Crossing Borders and Good Friends With Deep Dish

 Gbye SDakota and heyooo to Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio.  Whew. We are really flying through states at this point and Michael and I have definitely decided we should have made this trip at least a few days more so we could hang in these beautiful spots more.  But hey, there’s always the next one.  Maybe we just buy a camper...

We arrived late at night at our Hipcamp in the middle of Iowa, the cicadas were throwing a party and I was all about it. I absolutely love hearing the sounds that are so foreign to CA. We woke up to see the beautiful farm we stayed on for the night.  Noah had a great chat with the cows, “hey cows, I’m Noah Sunday Seiler!”  So polite that boy. 





We lucked on this spot, right on a pond, 16 acres of farm land, cows and chickens all to ourselves.  I like my coffee with a side of corn field. 



Our next destination was something so meaningful.  About 10 years ago I had one of my favorite jobs working for Birthright Israel at the Jewish Federation in LA.  Teddy was my coworker and we partnered up for 2 years of many many trips to Israel, leading 50 young Jews through the desert for their free 10-day experience.  We planned countless events in LA for young adults coming back from their Birthright trips and created a solid community in a city that is tough to make any authentic connections.  Teddy also basically gave me my Jewish education once he realized I knew almost nothing about my own religion and it miiight be helpful if I was going to be taken seriously as a tour guide in the Holy Land. 



Teddy and I were a Jewish Federation power duo and probably should have had our own food tv show, we were, ya know, pretty funny, but I haven’t seen him in 10 years, until today!!  As we drove through Chicago we made a pit stop at Teddy, and his wife Lara’s, house for lunch...as if it’s a normal thing to swing through for a bite in the middle of a 3k mile roadtrip.  They met Michael and Noah for the first time and, in true Teddy form, he set up a FEAST of chitowns best.  Deep dish, Chicago dogs and they sent us packing with home baked challah and local beers.  What a mensch!!  It filled my heart, and over filled my stomach, to catch up with these 2.  So many good things on this roadtrip and to catch up with a close friend like this was beyond magic. 




Comments

  1. SundaysaroundtheworldSeptember 17, 2020 at 3:32 AM

    You guys are doing it right!! Guess a couple of extra days to stretch it out would be a good idea, but there’s always next time!! Again thanks for so many wonderful photos and painting the landscape with your words Jessie! Looking forward to seeing you all pretty soon!! Just stay safe and smart travels!! Happy trails!! Love you, pops!

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