Day’s mileage total: 878 miles
Lunch: Arby’s, near Bristol, TN
Dinner: Iron Skillet, West Memphis, AR
Lodging: Super 8, West Memphis, AR
I kicked off the trip dark and early rolling out of the Longstreet Hostel around 6am. It definitely feels strange knowing that I am driving away from my home. As I rounded the bend to get onto Gallows Road I realized I won’t be driving this ever again…very weird. I lit up the morning with Mix CD 1 which I had made expressly for the trip! My goal today, the first leg of the trip, was to drive as far as I could. I knew I would never be as alert and excited as I would be the first day so I wanted to capitalize on that and my goal was to get to Memphis, TN. The route involves going west on 66, south on 81 an then hitting up Rt 40 west in Knoxville which goes all the way to California.

I was hit by a realization today which I have had in the past. Virginia drivers do not observe the rule that the left lane is for passing. VA drivers are notorious for camping out in the left lane, cruising just about the speed limit either trapping you behind them or forcing you to pass on the right. This is very irritating but more so when you have endless miles of boring Rt 81 to traverse and there is someone in a Crown Victoria chugging along in the left lane. MOVE OVER!!

This leg of the trip covered familiar ground. I had driven the route to Bristol, TN a few years earlier when I went to Dukesfest at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Yes, that is correct, an event dedicated to the Dukes of Hazard. You gotta problem with that?! Ha ha! The route all the way to Memphis was also covered as part of the “Grueling Pace, Meager Rations Roadshow” of 2005. So when I passed well loved sites such as Hungry Mother State Park, it brought back fond memories. Kirk Camry (my car) was also loving the sweet road action at this point and gobbling up the road miles like a beast!

The one hitch in the day’s travels was the crazy rain I hit in Tennessee. Apparently, this was part of the big storm that saturated the Southeast US. It was several hours driving in heavy rain which slowed the progress some. Tennessee is a beautiful state. The drive between Knoxville and Nashville is particularly nice as you wind your way through the Appalachians. We drove this part in the dark when I was here in ‘05, as I recall or maybe I was snoozing as someone else drove. In any event, I had not remembered it so it was quite nice. I am struck, as I always am, at the amazing courage and tenacity of early explorers and settlers who set off west by foot into the unknown. I drove past the Cumberland Gap, Davy Crockett’s birthplace, other Daniel Boone sites and imagined these guys out there in the wilderness. Crazy! I think I would like to read a biography of Daniel Boone. That would probably be a good read.

Actually, there was another crazy incident today. Driving through the mountains in Tennessee, this 18-wheeler in front of me had a blow-out on one of his tires or something and as he continued to drive, the tired got shredded and was flinging large hunks of rubber behind the truck which I had to dodge a couple larger ones. That definitely added some excitement!

Speaking of good reads, my time in the car has been delightfully passed listening to an audio version of War and Peace. I have always wanted to read it and what better excuse then a beast long road trip! I am a fan of books-on-tape so this was quite a gem. Although, I must say, it was not a real book-on-tape. Not only because it was on CD but it was actually a dramatized BBC Radio version of the book. But very entertaining anyway!

Anyway, by the time I got to Memphis, I was beat after 14 hours of driving! I decided to stop in Memphis for the night (my goal anyway) and started looking for a hotel. As this point I made a disconcerting discovery. You know how when you are driving, at the exit signs they show what hotels, food, gas stations, etc are there? They do not do that in big cities! So I am driving through Memphis at night looking for a place to stay and of course you can’t see anything from the highway so I just kept going. A couple times I noticed hotels at a particular exit but only after I had passed and I wasn’t going back baby…forward to nothing! So anyway, I ended up crossing the Mississippi River and staying at the HUGE truck stop which is West Memphis, Arkansas. My room at the Super 8 was immediately next to the truck stop but I was so beat tired that the roar of truck engines all night did not keep me awake. So that was Day 1 people…let the good times roll.

After much clamouring from certain individuals, and in the interest of preserving an account of my cross-country journey for posterity, the black board will document a daily account of the road trip.  A few minor points before we begin.  I am currently writing this post on February 11, 2008 but as you can see, it is dated 1/31.  I am back dating all the posts to the day they occurred for my own sake really plus I think it will read easier.  Additionally, in the future, should I choose to commemorate any particular leg of the journey I will know which day to designate for the purpose.  (Actually, that was the only minor point, so just one point).

I will begin with the name…The “Go West Young Man Epic Voyage”.  Yes, I have christened my road trip after the cheesy Michael W Smith song.  Two main reasons:

1)  The title sums up succinctly what I am doing.  Going west.  I debated calling it the “To See about a Girl” road trip after the Good Will Hunting line but it did not seem to have the same ring.

2) I feel that a cross-country road trip has other similarities to a Michael W Smith song.  Namely, that you can appreciate it for what it is and perhaps deep down you really enjoy it and yet, at the end, you are relieved it is over.

The name is perhaps not as iconic as the worthy “Grueling Pace, Meager Rations Roadshow” to the Kastner’s wedding but I think “Go West Young Man Epic Voyage” will do.  (One disclaimer: these are the thoughts of a jaded Washingtonian (DC variety, not state) so if I inadvertently insult your state/town or you feel I do not give it a fair shake, then please forgive me as these are only my impressions.  I’m sure Sallisaw, OK is a lovely town once you get to know it.)  So, without further ado, I give you the trip account…

My friends in Virginia threw me a going away party to send me on my way to California.  It was amazing and so encouraging.  I am so thankful for the friendships the Lord has blessed me with in Virginia.  He always seems to bring wonderful friends alongside me to share each stage of life’s journey with.  I have made the best friends of my life here and I love all of you dearly and I will miss you tons.  It encourages me to no end to know the support and prayers that accompany me to California and from there to the mission field.  I don’t know what else to say but that I love you guys!  Big ‘n’ Rich of course snapped some quality photos which you can view here!

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and fun New Year and are getting back into the post-holiday swing of things!  I have lots of changes coming up for me and wanted to give you an update on my path to the mission field and about an exciting thing the Lord is doing in my life!  The Lord has blessed me with the desire and opportunity to serve Him as a missionary with SIM.  During that process, God has also blessed me by bringing an amazing young woman into my life who is also an SIM missionary candidate like myself, we actually met at one of SIM’s orientation events.  We have been pursuing a relationship together which has been such an amazing blessing for both of us but which required some thought about our immediate plans as I was headed to Peru and she was headed to Africa.

After a lot of talking and praying together and talking with many others as well as SIM, we both have decided to put on hold our individual plans and pursue our relationship to see where the Lord may take it.  This does not affect my goal and desire to serve the Lord overseas, just the timing.  Although I don’t know the Lord’s purpose or timing at this point for bringing us together, I am confident that He has done so at this time for a reason and it is well worth my time and effort to invest in this relationship and see where it might lead.  Katie is a fun and wonderful woman and I am excited to have found a woman with the same passion for missions and desire to serve as me!  As such, my immediate plans for going to Peru are put on hold and I will be going to Los Angeles in order for Katie and I to experience the full breadth of a relationship and ministry together with the hope that we can go to the field together down the road.

Administratively, this plan has the full blessing of SIM and all of the financial support raised thus far will remain in my account until the time when I leave.  For those of you who have been supporting me monthly, let me say how very much you have blessed and encouraged me!  During this time, I would ask that you hold off on your monthly contributions until I have a more definite timetable for going to the field at which time you can pray about if the Lord is leading you to continue that support.

I know this is probably a surprise to some of you but I hope you will feel confident as I am that the Lord who straightens my paths and is leading me in service both here and overseas is the same Lord who has blessed me with the love of an amazing woman.  I would love to answer any of your questions or tell you more about Katie, she is great!  Of course, I need and appreciate your prayers as always!

Thank you for your constant encouragement and support, you are all a blessing to me!