This is a bitter sweet ending

We are finally home and i am laying in my own bed for the first time in a week... It feels great to be comfortable again and finally be able to rest. At the same time i am already thinking about how much it sucks that trip had to end. I understand that it is time that we finish out our final semesters and start to move on but, it is hard to think that this is the last time that this kind of trip could happen for all of us. We may never be able to get together again and experience what we did this week. I know that the other guys feel the same i do. I am honestly scared to think i may not be near these guys in the future and i may not have them to lean on. I know that it is time that i trust God and just let the future happen. I will be where he places me and will always know that God is good and gave me to opportunity to meet and spend time with each amazing friend on the trip. I am so thankful for each laugh, prayer, moment of silence,horrible song and each moment of incredible tension we had on the trip. I love you guys.

Captain's Log - USS Noble Gentleman - Update Six: There and Back Again - Stardate 3/20/10

Here ladies and gentlemen is the final trip update. We will no doubt continue to post pictures, videos (props to Adam for finding the stuff to get them off the camera), and wrap ups but seeing as we're almost home... This is it. We left Seattle Friday morning and have stopped only to eat, get gas and find relief. It will be close to 40 hours travel time all told when we finally get back to Bloomington and we're all quite proud of the accomplishment. Greg is driving now as we pass through Wisconsin to Illinois with Adam set to hopefully close the drive out.

It has been a great trip. Perhaps not one that I would make again given travel time but I am completely content with the memories, laughs, and experiences shared with my brothers in Christ. I'd say most of all during this trip I've learned a lot about patience and humility. I'd say we all have easy going, agreeable personalities but 8 days within arms reach of assertive, confident guys can cause disagreements and tension.

I usually internalize frustration so that I don't spur arguments and damage relationships. The problem with that is that sometimes I have trouble letting things go and it boils up to cause problems down the road. I've tried very hard to let the little stuff roll off my back and just let things go. Sometimes that means swallowing my pride and belief that I'm right but as long as things work out and don't cause problems, no big deal. As often as I think I'm right, I'm certainly not always and have to learn to concede to a better point. I have to grow to examine and accept other viewpoints.

I think we've been incredibly blessed to get through this trip without a hitch or big disagreement. Anyways, it's 7:32 CST and I'm exhausted and ready for my own bed.
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We are not Lucky... Just Blessed

My Favorite thing said so far this trip came in a conversation we had while walking along the coast. It was brought up that it is insane to think that some guy got in a wooden boat, that could not even be close to safe, and just sailed in hopes to discover new places like the area around Seattle. In response Rob said "I think the question isn't what man would think to make that trip but, what man would be able to keep himself from taking that trip". I am glad i got a taste of adventure on this trip. 5 best friends just driving over 7000 miles together was not just something we wanted to do but, something we had to do. God gave of this opportunity and byegolly we took it. God is good... enough said.

Needle in a Building Stack

Today we stumbled upon the majestic Space Needle, the same Space Needle that was discovered by the Pioneers in the late 1700s . This needle was actually created by a Indian candle maker in 1693 by the name of William Bear Claw. He and his family made candles out of hardened steel and animal remains. One day William was distracted by a phone call from his mother and did not realize that he was creating a giant candle and also just talking into a shell. Well he created history that day. It is the largest candle in America. When the first pioneers discovered the needle they thought that is was just a waste of Space and tried to light it. To there amazement the candle did not burn out. All that was ignited that night was the pioneers hearts. A burning love and passion for the needle flamed in the hearts of the pioneers. So instead they built a monument of the candle maker near the base of the the needle. Which was later used as inspiration for the Statue of Liberty.

Danger. Adventure. Dadventure?

I feel like I need to clarify something. There has been much talk of frolicking, reading, bro-ing, and other fairly docile activities, but not much about completely reckless activity. Today we set out to change that.

We wanted to fully epitomize the male stereotype. We wanted adventure. We wanted to look danger in the face and say "...you know what, never mind. You're not worth it". Look, I'll show you.

We started off the day BY WRESTLING WOLVES! Rob and Pont have chokeholds on their adversaries, hoping to hold out long enough for help to come. As you can see, Adam lost his right arm and Michael his left.

Oh no, what are they doing. No. It can't be. They look like they're driving, but no one's watching the road. Wait. They are driving. And no one's watching the road. Are they...come on...no...no one's that crazy...COME ON GUYS! SOMEONE GRAB THE WHEEL! YOU'RE HURTLING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN LOOKING! AHHHHHHHHHH!

Come on now. After the last one, you thought there'd be no way we would have time to change our pants AND attempt something equally dangerous. Wrong on both counts. The water is right there and they. don't care. What if they get wet? don't care. What if their shoes get soggy? don't care. Our thirst for adventure knows know limits.

There's more, seriously. Just ask when we get back. I'm seriously serious. Please believe me.

Nature Day in Oregon!!

Yesterday was Nature Day in Oregon and as the resident naturalist I will be giving you the run down!

We began the day with a rousing game of disc golf on a local course. We managed to miss the 9th (and last) hole because it was hidden all the way on the other side of the park from the 8th hole, which is a hilarious way to make a golf course. The game is still ongoing...Adam is ahead by two strokes...
The drive up to Astoria was beautiful. We wanted to get to the coast to see the Pacific, but we missed all the beaches until the way back. Astoria is a city on a hill, located at the mouth of the Columbia River. It is also where the movie "the Goonies" was filmed, so we found the house from the movie!













We took a jog over to Washington state because we can. There we found a delightful place called Cape Disappointment. It was, in fact, disappointing. We wanted to find a place to sit, look at the waves of the ocean, and smoke our respective cigars and tobacco pipes whilst the sun set. Iconic. Cape Disappointment was not the place.

We had seen a potential location (conveniently called Sunset Beach) back near Seaside a few miles back down the coast from Astoria, so we loaded up and headed back. When we reached the beach we quickly realized this was not going to be the idyllic, brotastic scene we had pictured in our minds. The wind was blowing at 40 mph and the sand was painful as it nailed our legs, but Ponto persevered and dove in the pacific like a man. It was something to remember for sure.

Our final nature day nature break came on the way back. Adam saw something pretty and pulled the van off to take a picture. We found trails back into the woods and it gave us a real experience in the Northwestern wilderness. It was exactly what I wanted when I envisioned this trip. It was all I wanted and it was gorgeous. I will end this post with a sample of Oregon's best.

Joy

I originally wasn't too sure about this trip. I'm a big guy and big guys don't do well in the car for long periods of time. I'm sure watching me crawl out of the car from the backseat is a comedic moment for the men I'm with. I also kind of like the beach and the ocean. So driving for 30+ hrs each way isn't exactly my idea of rest and vacation...

But man was I wrong.

In the past six days I have: laughed harder than I've laughed in a very long time, heard more puns than I care to think about, driven more miles than I have in my life, eaten at 3 restaurants from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, walked through 3 major US cities, driven through 9 states, spoken with 5 perfect strangers about their walks with God, seen mountains, rivers, forests, the pacific ocean and wrestled around with 2 huskies and a mut. The list goes on and on.

I'm out here with 4 of my best friends, enjoying an experience I'll treasure for the rest of my life. We were ridiculously taken care of by some family friends of Michael's and they showed us the definition of hospitality. They even took us out to dinner at an elementary school that was converted into a bar/restaurant.

And man is nature side of things breath-taking.

I think I'm feeling.....joy.

Joy is one of those tricky things that is really hard to define. Its more than emotional, its spiritual. Its contentment of the soul. Its every time that I take an experience/sight in and have to immediately thank God for the moment. The combination of the wonder of nature and the love of brothers is enough to throw me into a constant state of joy.

This reminds me of something I read during the car ride here. Its from a book called "The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard.

It was something I've never really thought about before. The idea that God is "simply one great inexhaustable experience of all that is good and true and beautiful and right." I mean we get excited about clear night skies, good conversations and sandy beaches but God is surrounded by "Towering clouds of gases trillions of miles high, backlit by nuclear fires in newly forming stars, galaxies cartwheeling into collision and sending explosive shock waves boiling through millions of lightyears of time and space."

We get excited about a few tropical fish in a tank, and God has the ocean!

I don't have any idea what thats like. But going westward with 4 of my friends has given me just a glimpse.

This must be what joy feels like.