HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made it!!! I'm HOME!

I had wonderful weather to start the journey home. For the first 6 hours or so it was near 70 degrees. I thanked Spirit for the warm sun while I had the windows down and the sun shining on my face. When I hit the middle of Ohio it started raining and I drove through the rain until I got through Chicago. I'm not a fan of driving at night but add semi trucks and rain to the mix and you have my personal version of hell. But obviously I made it through.

I had several things happen on the trip which let me know the guardians and angels, I asked to surround me, were there. I was not expecting the tolls to be so much so I needed to get more cash. All the ATMs I saw at the rest stops were from banks I've never heard of and you know what that means, huge fees from them and from my bank. So, I put out to the universe that I needed a Bank of America ATM. I pulled into the last gas station/rest stop area on the Ohio turnpike (btw, the rest stops on the Ohio Turnpike are the best I've ever stopped at) and what do I find, a Bank of America ATM. Earlier I needed a break from the rain as I was tired of the spray from the semis speeding past and blinding me. I was so tensed up and I said "I really need a break from this for a few miles." Guess what happened, shortly after I said that there was no rain for 10 min or so. This repeated itself a few times.

The point of this whole year was about a spiritual journey/adventure so I decided to take a little detour as I was driving past LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I saw a sign for a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe. I was in no real hurry so I followed the sign. I had no idea it was so far off the road I was driving on, which was probably a good thing. As I was driving through the streets of LaCrosse there were a few times I wondered if I missed a sign telling me to turn because it felt like I had been driving a longer time than necessary. So, I told myself if I didn't see a sign by X time then I would turn around. EVERY SINGLE time I did that I saw a sign before my specified time. I finally arrived and found a very nice little complex dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I browsed the giftshop, purchased a postcard (lighting for the statue was bad at the time so I couldn't take a picture), and went to see the chapel. As I entered in I discovered a mass was about to start (more perfect timing). Not wanting to be rude and leave I decided to stay. I posted a few days ago about my list of things I want to do this year and guess what was on the list? Attend a Catholic mass!! It was a small intimate service, just the way I like it.

I'm getting tired and I need to do a few things before I go to bed so I am going to sign off for now and write more tomorrow.