I had all these grand plans for what I was going to accomplish once I made it back to Ohio... I was going to study French, workout every day, learn to play the saxophone, make Christmas cards, write a novel, and (oh yeah) look for jobs. What have I actually done? Mostly drink tea and sneeze, with a little sleeping and eating thrown in. I tried to go see Love Actually, with Mom, but the time in the paper was wrong, so we missed it. And I tried to go see LOTR, with Dad, but it was (not surprisingly) sold out. We did rent Pirates of the Caribbean, so I have finally seen that now. Interesting, but not wildly exciting. I have also managed to set up my router so as to be able to spend all my time online. For a brief moment I killed all internet connectivity in our home, to which my parents suggested we contact those nice nerdy boys at tech support. I scoffed and pointed out that I too was nerdy and didn't need any help. Of course I managed to solve the problem on my own (by unplugging everything and then plugging it back in). And I did organize/reply to some emails and mail checks I owed to various people (a terrifying ordeal when you suddenly have no income).

There's not that much to say about the trip across the country. I did not cry, though saying goodbye to Spikey Thursday night and then Rob Friday morning was almost too much. However, I have talked to both of them since then, so I don't think these goodbyes will be permanent!

Spent the majority of the 4-day drive just staring off into space. Dad never let me drive, which was hardly shocking. Had it been my car I would have insisted on turns at the wheel, but manuevering a 15-foot truck with car carrier didn't seem worth the effort. I read a bit and wrote a little, spent some time on the phone with Mom, B, Spikey, Barlo, and Chryssi. Dad and I did talk when we had something to say, and some of those conversations were quite intense. But mostly I stared. It was quite pleasant.

In lieu of a blow-by-blow recap, here are some stats from the trip:
# of states: 9
Total miles: 2,483
Miles per gallon: 10
Size of gas tank: 30 gallons (We ran out of gas once in NM, just past Albuquerque. New Mexicans, even the cops, didn't stop to help. But Penske was great and sent someone out to help within 20 minutes... so much better than U-Haul!)
Route: Garden St > 101S > 126E > 5S > 14E > 138E > 18E > 15N > 40E > 44N > 270S > 255N > 70E > 270N > 71N > 30E > 172E > 241N > 687W > Cliff Dr. > Windward Cir.

Daily journey:
Day one (12/12)- Santa Barbara, CA > Flagstaff, AZ (555 miles)
Day two (12/13)- Flagstaff, AZ > Amarillo, TX (622 miles)
Day three (12/14)- Amarillo, TX > St. Louis, MO (738 miles)
Day four (12/15)- St. Louis, MO > Massillon, OH (567 miles)

Hotels:
Days Inn, Flagstaff, AZ (ok, clean, free donuts)
Clarion Inn, Amarillo, TX (trying too hard to be Opryland Hotel, offered "scramble" eggs for breakfast)
Holiday Inn Express, Fenton, MO (very nice and clean, great free breakfast choices)

Restaurants:
In-N-Out, Barstow, CA
Cracker Barrel, Kingman, AZ
4B's Restaurant, Grants, NM
Pizza Hut, Tucumcari, NM
House of Hunan, Oklahoma City, OK
Fazoli's, Springfield, MO
Krispy Kreme, Fenton, MO
Denny's, Indianapolis, IN

All in all, a good trip. Avoided bad weather and made it home in time for Monday Night Football :)