Nearly 13 hours, 32 different state plates, 2 Canadian plates, 40 gallons of gas, and a temperature increase of 30 degrees later, we finally arrived in good ol' Long Beach, Mississippi to the place will call home for the next 7 days! The trip brought us through Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi before all was done.  And while the trip may not be one of the most eventful trips of my life, it didn't come without it's entertaining moments. 

We ended up in Montgomery, AL about lunch time and managed to take the wrong exit into AT&Ts gated office center.  Thanks to some questionable traffic maneuvers we finally arrived out Chik-fil-a for lunch only to find every single person in the building wearing Alabama color.  Yes, yes, I know it makes sense since we were in Alabama.... but I mean really?  It took every effort not to yell out GO HOKIES!  No worries, 2011 BCS Champs here we come!

The only thing that kept us sane throughout the trip was the license plate game!  We were able to find 32 different state plates including California, Oregon, and South Dakota.  I can imagine it will be difficult though to get Hawaii.  The highlight of the day though, was seeing a Virginia plate with the letters IH8NOVA.    Possibly my favorite license plate ever! =D 

But now that we arrived here safely and are settled down, I thank you all very much for your prayers and continued support.  Tomorrow we
head to church in the morning to see friends and family.  We'll be attending the same church I went to when I lived here so I am excited to see all the kids I hung out with in youth group as well as the families I got to know over my 6 month stint.  After that we have plans to see what has changed since our last visit to Mississippi and hang out with some of the "college" students here that evening.  Work starts early Monday so I pray we can hit the ground running.  But until then, may old friendships be renewed and new friendships strengthened. 

Tired and Weary,
Erich Roscher