road trip

Black Betty and I just returned from a trip for work. It was a doozie. If I did the math correctly [and this is hard because I mostly count on my fingers] I logged somewhere around 1,300 miles. The trip went a little something like this: Appleton to Milwaukee, Milwaukee to Chicago back to Milwaukee, Milwaukee to Slinger, Slinger to Chicago, Chicago to Des Moines, Des Moines to Ames, and Ames to Appleton. Woah. That's a lot of driving. During all those miles of highway I had an opportunity to do a lot of observing. There were highlights and lowlights... but most importantly a safe trip overall.

I'd like to recognize Iowa (and Minnesota from an earlier trip) for having my favorite part of my drive... 70 mile per hour speed limits. I love driving fast and we all know that ten miles an hour over a limit is generally acceptable. The NASCAR driver in me had to push that limit, however. Going 95 was sweet. I didn't push it any more than that. Sigh. Fast.

Lotsa time to check out what's on the radio too. Gah. What are kids listening to these days? I won't name any songs because if you really like that song I'd feel bad that I insulted your taste in music and I want to keep my readers, not alienate them. I will, however, go out on a limb and tell you what a few of my favorite radio songs are... judge away, I'm ready. I found myself tuning into a lot of pop stations. The radio got louder when the following songs came on: Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus, Obsessed by Mariah Carey, and Paparazzi by Lady Gaga. I know, am I, like, seventeen? Did you guys know Ryan Seacrest has a daytime radio show? It is aired on a number of major stations. It makes me like him a *little* bit more. Still not enough to say I like him in general, but some bonus points. I'm sure Ryan is thrilled. I also played some (old) Kings of Leon and Carolina Liar on CD. I felt like that kinda balanced out the tweenager jam sessions. Plan for next trip... book on CD. I was a little nutty on the way home. Miley can only sustain fun and excitement for a certain amount of time.

Back to the actual task while behind the wheel... driving. Best and worst. Folks from Iowa get another round of applause. They totally get the "battering ram" technique I've tried to implement on the streets. I'm driving fast and they are getting out of the way. Love it. As I have always said, folks from Illinois are the worst drivers. No signals for lane changes. Flying by you on the right when no one is in the left lane. Driving on the shoulder. Sheesh. Of course these generalizations are gross and probably wildly inaccurate for a lot of people. This is just what I observed while on the road. Wisconsin drivers are not perfect angels either. My theory is, the further north you go, the worse they are. Their problem though, is driving slow, not like maniacs going to a fire.

One final highlight is my car hit 33,333 miles. It was an exciting moment that I captured via camera phone. Unfortunately I can't do anything with the pic because I can't get it off my phone, so you'll just have to trust me on this. If you want proof come and find me and I'll show you a pic. Then my middle finger. Untrusting jerk. I was just north of Rosendale, Wisco near county highway FF. I thought that was pretty freakin' sweet since one of my favorite words starts with F. You know they one.

That's the word from the road. My stops in between were wonderful. Thanks to Megan, my parents, Chris and Joyce, and Sam and Claire for hosting me. LU thanks you too. You made the nights fun and restful... except you Megan... no rest in Milwaukee... but I guess I only have myself to blame. It was totally worth it. "Heeaaaayyyyyyyy... it's a Party in the U.S.A."