Category: University at Albany

Drive tally: 618 miles
Total: 1524 miles

Too tired, tonight, to write much – we did make it almost through Nebraska today (only about 200 miles left), though, and are officially in Central Time. Not much to say, but I did get the photos uploaded. Dad swears it’s getting boring soon, but he’s said that for most of the trip, and Mom and I have stayed enthralled by the dramatic and gorgeous landscape.

I used Audible for the first time this evening, buying about $20 worth of audio to listen to tomorrow (all Greg Proops – w00t!); actually $30, when you count the year long membership fee, but they gave me credit for one free, so it all works out in my advantage, as what I bought was worth about $35. I’ll probably sign up for the free NYTimes subscription, too, and have a go at listening to the newspaper while doing dishes or somesuch. A way to maximize my time, while getting things I need to do, well, done.

I passed through Laramie, Wyoming today. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I admit I’m at least a little surprised there was no mention whatsoever of their entire ordeal. No tourism things for sale (no books, videos, awareness items), nothing. It was just like any other place we’ve passed through, and Mom and Dad had to ask why it was important for me to be awake as we passed through.

Also, Charles? The Escape Pod recommendation was AWESOME, thank you! I utterly love it, and am in the process of downloading more; I grabbed 8 stories this morning, and was entranced. I especially loved “I Look Forward to Remembering You”; I cried, in fact. I very much plan on dropping them a thank you note for the hours of entertainment, but figured you deserved the thanking first. I quite owe you for helping preserve what little sanity there was left. 😉

If anyone else has recommendations of what to download, I have two more days of driving, if not three. I find audio books and comedy routines keep me engaged and awake. Just drop me a line. Also, Megan should email me with her address, as I have something for her.

We try for Pennsylvania tomorrow. We won’t make it, but we’re trying.

We are also officially halfway there. This feels weird. The dramatic changes you can do in 40 hours time…

We only drove about 580 miles today, which is a far cry from what Dad wanted us to get. He’d not switched us over to Mountain Time last night, which meant that by the end of the day, we’d gotten hours lost and mixed up. Plus, I think he just doesn’t want to admit that he’s not driving as fast as he thought we would be.

Still, we’re 1/3rd of the way done. We didn’t hit Cheyenne tonight, but are instead in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Oddly enough, my uncle might be here, too – he works oil, and right now the fields are in full production mode. That, combined with the Real Life, Honest to Goodness Working Rodeo (yes, so impressed I capitalized) Roundup going on right now meant hotel rooms were hard to find. Still, we did it.

I’m planning on more than 5 hours of sleep tonight (ahem, Michael and Laurie :p ), so should be better to drive tomorrow. So long as the rest of me holds out, which is questionable at the moment – my god I’m sore!

The cats are doing well, and my father and I have settled into a comfortable level of snippiness combined with information across the walkie talkies. Unfortunately, I hear that the flat out gorgeous scenery we had today goes away when we hit Nebraska, tomorrow, and it becomes flat, monotonous, and thoroughly boring.

I bought two books on tape, and I might see about buying an Audible account before bed,…

We made it 400 miles today. Not bad, given we ended up leaving 90 minutes later than we wanted, thanks to UHaul sucking. My right ankle is cramped; I drove the entire way. Took quite a few pictures, which you can see by clicking the above photo; photos include commentary. I’ll photo-diary the entire journey; it keeps me sane. I was seriously so bored at one point today that I was playing Questions Only… with myself.

So, Dad got us walkie talkies to communicate between cars, instead of having to dial our phones and use up minutes. Sensible decision, since we’re largely staying within close distance. Anyhow, at one point in the trip, we passed the turnoff for the Snake Rivers and Snake Rivers Dam. I grabbed my walkie talkie and shouted “snakes on a motherfucking dam!”

…my parents think I’m very strange.