Yesterday was the first full day away from home and what a great day it was. After a good night of sleep I was fully rested for the day. All of the anxiousness and restless nerves that I had the weeks (and months) leading up to all of this are all gone. It’s here now and I’m loving it. So… back to Milwaukee. I experienced a broad range of culture yesterday. …

I hit the road once again today. This time I left home and from here there will be nothing familiar. Several family friends were able to come over this morning to wish me a safe and enjoyable year. It was a cold drizziling morning, but as I learned from my mom’s Romanian friend it means great beginnings. It was pretty sad to leave mom and dad. Their support means the world to me. …

Today’s highlight is pretty easy to choose. It was a great experience to go in and talk to kids at my old elementary school, from kindergarten to sixth graders. I was excited to talk to the kids about what I’m doing and their classes plan to follow me as I travel around. For these kids it’s going to be a great way for them to learn about the United States. …

It’s been a great few days at home, but it’s time to hit the road for good. I’ve spent a lot of time this week getting additional things ready and making sure I had everything I need. This week at home gave me a good feel of how much free time I’ll have on the trip and how busy I’ll actually be. I spent a lot of time talking to local family friends and letting them know about the big year ahead of me. …

During my stay at home I’ve gone along with my mother to visit with some of her friends and update them on everything I’m doing. One of my mom’s great gifts is to have friends of all ages, from being a Godmother to playing the piano once a month at the local nursing home. Perspectives change drastically between generations as the body and mind gets old. Having those friends from different generations can definitely help one’s own perspective in how they see life. …

After a bowl of Corn Chex I headed to the Baraga County Historical Museum where I met Jim Dompier. Jim’s entire family has roots in Baraga, from many generations. If there’s something that somebody needs to know about Baraga he’s the person to talk to. He filled me in on the history of the town, how it developed from Bishop Baraga and Captain Bendry, to the influence that Henry Ford had on Baraga county. …

It was just over a year ago when a crazy idea popped into my head. That crazy idea was to drive to all 50 states in a year, staying with people I’ve never met. But how would I do that? How would I fund it? How would I find people to stay with and pull everything together? At the time I thought it was so far fetched that I didn’t really tell anyone. …

It’s been a full eight months since I was last home. But I made it. I arrived about 7:40pm after a long goodbye to East Lansing and MSU this morning. It was pretty difficult to leave a place that I’ve experienced so much of life in the last five years. It’s good to be home. Really good. Since I’ve gone eight months without going home a couple times in my life now, going 12 months won’t be so difficult. …

If there was one experience I had to single out to choose as the biggest inspiration of this trip it dates back just over two years ago. It was the last week of June 2004 and I found myself in London with a group of 20 other college students. We spent six weeks studying photography between England, Scotland, and Czech Republic. It was the greatest six weeks of my life. …

My full name is Justin William Sailor My nickname is Bugsy I was born February 10th, 1983 I was born in Midland, MI I’m a Yooper My family moved to Baraga, MI when I was one I painted myself blue when I was one I’m right-handed I’m a direct descendent of a passenger from the Mayflower I’m related to Rebecca Nurse (first witch prosecuted in Salem witch trials) My brother and I share the same birthday, one year apart I started playing hockey at age 5 I played goalie once in my life, we lost 12-1 I refereed youth hockey Our Odyssey of the Mind team went to states three of four years My first job was washing cars at a dealership I’ve never had cotton candy The fastest I’ve solved a Rubik’s cube is 1 min 6 sec I usually cut my hair once every 9-12 months My first car was a 1983 Mercury Cougar I have large hockey card and autograph collections Our team won the local little league championship my last year I played football in 9th grade In elementary school I was voted “Best Dribbler” in basketball I had 8 stitches in my right eye brow when I was 4 or 5 I’ve broken my right pinky In 6th grade I had a serious concussion after volunteering to be thrown down a hill I spent 6 weeks on crutches after breaking my ankle skateboarding My first concert was Weird Al Yankovic My favorite band is The Smashing Pumpkins I was photo editor for the nation’s largest published yearbook at MSU I have a B. …