Thursday, October 30, 2008

Annalisa's Across America Trek


I honestly do not know where to start on this intrepid journey the seven of us took this summer. Although it may sound like a cliché, I have so many great memories, that will stay with me forever.
Sure, I could talk about the mountain we climbed in the dark during a storm or maybe the tree house we slept in. I could go on about the monotonous scenery in Montana and how we even ran out of things to think about or maybe playing Frisbee over the continental divide. Perhaps the interesting people we met along the way or the exhilaration you get after climbing 30 miles uphill and finally letting gravity do it’s job as you slide downhill. I could tell you about the tomato-avocado cookie, the nurf gun battles, or maybe the restaurant where horseradish wasn’t available, but I guess you would have had to have been there to understand.
We biked through rain, heat, hail, and even snow, up mountains, though valleys, and on the endless plains. Through thick and thin, mentally and physically, we made it all in one piece and I would do anything to be back on the seat of my bicycle instead of pushed into a desk at school.
Reaching the George Washington Bridge, with a crystal clear view of New York City in the distance, was surely one of the most amazing moments of my life. All I can say is boy, do we have a hell of a story to tell to our grandchildren.

~ Annalisa Van den Bergh, Grade 11