Kansas City, May 18, 12:07 P.M.

My trip is coming to a close. It is time that it did, as I have many things to do back in Tuscaloosa, but I am so glad that I’ve had the time away that I have! My visit with Claire was fantastic.

From the airport on Saturday night, we went straight to her apartment, which is right off of the KU campus. I got in terribly late because of the flight difficulties in Memphis (6 hours of iPod bonding), so we couldn’t really do anything “fun,” but we had a good time catching up just the same. After some chatter and some amazing Pizza Shuttle pepperoni with extra cheese, we popped Clueless into the DVD player and I conked out wayyy before it was over. We woke up late on Sunday and ate leftover pizza for breakfast, packed up, and left to explore! Claire drove me through campus and showed me the buildings she spends most of her time in. KU’s campus is gorgeous; the buildings are made of beautiful, huge stone and are architecturally stunning. I’m really glad I got tour while we were there. J

After we left KU, we drove to Lenexa, where the Shelleys live, and went to the Nelson, a huge museum with an amazing modern art wing. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time for the whole museum, but we did get to peruse the modern art section for a good while. They have an awesome collection. I loved it. And I loved getting to go with Claire! I feel so uneducated when I talk about the art with a learned student like herself. I tend to murmur things about perspective, shading, and stroke patterns, most of which are likely way off base. But it was still fun.

After the Nelson, we drove to the Shelley’s house and ate dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Shelley. It was good to catch up with them, and the lasagna was delicious. We left from there to see “Date Night,” the absolutely hilarious movie starring Steve Carrel and Tina Fey that made me laugh so hard I cried multiple times. When we got back to the house, I got to catch up with Russell for a while, which was great. Kinda weird. But great.

The next day was an airport attempt, which failed, followed by an awesome night of pasta and my first hookah experience in Lawrence near Claire’s college apartment. Hookah is fun and weird. I won't be making a habit of it or anything, but that will probably not be the last time I do it. Never let it be said that not getting a seat on a flight home is the worst thing that could happen. Claire and I really enjoyed our extra night together. She practiced tattooing with henna on my foot, creating a design I’ve considered putting there for some time. I’m following Mom’s advice, going the fake route for an extended amount of time to figure out how tired of it I’m going to get. J When we were both exhausted, we drove home to Lenexa and slept at the Shelley’s house before coming to the airport this morning.

Our days were obviously very full of adventures, but we had great conversations along the way. Claire is an amazing person, so full of creativity and independence. She is strong and funny and ready to put her passion into practice in the world. She’s going to be an incredible tattoo artist, and she’s going to have a wonderful opportunity through her field to reach the lost and tell them how much Christ loves them.

We’re thinking about living together in Atlanta (Buckhead or Decatur) once I’ve graduated and been hired by Delta and she has an apprenticeship set up with a tattoo parlor in the city. I’m pretty darn excited about it. J

I’m sad to be ending my journey today, but I’ve certainly imposed on Claire and her family for long enough. It is time to return to sweet home Alabama. I will be happy to be settled back into my apartment and my own bed. I’ve had enough airports, at least for the next 5 days or so.

I am content. I feel like I’ve put a lot of distance between myself and the frustrations I left in Tuscaloosa on Friday. I’m really excited about this summer and all of the opportunity it holds for me. Life is so, so good. Even when it’s hard.

I would like to make a side note. My family was amazing and so helpful this weekend whenever I called for advice or help listing for one flight or another. And they never gave me a hard time about how ridiculous it was to take on a trip of this magnitude. I love them with my whole self.