Cross-country Road Trip Day 3 & 4
Driving across America really showcases how there’s not much going on here. I’ve been in 6 states so far, and I’ve been really exploring, but there’s not much to see other than people.
Tuesday I got to visit my friend Lissa for the first time ever! We’ve known each other for over a decade, after meeting online in middle school. We would Skype, a whole group of us, every single night. Playing video games or just talking about life. It’s been amazing to keep up with her over the years and see her go from a “LA girl influencer” to now an amazing woman of God married to a great military man, Ryan, who’s a strong leader. Seeing her life be transformed by Yahweh has been an incredible testimony to witness over the years. We met up for coffee in Columbus GA and after the inevitable and expected “your short” comment 😂 we picked up convo like we’ve been friends meeting at this coffee shop for years. I wasn’t really surprised, but it’s amazing how incredibly similar an online vs in-person friendship can be. Lissa is a real one and our Jesus centered conversation was uplifting and inspiring. I was originally planning on only hanging out for about an hour, but we ended up talking / working on our computers for about 5 hours. Time flew by. I look forward to linking back up with her on the way back home, and hopefully this time meeting Ryan. I haven’t even talked to this guy and I respect him so much. Anybody willing to serve this country is worthy of my respect. Plus Lissa sings his praises and speaks so highly of him for years now.
My next stop was New Orleans that same night. 6 1/2 hour drive and I’m at my good friend Nathan’s house. It’s funny because Nathan was one of the people on the Skype calls with Lissa all those years ago. 2 online friends in one day. I knew Nathan in the 5th grade, but we weren’t really good friends until he moved from Georgia to New Orleans and was homeschooled, like I was, in the 6th grade. Thats when we would “hangout” online for like 8 hours a day FOR YEARS playing Xbox or just talking about whatever to make each other laugh. He was an aspiring YouTuber, like me at that point, so we all had that dream in common. Lissa’s channel was the only one actually having potential. We’ve all decided, on our own, that the spotlight isn’t worth it. A life well lived with people you love is worth more than any amount of subscribers or “fame”.
I got in late, Nathan and I caught up for about an hour, then we went to sleep. I woke up real early and left. New Orleans is kinda… idk… wacky. Nathan’s lived there for a bit, but has expressed his desire to get out. The vibe in that city is off. It’s soggy and has a stink to it. Driving into the state it smelt like burning rubber and dead fish. Apparently there was like a 50+ car pileup on the highway the day before due to smoke and fog. Louisiana is not the best the USA has to offer, to put it nicely. I saw more stray dogs than women with all their teeth. Or was that Alabama? All these states kinda blend into one big back-woods tapestry made from McDonald’s signs and long stretches of highways leading to nothing worth seeing.
After exploring downtown New Orleans city parks I was on my way to Austin Texas! Drove for 8 hours straight binge listening to/lightly watching “The Boys” series on Amazon Prime. Pretty funny / dark / deep show. It shows how fake and evil the media is through the lens of superhero’s. Lots of vailed truth behind funny nonsensical fiction.
Today I spent all day at my Uncle John and Aunt Candi’s house editing for a client. My Dallas contact Benet is out of town so I had an extra day, I needed a day to edit. God works like that. He provides everything I need and more! Safe travels, protection of my car from any troubles, & all the finances needed. Everything out of my control, I trust in Him to protect and provide and He always comes through. Uncle John is in London, but Aunt Candi and I got to talk and go out to eat, which was really nice.
You’ll notice this whole blog is about the people I get to be with along the way. Traveling the country can seem real exciting but if you’re just staying in a hotel room, it’s not really worth it. Contrary to popular belief, most of America has got nothing going on. I drove through 4 states where the only thing off the exit was a small town with a McDonalds, a Hardy’s, a Chevrolet dealership, power lines, an empty Lowe’s parking lot, a museum for some actor from the 1950s you’ve never heard of but I guess grew up here, a gas station with slot machines in it, and a baby crying because his mother took away the iPad because SHE wanted to play a game on it. This is America. The greatest, yet at the same time, maybe the worst country in the world. No, really I love the USA. I’m proud of where I’m from, I’m just not sure Thomas Jefferson would be proud of what we’ve done with it.
The quality of life and traveling is really the company you keep. Without good people to spend your time with, life can seem dull. I’m so blessed to have great people along the way that I can drive out to Cali and have a place to stay just about every night. Tomorrow night I’ll need to rest in my car once more, but that’s ok because I’ll be in the desert somewhere and maybe I’ll see an alien! Maybe even a group of aliens. And maybe they won’t even be from outer space. Maybe they’ll have been invited in our country by our president. Maybe we can be friends and I won’t get stabbed! Life’s a great adventure!
As a wise philosopher from a time long ago once stated in some of his most popular literature:
“Life is a highway, and I wanna ride it all night long”
So relatable. That is literally me right now.
Peace be with you all. I’m sure this blog will get much more exciting once I start skiing in multiple states and seeing some VIEWS. Can’t wait. Until then, I have only a 14 hour drive through flat desert.
