#RSRSeesTheUSA Day 60: Denver, CO & I-80
Heading east toward home, and into state 24 on this trip (Nebraska).
I’ve always had some twisty-churning feelings when I radically shift social dynamics. It’s one part the homesickness of going to summer camp for the first time + one part the fatigue of recalibrating to new norms + one part craning my neck to look back at the time that’s just gone by + one part wrenching my head around to look toward what’s coming next.
This trip has been a lot of that, and I’ve written before about how it feels like it’s come in phases. Now I’ve officially said goodbye to the last friendship-focused part of the trip, and I’m driving toward home with a few more days ahead of solitude and the road (planning to be home on May 10). It feels symmetrical, in that this is how my trip started all the way back two months ago as I drove south from snowy, cold Massachusetts.
Today was a sampling of Denver bakeries in the morning and then a long stint on I-80 to Lincoln, NE, where I pushed through a couple hours of rain in the dark to get to the charmingly kitschy, retro college dorm inspired Graduate Lincoln hotel.
Much as I love a campground or a boondocking spot, I also love a cozy, comfortable hotel with personality, so it was nice to have this one to cocoon my tender twisty-churning feelings as I approach the end of this grand adventure.
