Driver Gets to Choose Music (see fine print for exceptions)

The spring semester began with an unusually devastating turn of events. Our dear friend, Zachary Sieben, unexpectedly passed away (due to an aneurism). Many of us have learned that though we cannot forget about Zack and the void which will not be replaced, we can grow to understand how to incorporate what we learned from him in the short time he was a part of our lives. Part of our healing includes connecting with his family and childhood friends from Piedmont, California, to share stories and memories of Zack. Now we (Micah Perkins, Matt Quarles, and I) plan to visit his family and friends so we can meet the people with whom we correspond and see the places which we have heard about from Zack. However, the opportunity to drive across the country with Nick Lee (one of Zack's best friends from CA) has arisen and we plan to see the USA (particularly the Northwest) en route to California.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=berea,+ky&daddr=Chicago,+IL+to:20695+SD+Highway+240,+Interior,+SD+57750+(Badlands+National+Park:+Headquarters)+to:Rapid+City,+S+Dakota+(Mount+Rushmore)+to:Yellowstone+national+park+to:Going+to+the+Sun+Hwy,+Lake+McDonald,+MT+59921+(Glacier+National+Park)+to:Seattle,+WA+to:Port+Angeles,+WA+to:Portland,+OR+to:Eureka,+CA+to:Piedmont,+CA&ge

The trip will start in Berea and head straight for Chicago...then the Badlands, Rushmore, Wind Caves, Yellowstone, Glacier (backpack for a few days), Seattle, Olympic Peninsula WA, Portland...and finally....Piedmont, California!!! The plans are flexible--for all I know, we'll drive to the Grand Canyon midway through Idaho. That's the beauty of this trip. We have the ability to do whatever we want for as long as we want to do it.

Now...as long as the midget gets her fair share of behind the wheel time, it'll all be okay. (If you are not familiar with midget jokes, you probably will be by the end of this blog).

I must admit--it's not really over yet, so it (my summer) has yet to begin. Today was the last day of classes (YEEESSS) but I don't finish finals until May 21. Once finals are over, I plan to secretly move into the SENS house and enjoy spending some quality time in Berea for 8 days until the ultimate adventure begins (around May 29th).

As for the title of this entry:

Rule 1: The driver gets to choose the music.
Fine Print: The passengers are allowed to make the democratic decision to overrule the music choice. For example: No Halo soundtracks allowed. Sorry Quarles.

The characters involved:

Micah and the Mandolin (I took this a few weeks ago on the quad)


Frances (me) in Lexington KY


Nick (I took this over Spring Break at a small park in Piedmont)


That's Matt Quarles. Enough said.