June 12th- At seven o’clock a.m. my phone was screaming in my ear an unpleasant sound. It almost sounded like a mix between a baby crying and a chalk board screeching. I thought I might be able to sleep in, but I couldn’t bare to listen to it any longer. I drug myself out of bed and tried to think of why I was getting up at this time. I felt as oblivious as a bear just waking up from hibernation. Then it hit me. Today is my college road trip! Suddenly I wasn’t dreading being up this early. I still have to pack! I quickly grabbed my hot pink roller suitcase and began throwing clothes into it. I knew that my clothes would be wrinkled when I got to my first hotel, but I was going to be late to my first college visit! If I was late I knew that the board members would bite my head off as if they were a lion and I was their first catch in a month. I threw on my clothes for the day and braided my hair into a long fishtail braid. As I ran down stairs the smell of waffles and bacon wafted into my face and filled my nostrils with the sweet smell. I shoveled the food into my mouth as quick as I could, hugged my parents good bye, grabbed the snacks my mom packed, and ran out the door. As I walked outside I was expecting to see my old Tahoe, but was flabbergasted to see a brand new Hummer sitting in the driveway waiting for me! Thanks mom and dad! As I hopped into the car the smell of new car and leather filled my nose. I ran my hands along the brand new leather seats. As I started the car I felt it rumble beneath me! I threw the car into reverse and backed down the driveway. The bass was bumping beneath me as I sped down the road. I decided I would test the speed a little bit, so I began accelerating down the curvy avenue. I made it up to around eighty miles per hour when I saw a deer trotting down the road about thirty feet in front of me. I slammed on the brakes as far down as the pedal would go. Not only did I fly forward but out of the corner of my eye I saw a folder fly up against the dashboard. When the car screeched to a stop I picked up the folder to check out what was inside. The folder spilled out a detailed itinerary of all the places I planned on going, ten brochures, a wad of cash, and climate map of all the regions. I picked through the brochures and found there were ten of them. One for each of my colleges and one for each of my landmarks. My parents must love me a lot if they mapped out my trip, made me a climate map, got me a bunch of brochures, packed me snacks, and bought me my dream car! This day just got ten times better and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders! Now that I am half way to my first visit in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am kind of hungry since I have been traveling for a few hours, I decided I would stop at Taco Bell in Apple Valley. My tacos were over cooked and dry as a desert. They tasted like day old meat loaf. They made me feel car sick. Good thing I was almost to my hotel by now. As I was driving I noticed some clouds start to accumulate, I think this meant rain was coming. But who knows, I have never been very good with weather. So I just kept on driving like nothing was wrong, When all of the sudden a huge gust of wind comes up and almost blows my car off of the road! I swerved back into my lane and kept on driving. About every five minutes a gust just like the first one would almost sweep me off out of my lane. All of the sudden it began to hail! I turned on the radio to one zero nine point six and had to blast it through my car so I could hear the weather report over the hail! When the weather report came on Tricia Takanawa’s voice blasted through my car. Tricia reported that around the tornado alley area there are some F five tornadoes touching down. I just kept my eyes on the road and tried not to panic, when all of the sudden a huge booming sound came from the right of me. I looked over to the field next to me and saw a tornado thrashing and ripping through the corn field. I quickly got out my camera and snapped a picture and took a quick video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv9n-2Wpe2g This is a one in a life time chance. I decided this would be the time I should take shelter. I saw a cute little farm house with a barn next to it. I drove down the bumpy, old, pot hole filled driveway up to the old barn. At this point I had to get out of the car and open up the barn doors. I pulled in as quickly as I could parked and shut off the car. I could still hear the tornado sirens screaming over the what sounded like a train of a tornado. Since I have to wait it out I decided I would eat a little snack. My mom packed me a sandwich, a juice box, and some Whales. by the time I was finished eating my lunch it sounded silent outside. I pulled out of the barn and looked around. The damage was horrific. I took another picture of the damage. I drove as quickly as I could out of the now depressing town and went on with my trip. Finally about an hour later I got to my hotel in Minneapolis, MN. I am staying at the beautiful Graves Hotel. I checked in and went up to my room to drop my stuff off and to freshen up. I am on my way to my college visit at the University of Minnesota. I noticed I am almost on E; It’s a good thing that there’s a gas station across from the hotel. I filled up and drove to the college for my tour. I arrived right on time. The tour took about an hour and it went very well. I still have to visit my land mark today. I went to a Chinese restaurant. I ordered a ton of food. The smell of sesame chicken and fried rice filled my car. I ate and enjoyed the beautiful weather compared to the disaster I was in earlier. According to my map, Minnesota has a humid cold climate. It also has many races living around here. Minneapolis is a part of a formal region. The united states is a formal region. Minneapolis and St.Paul are known as the twin cities. They is a lot of travel between the two everyday. They need things like highways, trains, subways, and even buses to get people back and forth. This is known as a functional region. This college visit is in the mid west. Now on my way back to the hotel the traffic was terrible from people just getting off of work. How do people stand all the traffic in a big city? I guess when you live here long enough you adapt to the environment around you. When I got back to my room, I showered and got cleaned up. I sunk into my bed exhausted and watched a movie. I set my alarm for six the next morning and fell asleep.







June 13th- I woke up refreshed and ready for the day. I hopped out of bed and heard a knock on my door. I didn’t know who it would be but I went to the door and looked through the peep hole and saw a hotel man standing there. I opened up the door and he pushed a cart full of trays, bowls, and pitchers sitting upon it. The hotel man said to me, “All guests get complimentary breakfast to their room!”






I replied, “Thank you so much! This is great!”




“No problem, If you need anything else just ask me,” said the hotel man.


As I looked at all of the food I saw the butter melting over the pancakes, the juice clearly freshly squeezed from the pulp in it, the bacon still sizzling fresh off the stove, the sausage steaming, and the toast baked to a golden brown. The breakfast was delicious! The things I like to eat are pancakes, bacon, and bagels. But now I have to get ready for the long day of driving ahead of me. I hopped in the shower. The hotel soap smelt like I just walked into a huge garden of lilacs just at the peak of blooming. The bathroom at the hotel wasn’t very big, but I had to make it work for today. I blow dried my hair and stepped out of the bathroom for a moment because it was so hot in there I began to perspire as if I were in a sauna. All of the sudden I heard Tricia Takanawa’s voice once again. She was on Channel Nine News talking about the tornado! When they played the footage I saw myself in the background! I was a superstar! I glanced at the clock, it was getting late. I really needed to go; I had to get ready fast. New record! Now down to the lobby I thanked the staff one more time for the wonderful stay before I was on my way. I walked outside and the bellboy sped around the corner in my car. “Thank you!”, I yelled and was on my way. I had to pull up Appalachian State University on the gps. I had no idea where I was going! I knew I wasn’t going to be able to drive straight there. It’s way too long of a drive! So I booked a hotel in Chicago, Illinois for a night. I am staying at Waldorf Astoria in the Astoria King Suite. The most expensive and luxurious suite in the whole hotel. As I was driving down the road my car started to putter a long. I have never had this happen before and was kind of scared. At this point my whole college road trip could be done for. I glanced down at my meters and noticed my gas gauge was on E. I sped up and before I knew it I saw a gas station. I went to the gas station, and I filled up my car. Paid the woman in the gas station the one hundred thirty seven dollars and eighty seven cents and was on my way once again. At about 3:00 p.m. and half way through my trip I needed to get something to eat. I stopped at this http://www.sausagegurus.com/sausage.jpgquaint little diner. I walked in and was immediately seated. The smell of hash browns and waffles filled my nose. I heard a little juke box playing music quietly. The diner had a tin ceiling, I always loved that look. Within ten minutes of ordering my cheese burger I had it sitting in front of me. I took a giant bite out of it. The cheese was melted over the burger, the bun toasted to perfection, the burger juicy, and the pickles freshly cut. The tastes of all of those combined made my mouth salivate. I paid my check and split. At 6:30 p.m. I finally made it to my hotel at 41º N and 87º W. I went straight up to my suite and had a movie night. I ordered cheese pizza from dominos. I ordered a triple cheese pizza with cheese stuffed crust, a coke, cheesey bread sticks, and molten lava cake all for thirty two dollars and fifty five cents. It came in around twenty minutes. I pigged out and watched Mean Girls. It was a good night. But now time for bed!

June 14- This morning I got woken up by the most annoying sound I have ever heard. I had no idea what it was so I drug myself out of bed and poked my head out fo the door only to see the bell boy in the wobbling down the hallway with a screechy old cart. I went back to my room and got ready for the day. I have to leave in about thirty minutes to start traveling to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. I punched 36º N

and 81º W to take me to my next college visit. As I travel south east I notice it is getting more humid outside. It will take me about twelve hours to get to Boone, North Carolina. I am used to traveling quite a bit but this feels like it’s taking longer. I am not familiar with any of these sights; however, I like seeing new things. Twelve hours later I am finally at my second college visit. Surprisingly this college visit went very fast. I am now on my way to check into my hotel. The Village in isn’t as extravagant as my previous hotels. But it will have to do. Now that I have checked in I can go to Daniel Boone Native Gardens. To save gas I am going to take a bus. As I got on the bus I realized it was almost full of people because everyone is getting off work. This makes it a functional region. As I was riding in the bus out to the gardens I noticed a lot of sweet potato fields. With the humid and rainy weather people have to adapt and take advantage by harvesting sweet potatoes and tobacco. North Carolina is in the south east region of the United States. After looking and walking around at the native gardens I decided it was time to leave. Back at the hotel I ordered room service and went to bed.

June 15- I had to wake up extra early this morning to travel all the way to Miami, Florida. The trip will feel a lot longer than it is going to be. Traveling fourteen hours in one day will be exhausting but worth it. I put 25º N and 80º W into my GPS and left the hotel. As I was driving I noticed it was getting hotter and hotter the further south I went. It’s a good thing I packed summer clothes. I noticed the houses down south are different from the houses in Iowa and Minnesota. I see more houses with flat roofs. I guess that’s what sets the state apart from others. As I got to Fontainebleau Miami Beach I felt a drop of sweat trickle down my forehead. I walked into the hotel and the air conditioning hit me like a train. I checked in and went up to my beautiful suite. I got a little snack and had to leave again for my next college visit. This will be my visit to the South East. As I was driving to my college I noticed a lot of people wearing their swim suits and carrying floaties. I am assuming people swim for recreation in Florida. The college visit went well. I got a whole tour around the campus and the college. Now I am headed to Barnacle Historic state park to have a picnic. I will drive back to the hotel, however, I will leave soon after. As soon as I hit the sheets I was knocked out. I slept like a baby.

June 16- I have another thirteen hour drive ahead of me so I better get going as soon as possible. I can’t drive all the way to Tempe, Arizona for my next visit so I decided I’d stop in New Orleans, Louisiana. I heard the best food comes for New Orleans. As I was driving I tried not to fall asleep. As soon as I got to the hotel I went to sleep knowing I had another extremely long drive ahead of me tomorrow.

June 17- Today I have to drive eight hours. It was a long and exhausting day. I am glad to be in bed and sleeping once again.

June 18- I dreaded waking up this morning but now that I’m on the road with some breakfast in my stomach I am all good. The drive today is the longest I have had through this whole ride! It is a about a fifteen hour ride to get to 33º N and 111º W. The more I travel the more it gets drier and more humid than in Florida. Right now 104º here right now. As I traveled into the inner city of Tempe, Arizona on the highway I noticed buses taking many people into the inner city also. Soon my South West region visit will be completed soon. Since the climate is so high in Arizona I saw a lot of swimming pools on my way through town. The housing is the same here as in Florida so it must be a southern characteristic. I pulled up to my hotel and got out of my car. When I went back to the hotel, I freshened up. I’m staying at the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa. The air conditioning feels amazing! The hotel is gorgeous! There was a complimentary table of food. I grabbed a quick snack and hopped on the nearest elevator. The elevator is all glass and facing a beautiful fountain. The college visit went well. I went back to the hotel and got my swim suit on. I headed down to the pool for a quick dip. I went to the pool and did many things: swam, ate some chicken, and sat in the hot tub.

June 19- Today I think I’m going to stay here and relax. Maybe get a facial or something. I have to visit Papago State Park before tonight also!

June 20- Now that I had a full day of relaxing I am refreshed and ready to go again! I got ready very quick and was on the road once again! With another twelve hours of driving my day will be almost all taken up. The closer I got to the coast the more I could smell the salty ocean breeze. I couldn’t wait to get to my hotel on the beach! I got a sea side room when I got to the hotel. It was gorgeous! Sadly I had to get to the college for my tour. This tour went by very quick surprisingly! But I was glad to be back at the hotel once again! Once I got back I explored the hotel and the beach a little bit before I hit the hay.

June 21- As I was leaving I remembered I had to hit up the Golden Gate Bridge! The view from up there is beautiful. I stayed for about thirty minutes then decided I should get going. I have to drive to Salt Lake City, Utah for a night.

June 22- From Salt Lake City I have to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska to make good progress for the day. Now that I have finally made it to Lincoln I am staying with my aunt Karla for the night.

June 23- It’s a four hour drive back to Spirit Lake. I am so happy to be back to my own bed and my own house! But I must say the road trip was very fun. Even though it lasted eleven days.