The Awesomeness of My Sister!

I just realized that I have not blogged about my journey to Ohio, which in large part I owe to my sister, and so here I am rectifying that!

I flew back from Singapore to Salt Lake City, Utah on Fri (Aug 10) night, (re)packed my stuff and fit them into the car, visited family friends the next few days, and began the looooooong drive to Ohio the following Tues (Aug 14).

How "looooooooong" is long? 3 and 1/2 days.

No kidding.

To my American friends who are used to driving looooooong distances and thinking, "It's not that long! And not that bad..." please keep in mind that
a) I dislike driving
b) My sister who accompanied me on the drive dislikes driving as well (we already planned that if my parents were to ever visit us in the States, our Dad will drive!). It was very kind of her to accompany me, especially since she had to give up 2 job opportunities because they wanted her to start training the week we traveled. *Sob* so touched by her sacrifice!
c) We stopped over to visit family friends

So anyway, here is our unforgettable journey condensed in one blog post!

Tues (Aug 14)
Start: Provo, Utah
End: Fort Collins, Colorado
Passed Through: Utah and Colorado mountains and plains. A little green here and there, but mostly brown.
Impressions: Eh... very boring. We only drove about 7 hours today to reach our end point in Fort Collins, and though we had a little to make up the next few days, our hosts at Fort Collins were wonderful! They were a couple who had recently returned from a mission in Singapore, and that's how I got to know them. My sister and I arrived just in time for dinner, some America's Got Talent, and a good comfortable huge bed. Ahhh.... the sigh of contentment.

Wed (Aug 15)
Start: Fort Collins, Colorado
End: Olathe, Kansas
Passed Through: Colorado to Kansas- more plains and flat land, and LOTS OF BROWN.
Impressions: I used to think, "Kansas... Wizard of Oz... heard it's brown and nothing much else." And now I know it's all true! Sad. But we visited family friends, and had a lot of fun seeing their children again. We are so grateful for their friendship, and miss their family!

Thur (Aug 16)
Start: Olathe, Kansas
End: Terre Haute, Indiana
Passed Through: The Kansas City-Missouri LDS Temple, Liberty Jail and the Visitors' Center, Independence Visitors' Center, and the Community of Christ Temple- with the exception of the Community of Christ temple, these historic sites have great significance for LDS/ Mormons.

Kansas City- Missouri Temple

This is one of the newest temples in the world. I wish we had time to go in, but we didn't. I don't know if I will ever get a chance to go though, because, frankly, except for to go visit those friends again, I have zero desire to repeat the drive through Kansas again. 

Liberty Jail. This was a very special place to visit, and opened my eyes to the conditions that the men were subjected to there. We also went to the Independence Visitors' Center, and it was an equally moving experience. 

The Community of Christ temple. Wish we had time to take a tour of the temple, but we had to get back on the road. 
Also, we ate fabulous Square Pizza at Independence- yummy! Great recommendation from the sister missionaries! Who would have thought Independence would have great pizza?!

Anyway, after some touring, we continued our journey and drove through Missouri and Illinois, before resting in Indiana. I was impressed by how green Missouri was! Illinois was pretty too, but the drive through that state was marred by the fact that we got caught in 2 traffic jams that delayed us by at least an hour and a half. URGH! 

We ran out of family friends to stay with on the 3rd night, and rented a motel room. We read rave reviews about Days Inn at Terre Haute, Indiana on Hotels.com, and how the rooms were cheap, clean and comfortable. It was cheap alright and quite comfortable, but FAR FROM CLEAN. DO NOT GO THERE. Why not? 1) We requested a non-smoking room, but when we entered the room, the smoking stench was so thick, I felt like suffocating; 2) There were 2 flies "hanging out" in the room- YIKES; 3) I discovered A BUG CRAWLING IN MY BED THE NEXT MORNING. Talk about bed bug panic. How disgusting!!! 

Note to self: Do not EVER trust reviews on such websites again. And don't be a cheapskate when it comes to accommodations because you get exactly what you pay for. 

Fri (Aug 17)

Start: Terre Haute, Indiana

End: Columbus, Ohio

Passed Through: Indiana and Ohio

Impressions: GREEN! I miss the mountains of Utah, but oh how I love the green! 

I was relieved that the drive was over by the time I arrived at Columbus, and very grateful that I invested in a good GPS. Worth every penny I spent on it!

HUGE THANKS TO MY SISTER- I am so blessed that she took this trip with me, and thank her for the fun memories.