friends and family

    I have been off the radar for a week now and have been having a fantastic time. March 3, I flew out of Austin, Texas and into Chicago. From there, I hopped on a bus and motored my way to Michigan City, Indiana. Only 3 people knew I was coming home because it was suppose to be a surprise to my aging brother. I surprised him at his birthday party and had a fantastic time with friends and family. Thankfully, I took care of his birthday presents for the next 14 years with one click of the mouse button purchasing tickets. Due to his increasing age, he may not remember I was home but it was still worth it. 
   While I was home, I took care of some loose ends in preparation of our return to Holland in May. I put out some applications for jobs here and there to try to get my foot in the door. Feels really odd to be preparing to call it quits. I have very mixed emotions about it. Half of me is ready for the next chapter and to have a routine again. We set out to go for a year and accomplished our goal and then some. The bus life is not a long term thing and it does need to come to an end eventually. We want to preserve what memories and awesomeness we have before we start to dislike what we are doing. This required setting a date to call it quits and Michigan summer is a great thing to return too. We are all finding it harder to blog, update pictures, and journal. Can't believe its been two weeks since all of our last blog. 
    I flew back to Houston on standby this past Sunday. I made it from Grand Rapids to Denver no problem. I had a five hour lay over and the next flight was full with me being fifth in line for an open seat. I sat around for about 30 minutes and decided to call up some friends that live in Denver to come get me. I would try to catch the next flight Monday morning and enjoy some time with friends. Laying in a Denver park and playing with doggies sure beat sitting in an airport. I got to catch up with a lot of old friends and it was so good to see them all again. I caught a flight Monday morning to meet back up with the gang in Sugar Land, Texas. We passed through Sugar Land a year ago and stayed with Gaynor and family. We loved our stay here last time and had to see our family again.   
    We are currently lining ourselves up with a different type of work while here. Gaynor sent out some emails and such and is trying to get us into more personal situations. She had the great idea to see if we could help with single moms, military families, widows, elderly... People might need some extra help just around the house fixing stuff or yard work. 
    Well, I might as well put it out there. As of three weeks from right now... I'm done with the biggest adventure of my life. I accepted a job in Holland, Michigan and they want me to start April 16 at the latest. It's a job driving garbage truck again and since I will be taking over my mortgage shortly, I needed a job. Sadly, it cuts my trip to a premature end. I have extremely mixed emotions about it. Everything I have spent the last 3.5 years of my life working for is coming to an end. But, it will help us start the next chapter of our adventure and the Lost Bus.