Day 77 - 8/23/16 Ennis to Whitehall, MT

In August when the date starts to climb into the mid 20's, people start to get that feeling in the pit of their stomachs, the feeling that summer's ending.  It's nerve wracking to jump into September, the first of the 4 'er' months, the very first sign of Fall that inevitably becomes Winter.  And I'm not exempt from this general freak-out.  

I'm not too far off from completing this trip in 3 months time, just as I thought but, I'm feeling the change of seasons in these cool evenings and frigid mornings.  I'm headed to the land of perpetual Summer, California; at least that's how I imagine it in my head.  

My mindset right now is just to plow through these next couple weeks to finish this cross-country adventure so I can start heading South for the Winter.  I've also got myself all jazzed up about getting to Portland; I can't wait to see my friend, Ben who I haven't seen since college.

  

I've been wanting to visit Portland for years now but, the most exciting thing that makes me want to put the pedal to the metal is I want to get a new bike when I get there, a custom-built touring bike so I can keep this ridiculous journey going in style and comfort.  But I'm still hundreds of miles away.  

There will be many cold mornings between now and then and I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, that's the easiest way to miss out on the here and now and if I'm not here then where the Hell am I?

Day 27 - 7/4/16 Angola to Elkhart, IN

I was real happy when Neil asked me if I was interested in watching fireworks before I even got to his place.  Him and his girlfriend and his 2 kids had plans to drive to Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan to watch the show with hundreds, maybe a thousand other folks huddled close on the beach.  I'm sure some of the families had gotten to the beach and claimed their spots very early in the day.

 

 We still managed to get a good spot a couple hours before the fireworks were scheduled to start.  We dug out some seats in the sand, covered them in a blanket and waited for it to begin.  Neil's kids played in the water while Neil, Erin and I made some dinner on the beach.  With our sandy seats aimed at the pier jutting out into the water, we watched the sun set as the lake filled up with boats to get the best view.  

By the time the sun has disappeared, the surface of the water looked like a reflected city with all the lights from the boats so clustered together.  It's amazing how much waiting and anticipation leads up to 20 minutes of colors and explosions but, it was all worth it.  The fireworks brought back so many memories and happy feelings of 4th of Julys in the past.  I remember when I used to be afraid of these things, running from the seawall back to our beach house where my Papa was sitting quietly.

  

He knew I was afraid and reassured me there was nothing to be scared of.  A few years later and you would find me on the beach lighting off my own fireworks, putting on a smal show for whoever was watching on the seawall that night.  4th of July is like Christmas in th Summer time.  It's a wonderful opportunity to spend time with friends and family and stay up late and party.  I've done a few different things the last few years since my family sold our beach house.  I've visited friends in Maine, had barbecues at home and found places to hang out and drink and not worry about anything.  I'm glad I found some friends for the night this year and some fireworks to watch with them so far away from home.