Cliff Gardner

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Gold Medal Road Trip!

Howdy folks,

This will be the last official update on our road trip diary since we're almost there! A lot's happened since the last post. Here's what's been going on:

--We went to Wisconsin-Dells and hung out with our friend Edward and his boyfriend Michael for a few days. Edward showed us around and we went on a "Duck Tour," watched the Olympics and reminisced about Peace Corps. 

--We drove to Milwaukee and I had the following exchange on our way into Miller Park to see the Brewers play:

Ticket-Taking Attendant: *Sees my Oregon shirt* Booooooo! *Scans my ticket*

Me: In honor of the Olympics, I'd like to congratulate the Wisconsin Badgers on earning the silver medal in last year's Rose Bowl.

TTA: ...

Me: *Smiles*

TTA: Enjoy the game!

--I fulfilled my lifelong dream of seeing the famous Miller Park sausage race in person:



--We drove to Chicago and hung out with my former debate partner Sean for a few days. While in Chicago, we went to a Cubs game--as it turns out, we were one game off from seeing A.J. Burnett throw a one-hitter--and got this picture of us with a Cub mascot who's looking at the wrong camera:


--We went to the Ukrainian village with our friend Emily, another Peace Corps friend, and caught up. All of our friends, every single one, continue to be amazing people who do impressive and cool things, so if you're reading this, congratulations on being awesome and probably winning at life.

--Jessica celebrated her birthday! We went out for a nice breakfast and then walked around the city, looking at all kinds of awesome Chicago things. Also, I made lots of references to "Source Code" after seeing this monument:



--We left Chicago this morning and drove to Cleveland. On the way, we finished the 2nd "Hunger Games" book and started the final book in the series. Tomorrow we're driving to northern Virginia to stay with family, completing our trip.

We hope you've enjoyed this account of our road trip across the country! We love and miss you all--come visit us in Maryand!

Thomas and Jessica--