road trip!

Last weekend I drove to Omaha, Nebraska. Yes, road trip by myself! 8 hours (according to mapquest which was WRONG) of driving with just me and the big open road. I created some new playlists, downloaded an awesome audio book and the journey had begun.

I took some pictures along the way.

My first stop was in Dixon, Illinois. I barely made it to Dixon. I had 1/4 tank of gas and figured I'd pull over at the next stop. Oops...that next stop was REALLY far away. And then there was Dixon. Thank you Jesus!

I stopped at the BP gas station which was on this street. (see picture below) Hmm...weird? I asked the attendant "What's in Dixon? What's cool about Dixon, Illinois?" She looked at me as if that was the dumbest question she had ever been asked. After a moment she answered "What's in Dixon? Well, drunk people I guess." And then she said "Oh wait, Dixon is the childhood home of President Ronald Reagan." Cool. Made me smile, and NOT want to move to Dixon. I mean, it's cool that Pres. Reagan lived there but it wasn't an impressive place.




A while later I came upon the Word's Largest Truckstop. COOL COOL! I still had 1/2 tank of gas but I just HAD to stop. It was a pretty fancy place, like a trucker's heaven on earth! Look at the sign, they even have a dog wash. It was called "The Dogomatic Dog Wash".

For me, I just used their nice bathrooms.




Look at all the stuff they have!!! Good grief, it's like a little town! In fact, it's probably the coolest place in town. I bet all the Iowans in the area go there for their own weekend entertainment.

The whole bottom level was full of fancy schmancy stuff to pimp up your semi.

Back on the road. Ya know...Iowa was pretty boring. As you can see ahead of my car, (see picture below) and then if you look in the mirror...there's nothing to look at it...nothin'. Just road, snow, and trucks.

Well, that reminds me! I made up a little game. There were so many trucks pulling strange objects on their trailers. I couldn't help but wonder "What's that???" So I let my imagination run and tried to come up with the object and purpose of everything I saw. Haha...sound lame? Hey, I was entertained!

I didn't have to guess what kinda of object this truck was towing. But LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE THINGS!!! Those are the biggest tires I have ever seen...in my entire life! And that's 25 years of seeing tires!!!

Here's a close up of those tires. I couldn't even come up with a purpose for those tires? you could put a big house on those wheels! You could...well....they are HUGE!

Why was I going to Omaha, Nebraska?

Well, besides the fact that it's the land of corn AND the world's largest porch swing...

I was going to see my friend Fallon! I met Fallon while I was living at L'Abri in Switzerland.

We left the mountain in December of '05 so it was high time for a visit!

I had such a great time. She just moved there so we discovered pieces of Omaha together. We visited the Old Market, we went to this awesome craft/hobby shop called Mangelsons, we visited a new church, and most of all we sat around and talked, drank coffee, talked some more, did some baking and cooking, talked some more... It was just perfect!

We made pizza for dinner. It was GOOD! I remember at L'Abri I was always asking Fallon to help me in the kitchen. She had this ability to make EVERYTHING look and taste perfect. She was a great comfort to have around when I was making Sunday morning breakfasts. Cooking for 30 people is a lot of pressure, but there's no need to worry when she's there to help!

Fallon's friendship means so much to me. She is one of my most creative friends. We write letters back and forth and our letters are always spiffed up. Some of them are artistic masterpieces! I really enjoy this connection with her.

But even more, Fallon has a heart that is full of love. She prays for me (and I for her) and she reminds me to keep my heart in the right place--that would be with Christ alone. Even over the distance, we seem to always be working through similar life experiences. It's nice to have a friend to share this life with, and someone who shares the same values.

L'Abri friends share a common heart beat. There's something incredibly beautiful about the long lasting friendships that are formed at L'Abri. I'm so thankful.

Thanks Fallon, for your hospitality and for your friendship. I'm so glad I was able to visit you. I had a great time!
Love you!