Sunday April 5. Parting is such sweet, sweet sorrow... OK, what's next?

Good morning everyone. After a hugely successful first day of our trip, Pete and I were eager to see what day two held in store for us. Unfortunately, it started with the downer of having to bid farewell to our hosts from Ohio and get back on the road once again. For the second day, Pete and I are much, much later in our departure than we had hoped. A combination of sleeping in late, and Celer cooking up a nice pancake breakfast, it was almost noon before we climbed into the car and pointed it south. Due to some clever planning on our part, however, we find we are not really in a hurry to get anywhere today. The weather is nice, and we have what we believe to be only 6 hours of driving ahead of us. As we cross the border between Ohio and Kentucky, we look down the road with scepticism. We were incredibly pleased the state of Ohio, our entire time there felt exceptionally comfortable and familiar, very similar to home. The people were nice, and Celer even called his drink a “pop” which shocked me greatly. I have been trying to practice calling it a “soda” for quite some time now, in the hopes of easing language barriers.

Although many of you know this already, I would like to formally announce that Peter is now 28, such a great age to be. Please join me in helping wish him a happy birthday as he spends it trapped in a small bubble of metal and plastic with me.

/raise glass in a toast to Pete

As we travelled through Kentucky, we find that it too is quite beautiful, but for some very different reasons. The landscape has transformed from farmland to some rolling hills, with nature and color constantly attempting to drive back mans intrusion into this lush environment. Since the foliage has been at least temporarily halted by the pavement, it has begun an aerial attack, but reaching over the road and besieging civilization from above. Gorgeous.

Eventually we arrived into Tennessee, and were soon looking for a place to stay. After stopping in the welcome center of the state and scouring over coupon books, we located what looked to be a cheap motel called “America’s Best Value Inn”.

NOTE: Before I go on about the hotel, Pete and I were pleased to see our a unique example of local art. It appears to be some statues of flat people. We aren't quite sure what is means, but I suspect that it is an open hand of greeting to all visitors, combined with a severe expression of teenage rebellion.

Seeing as we are all about experiencing Americas best everything, it seemed like a natural choice. All in all, we have no complaints. Took a bit of effort to get a room with a working door, but eventually we had a room all to ourselves. Once we had unpacked, it was time to eat. After driving around for a few moments, we stumbled upon a restaurant called Cici’s Pizza. Having knowledge of this restaurant from my time in Florida, it seemed like a good choice for a couple of hungry men who hadn’t eaten since breakfast. We gorged, and then returned to the room where we were quick to shut down for the evening. The next day was to be an early morning, full of everything the US has to offer to the world of music.

Ohhh, I am out of time. The morning did not turn out to be early, and it is time to go find some breakfast before they put it all away. Wish us luck that they saved us some.