Hello Blog Readers,

This is the last post of my 2016 road trip.  And what a trip it has been!  I’ll try to double back with some recaps at the end of the post, but first!  Tonight’s game.  Tonight UCSB played Arizona in an elimination round of the College World Series.  I went out into the brutal heat to watch the game, and even wore a good luck sombrero in an effort to help scratch every superstitious itch that exists in the sport, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.  UCSB still lost, and the ‘chomaha takeover came to an end.  Even though I would have loved to see my team make it all the way to the championship match, they had a great run, and should all be proud of themselves.  The fans too should be proud, having turned this stuffy, midwest ballpark into a ruckus Gaucho-filled arena.  The Gauchos have died, long live the Gauchos!

With my interest in the College World Series now dissipated, my focus now turns towards reminiscing on some of my other loves here in Omaha.

From Amsterdam’s in Dundee.

To Thai Iced Teas at Blue Line.

From the storied brick streets of the Old Market.

To the still epic music scene in Benson.

From my unabashed love of the never-ending hipster culture.

To the simple pleasure of having family beyond my parents and sisters nearby.

My dad with his brothers – first time they’ve been together in over a decade.

It would seem that Omaha should satisfy all that I’m searching for in life, and yet something about this place is toxic, and that toxicity becomes apparent after about a week of being here.  The obsession with materialism.  The excess of food, alcohol, cars, houses, building and construction everywhere.  Outside the painted Midwest sunsets that make everything hum red electric, the lack of natural beauty.  The way the air tastes of nitrogen and smog.  The overabundance of corporate culture, and the low salaries, poor health, and desperation that result from that overabundance.  The way everyone lives in a coddled bubble, completely out of touch with what is going on in the great, broad world.  In a nutshell, the greed and the boredom of it all.

It makes me long for the freedom of the open road once more, with the towering San Juans on the horizon.

The brisk cold of pure morning air.

The green windmill fields just outside of Spanish Fork.

And going beyond that, home.  My home.  From its valleys to its oceans.

The place to which I long to return.  Where the Wild Things Are – California.  I may not have everything figured out in life, and there are various issues I still need to address before I can say I’m living the life I know in my heart I’m supposed to be living, but I can say in all honesty that I love my State and where I live.   It’s time to go back home.

Cheers,

Rob