### May 20 Well, on May 20, 1804, I was busy preparing for the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. But do you know what else happened on that same day in history? The first ever steam locomotive passenger service began in Wales! Anyway, back to my story. As I was overseeing preparations, I suddenly heard a loud noise coming from one of the crates. I opened it up and there was my friend John Laurens, who had somehow managed to sneak himself into one of the boxes. I couldn't help but chuckle at his audacity. "John, what on earth are you doing in there?" I asked. "I couldn't bear the thought of you going on this grand adventure without me, Alexander!" he replied with a grin on his face. I couldn't fault his loyalty, but we both knew that his presence on the expedition would cause more trouble than anything else. So I convinced him to return home and continue helping with the war effort. Needless to say, it was a moment of levity amidst all the stress and excitement of planning for such a monumental trip. And who knows, maybe if John had been able to join us, we would have come across some Welsh steam locomotives during our journey across America!