i've been everywhere, man.

My dad has taken to referring to me as a 'female Jack Kerouac', because in the past 15 days I've been in 10 states,  Traveled about 3500 miles via airplane and 1750 miles by car to see friends and family, and had one heck of an adventure to start my summer.

state one: Illinois- I graduated from Trninity... but you knew that already.
state two: Indiana- fish lake long weekend with my Trin crew... but you knew that already too.
state three: Oregon- I got to enjoy the beautiful Northwest with my aunt and uncle. Seriously, send the toaster and the blender. I'm sold. It was the most beautiful place I've seen. The Oregon coast is like an adult jungle gym (romping around on huge lava rocks with my uncle was the most fun I've had all year!) It also helps that the views were breath taking and the weather was perfect. Uh. I can't say it enough, amazing.

state four: Las Vegas, Nevada. This is where things start to get interesting... I was supposed to fly back to Chicago on Thursday, but on a whim (and a good amount of coaxing) I changed my flight and left for Tucson Arizona (more that later).That flight change brought me to the Las Vegas airport for two hours. I'm pretty sure the architects of the air port used Dante's Inferno as their inspiration. It's the grossest air port ever, and has slot machines. literally the worst.

state five: Tucson, Arizona. So much fun. The flight change was fueled by my friend, Calob. He convinced me to change my flight, come hang out with him, and then drive 28 hours across the country with him to Chicago. Basically, it was great. We had some fun with his friends on Wednesday night,  lounged with Annie, the family dog who i just loooooooove (...and i pretty much hate animals, so that's saying something) and we hung out with his mom on Thursday for her birthday and then headed off onto the open road.


state six: New Mexico. We  (by 'we' I mean Calob, he's a trooper and drove the first seven hours!) drove through New Mexico all night, it's basically the Indiana of the Southwest. We saw a stray dog at the gas station and a stray drunk man soliciting beer from Calob. Terrible. 

state seven: Texas. We just had to drive through the pan handle, and Calob got to watch the sun come up while I was snoozin' and letting out cute little 'Annie Snores'

state Eight: Oklahoma! Sadly, I didn't get to stop and see my friends in Oklahoma City- but it was sweet just see familiar sights. We also had to take Oklahoma's John Kilpatrick Turnpike- home of the $4.00 toll. It was also hot. Nothing new there.

state Nine: Missouri. I love Missouri, and I really don't know why. The drive is pretty and the people are always friendly. The bill boards are also laughable, the state is home to the World's Largest Rocking Chair, the Meramac Cavarns and the Jesse James Hideout Musuem- what's not to love?

state ten: Absolute Bliss. Seriously guys, can you believe how blessed I am? My family is fantastic, my friends are the best and I got to spend one lovely afternoon with Annie. Unreal.

double whammy bonus fun- last night, 'Triple Threat' graduation party for my cousins Kelly, Emily and me.  Mexican Theme (or just cactus poster) and raucous fun. See what I mean by blessed?!