The Chronicled Memoirs of our Recorded Journey
(Typed by the fingers of Timothy, from the computer of Dell. Saved and preserved by technology in a hard drive of 60 gigs).
The final morning of our 10 month stay at 822 22nd Street found us wrought with all kinds of stirring emotions. Indeed, Breena and I awoke experiencing feelings of joy and gratitude, yet we also met the day with sadness and deprivation. The joy and gratitude that we felt (actually I think that I'm the only one who rejoiced) came as the result of a victory in the form of a basketball game. The Utah Jazz managed to close out the Golden State Kamikazes in the 5th game of their playoff series despite the fact that they played like dittley poo (in the words of Jim Mora). The sadness and deprivation stemmed from David Stern’s heinous decision to suspend Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for game 5 of the Suns series with the Spurs (I may write another blog entry about why I think that David Stern made the wrong decision).
Fortunately we were able to press on with the day despite our emotions. We left to go pick up Pablo, the Elders, and the moving truck at 9am. While loading up, Pablo displayed some impressive loading skills and some serious muscle. I had come to expect the former, but the latter was a pleasant surprise. The Elders were in great form as well. Elder Pierce was steadfast as always, and Elder Johnson actually knew more about Penske trucks than one could ever have hoped. With these advantages in our favor, we had the truck loaded up in a little over an hour. We promised the Elders lunch at Charlie Changs, so after a delicious Chinese buffet (which included the best wontons of which I had never previously partaken or tasted), we dropped off the missionaries and sent Pablo off on his way to Orlando… or wherever it was he was going to stop by “on his way” to Phoenix. Breena and I cleaned up the apartment, said our goodbyes to Scrappy the squirrel, Harry the house centipede, and Pukey our pink-tiled bathroom, and hit the road by 3:30pm.
Ten minutes after our departure, we managed to hit rush hour traffic on the 66 West. Brilliant timing. We also hit a major rain storm, but managed to endure despite the elements. I have to say, driving Interstate 81 alongside the Blue Ridge Mountains was beautiful. The foiliage was so lush and green; it even felt for a moment as if we were in Hawaii. In fact, we were able to see many places on this earth that I thought I would never see. Dublin lived up to my expectations—very wet and green just like the Irish Spring commercials. The Middle East was not what I expected, however. We passed through Palestine, Damascus, and Lebanon, all of which were green with forests and trees—completely different from what I had previously learned on TV or in books about the region. Imagine my disappointment when Breena told me that were not in the “Old World,” but in fact still in the Americas. I know she lied to me though, because several hours later we passed right through the center of London...
Fortunately we were able to press on with the day despite our emotions. We left to go pick up Pablo, the Elders, and the moving truck at 9am. While loading up, Pablo displayed some impressive loading skills and some serious muscle. I had come to expect the former, but the latter was a pleasant surprise. The Elders were in great form as well. Elder Pierce was steadfast as always, and Elder Johnson actually knew more about Penske trucks than one could ever have hoped. With these advantages in our favor, we had the truck loaded up in a little over an hour. We promised the Elders lunch at Charlie Changs, so after a delicious Chinese buffet (which included the best wontons of which I had never previously partaken or tasted), we dropped off the missionaries and sent Pablo off on his way to Orlando… or wherever it was he was going to stop by “on his way” to Phoenix. Breena and I cleaned up the apartment, said our goodbyes to Scrappy the squirrel, Harry the house centipede, and Pukey our pink-tiled bathroom, and hit the road by 3:30pm.
Ten minutes after our departure, we managed to hit rush hour traffic on the 66 West. Brilliant timing. We also hit a major rain storm, but managed to endure despite the elements. I have to say, driving Interstate 81 alongside the Blue Ridge Mountains was beautiful. The foiliage was so lush and green; it even felt for a moment as if we were in Hawaii. In fact, we were able to see many places on this earth that I thought I would never see. Dublin lived up to my expectations—very wet and green just like the Irish Spring commercials. The Middle East was not what I expected, however. We passed through Palestine, Damascus, and Lebanon, all of which were green with forests and trees—completely different from what I had previously learned on TV or in books about the region. Imagine my disappointment when Breena told me that were not in the “Old World,” but in fact still in the Americas. I know she lied to me though, because several hours later we passed right through the center of London...
Summary Day One
Start/Finish: Arlington/Knoxville.
Hours of Driving: 8
Number of Miles: Lots
Start/Finish: Arlington/Knoxville.
Hours of Driving: 8
Number of Miles: Lots
2 comments:
Loving the travel-log, although my heart skipped a beat when I read you had gone to pick up the Elders - I was like, wait, why would they say that, we weren't there! ha ha! It took a couple of seconds!
Enjoy your drive - will there be updates from Dollywood??!! ;o)
Love you both
Lou (and Jonathon) xx
aka The Elders!
Dad says what about Chattanooga (his spelling not mine). He and Mom are sitting on my deck reminicing about a cross-country trip he made in a car without brakes. He says they didn't stop much. (His pun, not mine.) Drive safely, and we'll see you in sunny Cal in a week or so. We're going in now to watch the Suns game. We don't really care that much about the Suns--we just don't want to play Duncan. :)
much love, kap
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