a weekend in indiana

last weekend daniel & i set out for indiana on a spur-of-the-moment four day adventure. we wanted to test out The Great White (with close runner up, Puff the Magic Volvo) & it was a great chance to see some old & very dear friends.
we set off on friday & decided to avoid all major highways. we meandered through new york, ohio, and indiana, stopping at yard sales, flea markets, & thrift stores.




it took us 2 days to get to indiana, with a few good deals & a taste of americana thrown in. but we did not mind, because we had an excuse to try sleeping in the back of The Great White. we're hooked, volvo camping is for us!


our first stop was at to visit elle & josh outside of muncie, in.



elle & i lived in seattle at the same time & bonded amidst the mountains & the sound & tea & sweet (& sometimes anxious) times of prayer & the general uncertainties of life & love.

josh is a musician whose music we enjoyed before we knew him, during our stint in the remoteness that is northern alaska & who has grown to be an encouraging friend & comrade in the journey. elle & josh are living in an amazing house surrounded by forest, with a river nearby. the place exudes peacefulness & we enjoyed freshly caught trout, a late evening bonfire with conversation about paths & life & ideals, & a leisurely sunday morning that included apple crisp for breakfast, some wendell berry on the porch & flying a stunt kite (daniel was in heaven).



from muncie, we traveled south to indianapolis to visit hannah & hans. hannah was a roommate in college, & has remained a faithful companion throughout the twists & turns that our lives have taken. we've spent thanksgivings together, she visited me in seattle, & she travelled all the way to british columbia to be a bridesmaid in our wedding. i would never pass through the midwest without stopping by for a visit. hannah & her boyfriend hans just returned from working in nigeria for the summer as part of their medical school training.
it was fascinating to see their pictures & hear their stories about their time in africa. a favourite tale involved hannah bartering for what she thought was two potatoes & what ended up being two bushels of potatoes ("basically 50 pounds", according to hans), which hans & hannah had to carry a very long way home. i've been smiling about that story ever since.


on our way home we meandered a bit more,stopping in columbus to visit a cousin for an evening of scrabble (our nightly pastime lately, combined with jeopardy...) & chinese food.


we spent another night in The Great White, this time in a farmers field in ohio & stubled upon a local diner with a full breakfast for only $1.99! a relief after the prices of manhattan.

as we continue to ponder where we go from here, the trip felt like a much needed breath of fresh air.

[while we were driving we listened to hubris: the inside story of spin, scandal, and the selling of the iraq war on our new zen player (thanks again, zamber!). it was 16 hours of very detailed analysis of the lead up to the iraq war & the interactions of the CIA, state department, the white house, congress & the media at that time. it was informative, astonishing, eye-opening, & depressing all at the same time. its grueling & long & perhaps overly detailed, but i would recommend it to anyone interested in what has happening politically in the past 7 years.]