I'm back.

Well my friends, I survived my first lone road trip. I did the first 14 hours without stopping (except for gas, of course), and then had the lovely privilege to stay with my dear friend Rachael Payne in Morton, Illinois. Ya know, everyone always teases poor Iowa for her flatness and abundance of corn, but seriously, Illinois is flatter than Iowa. As a matter of fact, I saw plenty of corn and soybeans when I crossed the Illinois line from Indiana. Oh, and how dare I forget the hog farms. Few things can beat the miasma of a hog farm.

Six states in one day. I drove through six states, by myself, in one day! I feel like maybe I should add a check to my bucket list? I went from 110 degrees in humid North Carolina, to the (in my opinion) perfect 80's of the midwest. I saw mountains, rolling hills, crossed many rivers, enough corn to flood my memory for years, a few big cities (Indianapolis during rush hour...not smart), and flooding in Illinois and Iowa. I guess the midwest has gotten a lot of rain this summer.

I love license plates. They fascinate me. Colorado is a beautiful state, but it also has some beautiful license plates. I saw many of those. And Ohio needs to get rid of that cursive. You can barely read the "Ohio," so what's the point? I wonder why so many midwestern license plates have the county on the plate as well. My license plate doesn't say "Durham" on the bottom of it. Everyone in the midwest also has license plates on the front of the cars. I have yet to see a car without a front license plate. I wonder if that's a law. Only the foreigners like myself have the luxury of choosing our own plates for the front. I should probably check on that.

It's nice to be back. The sunset last night was beautiful. I've missed the midwestern sunset. It's so rich and enthralling. There are no trees to block your view like in North Carolina. There is no searching for the sunset, it is manifestly there, demanding your attention and constantly reminding you of the beauty of God's creation. How refreshing.

So here I am. I move into my first apartment tomorrow morning. I will start my new job. I will start a new semester, a new school year, a new beginning. This year will be very different from the latter.

I cannot wait to watch things unfold.