A journey of a lifetime

We did it. Go West Young Men have completed their three week voyage around the country. After an all-night, thunderstorm laden, rain loaded drive from Nebraska to Illinois we dropped JD off at his humble abode (see JD, I can use really big sentences too.) After a much needed rest and an unbelievable meal of steak and potatoes, Derek and I set off to Grantham, PA where his journey would end. As we pulled out of JD’s house I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of sadness. It’s hard to believe that what once started as a semi-serious conversation about wanting to see the country has now come and gone. As Derek and I left Rockford and traveled through Chicago and into Indian things were running smoothly. Into Ohio we sailed like Columbus on his first voyage (except we weren’t lost and we actually landed where we wanted to). Things couldn’t have been going better for us until somewhere around 1:30am. All of a sudden our car slowed to a stop, the engine turned off, and the radio faded until no music was heard. There we sat, at the back of a long line of trucks on the interstate, in a traffic jam. For about an hour the car remained in resting state aside from the occasional 50 feet we needed to move so we didn’t lose our spot on the road. We sat, and we sat, and we sat…agonizing with every precious moment passing knowing that it was another minute longer we would have to be awake. When 2:45 rolled around we were back to clear roads and slow trucks. The rest of the trip is quite a blur to me but I do know that at 9:45am we rolled into Grantham, PA where the sun was shining.

5 days later and 3 more states later I arrived home to a family who greeted me with open arms. As I sat in the car on the last few legs of the trip just recapping the adventures we experienced, it was hard to grasp the entirety of the experience. 21 states, 5 national parks, 8,404 miles, and more great people than I can count adds up to an experience like no other.

I will leave you with a few reflections from the road…

1-Take the time to meet new people and discover new relationships. As I’ve said before on this blog, life is about the bonds that your form and the relationships that you create. There are so many great people out there and so many friendships waiting to be formed. In today’s technologically advanced, interpersonal world, we often forget that not many things are better than a comfortable chair and a good conversation. Get to know people, its never not worth your time. “Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back.” ~Arthur Rubinstein

2-Travel. Get out and see the world if you haven’t done it already. And if you have, go somewhere new. Broaden your horizons and expand your experiences. There are so many amazing places in and out of this country that I want to see. I have a list that is far too long of places that I want to visit and explore. The world is an unbelievable place with so many great experiences waiting to be had. Why don’t we all get out and explore; we’ll be glad we did.

3-Career Corner- See reflection #1....

4-Nothing takes the place of good friends. As John Lennon puts it, I get by with a little help from my friend. JD, Derek…You guys are great. Thanks for an unbelievable ride. Friends are undoubtedly one of the biggest ingredients in this recipe of life. We are all smart to invest time and energy into our friendships. I have been greatly blessed with some incredible friends and I thank God daily for those blessings.

A few more lessons from the road…

21)JD vs. a cat…the cat would win every time and has thus far.
22)Getting $150 worth of free money in adidas was “the happiest moment of my life” according to JD. Sure, why not. Who would think graduation, becoming an uncle, or winning 3 national championships would trump that?
23)Coach Brandt is always watching….he took up a new tactic (truck driving)
24)Old faithful isn’t that faithful…it was 12 minutes late.

Final road kill count- 106. Yes 106 animals killed themselves to help us reach that insanely high number. Thank you kindly.

Final pull over count- 36- hahahah suckers!!

Final license plate tally- Did we see all 50?? Nope. Sorry. 49. Rhode Island escaped our grasp. We did see the back to the future car, 5 canadian provinces, and a European car. I will forever be angry at Rhode Island. I did see there plate after the trip in Massachusetts though and I do have a bit of an issue with it. They claim to be the ocean state!! Really? The smallest state in the country and they claim the ocean?? That’s a gutsy move if I’ve ever seen one. Im surprised nobody has called them out on that. I realize they cant claim anything else but they could have at least come up with something believable.

Last but certainly not least I want to thank everyone who followed the blog throughout the journey of a lifetime for the three of us. We had an unbelievable time and I hope you were all able to enjoy our experience as much as you can through pictures and a little bit of writing. This will most likely be my last blog. Unless I find some deep motivation or receive extreme requests to write a real blog (neither of which I see coming in the foreseeable future) I will be leaving you here. I hope you all are able to experience the beautiful world around us. Theres a lot to see!! I leave with these few words to live by.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” – Jesus

“All people die, few REALLY live”…be the few. Live your life to the fullest. Live the abundant life and explore what was created for us to see.

"People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success." – Norman Vincent Peale

Until “Go West Young Men” go somewhere east, north, or south…..Later Days,

Brett