Denver Day

Woke up today with nothing on the agenda but to check out of our current hotel and move over to The Magnolia Hotel. We did some shopping and saw a couple different neighborhoods. Along the way we went by the REI flagship store which was 3 floors of outdoor enthusiast paradise. Around Beer-Thirty we dropped into a place called First Draft, where you are given a card and can try as many beers as you would like . You pour the beer from the tap and the cost is totaled by how many ounces you pour. Neat! We also had some tempura chicken wings that were unexpectedly delicious!!!! So crispy and glazed to perfection. For our last meal of the trip we scored reservations at a place called Root Down on the recommendation of some friends.. If you are ever in the Denver area...its a must do. They are farm to table and even have a 4,000 square ft garden in the middle of the city where they grow 20% of their our own seasonal vegetables. It was one of the top meals on the trip, if not the very best. We couldn't have asked for a better meal to cap off the journey.
Even though we were up in the air about whether to stay in Denver or just head on home and adapt to the reality of "normal life", staying turned out to be the right move. It gave us some time to wrap our heads around the fact that we were done. Its not really possible to describe the mix of emotions that we are experiencing at this time. On one hand, we are exhausted. 60 days of almost non-stop moving and exploring is fun, but its a lot and it adds up. On the other hand we consider ourselves so very lucky to be in a position where this trip is possible for us and the thought of this experience being over was agonizing.

One thing we're sure about though is that we have to leave Denver tomorrow and we intend to drive the entire 19 hours non-stop if possible. We're ready to get home and the thought of staying in a crappy hotel in the middle of nowhere is not appealing at all. Here goes nothing.

DAY 64- THE DRIVE TO NASHVILLE
Didn't sleep so great last night with so much running through our heads but woke up in pretty good moods. There is a reason they derisively call middle America "fly over country". Because its much better to fly over it. Its flat and unchanging for the most part. A mixture of grassland and corn for hours upon hours. After having done so much driving on the trip and,with the van being so comfortable, the time passed surprisingly fast. Before we knew it we were in Topeka, then St. Louis. I (Brett) drove the first 4 hours, then Steph put in 5. Then I drove 7 straight and got us through St. Louis to Paducah, KY.

Everything was pretty smooth until the sun set and then some weird stuff started going on. We stopped for gas east of St. Louis. It had been dark for about an hour or so. We had already drank two Starbucks Doubleshot Energy drinks and I pounded a 5 Hour Energy because I was starting to fade. The thing kicked in and worked, but around the Illinois - Kentucky border I started tripping out pretty hard. Something about the black road, white lines, hours of loud music, and the smooth ride of the van made it where, all the sudden, I didn't feel connected to my body. Like my arms wouldn't work if I called on them. Then my mind started going crazy and passing transfer trucks became a white-knuckle experience. I immediately turned the music off and told Steph that it was time to switch up. She did so gladly and took us the last two hours to the house. We arrived around 4AM.
Walking into the empty house was a very strange experience. It felt like walking into a strangers house or another hotel room. It was familiar but unfamiliar. After 2 months of mostly one to two night stays, it was hard to believe we were staying put. To be honest it was kind of unsettling, but that didn't matter because it was time to go to sleep. Unfortunately we had to get up the next day around 10 to clean out the Steed and say goodbye to her. Also on the list of things to do is go get the pups which we are very much looking forward to!