The past 48 hours were challenging. My plan was to head up from Colorado into Wyoming. Most of Yellowstone National Park is unfortunately closed for the winter, but I wanted to drive through the part that was open at the top. I confirmed which two entrances were open and the latest status on the NPS site, and confirmed my route through Google Maps. It was … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Eighteen: Getting Lost & Driving With Pain
As I write this, I am sitting in a small, crappy motel called the Safari Inn in Limon, Colorado. It’s been a longish sort of day. We left off at the Ark Encounter. Actually, there was one thing I forgot to mention. This was in their gift shop: If that doesn’t just perfectly sum up the visitors to the Ark Encounter, I don’t know what … Continue reading TSDTR, Episode Seventeen: Going Down (Pt 2) – Technically Going Sideways
I am currently in Kansas City, MO. Before you ask, yes, it infuriates me that Kansas City is in Missouri. There should be a law against that type of thing. The last few days in Detroit were uneventful, with me mainly dodging assassination attempts from Amy Jane. Here’s a transcript of an event: Me and Amy Jane: *eating corned beef hash* Graham: *eating shrimp and … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Sixteen: Going Down (Pt 1)
It’s only about 4.5 hours from Pittsburgh to Detroit, where I was stopping in to see my good friends Amy Jane and Graham. However, I needed a negative COVID test before I could get there. I got the COVID test on Friday, and mid-afternoon on Saturday I set off, heading vaguely for Cleveland with no real desire to see Cleveland or anything in it. I … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Fifteen: Detroitlandia
After a very nice stay in Savannah (thanks to some great recommendations from several friends, you know who you are), I set off north. I didn’t have anything really planned until I got to Philadelphia (and even that was mostly to get a cheesesteak, which I’ve been craving for a while). I’d initially planned to stop in Richmond, but had some free time, so continued … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Thirteen: Fear and Loathing in New Jersey
I remain genuinely surprised at how much I like Florida. The heat is oppressive, the humidity is terrible, and shit constantly seems to be going down (right after I entered Florida I saw a car on fire next to the freeway) but all things considered, it’s a beautiful state. If I had to pick somewhere to live in the South, I’d pick southern California, but … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Eleven: Flo. Rida.
It’s been a few days since my last update, for reasons that will shortly become clear, if the title did not help. I am writing this post in a shitty motel in Fort Myers, Florida. My motel room door has a a sign that lists a human trafficking number, which is not a great sign, and I mean that metaphorically, not literally, although the context … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Ten: Food Poisoning
I drove for maybe 9 1/2 hours today, AND I’M STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING TEXAS. Look, normally, I don’t like shitting on other states, but I have a trump card here: I’m FROM Texas. I was born just outside Houston, Texas. I may have spent my formative years in Washington, but beating within my chest is the heart of an angry Texan, and … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Nine: Texas
Back in 1999, when I was a young 11-year-old whippersnapper, my family took a monthlong road trip around the United States. Prior to the trip, we held a Family Council to vote on which National Parks we wanted to visit, and selected Carlsbad Caverns and Yellowstone. (Yellowstone would later turn into an absolute shitshow, but let’s not get into that here). Going on a monthlong … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Eight: Drums in the Deep
There was really only one thing I definitively wanted to do in Albuquerque: visit a couple of Breaking Bad filming locations. After a conservative breakfast of nothing, I set off for the first location: the car wash. Needless to say, if you visit the Breaking Bad car wash, you should get your car washed, and conveniently, TARS was pretty filthy from all the dust, so … Continue reading TSDRT, Episode Seven: Breaking Bad
joe writes 