One thing I miss about being a graduate student is the road trip. It's easy enough to disappear for a week sometimes without anyone taking notice, so I had the opportunity to take several roadtrips over the past few years. With the Christmas and New Years Day holidays coming up I saw a rare opportunity to drive a couple thousand miles without blowing all my vacation time.
I needed to see my family in Alabama, and I knew several of my friends would be in Iowa helping with the Ron Paul presidential campaign so I had two good waypoints to work with. I stayed a few days in Alabama visiting my mother, grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I also met my uncle's new Great Dane puppy.
And my cousin's French bulldog puppy.
I also baked a quiche with my mom. It turned out really well even though we used mostly Wal-Mart ingredients. (There is no Whole Foods near Jasper.)
From Alabama I drove in the general direction of Iowa with two short stops in mind. I passed through Memphis to pick up some spare parts for my 220D at a junk yard. The yard had many cars listed online, including a green 220D with many parts already taken.
I found what I needed and moved onward. I slept in St. Louis and woke up at dawn to take a photo at the arch there.
Snow had fallen overnight, leaving the roads very messy. I saw at least two accidents as I was driving out of St. Louis including this one. Seeing these makes me realize how lucky I am to have driven more than 200,000 miles with only one major accident.
When I arrived in Iowa I worked phones and wrote web scripts for Ron Paul for a week. Yes I used my vacation time to do work, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Time seemed to pass extremely quickly there amongst good friends.
After the election night I drove home to Texas and that was the end of my Christmas vacation. Of course Ron Paul didn't win Iowa, but my goal was to enjoy the experience no matter the result. Mission accomplished.
