I’m typing this at a Homewood Suites in Buffalo, where it’s “Free Unlimited High Speed Internet Day” or something. All I know is that there was an ethernet cord in my room and I got a valid IP, so here we are.
Not sure how many places I’ll have net access, but I’ll try to journal when I can.
Day 1
8:30 AM We meet in the parking lot of MAB. 4 people are there. My immediate thoughts: Where is everyone? and Dang, these kids really took our packing instructions to heart. I feel positively elephantine as I hoist my duffel around.
9:00 AM Mike (director) calls to say he’ll be late. More people arrive and then leave on odd errands like getting bagels from Einstein’s or socks from Osco. I begin campaigning for people to ride in my car. I realize that it’s colder than I imagined it would be (”spring” break, right?) and I run back to my apartment for my earmuffs.
9:30 AM We hit the road to the rent a car agency to get Mike’s car. Now we have 4 cars. There is some confusion as to the way. Confusion is solved with the use of walkie talkies (these things rule).
We hit the road proper (Lake Shore Drive) with me in the lead of the convoy. My car has been dubbed many things, “Big Red” “Spy Kids Car.” This is due to the preponderance of gadgets within: MP3-CDp= player, GPS, cellphones, walkie talkie, etc. Do I hate leading? Maybe. So I try following for a bit. I can’t use my cruise control effectively.
Walkie talkie use fades with their novelty.
We lost Peter’s car by around 11:00. He sped ahead, and then stopped for gas without telling anyone. We told him to meet us for lunch at a certain plaza (where I stopped on my way to Cleveland with Rick and Jory and Sheila) but they overshot us. Spent the rest of the time berating them for overshooting. They wouldn’t wait for us either. Gave up on them, sort of.
After lunch, we tried to develop a method for convoy driving that would protect us from speed traps and the like. It sort of worked. A trooper pulled a U-ie and was behind us, which made me think he’d seen me going 15 over but then he just sat at 65 in the left lane, keeping traffic slow.
Crossed through Ohio. Communication with Peter’s car was brief and via cell phone.
Otto’s girlfriend called accidentally. She’d hit the wrong speed dial. I told her to say hi to Otto anyway.
The girls slept in my backseat.
I talked with Jonathan, the piano player for the incubator team. We had a lot in common. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be reminded of me, not because I didn’t want to get to know him, but because it made me feel really young.
GPS locators rock. Except when you slow down and you see your trip ETA rocket to past midnight. Then they’re a bit disheartening. I realized that keeping the display set to final odometer was a much more fun metric.
We lost the rental car with four incubators inside when they were leading and missed the turn to 480. Cellphones out, we tried to go slow to let them catch up. Didn’t see them again until Buffalo.
Went by Erie. Started to feel twinges of tiredness. Started to consider handing over the wheel, but then saw that there were only 2 hours to go.
Hotel. Glorious hotel. The rooms are huge. Massive. And, due to Joe’s dad hooking us up, we have 2 people to a room. I get my own, (director’s privilege). Sorta lonely (Mike asked, “Aren’t you here to catch up on the Spring Break parties you missed four years ago”) but there’s still seven more hours to drive tomorrow. I’ll be more fun when we hit Boston and are stable for a few days.