They Grow Up So Fast

The tally is in: 8685.1 miles this summer. They grow up so fast!!

A Few Stats for You

While I haven't tallied up the total number of miles driven on this tour yet, I do have a few stats for you.

I worked in six different states, but traveled through a total of 29 states and one Canadian province in 11 weeks. I had two road trips that totaled more than 2,000 miles each. I worked on three different military bases.

I worked with 330 kids this summer (those are kids who are in the show, not kids who auditioned and were cut or kids who were involved in workshops but weren't in the show because then the number would be much higher).

I got to see friends and family and continue to learn about myself and the fact that I have an absolutely incredible job.

2805 Miles Later...

And we're finally back in Missoula. I seriously never thought we would make it. Seriously, I think I spent a good part of North Dakota convinced that I was dying, but here we are!

So, what happened on the day that marks the end of this very special adventure? I shall now tell you.

Not much actually happened, but I did have a thought of thoughts and a lot of time to think these thoughts so this is actually going to be a decent length post.

To start off, we left at 5:30 in the morning and if that isn’t a great way to start the day, you just know that you’re going to have a super, awesome, wonderful day when you get on the highway and the GPS tells you to turn in 756 miles. I did see a shooting star before the sun came up, so that’s a plus.

We drove through the Grassland National Park. I was the one driving, so no photographs, but I would like to point out to the Parks Organization that all of North Dakota is grass, so I don’t know how anyone can figure out when they’re coming or going.

We also drove past “Home on the Range.” I didn’t realize that this was an actual place. But it is, with an exit on the highway and everything today and I know this because we past it. We didn’t get off because underneath the sign that denoted the exit was another sign that said “No Services.”

We also passed a sign for “Bad Route Road.” Poor planning, Montana! Why would you do that to yourselves? Aren’t things hard enough without giving your streets a complex by naming them such horribly depressing things? We also passed a sign that said “Welcome to Beef Country.” I didn’t need that sign, I know, Montana, I know.

We stopped in Livingston, MT, for gas. Now I haven’t been keeping tabs on everywhere we’ve stopped for gas the past four days but my mom’s cousin lives in Livingston, so I thought that was sort of cool. I got a F’Real shake because I wanted one and after four days, I deserve it.

After that, it was smooth sailing to Missoula. I'm headed to a yoga class soon because what is a better way of recovering from days of being crunched up in a ball than tying yourself into a knot?

Also, way to up your game on the geotags, Missoula. Much better than in May...

Oh Yes. Pink Elephants.

Did I start a post last night that I never finished? Yes. Did I complete that post and post it today as if I’d written it all yesterday? Yes.

I know "Oh yes, pink elephants" is something that I picked up from my friends, who all picked it up from a song, but I still haven't heard that song after casually using that phrase for years. But, I think I have finally found the proper use for that phrase and if you keep reading, you shall soon know why.

It was a casual 851.3 miles from Chicago to Bismarck and every inch of it was about as suckish as it seems. That is just a longgggg time to be in a car. I tried doing car yoga, which helped a little bit but seriously, this is a lot of driving (it's longer than our trip to Alabama by a few hundred miles but we've got to make it in the same amount of time).

We finished Go Set a Watchman. It was absolute trash. I hate publishers. There was a reason that the book was never published and that is because no one wants to see a racist Atticus Finch in a half-baked novel that's really a rough draft for a beloved American classic that shall continue to shine despite the existence of this blemish. We're listening to Harry Potter now.

Oh yes, pink elephants.

Now onto the pink elephant. We stopped in DeForest, WI to see Pinkie, the pink elephant. Let me explain this is terms you can understand. Pinkie is a pink elephant. Pinkie is everything I love in this world. Pinkie is my god.

After Pinkie came Minnesota and there was lots of it. Minnesota is far bigger than I thought it was. It took ages to get through it. One of my best friends from high school is from Minnesota and likes to bring it up whenever he can (he’s now lived in Massachusetts longer than he ever lived in Minnesota, but oh well). It was wide and somewhat flat and I eventually traded it for wider and flatter when I entered North Dakota.

I’ve only ever spent two hours in North Dakota – this spring, Mandy and I drove there to go to Walmart. Not joking. The novelty of driving to another state to for a shopping trip distracted me from how dull it actually was. Like I said, wide and flat. Pretty, but wide and flat. I took some photos from the car to entertain myself that shall serve now serve as proof for my previous comments…

Wide and flat...

After something insane like 14 hours in the truck, we made it to Bismarck. I have seen exactly one block of Bismarck – the Sleep Inn and the Exxon station down the road. I spent more time exploring Walmart in April than I did doing anything in ND today. We ordered pizza and slept. The end of Day Three.

Day 2: Two New States and Another Country

Another long day in the truck. 613.1 miles in the truck through four states AND Canada. We started the day in New York (which is where we ended yesterday, so it would make sense) and had our first pit stop at TIM HORTON'S! Thank you, Upstate New York, for a taste of Canada.

Our second pit stop was in Canada (sort of). Technically, we stopped on the New York side of Niagara Falls before crossing into Ontario, but poetic license! Niagara Falls had a few quality geotags (along with it being Niagara Falls).

I'm cute.

Melissa had never been out of the country so I figured that since driving through Ontario on our way back to Missoula only added on 10 minutes to our 40-hour trip, what was the difference? Ontario was not very interesting. Sorry not sorry! But going through border patrol to get back into the US was far more intense than it ever was in the entire winter/spring. There was an actual wait! We had to sit in a long line of cars. There was also a fee, like excuse you. Also, it didn't matter if you paid the fee in US or Canadian funds, it was $3.50 either way, which I say is bull because I know just how bad the exchange rate is these days!

Well, we got back into Michigan, which is my 25th state of the tour. Yes, I have been in/through 25 different states this summer (and another Canadian province that I hadn't been to before). Nothing much happened in Michigan except that we started listening to Go Set a Watchman which is horrible. It is so bad that it hurts! I loved listening to To Kill a Mockingbird but this book is a mess and HarperCollins should feel ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of Harper Lee in her old age (which is what they've done without a doubt). Melissa and I are now trying to explain Go Set a Watchman to her brother and it's not going well... we don't actually know what the plot is.

After that, we drove into Indiana (State #26) which was great for me because I spent a year and a half of high school in Indiana, and now I can finally say that I've been there.

Now we're at Melissa's house where we shall be spending the night before another long drive tomorrow.

Also, in a wonderfully strange turn of events, Mandy and I might be miles apart, but we coordinated outfits today. I kid you not. Photographic evidence below:

Day One of Four

Today was the first of four days of driving back to Montana. Four days. Ok, I can do this. Technically, I've done it before -- back in June, the drive to Alabama, remember that?

Today was just a casual 563.9 mile drive from Waterville, ME to Rochester, NY, which is our stop for tonight. Not much happened on our drive to Rochester -- we were basically just backtracking the drive we made last weekend from Schenectady to Waterville. We listened to To Kill a Mockingbird on tape because we decided that we wanted to listen to Go Set a Watchman and we have more than enough time to listen to both of them. I will say that To Kill a Mockingbird is better when you're 24 than when you're 14 (which is the last time I read it). I know that I'm not actually 24 yet, but hyperbole! I feel like I should start rereading all of the books I read in middle school because I'll get so much more from them now (except for Romeo and Juliet, I think I have that one figured out by now... pretty sure I had it figured out then too...).

Lookin' fierce.

Rochester had a pretty spiffy geotag to welcome me. Apparently "geotag" is the official term for snapsticker but I still like snapsticker more. Oh well! We didn't have a lot of energy for sightseeing but we did go to my life idol, Susan B. Anthony's house. I went there with my mom and grandpa when I was a kid, but going back (even just to go in the gift shop, which is all we actually did because the tour was kind of expensive) was cool.

I'd like to say that I continue to be impressed by the forethought that so many great Americans had when buying/building houses because how could they have possibly known to buy a house with a gift shop in it? How am I supposed to amount to anything in life if my house didn't come with the gift shop included?

Tomorrow is Day #2 (because that's what comes after one) and not only we'll be driving a few more hundred miles, we'll also be driving up into Canada, because why not? Say hello to Ontario!

Whitney in Watervile and the Last Show of the Summer

Yesterday, Whitney came to visit!

She drove all the way up to Maine just for me and it could not have been better. I love her so much and am so happy I got to see her!!!!!!!! She also gave me my presents from Israel! She got me a matching necklace and bracelet and they are both incredibly beautiful.

We didn't have a ton of time together but we made the most of the time we had. We went and got some nice seafood for dinner, because Maine, ya know?

After dinner, we went to see the movie, Trainwreck. It was a pretty slow comedy. There were some good moments but it wasn't amazing and I'm really bitter because Amy Schumer stole my Partridge Family flash mob idea!

Lobstah roll.

This morning, Whitney slept in while I had to get ready to do the show. We had an awesome dress rehearsal. Basically this whole week in Waterville was pretty great and Whitney surprised me with a lobster roll for lunch. The kids were obsessed with finding Whitney in the audience once they knew that she was there. They wanted to know all about her. It was kind of cute (actually, it was really cute).

And then it was the last show of the summer. It was a really great show. The kids were amazing! A fantastic way to end the summer! Tomorrow is the first leg of our trip back to Missoula. I can't believe we're already here.........................