I woke up in a chilly hotel room. I had set the heat to low, but had no idea that when I woke up at 8:30, it would still be 17 degrees outside. Then again, it was Fargo. :)

I drove through the town a bit, then found a AAA store- this was a lucky find for me. Since I hadn't originally planned to come this far North, I had no maps to follow, and didn't know the ins and outs of the area I was driving. Everything's free at AAA once you're a member, so I got a handful of maps for the ride home and figured out my route.

On my way out, I came to a four way stop. (I'm writing this primarily so I never forget this). I came to a stop, then a few cars went. Then, there was nothing but me and this old, piece-of-shit Ford across from me (to my right). There was a long pause, since frankly, I didn't care when I left town. I was in no hurry. But the pause got longer. So, since four-way stop pausing is probably the #1 cause of accidents, I started creeping slowly into the intersection. Immediately, the Ford came to life. Not with the engine so much as the horn. The horn was slammed. It laid down with a blaring honk almost as if the driver had been thrown through the windshield. I immediately glanced to my right. The Ford was now moving, and the driver- a pale, white guy with thick glasses and almost no hair remaining- was staring at me, and appeared to be yelling at the top of his lungs. He had his middle finger up and was mouthing the words FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE at me. I looked at him, puzzled. As he drove past the intersection, the horn was still slammed, his finger was still up, and his face was almost pressed against the window staring and yelling at me.

It was the funniest, most random thing I've ever seen. I was laughing at him when he drove by. It was hilarious. This guy was taking things WAY too seriously, and instead of yeilding to his left (as he legally ought to have done) he was not just mad- he was irate at me. And what's more- he wanted to rub it in my face that he was victorious. I couldn't have cared less. It was hilarious.

I still chuckle when I think of that guy. I have no clue what set him off so much, and would have happily dragged him out of his car to 'throw down' if he wanted, but the look on his face was so morbidly angry, it just cracked me up. Fargo, North Dakota. I guess there's not much else going on up there. Wouldn't be surprised if "Virginia driver missteps after 1 minute of silence at 4-way stop" makes the front page headlines up there.

I drove on, still laughing at that assclown.

I crossed into Minnesota and continued on. What was neat about Minnesota was the ponds- there were tons of them, and they must have been sturdy because people had driven trucks out to the center to go ice fishing. :)

When I was just outside of St. Cloud, I stopped at a gas station. It was more of a truck stop than a station, so once I filled up, I walked around inside to see what was what.

...and there, on a shelf, was the exact boot model and color I had been looking for in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas!!! (and they were asking $25 less than the other places!) I asked if they had it in my size, and sure enough!! They did! I was so excited, I bought them immediately and wore them out of the store.

I cut through St. Paul and Minneapolis, completely forgetting to visit the Mall of the Americas- I was stuck in rush-hour traffic by the time I got to the twin cities, so I had to keep moving anyhow.

When I made it to Wisconsin, I knew I had a few hours of daylight left, so I took what turned out to be my favorite photo of the trip. This pic says everything about these past two years. It's me, standing by my car, a symbol of victory over the roads. My car has taken me so many places. The hat and boots are a great symbol of the many things I have seen and cultures I have interacted with in my travels. And of course, the license plate, implying that I've recorded all my adventures here on the site. I love this pic.

I made it to Madison, Wisconsin and got out to look around. It must have been about 8pm and I wasn't tired yet- that was the final destination for the day, but after looking around at the capitol building, I decided I had a few hours of energy left, so I got back in the car and made it to Dubuque, Iowa.

The next day, I woke up to snow. Everything was covered by a few inches of white powder that I was fortunate not to have to face until I was out of the frozen tundra of North Dakota. I checked out of my place that morning and headed to Dyersville, Iowa.

Dyersville is home to the Field of Dreams. Since the filming, the Field of Dreams has been home to tourists all over the world, just like in the movie. "People will come." Since the snow was on the ground, the museum was closed, so I walked around near the field and looked around. It'd be neat to see this in the summertime when tourists are playing a pickup game out in the cornfield.

After the Field of Dreams, I drove a few hours to my cousin Angie's place to catch up with her. Then, it was 8 hours off to Columbus, Ohio to stay with my uncle.