The Jeffina left town on July 6th after dropping off the 'girly-girls' at grandma and grandpa's house after which we drove 7 1/2 hours to my mom's house in Columbus, OH. Even though we arrived at 10 pm, my bro made the effort to come visit for a hour. In tow, he brought my nephew, Johnathan, and good friend, Mateo. Even though our visit was short, I was happy to see my mom and brother. It was the first time I had seen my bro since his car accident 4 weeks ago. When I saw him, my first inclination was to hug him, but he gently reminded me of his lingering pain when he said, "Don't squeeze too tight...."
Jeff wanted to leave fairly early, but in my family early doesn't mean anything earlier than 8 a.m. We left mom's house by 9 a.m. after enjoying a great breakfast. Our goal for the day was 700+ miles. Driving across the country in I-70, we enjoyed views of mainly farm lands which gave us a sense of middle America. Each city we passed, we pulled out our AAA book to learn about the history, population, and eateries in these areas. It became a routine that was fun and informative. Bigger cities greeted us with the same views from the highway. Time after time, we saw the same chain hotels, the same restaurants, the same stores lining the highways. As much as people may think that we are different,I am convinced that we are more similar than different. We all shop at similar stores and eat at similar restaurants. Of course, cultural backgrounds differ, but Americans basically experience similar environments thanks to the god of consumerism.
Driving through Kansas, we saw huge crosses beside the highway. For me who freely borrows from across the world's religions and mainly identifies as a spiritualist/pagan/Buddhist, we got a good chuckle from these monuments. It was Karl Marx who said, "Religion is opium for the masses..." and perhaps in Kansas, life is tough enough that religion soothes their suffering and the crosses along the highway are a reminder of their faith.
We drove to Salina, KS this day and pulled into a Day's Inn parking lot 11 pm. It was a long day and we were both a bit road wary, but after calculating the miles, we only had another 5-6 hours before reaching Colorado Springs. The highlights of the day included eating at a Chiptotle's in Independence, KS, driving through Kansas City and seeing the two professional ball stadiums, trying to figure out if there was a time change, seeing acrobatic crop dusters, golden fields of wheat, and eating Greek yogurt with goji berries. Thanks, mom! We're hooked now.
On July 8th, we arrived in Colorado Springs, CO mid-day. Approaching Colorado Springs, the mountains appeared in front of us, and slowly grew in size. I have spent time in Colorado Springs and the spectacular view and the excitement of seeing the mountains, never seems to change for me. Pike's Peak towers over Colorado Springs and even though it's not the highest mountain in Colorado, it is a glorious sight to behold!
Next entry will be dedicated to our first mountain bike stage race. Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading.
Together, we are Jeffina, crankin' out the miles, crankin' out the love for Crankskins.com.
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