5:07am EST
Just finished belting out some classic Aersosmith, Armageddon style. If you ever need a quick pick-me-up, old Steve will do it. We are 8,118 miles in (no, scratch that – 818 miles – the longer I’m in the car, the worse at math I get), and took our third stop of the trip. Yes, that’s right – third. We are roadtripping fiends. We’re accomplishing all kinds of inhuman feats, including overcoming our somewhat traumatic beginning to this journey – a fender bender that occurred about 100 feet before the on ramp of Lake Lansing road (I like to note at this point in the story that we are now officially part of the “90% of accidents occur within 10 miles of your home” statistic). The collision packed some punch – it wasn’t airbag worthy, but it was enough to shake us both up. Fortunately, we seem to be on luck’s good side, and two things were in our favor: 1) the guy we rear-ended already had a damaged back end, and didn’t mind that we may have added to the already smashed in bumper, and 2) Steph’s car is designed with some kind of magical plastic substance, and didn’t even see a scratch. I already proclaimed that I’m buying this exact model when I get home – dent resistant cars are where it’s at!
So, aside from that minor hiccup, we are well on our way westward (+20 to Lisa for that alliteration (it’s more impressive when you say it aloud)).
To give you some idea of the scenery we’ve been enjoying, here’s the Iowa sunset:
Also, some nice fellows from Ohio decided to initiate a friendly game of chicken … I’m still puzzled as to what the appeal was of the brake-and-accelerate game, but it probably dind’t help that I was encouraging them with ultra cool head nods, enthusiastic waving, and inquisitive stares … regardless, I photographed the lively young men before Steph’s evasive driving maneuvers lost them somewhere in Illinois country. For your viewing pleasure:
Also, the stars are unusually bright in Nebraska.
We just discussed the horrendous thought of having our U of Denver ID pictures taken upon check in. I can’t imagine that eighteen straight hours of driving is gonna make for a great photo op…. I suppose only time will tell.
Until our next time of free, we’re signing out.
Much love from the flatlands of the central time zone.
7:34 am EST
The good news is that we are no longer in the flatlands of the central time zone. Although we may still be in the central time zone (I really have no idea where that changes), the lands of Nebraska are decidedly less flat than those of Iowa. And, much to our delight, Nebraska also has beautiful sunrises:
The upside to Nebraska travel: 75 mph speed limit.
The downside to Nebraska travel: waaaaay more construction than the other states (other than Michigan of course). Also, ridiculous gas prices! Be warned, travelers: we shelled out $3.48 per gallon.
In other news, Lisa has discovered the magic that is the cord that hooks her laptop (and my iPod) to my car and allows her to play music from it on the car stereo. Needless to say we are now immersed in her “summer mix” which includes the creative lyrics of Umbrella by Rhianna and Jay-Z.
We haven’t had any major events since the beginning of the trip, thank goodness. In fact, we are such awesome roadtrippers that we have only stopped four (yes FOUR) times in 13 hours. We would have stopped even less than that, but my pesky car decided that it needed gas and threatened to stop if we did not meet its demands. Thus, we have had to stop more times than we would have liked.
Now we have to concentrate on crossing the Colorado border and then actually finding the University of Denver. It should be interesting to say the least. Until then, signing off from the semi-flatlands of Nebraska.
Edit: upon stopping at McDonald’s for breakfast, we have found out that we are, in fact, in the mountain standard time zone. Lisa’s freaking out about it being 6 am yet again…
Edit on Stephanie's edit: No one should have to experience the 6am hour THREE TIMES in one roadtrip. It's just unpleasant.
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