After a 600 mile day with some ups and downs and lots of beautiful fall colors, Lyndsay and I ended up in Birmingham, Alabama. Along the way, something new happened. After four months of traveling this tour, we stopped at a rest stop.

I’m amazed it took this long. Then again, when you have to get fuel every 200 miles you don’t really have to stop more often.

I decided I wanted to get lost in a movie, so we went to get more lemons and then ended up at a movie theater. It was there – at the ticket booth, that my day was made. I decided to pay with cash, and I was handed back three shiny quarters as change. I thought they looked rather new, so I turned them over, and behold…

They’re Alaska state quarters! Don’t ask my why exactly this got me so excited, but it was exactly the pick-me-up I needed, and Lyndsay can attest that I think I literally jumped up and down out of excitement. I can remember when the first state quarters came out way back when and how far off the Alaska quarter minting seemed. Now it’s here. Where has all that time gone?

Yeah, that’s right. Lemons.