Saturday, June 16

(by Katie Guy)

Hi everyone! This is Katie!

It’s still hard to believe that I’m actually here. I never thought I’d be taking a road trip across the country without my parents or grandparents. I was so nervous Friday night that I was shaking a bit. Turns out, I didn’t have a whole lot to worry about! The trip has been great so far. Sitting in the van for 20 hours isn’t as bad as JD made it out to be. It’s the perfect excuse for sleeping and reading and just doing nothing. However, there are some (mostly) unspoken rules of the van. Here are a few:

1. Leave your personal space at the door! Luckily, I don’t really have a problem with this one. Sleeping underneath Darby’s leg is pretty cozy.
2. Keep track of your stuff! If you can’t have your backpack right with you due to a lack of space, at least know where it is. Ethan keeps losing things only to find them and promptly lose them again.
3. Be quiet during sleeping time! This one is unique, as there is no designated sleeping time. It’s kind of funny to watch, actually. Everyone will be up, laughing and talking, then burn out and fall asleep at once. There is an abundance of pictures of sleeping people...
4. Go pee EVERY TIME WE STOP! I have followed this advice and haven’t suffered yet.

We made a few interesting stops along the way to the Dybdal’s farm. We went to Devil’s Tower (ironic, huh) in Wyoming. It’s a big, oddly shaped rock that was featured in some movie about aliens. We didn’t bother driving all the way up to it though, we just stopped for about five minutes and admired it from a distance. Then we went to Wall Drug, which is a famous drug store I’ve never heard of but looks pretty much the same as any other drug store I’ve been to. Around lunchtime, we were starving but couldn’t find a fast food joint anywhere in South Dakota until we stumbled upon a diner located in an antique train. It was run by a bunch of old ladies who were very happy to see us, as we were probably the largest group of customers they had seen in a while. Then, we headed down to Hartington, Nebraska, where the Dybdal farm is located. 

Marj and Lawrence were very welcoming, but unfortunately, only had one shower! We each had to take 5 minute showers, which was very challenging for me. I ate dinner super fast and got in and out of the bathroom before everyone else. Tomorrow, we’re getting up at 4:30 AM so we can hit the road and be at church on time. At the start of every traveling period, we recite the Shema, which is a passage from Deuteronomy that is a Jewish tradition to be recited at the beginning of every day. We each got journals with the Shema written in it, as well as many blank pages to document our trip. However, I haven’t gotten the chance to start writing because my journal is buried in Ethan’s backpack somewhere under all the pillows and blankets... But I’m still following rule #2, because at least I know where it is! Tomorrow we’ll be heading over to Kentucky. I’d better go to bed and rest up. Good night!