Septmeber 9th - 16th: a survey of the week's events

We left the fleeting summer days of Duluth nearly a week ago and have finally begun our travels across the country in search of an endless summer... or at least a prolonged fall. We had hoped to leave Duluth after Labor Day, but it seemed that every time we turned around there were more loose ends to tie up. There was the truck to get ready to live in, credit cards to cancel and bills to consolidate, work projects to finish, friends and family to say goodbye to, and a mountain of personal belongings that had been accumulated and compiled in the middle of my mother's living room.

So we cleaned, organized, built, sewed, organized, donated, threw out, bought, sold and organized. When all was said and done we were down to our truck and its contents as well as just a few bins of the sentimentals consisting mostly of pictures and college books that, while they make us look smart to have around, we knew very well we'd never read. Afterall, we didn't read them when they were required for class so why should we start now?

But we finally managed to leave and after receiving farewells and well wishes from friends and family we began the first leg of our journey. We drove with determination and steadfastness, overcame boredom and bad radio, and at the end of the day felt great accomplishment that we had made it 200 miles to Bloomington where my Grandma lives. Okay, so we were off to a slow start- but we really felt that making it to the Twin Cities was at least a symbolic victory. Duluth had been our world for the past six years and seemingly had a gravitational force equal to that of Jupiter so it took a substantial amount of energy to make it out of our metaphorical atmosphere.

We spent two nights with each set of my Grandparents and were even lucky enough to see my cousin's newborn baby in St. Paul. We mountain biked on the Lebannon Hills trails, some of the best in the midwest, in my hometown of Eagan and ate at one of my favorite spot, Kahn's Mongolian Barbeque. All in all, it was a great four days. The Big City offers so much in terms of entertainment and things to do but we knew we had to leave before we got too accustomed to homecooked meals, clean sheets, and showers.

Onward we made our way south to Des Moines, then hopped on I-80 to continue through the next 10,000 light years that is Nebraska. Tip: if driving through Nebraska, pick up a Kryogenic sleep chamber to help curb the boredom. Also, bring A LOT of cd's because if you don't like country music your radio will have the entertainment value of a paper weight.

After three days on the road (yes we drive slow and stop a lot, a blog post for another day) we made it to the foothills of the Rockies. We are enjoying some down time in Fort Collins, CO to catch up on writing postcards and finally getting this blog up.

We will try to write more detailed articles about things that interest those interested in us. So please, write to us and ask us questions and perhaps we will respond via a blog post. Some of the questions that we have gotten and hope to address include how we are funding the trip, what we hope to accomplish during the trip, and how we decided to leave on this trip.

We can be reached via email at: julietandjon@gmail.com

Lunch at Kahn's in Bloomington:

 Bikes, the bed, and all our belongings:

Ready to cruise: