A temporary home

I made it. 2.5 hours of driving on Friday to Norwalk, OH to eat lunch with grandma and aunt mary anne, 3 hours of driving to St. Mary's OH to spend the night at uncle bill's and aunt carrie's, and a final 3.5 hours on Saturday morning, I have made the journey from Erie PA to Columbus, IN. Whew. That's 9 total hours of driving (but if we had driven directly there it would have only been 7...Norwalk and St. Mary's are slightly out of the way). I have never made a longer trip as the driver. For the first time since I was 11, I am spending an extended period of time away from Erie, PA and its surrounding suburbs. It will be an adventure!

Daddy helped me move in, and it was lots of fun spending time with him. We don't get to hang out very often as a father/daughter team, so I'm glad I got a full 48 hours with him to catch up. Although all of the driving time we spent in separate cars, all of the stopping time we spent together, and he took me shopping and stayed the first night in my apartment with me. It was good.

When daddy left this afternoon, I explored the town a little bit independently. I parked in front of a church with a really tall steeple (easy to find my car if I get lost...which I didn't because, well, it's impossible), and walked for about an hour. Columbus is small and quaint, with historic architecture and lots of churches. I noticed that all of the shops and restaurants downtown close on Sundays. I learned that there will be a farmer's market on the square every Saturday morning at 9am, which I am very excited about. There's a building covered in ivy surrounded by benches, a Vietnam War memorial, an old abandoned movie theatre, a tiny museum, a public library (closed on Sundays too), and lots and lots of Cummins buildings speckled throughout the town.

I'm pretty sure this town was built for the sole purpose of supporting the Cummins employees that work here, and tomorrow I become one of those employees. I hope I like my job. If not, it's only 10 weeks, and I'll find a way to make it fun until August. I also hope to meet people, because so far I have met none. My roommates haven't arrived yet (and won't until next weekend), and I don't know who the other interns will be. Last summer was the summer of meeting new and exciting faces, and I am determined to make this summer the same. I already have plans to go to church with my roommate once she arrives, maybe we can make a group of it. Or maybe find a Bible study with some other interns. Or maybe do Relay for Life again. Or go to the Indy 500 (next weekend, 45 minutes away...). Or go to Kentucky (apparently it's close...who knew?). There are LOTS of opportunities to have an awesome time down here! And I absolutely love sweet tea!

Oh, and does anyone know if sleeping on an air mattress for an entire summer will give me back problems? I have only slept one night here, and my back already hurts. But buying a real mattress for the summer and having to get rid of it at the end seems ridiculous. Oh well, there's always the floor.