In Brief

Day 1

Left Nashville around 4:30pm
Dinner in St. Louis at Del Mar
Met up with Nick in Columbia around midnight

Day 2

Lunch at Addison's
Devils Icebox Cave
Dinner at Pickleman's
Checked out the Summerfest Concert Downtown

Day 3

Left Columbia at 8:30am, on a mission to find the good in Kansas
1:30pm - Found the good in Kansas
Made a hard run all the way to Denver
Arrived at Hostel of the Rockies around 11:30pm
ps - that's 700 miles! Not a record for time, but still a long day.

Day 4

Explore Denver!

Adventure Map

A little map of the fun so far:

(here' the link also)

Click on the place marks to see what I've been up to
Click on the "View Larger Map" link below to see more place marks


View Larger Map

Caught in Columbia

Well, the trip has taken a brief pause. Ryan Hurtgen, a friend in Nashville and lead singer of Telepress hooked me up with his friend Nick in Columbia, the heart of Missouri. I arrived this morning around 1am. We hung for a while and Nick invited to me to stay another day. Cross Canadian Ragweed is playing a free show tonight downtown. I'm excited to get to California and especially to drive through the Rockies. But we went to a house party last night and I realized that meeting people and learning about new places is the reason I'm on this trip. It's the reason I'm documenting the trip. I want to find the heartbeat of America and tell you about it. I'm looking for the common threads of humanity - the simple stories that collectively make up our history. It was interesting in the days leading up to my departure, to watch people's responses when I told them of my journey. They would often get a far off look in their eyes, a reflective gaze. As if a yearning, perhaps a memory, or perhaps a dream was awakened. I've waited all my life for these moments.

So here's a little video of the first day of driving. Still figuring out the video editing, so bear with me. Also still working on getting the design of the blog worked out. Do you like the new background image? Ok, gotta run. Maybe going caving for a minute before the show. Talk to you soon.

Exodus

A humid hot afternoon in Nashville gets to be comfortable after a while. Not that it's actually comfortable sweating your face off. But comfortable the way that your favorite pair of jeans are comfortable. They've been with you through the good and the bad. They remind you of time spent with people who were important to you. They're constant, reliable.

Eventually though, it comes time to retire those favorite jeans. They get a special place in the back of the closet. And you hold on to them for many years, as you hold on to the memories they represent.

After living in Tennessee all my life, it's time for a change. I've had a lot of good times here. I've met a lot of good people. But it's taken me 26 years to realize that you can't ignore the desires of your heart. Doing so leads many people to the brink of insanity. Until living becomes a false existence...simply clinging to apparitions of your dreams, and constantly using the phrase "someday".

Everyone's been asking me if I'm excited about leaving. I am. But one thing's for sure. I'm looking forward to the day that I pull those old jeans out of the closet and come visit my friends in Nashville.


I wish you all much luck and good fortune in your endeavors.

JM REMBOLD


--Stay tuned for videos and photos from the road, I'll be taking a northern route through the Rockies and then over to the Pacific coast.--