We are close to the centre of America. This is the furthest away I've been from the seaside, which is good, because I HATE sand!

View a larger map of where James is

Yesterday, we drove from Chicago, IL, over to Ames, IA. This was a 6 hour journey. During the journey, there were quite a few points of interest, besides the vast amounts of corn. We went over the Mississippi river, which was wide. We also went to the largest truck stop in the world. Genuinely! We stopped there for some food. 'People-watching' was interesting there. Whilst there, I had the healthy option and had two cheeseburgers and chicken from Wendy's...

In Ames, we are staying with some family friends, Janet and Pete, in their home.

For past the two mornings, I've gone for a bike ride around the neighbourhood, looking like the paper boy. This morning I got a bit lost.

We've been made to feel very much at home. Therefore, this has allowed me to improve my pool playing.

Later on in the day, yesterday, we went to this huge mall in Des Moins. We went to The Cheesecake Factory, hoping to see Penny from The Big Bang Theory... we had no luck. Bazinga!

For my meal, I had a Monster Burrito. This thing was pretty big.

Finally we all drove home, on the way, we stopped off at Walmart. I really wanted to buy a watch. It only cost $20. I chose it because I didn't want the normal Casio watch that everyone now has, I took it a step further and got the calculator version!

Also, a special mention to my good friend Joel, who hurt his arm by falling of his bike. Stay strong brother x