Pillows

When I first signed on to do this trip, Nicole and Kate told me that we were going to be camping and sleeping at churches. I didn’t really pay much attention to that because I was still blown away by the “traveling across the United States” part that everything from that moment on was a blur.
Even after a few emails of what to bring, I was still ill-prepared.
Sleeping bag? Didn’t bring one. Sleeping pillow? Didn’t bring that either. Sleeping cushion? Nope.
I really wasn’t prepared but luckily Thermostat donated some sleeping bags to us and Nicole brought an extra one for me to use. “Sleeping on the floor for about 2 months isn’t that bad, right?”- I told myself. I still didn’t have a pillow and my towel wasn’t a good substitute for it. About a month in to the trip, it finally occurred to me that I should probably buy a pillow. I got the cheapest pillow I could find and it happened to be a camping pillow. I remember thinking to myself, “This is great! Finally a pillow to rest my head on.”
I was so excited to use the pillow that night. Later in the evening, I unwrapped my two sleeping bags, I set my backpack to my right and my water bottle to the left. Then I whipped out the sleeping pillow. I thought I was a genius! Once I pulled out the pillow from the carrying bag, I was extremely disappointed. It was about as comfortable as stacking all my shirts into a bag. I didn’t mind sleeping on the floor, it was the lack of comfort my head had as I laid down that bugged me.
Every time we are fortunate enough to sleep in a house, everyone gets really excited. I honestly believe that I think I get the most, just because I know that there is going to be a pillow waiting for my head to lay on. The more pillows the better! I can use two for my head and a third to cuddle with. It’s like being surrounded by fluffy clouds. (A HUGE thank you to every body that has opened their homes to us.) I always wake up the next day feeling well-rested.
Lately, I’ve started to get use to my camping pillow and after a few days of getting use to it, I can’t sleep without it. It’s funny how that works. For the past couple of nights, we’ve been camping and it’s been great being in the outdoors and smelling that campfire aroma. It becomes really peaceful and if everyone is quiet, you can hear the wood crackling as it burns.
Hopefully next time I do something like this, I’ll make sure to bring extra pillows.

Alex

Again, thank you so much to those that have welcomed us inside their homes. We truly appreciate it.