After the excitement of my experimental run on August 7th, it felt strange to have everything go according to plan today. There were no detours, no engine breakdowns and nothing in the least bit unexpected.

    I woke up at 7:30 AM and ate breakfast with my family before making sure that everything was packed up. On Thursday evening, I had started packing the Ford Expedition I would be driving. At the end of the night, I figured that I was almost done packing and would have plenty of extra space. Then Friday and Saturday happened. And Sunday. Each day I found a dozen or more little things I had forgotten to pack. Today was no exception, so I squished in the last minute additions and saw that I no longer had an empty car. So much for packing light.

    Finally, I was ready to go. But my younger brother, Sam, wasn’t quite done with me yet – there was just one more thing to do. It involved swords, plastic shields, and helmets. Sam and I equipped ourselves with the aforementioned items and met in the backyard to fight a farewell duel. Our battle raged long and fierce (translation, we fought for five minutes, being very careful not to hurt each other or chip our swords), leaving both of us sorely wounded and ready to make peace. So make peace we did, and I ran off to get myself cleaned up before I left.

    Now it was time to say goodbye. My family and I sat together in our schoolroom and they prayed for me, then they walked me to my car and wished me farewell as I drove away. Before I could get too lonely and start overthinking the fact that I would be gone for an eternity, I took out my audiobook and began listening. I am still working my way through Our Oriental Heritage, by Will Durant. During my long and uneventful drive, I learned quite a lot about India’s history, religions, and social structure.

    I made one stop along the way – to stretch my legs, call home and update my parents on my progress. Then, I got back on the road and arrived at my Aunt’s house, just south of San Luis Obispo. I spent a wonderful afternoon and evening there. We ate lunch, visited, went for a two-mile walk (along the way we saw a really cool mailbox), visited some more, watched President Trump’s speech, ate dinner and sang a few hymns while I played the guitar.

    And that was my day. Like I said, a peaceful beginning. I hope to enjoy some more adventures in the future. Hopefully, some will be a little more exciting. But not too exciting.