Not all who wander are lost: Ra Ra Road Trip!

I spent July 24th - August 2nd on a cross-country road trip with my mom and 2 sisters, Laura and Natalie. The purpose of the trip was to move all of my worldly possessions back to The Tree House and, while doing so, spend QT with the fam and see the South. In 10 days we covered 16 states, 3900 miles, and about 2 dozen cycles through Natalie's ipod. My mom, in typical supermom fashion, drove the entire way. Here is a rundown of our points of interest as well as some photo highlights:

Points of Interest:
1. Juniata County, PA. The birthplace of both Ma and Pa Stump and the residence of a majority of the Stump/Simonton ancestry. We spent a day and a half with my grandparents (Mom's side).
2. Philadelphia, PA. We spent an evening chillin with Ethan, our favorite brother.
3. Shenandoah National Park, VA. The scenery was beautiful, and Mom drove on those winding, narrow, cliff-roads with an alacrity that would have made Engineer Thad Stump proud.
4. Myrtle Beach, SC. Though we only stopped for a couple of hours, we enjoyed a much needed nap on the beach, and we got to dip our feet in the Atlantic Ocean.
5. Charlestown, SC. This town was one of our favorite stops. Admittedly, we may have been heavily influenced by the fact that we were given free pralines nearly every time we walked into a store. Beyond the free-flowing pralines, we were impressed by the well-preserved buildings and rich history of the small Southern town.
6. Savannah, GA. Savannah was also really cool, though we didn't get to spend as much time there as in Charlestown. It also had interesting, well-preserved buildings and tons of beautiful parks.
7. Montgomery, AL. Said to be the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. We stopped in Montgomery to visit the Civil Rights Museum. The museum is small but powerfully moving and definitely worth the trip. It portrays the heart-breaking, mind-numbing nature of hate crimes and propels the stories of courageous individuals who have stood against such senseless violence. In front of the museum is a waterfall displaying Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote from Amos: "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:24)
8. New Orleans, LA. We spent a morning wandering the streets of the French Quarter. Really, to me the place seemed a little depressing. Bourbon Street was dead, and sadly it didn't seem like the place would have had been any more alive had the street been filled with people. The touristy part was a bit more welcoming, but still there seemed to be this underlying cry of confusion and emptiness. I'm sure there is plenty of vibrant, beautiful life in New Orleans. I just wish we had more time there so that we could have found it.
9. Longview, TX. We made a stop to visit my very dear friend, Michelle, and her very dear husband of 8 months, Jim. While at Michelle's we crossed paths with my very dear Kate Mills and her very dear husband Justin Mills! It was super fun to catch up with them.
10. Stephenville, TX. We stopped here to visit the farm that my grandpa owns and used to travel to frequently. I would also like to point out that Stephenville is Jewel's current place of residence. Unfortunately, we didn't see her. But I think my cousin may have been in her house once.
11. The Catfish Cafe, Odessa, TX. While this was not originally intended to be a point of interest, it warrants kudos for being our only dinner option in Odessa, Texas. Due to location, I'm not sure where exactly the establishment found a lake in which to fish for catfish, but they did have a rather large and foreboding catfish statue at the restaurant entrance. And they boasted a very eclectic menu. I had hush puppies and an egg-beater omelet.
12. El Paso, TX. Really, we just slept here. But we saw Juarez, Mexico!
13. The Tree House, Gilbert, AZ. Home sweet home! We arrived at around 4:30 on August 2nd, giving me about 28 hours to unload and temporarily stash all of my worldly possessions and then pack and prepare to fly back to Boston for my friend Kristina's wedding and then to Bangalore, India!

Photo Highlights:

Natalie, Mom, Ethan, Laura and City Hall in Philly

Like all good older sisters should, Laura and I spent a significant amount of time trying to embarrass Natalie. This photo was masterfully staged. I asked Natalie to pose with me for a picture, and then on cue as Laura snapped it I dropped to one knee to propose. Nat was mortified.

In the Shenandoah Valley. Sisterly love at its finest. Nat's sign says "Virginia is for lovers."

Nat agreed to pose for the stupid-hat photo in the VA Cracker Barrel with the stipulation that she be allowed to look thoroughly disenchanted.

Some buildings in Charlestown:

The little knobby bits on the building below are "hurricane bolts." After a hurricane's high winds would disrupt the frame of the house, these tension bolts would be tightened to sort of pull the house back together again.