how it feels to be returning home. There is a lot of sadness that accompanies ending our trip. I would love to continue traveling around this beautiful country for four-and-a-half more months, if not longer. I could probably keep going until our tent falls apart! I am really going to miss the freedom of waking up in a wild and unknown place, and exploring it to my heart's content. I am going to miss the wide open beauty of the west, and the huge, colorful sky that seems to go on forever. I am going to miss spending so much quality time with Jonathan when we have to go back to work. And I am just going to miss that feeling of melting into nature and belonging to it, just feeling like a part of it. (How am I going to make sure I don't lose that?) And let's just be honest, I am going to miss making S'mores!!

But I am also excited about the future- about seeing my family and friends again. About hanging out with my little brother and sister. And I'm really excited about seeing and holding my niece again (she was only 6 months old when we left!). I'm also really looking forward to marrying Jonathan and starting our NEW journey together. I know we have a beautiful and luminous future ahead of us- one that surpasses the beauty of even the most spectacular places we have been. I am even a little bit excited about finding a new job (I know, I must be delirious!).

I can say without a doubt that this trip has been the most exhilarating, life changing, and inspirational time of my life. I am so grateful for this opportunity we had to travel and meet so many new and amazing people. It has been especially wonderful to reconnect with family and friends scattered throughout the U.S., and to share this journey with them. And it has been a true pleasure to be able to document it all as a keepsake (even though there were plenty of days we didn't exactly feel like writing or uploading pictures!). I know we are going to be so glad we did it!

I know this will not be the end of our traveling; we are both too in-love with the open road to leave it behind for good. So for now we have to settle down a bit, but we'll be back, America! Thank you so much for your beauty and your grace. And thank you to those who offered support, encouragement, and kindness, not to mention a place to stay, a meal to share, and most importantly, friendship. You are what made this trip extra special. ~E

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