Rivers and Roads

Hey Y'all! I'm posting tonight from our hotel in Nashville- we made it! Our drive today was broken up into two three hour segments, with a stop in Louisville in between. The first thing we did this morning was not actually get up and get in the car... we had a nice breakfast in our hotel with an old friend!

I was so happy to be able to catch up with Michael!

Michael DeTemple is a friend of our family, and is actually the Dominican friar who baptized me! He lives in Columbus, and he came to meet us for breakfast this morning at our hotel. We had a lovely morning with him, and it was nice not to be in such a rush!

Then we did hit the road, and about 3 hours later, we were in Louisville! It was a fairly straightforward drive, not very exciting- Ohio is really flat. We crossed over the Ohio River in Cincinnati and were finally in Kentucky! We saw a sign for Vevay, IN... and decided to spontaneously make a side trip to Indiana to add another state to the road trip! We had to drive about 6 miles out of the way, and after having crossed the Ohio again, we were in Indiana! 

Surprise Indiana!

After getting out of the car, putting our feet on the ground and walking around the car, we got back in and got on our way. About an hour and a half later, we were in Louisville!

We stopped at the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, and were so glad we did! I couldn't take photos in the factory, but it was so cool to see a big piece of wood (called a billet) turned into a baseball bat in 30 seconds! We saw how the bats used to be made by hand, and then the new automatic processes. A lot of sawdust comes from one bat, so the Slugger factory gives the excess to a turkey farmer in Southern Indiana who uses it for bedding for his birds, and then it gets composted. We saw the billets all lined up to make bats for Placido Polanco, #27 on the Phillies! Buster Posey of the Giants ordered some bats recently, and we watched a few of them get made. This did add insult to injury, however, because we had just gotten word that Hunter Pence was traded to the Giants and Shane Victorino to the Dodgers :(. We'll miss them both! 

We saw Babe Ruth's bat from his famous 60 home run season, which he put a notch into each time he homered. That bat had 21 notches on it before it broke... so cool! Each player has his own specific model of bat, and we learned that if the player has signed a contract to exclusively use Louisville Slugger, his signature is burned into the bat, but if he uses other bats, it's just printed on to the end. We also got our own mini sluggers to take home!

My new bat is significantly smaller than the giant one outside the factory...

Staring down a 90 MPH fastball... thrown by Cole Hamels!

We got back in the car after our great time at the factory, and headed to Churchill Downs to see the famous racetrack of the Kentucky Derby! My dad loves watching the Derby every year and has always wanted to see Churchill Downs, and we were luckily only about 4 miles away. We didn't go in because we wanted to get back on the road, but we stopped in the parking lot and took some photos!

We had another three hours to go to Nashville, and the terrain was much hillier than Ohio! It was almost like a roller coaster at times, and there were a lot of trucks, but it was a pretty drive if a bit stressful. Highlights included crossing into Central Time and passing the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, as well as passing Opryland as we entered Nashville!

We are staying out by the airport in Nashville tonight, and found a place around the corner called Bar-B-Cutie... we had to go, obviously. Delicious barbecue pork, mac and cheese, and all kinds of sauces! My favorite was probably Tennessee Fire- hot, but very good. We're in for the night, watching women's gymnastics (my favorite!) even though we already know the results. Big day ahead tomorrow- I can't wait for NOLA!

Rivers and Roads- The Head and The Heart

An Evening in Columbus

I promised updates if we went out in Columbus... and we did! We really only saw one part of the city, the German Village. It reminded my dad and I both of Germantown in Philadelphia, both because of the name and the architecture. Everything is beautiful restored brick and there are a few great German restaurants. We also saw a lot of independent books and coffee shops, and I loved the "small-town" feeling in the city.

We ate dinner at Schmidt's Sausage Haus, which was the best place in German Village according to my mom and her internet research, and we would believe it! I had really good pretzel nuggets with mustard- I was impressed because I know a good soft pretzel when I see it being from Philadelphia, but these were unlike any other pretzel I've ever had! Then I had a bratwurst with sauerkraut, apple sauce, and german potato salad, as well as a roll that reminded me of what I'd have a lobster roll on. The brat was actually my first one ever- so good! My dad had stuffed cabbage and chicken noodle soup, which he liked a lot. I also had a house brewed beer, Schmidt's Gold, which was delish! Great meal and a really cute place overall. Our waiter, Thomas, was a riot. He was very attentive, and did it all in lederhosen.

I could have just had this all night and been perfectly content. Sorry not sorry, weight watchers.

Our dinners!

We walked two blocks to find Jeni's ice cream, which was amazing! My roommate of two years Kathleen uses Jeni's recipes on occasion, and I had some lemon blueberry froyo of hers a few weeks ago that was out of this world... so I of course had to see for myself. I had sweet corn black raspberry ice cream, and the two balanced each other out quite well. My dad had Ugandan vanilla bean... so flavorful.

YUP.

I also really wanted to try Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk...

Less than a mile away is one of the most intricate book stores I've ever seen, and if I wasn't so tired, I would have stayed for hours! There are rooms on rooms on rooms, all organized by type of book with corresponding music, all for a good price! Gail, a campus minister at PC, recommended it to me... and I was so glad I wrote it down! If Tom ever stumbled in there, I think he'd walk out a year older and completely broke. My dad and I wanted to stay longer, but decided to head home for the night to watch the Olympics and get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow!

These maps hang in every room...

It's Time to Begin, Isn't It?

I can't believe today is finally here! The week of packing, goodbyes, and road trip detours is finally over, and I'm in a beautiful hotel in Columbus, OH! My dad and I are certainly tired but we had a great day today seeing lots of Pennsylvania, a little bit of West Virginia, and Ohio!

We left the house at 7:40 AM- this was in the driveway!

The driving was the easiest part of this preparation, however. I packed for a solid week, putting clothes in and out of different containers, and deciding to take some things and leave others at the last minute. Everything fits quite comfortably in the back of my car, and any of my PC friends will be shocked to know that I really have gotten rid of a lot of clutter over the course of the summer, so there is not a lot left in my room at home! I'm sure I packed more than enough- lots of things I don't NEED, but I took a significant step in the right direction of simplicity for sure!

While packing was no dream, the hardest part of the past week has definitely been all the goodbyes! I had dinner with my mom's family in New Jersey last week, spent time with ND girls on Wednesday, my friend Kelly Hughes from PC on Thursday, and the weekend was spent with my family and boyfriend. Tom came down on Saturday afternoon, and we went to lunch at the Sansom Street Oyster House with my parents- it was delicious! He helped me pack, and my mom made us a great dinner at home. We watched the Olympics, but went to bed at a reasonable hour because we got to go the Bruce Springsteen exhibit at the Constitution Center on Sunday morning after a yummy breakfast at home. It was so nice to be able to spend time with Tom before I left, because I'll really miss seeing him so often next year! He'll be a JV in Philadelphia, and I'm so excited for him to be able to explore the city he's heard so much about from me. He is also keeping a blog, follow his adventures here!

Yesterday, Kristy, Mary Emily, and Juliann all stopped by to say goodbye, and I got to see some of my Dad's family before we had cheesesteaks for my last Philadelphia supper and packed the car up! This morning was an emotional goodbye- I miss my mom a lot already, and my Dad and I both wish she could have come with us, but there was no room in the car for another person and she had to work. We kept her updated all day with texts and photos, but it's hard to imagine not seeing her for so long!

We're pretty tired tonight, but will adventure out into the city for dinner before we crash. We have some great recommendations from Gail, Kathleen, and Anthony- thanks guys! Hopefully a great bookstore, some chili, and delicious ice cream will be in our future.

I mentioned earlier that there were roadtrip detours- it's actually changed twice since I last posted, but our final itinerary is in place. We'll go from here to Louisville tomorrow, then drive to Nashville to spend the night. Wednesday will bring us straight to New Orleans, which will be a long drive, but then we'll spend two nights there so we have all day Thursday in my favorite place to visit! Then Friday brings us to Houston!

T-2 Weeks!

2 weeks from right now, my dad and I will hopefully be in Columbus, OH, heading back to our hotel and gearing up for day 2 of our great roadtrip! I think I may have mentioned it before, but yes, I am not only going to Texas, but I'm DRIVING with my Dad! He'll catch a flight back to Philadelphia before I get to my orientation, but our road trip begins on July 30th, first stop Columbus!


From there, we'll head to Louisville, KY and check out the Louisville Slugger Museum, a big deal for baseball fans phans like us. After spending the night, we'll head to Birmingham, AL to check out some cool civil rights history. From there we'll shoot over to New Orleans, LA, where I can remind myself WHY I'm doing this- and I may need it at that point. I'm really excited to show my Dad the NOLA that I know, as he's only been there pre-Katrina. It will be great to drive around to the places that were such a huge source of inspiration for me before we get back in the car for our last leg to Houston!


Once we arrive in Houston on August 3rd, we'll explore my new city a little bit, check out my new house, and meet up with some of the many people that I have been connected to now that I'm moving there. I'm very excited to reconnect with Sr. Mary Brenda, OP, who was a mentor and source of inspiration for me in Kenya. She's now living in Houston working at St. Agnes Academy, and I can't wait to see her again! I feel so blessed that she'll be in the same place as me when I'll need her wisdom the most- I don't know how I would have gotten through my time in Kenya without her. For more information about just how amazing I think she is, refer to this blog post from Kenya. 


That's all for now, folks... better get packing! I am trying to enjoy every last minute of these last two weeks at home, but I should probably face reality soon and get to packing :).

Hello!

Hi friends and family!

I would guess as you begin to read this that you're thinking:

1. Julia's leaving... again?!
2. And she's blogging... again?!?!
3. TEXAS?!?!?!?!

Well, I can tell you that all three of those thoughts have passed through my mind more than once over the past 6 months. Yes, just as I have gotten over leaving Providence and have re-settled into living in Philadelphia, I am off again. Specifically, to Texas. And of course I will be blogging- as great as it is for you all to keep up with my wild and crazy adventures, blogging is really helpful to me in terms of personal reflection.

So, why am I moving to Texas? I (JCT) will be spending the next year as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC). I have committed myself to a year of living simply, in community, dedicated to social justice and spirituality. I'm living in a house with 5 other young women who will also be Jesuit Volunteers (JVs) in Houston, at different organizations throughout the city. They're more than just my housemates, we're living together in intentional community, which I will expand upon a little more in a later post. My work will be at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston, where I will be preparing the first ever graduating class for life in college, teaching, and helping out however I'm really needed. I don't have full details of my exact work yet- when I do, I'll let you know :). I'm just excited to be a part of such an amazing institution! For more info about CRJ, their website is here.

I will leave home on July 30th with my Dad, and we'll be roadtripping over 5 days to get to Houston, with planned stops along the way. We'll arrive on August 3rd, and my Dad will fly back on August 5th, which is when I'll drive to the first part of JVC: my orientation! More updates to come... less than 3 weeks til I leave!