LANSING, IOWA
After 1:00 AM, we were finally able to get some sleep, until Natalie woke up at her usual 4:00 AM to start the day all over again. I ached a little, but after walking to a local gas station for some much-needed morning coffee, we began the process of packing up our gear and hauling our four duffle bags a half a mile down the road to the passenger bus for our drive westward.
Natalie and I got the prime seats in the back of the bus that don’t recline and are positioned awkwardly adjacent to the toilet, which only hindered our desire to sleep and created some interesting interactions with the other travelers making never-ending pit stops a few inches away from our heads. We slept as best we could and enjoyed the scenic views of miles and miles of corn fields 
. Lots of hay bales, silos, tractors, and corn fields. I think I already mentioned the part about corn fields, but I digress.
Surprisingly, the buses traveled directly through my hometown of Ossian, IA, on their way to the halfway point of Webster City for lunch. The Ossian encounter was the most exciting moment of the morning odyssey for me. Natalie slept through the 90 seconds it took to get from one end of town to the other and missed the entire spectacle. In truth, she didn’t miss much, but it certainly brought back some fond memories of years past for me.
The bus ride seemed to take forever, and the long hours were only made worse when contemplating that we must bike all the way back to Lansing before this is over.
We arrived in Sergeant Bluff around 4:00 PM and once we got our bikes we made a quick run downtown to check out the Expo before calling it a night. Planning to be up by 5 and on the road heading east by 6:00 AM. This is what it’s all about!! Can’t wait!!!
