Monday, June 30, 2014

Stepping out of the Shire

Yesterday, Mom asked me how far my longest solo road trip had ever been. I realized the furthest I had ever driven on my own was to visit my dear friend Katie in Perry, Florida or as she lovingly calls it, "the armpit of Florida."

That distance suddenly felt incredibly short and I realized that I was diving into the deep end without really first learning to swim, and yet, I was so excited, I was ready to tackle the high dive.

On my drive today, I racked my brain trying to think of the farthest north I had been solo. The furthest I could think of was Huntsville, a mere two hours (if that) away. Sure, I went to Chicago on a choir tour, St. Louis on a mission trip and friends and I went to Nashville together just a few weeks ago, but solo? Nope, that was a totally new feeling.

As I crossed the Alabama state line today, an odd feeling came over me, a simultaneous pull towards home and a gust of wind pushing me onward. I felt like Sam as he ventured with Frodo. It was only the very beginning of their incredibly long journey when Sam stopped in the middle of a field and thoughtfully said, "If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been." Frodo answered Sam's concerned thought with a quote his uncle Bilbo always told him: "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Today, I stepped out of my own little Shire, and I can't wait to see where I get swept off to!



Miles traveled: 576.1
Gallons of gas purchased: 19.3
Hours in the car: 9.5
States: Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri 

Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. Katherine KingJuly 1, 2014 at 12:30 AM

    Thanks for the shout out! Enjoy yourself! Be careful! Love ya, girlfriend! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Capt Bob on SurpriseJuly 1, 2014 at 5:59 AM

    Slow down girl. You missed a lot of good thing. Don't drive more than 3 hours a day and see what you can find for the rest of the time. You sailed by Lincoln's birthplace, Plesant Hill Shaker Community and who knows what else.
    Look forward to reading about your trip.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RebeccaJuly 2, 2014 at 8:28 AM

    Thank you, Katie for being such a great destination! :)

    Yes, Bob, you are right, I should slow down! I'm trying to see probably too much of the country in just a month though! Hopefully I can see lots of treasures, and perhaps find places I want to go back and spend more time in.

    Thank you for reading!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Capt Bob on SurpriseJuly 2, 2014 at 9:40 AM

    What ever you do don't miss Yellowstone!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)