The Drive Part 1: The Beginning

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little down at the start of my big drive. I had had so many fun experiences with my dads family and my mom and aunt in Washington. I didn't really have any down days in Washington. So when I started doing nothing but driving and working out every day, I started to feel an underlying sadness in my everyday activity. To be honest, there were days where I didn't think I'd be able to make it to the Hunter Exam.

The sadness was strongest during my days in Butte and Billings, MT, which I fear prevented me from truly taking in what they had to offer, but luckily it began to taper off over the next two days. I had departed Washington on Tuesday and by Sunday I was feeling good again.

For the sake of specifics, I'm considering leaving Spokane, WA on Tuesday, September 30th to arriving in Indianapolis on Sunday, October 5th the first part of my drive. I had three main notable experiences during that time period, but other than that, most of my days were just spent driving, working out, eating, and going to bed. After all, I had a mission: I wanted to make it to Saugerties, New York in time for the Hunter Exam. With that in mind, I also didn't take many photos. For those readers that just want a visual check-up, this post only has one photo, but you'll have to read if you want the context!

I had decided early in the planning phases of this trip that I wouldn't be spending a ton of time in Montana. After all, it was my home state and I'd already seen so much of it. However, I was still determined to spend at least a couple days there. I wouldn't spend a day in Missoula (my hometown), but I would definitely stop at some of my old stomping grounds. After a couple of hours of driving, I made it to Taco-Del-Sol, my favorite restaurant in Missoula. I used to die for a Taco-Del-Sol fish burrito, so needless to say, I was excited. Long story short, the burrito was very disappointing and not nearly as good as I remembered. It was still tasty, but definitely not to die for. Taco-Del-Sol was originally just a one location restaurant when I used to live in Missoula, but since then, they have expanded and have at least six locations. My theory is that due to expansion, quality control for the restaurant majorly decreased and now the burritos aren't as good.

My trip to Taco-Del-Sol was not fruitless though. When I arrived, there were two 20-something girls working the food counter and at first I didn't think anything of it. However, as they continue used to make my burrito, I started to recognize one of them as an old neighbor from when I lived in East Missoula. Low and behold, when went to pay at the register, I inquired about the name of one of her brothers. She said that was her brother's name and that she did live in East Missoula at one point. She seemed pretty spooked though. I don't think she really ever recognized me, but she slowly just came to except the fact that we had been neighbors.

That wasn't the only person that I recognized while I Missoula either. Before leaving town, I decided that I would stop at the old grocery store by our house and get myself an energy drink. Again, while I was being checked out at the register, I recognized the person checking me out. He was an old friend from Elementary school named Ethan. Sadly, he didn't look very good. I told him it was me and gave him some old memories to help him remember, and throughout the entire interaction I couldn't tell if he didn't recognize me or if he was just too depressed to really care.

The next two days were spent in Butte and Billings, but I didn't really have any standout interactions or notable experiences. I spent a day in Bismarck, ND and it was mostly the same, but after finishing my workout, I drove to Keelboat Park to made dinner. Not only did I have a post-workout high, but I was just having a really blissful time watching the sunset and the boats go by. It's safe to say that was one of the best parts of this period of the trip.

Making dinner with the sunset at Keelboat Park in Bismarck, ND

The next day I went to Elk River, MN and had a nice conversation with a boy my age while I worked out, but other than that, I found the day relatively standard. However, the most shocking experience during my entire trip was Sunday. For context, Sunday's are my rest day and I decided that the most productive way to use that rest day was to do a full day of nonstop driving. I actually had a really fun day. I know, it sounds completely crazy. You probably think I've lost my mind. After all, who thinks ten hours of driving is fun. To be honest, I don't really even know myself. I think I was just in the right mood. I put a series of really good podcasts on, I had some fun drinks along the way, and I decided to get chicken at a gas station for lunch-which is not something I do often, but felt festive in a weird way. I think I'd compare the entire experience to watching movies all day when you are sick or to eating junk food. It's not something I'd like to do often, but it felt kinda fun. When all the driving was done that day, I had made it to Indianapolis, IN.

Overall, this period of the trip had a really rough start. I was sad and lonely. But as I worked through it and had more and more little experiences, I slowly began to accept that these days of long driving were possible and that I would have the strength to make it to the Hunter Exam.