grace.kindness.peace.disruption.pain.processing.rinse.repeat.have a nice day.

Dateline: Davenport, IA

And so it begins … later than expected. I hit the road around noon today. The morning passed quickly as I installed the iPod, cleaned the car, and packed the trunk. After seventy miles I felt it was time for a short rest. The last few days have been chock full of preparations and unforeseen events. I wish that I was writing this somewhere in Nebraska, but Davenport will have to do.

In true road trip fashion, I called a friend a few hours ahead and was able to get together for coffee. Kate Oates was kind enough to meet on short notice to catch up and passionately describe places to visit in California, the state she's lived for the past three years. I'm excited to check out Yosemite and the surrounding area.

I'm packed to the gills, having stuffed more, uh, stuff in my car for six weeks than I took with me to Africa for four months. I think there is some law that the amount of crap you pack is proportional to the amount of space that is available. My back seat still has many cubic feet of empty space, but I have seven or eight states ahead of me to remedy that.

I'm off to hit the road after a quick nap. I've yet to decide where to sleep tonight … motel, hotel, holiday inn … truck stop … I'll let you know.