Headed Out West

It seems like we just got to NY, and now it's time to leave again. Time flies in FEMA Corps.

Our journey began on Sunday, August 18th. We left Melville at 7 a.m. and drove to Cleveland, OH. This drive was extremely uneventful. Pennsylvania has lots of barns. That's really all I got out of it.

And it was my first time in Ohio! Another state crossed off the list. We didn't really have time to do anything in Cleveland, and it was a Sunday evening, so most things were closed. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame costs about $30 bucks unfortunately, which is about 2 1/2 days pay for us, so that was out of the question. My teammate has family in Cleveland though, so it was nice that she got to stop and see them. Meanwhile, the rest of us found a nice little Cambodian restaurant down the road and got a ton of food for our budget and had an awesome waitress. If you're ever in Cleveland (the boring part, close to the airport) head to Cuisine du Cambodge.

The next day we headed through Ohio and Indiana to Davenport, IA. We stayed at the La Quinta, which has been our hotel of choice throughout the program because they have big beds that feel like clouds. The woman at the front desk was a sweetheart and baked chocolate chip cookies for the guests. We arrived right when they were fresh out of the oven. Team dinner was at Texas Roadhouse thanks to a 10% coupon.

The third day we went to Lincoln, Nebraska! Home of the Huskers, and home of me for 4 years of my life. I hadn't been there since the previous July and I was super pumped to be back. It was kind of weird having my team there. It was a bit out of context. Another weird thing was that I found myself wanting to impress my team with Lincoln. It was like having them meet a good friend. I was worried that they might think my friend Lincoln was a bit lame and boring at first, but if they only knew him like I knew him! But thanks to the delicious ice cream at Ivanna Cone (my first stop of course - a scoop of Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and a scoop of Vanilla Ice Milk), a friendly bus driver who chuckled when we blocked his way backing out our 15-P van (that don't happen in NY), scrumptious pizza at Yia Yia's, and a beautiful stroll through the Sunken Gardens, I think they saw that Lincoln was good people. And I got to hang out with my friend Sarah who I haven't seen in way too long, so it was a good day!

And finally, after a long drive through the endless cornfields of western Nebraska, we made it back to Denver!