Some Sort of Road Trip

For those of you that remember, there was a time about three or so years ago when all of us were planning a post-college road trip. Orginally the plan was to drive out west to California and see some sights along the way. As conversations continued, I went way overboard and started pushing for a full-blown U.S. tour, from California to Texas, down to the Florida Keys where TC really wanted to go, up to NYC where few of us have been, even stopping in Canada before heading back to Chicago. Aside from this trip being unrealistic for obvious reasons, the potential for the trip of a lifetime was there. Unfortunately, things fizzled out between that time and the end of college; friendships were broken, people were understandably broke, and there wasn't an abundance of free time considering things like jobs and law school were looming.

Although it does not compare on any level to what that trip could and would have been, I set out on a solo roadtrip after college. Part of me couldn't stomach the thought of going home and admitting things were over, part of me wanted to see the midwest before I potentially made a break west and in many ways, I wanted to fufill my commitment and complete some sort of roadtrip to satisfy our original plans. So here is what I did:

I remember the day my lease ran out on August 31. I was the last one of the roommates to leave my house. I vividly recall sleeping on our living room couch that night with everything already packed and ready to go. I woke up, walked out to my car and looked down the street in both directions. I was done with school, I didn't have a job, I didn't have a place to live, and I didn't have anyplace I needed to be. I could have gone anywhere, I seriously could have done anything. So what did I do? I got in my car and drove five blocks down the street to 617 S. Johnson where TC, Scabs, Sesh, Panosh, and Little Bills live. I slept on the couch on their porch for a week. My road trip started thereafter.

I figured I should get some Iowa cities of relevance out of the way. I had never been to Iowa State and figured Ames might be a good place to start before I left the state of Iowa for good. I crashed at Vandy's place for a night in Ames. Our night consisted of Vandy trying to hook up with a girl with fake tits and ending up puking and passing out. Overall, I didn't think Iowa State was a complete shithole like I had heard from many people, but it was close. Vandy is about the only thing I like there.

I also hadn't been to Des Moines which I had to see before I left Iowa, so I drove to Des Moines next. I noticed that there are a lot of fountains in Des Moines; at banks, at the mall, everywhere it seemed. I crashed at Chromie's house and played golf the following day. I haven't played since.

Then Kansas City and Scabbies' girlfriend came a calling, so I hit the road for Kansas City. Ashley was completely new to the area so she knew little more about Kansas City than I did. We went out to eat and went to the bar. In typical Scabbies fashion, he was mad at me the next day for going out to eat with his girlfriend. Scabs recently moved down to Kansas City so he can make sure that no other guys get to go out to eat with his girlfriend.

Driving straight south from Kansas City, I went to Branson, Missouri to visit Chuck. Branson was definitely a highlight of the trip. Chuck and I were on the boat the whole weekend; drinking beer, talking about where our lives were headed, cliff jumping. Chuck's parents are great people and his dad has some interesting stories. Mostly, Chuck and I did a lot of drinking which is something we both enjoy.

I then drove ten hours to Lexington, Kentucky to visit Ms. Torey Phelps. My time in Lexington was brief, but fun. We went to the bar and watched a guitarist play country songs with a cowboy hat on so as far as I'm concerned my road-trip went through the south. Torey's boyfriend refused to go out with us which was weird, but fine with me. Torey woke up at five the following morning to go work on her horse. You have to respect someone doing something they are truly passionate about even if that means waking up hungover at dawn to wash horse parts.

The next stop was Cincinatti where my buddy Roger from study abroad lives. Rog had to work at a restaurant the night I got there so I hung out with his buddy Mike until he was off. We all met up at the bar, then Mike and I split and Rog and his girl headed home, I was interested in one of the girls Rog went to high school with that was at the bar. By four in the morning I had been completely led on by this girl and my "ride home" Mike was passed out in a bush in the front lawn, literally. I ended up bumming a ride back to Roger's place with some dudes from the party who came into Roger's house with me when they dropped me off and walked out with two cases of beer. They said they were going fishing. As for the city of Cincy which I toured with Rog the following day, there is literally a street that divides the city in half. One side is nice; museums, sports stadiums, etc. and you cross one street and you are in the ghetto with crack heads on every corner. I've never seen a city so blatantly divided like that.

No road trip is complete without stopping in good 'ole Dekalb, so I went to Northern to stay with Johnny D. Davits for a few days. Northern was just like it always is, but it's ok, I would visit Davit in Iraq if he lived there. At Northern, I learned what dumpster-diving is, I watched a kid walk around a river for a disc, and I had numerous conversations with Davit about our future company which will happen.

Chi-town was next so I went to stay with Jackie, which I had been looking forward to for most of the trip. We had a blast and flirted with each other the whole weekend, but I left without having things go how I really wanted them to go, which is always how things go with me and Jackie.

Then I went to see Park-man who is actually headed out here to LA in a week. I got Parker and Natalie Angela in the same bar, I knew those two would butt heads and they did just that, screaming at each other on the street after bar-close.

Then I ran out of money so I went home. I had been on the road for a month. The midwest roadtrip was over and real life was ready to begin whether I liked it or not. TM