Day 22... Lady Liberty, Traffic...yes.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
I haven't blogged in a couple days, so I am sorry to leave you hanging. Right now, I am in West Milford, New Jersey which is about 35 or so miles west of New York City. I got here yesterday evening.

After waiting a day for the rain to stop, I saddled up the bike, got in position and cruised down the road once again, hitting 5 states in one day. Yep, those would be Massechussetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Except, the trip didn't go as smoothly as planned. The day started of great with beautiful weather and nice, sunny skys. I enjoyed my dinner on the rocks in Connecticut, listening to the waves roll in. Upon finishing my food, I made my way to the naval station in New London where I toured the Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine. It was pretty sweet. From there, being as smart as I am, I decided to get moving and beat rush hour and get to my destination on time. Well, I was cruising down the highway just fine until. BOOM!! stop and go traffic. Basically, there was an accident so traffic wasn't moving. By the time I got past that mess, it was about 4-4:30 and rush hour had commenced and there I was, stuck between some big cities in Connecticut and New York City... not the most opportune place to be. So, more stop and go traffic and, I later found out... another accident. To keep the story short, over the course of 2.5 to 3 hours, I moved a grand total of 25 miles and the only reason I moved that far was because 17 of those miles had been inbetween accidents where I could go 70 mph. Frustrating is the only word to describe it. But, I eventually made it, 4 hours after I planned.

Today was filled with good times. I took a train into New York and then another train to Liberty State Park, then a bus into the park and then, finally, a ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. It was a long commute, but I got here and enjoyed the monuments, for a short time. Now, some of you know, I give America a hard time on many different levels and I can ride it pretty hard, but I do have a lot of national pride. After visiting the history of Boston and now standing where millions of immigrants came into the country and reading the history of the statue of Liberty and what she stands for, I can say that I am proud of our history. America truly does have a unique history, even though we are young as a country. As I stood, looking up at Lady Liberty, I tried to imagine myself as an immigrant in the early 1900s, coming from a country of trial and tribulation, to America, the land of opportunity. It was a place famed for wild frontiers and freedom and after cruising into New York Harbor, the first sight is Lady Liberty, holding her torch high, signalling to the rest of the world that there is a place where liberty and justice are supposed to be the foundations of the republic. Honestly, I can't describe what I felt, but I can say that I felt pride for this country, probably more than I ever have. There is a lot that she does wrong and I have many problems with the U.S.A., but I still hope and pray that she can have "liberty and justice for all."

Tomorrow, I plan on travelling to Philadelphia to take in more history and see how I may be used there. I am still trying to figure out how God wants to use me on this trip and it is tough because every day, I am in a different geographical region. Anyway, please pray that I stop listening to my own voice (and maybe the voice of Satan) and open up to God's gracious voice of comfort and instruction.

God bless you all!

Timothy