corn

chi-town to ham lake. mile after mile of caan. i've heard that there's a lot of caan out here, but this is crazy.

baby caan

dead caan

gmo caan 

james caan

it's me

jenni here. brie "promised a guest blogger," so i won't make a liar out of her despite the fact that reading and writing in the car gives me vicious illness. she doesn't care. our trip started with a visit from the most admirable of earth's creatures. we're plowing through this leg like rockstars, but that doesn't mean we aren't getting slappy. things that have interested me...

just stretchin' ma belly rollin' in the cruze (6 inch long plumber's crack not pictured)

chicago feels out of place

requisite selfie. camera positioned so well you can't even see my arm. 

'bout to barf since it took me 20 minutes to link google+ with this thing. elderly. 

Leg 1 Brooklyn to Chicago with a special guest

The praying mantis is the oldest symbol of God. "Mantis" is the Greek word for "prophet". The praying mantis supposedly directed pilgrims to Mecca. "The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external diner we've created. An appearance from the mantis is a message to be still, go within, meditate, get quiet and reach a place of calm. It may also be a sign for you to be more mindful of the choices you are making and confirm that these choices are congruent."*

Imagine my surprise at 4:20 this morning when I went out in the rain in downtown Brooklyn to retrieve my car from the garage. It was pouring and I thought, "what a crap way to start a long trek". And then I saw her. A praying mantis on the hood of my car in the dead center. I pulled up to Jenni to begin packing up and the mantis remained still. In the rain. On a moving car. I said, "Jenni - there's a grasshopper THIS long on the hood."

We packed the car and she stayed. We drove out of Brooklyn after little sleep at the beginning of the first leg of a road trip that would last almost a week. Once we realized it wasn't a grasshopper Jenni researched the meaning of the mantis and we were on our way. Both covered in chills in the dark morning and the spotty rain.

Here she is in her glory on the hood. It is still surreal. I will take it as a sign. We needed a prophet. I've needed one for a while but now I feel so comforted about everything. The madness and chaos has passed. Now we just have to laugh. Drive safe. Take great care of Stewie and each other and get to California. With the guidance of the praying mantis.

*taken from http://www.whats-your-sign.com

This is my favorite photo of the Brooklyn Bridge. I took it in Brooklyn Bridge Park this past spring on a run. I have lived in Brooklyn for 7 years. Tomorrow I set off with Jenni and my cat Stewie to drive X-country and meet up with my husband Dave in San Rafael, CA.

It's 11:00 p.m.  and we are on the aero bed dreaming of our first nights' sleep in a real bed. The alarm is set for 3:35. Jenni and I have an aggressive day ahead as we plan to drive straight through to Chicago.

The past few days in Brooklyn have sure been sad. There were many lasts. Lots of tears. A ton of great food and a lot of looking back on 7 years in a city I dreamed of living in forever and now I am choosing to leave. It is so hard to live here and so hard to leave. Stay tuned for updates on our adventure.

- Brie, Jenni and Stewie