Iowa Continued

Today I am still in Iowa. Waterloo is a large-ish town that is one hour north of Iowa City. Troy is from here. But first, I’d like to mention something very coincidental.

Last night in Iowa City, we were all at a bar called The Mill. Troy and his sister were telling me that many famous bands had passed through this place before they became famous. This included (maybe) Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, and Two Gallants. As we were leaving, we stood outside the bar for a little bit, trying to decide on where to go for some drunken snack face-stuffing. Taped on the outside of the door was a poster advertising a coming show. It was the Bicycats playing on August 21st. I shouted in disbelief “that’s my friend!” And I was pretty sure it was. My friend Zach Bernstein, who I attended High School with, is in a one man band called the Bicycats. I recently saw him perform at the Sidewalk Café on the Lower East Side, and we’d hung out the night before he left for his new home in Providence, RI. Anyway, like I said I was pretty sure it was his band, although it is entirely possible that there is another band that calls themselves the Bicycats. I sent him a text last night, and today I we spoke on the phone. He said that he is in fact playing in Iowa City Tuesday night, and that he couldn’t imagine I’d be around that area, but that if I was, I should show up. Crazy. I told him about my trip, he told me about his. Sadly, I’m leaving tomorrow for South Dakota, which does not pass the route of Des Moines to Iowa City. I love when little stories happen within a bigger picture. PS If you are in the area, he is playing a show in Brooklyn on August 25th. Check out his myspace page.

On another note, I finished a great book yesterday by John Steinbeck called Travels with Charley in Search of America. Steinbeck mentions how journeys are very peculiar things. Sometimes they continue long after all travel has ceased, and sometimes the journey ends before the trip is in fact over. I wonder how my journey will be. Something tells me that I will continue to learn new things about myself and my country everyday. Another part of me feels that I will soon tire of the road and the stresses that come with it. Having to coexist with another person for 2 weeks non-stop is a very difficult task. I’ve noticed that Troy is mostly constant in his moods. He’s always up for talking and joking around. I, on the other hand, have different moods. Sometimes I like to just sit and watch the road, read my book, write in my notebook, or listen to whatever song we have playing. Other times I’m up for a fun conversation, or a silly game or whatnot. It’s been hard to communicate to Troy that sometimes I like to listen to my own thoughts. I also feel that this trip would be a little more exciting and (dare I say it) fun if one or two other people had come along. I really hope that I don’t go crazy. Two weeks is a long time, and we are actually planning on not coming back until Labor Day, which makes this trip two and a half weeks in reality.

Here is a rundown of today: We passed through Cedar Rapids, home of the Quaker Oats factory. Troy rolled down the windows and told me to take a whiff of the air. No joke, it smelled like freshly cooked oatmeal. Imagine living in a city that constantly smelled of breakfast. I think that would make for a happier population.

We got to Waterloo and I took a nice, NICE shower. Then went to see Superbad on a super huge movie screen. So super huge that we actually had to pay an extra $.50 for it! Superbad was super OK. I enjoyed it more than Troy because I had low expectations. Troy thought there were way too many dick jokes.

We got to play a game of House of the Dead 2. They had one in the lobby of the movie theatre. We got pretty far, but then our quarters ran out.

Dinner at the House of Krouse was good. We had sweet corn, turkey cutlets and rolls. They served fruit-filled Jell-O WITH the meal. I thought that was so odd. I passed on that. The Krouses are a very nice family, though. They lent us a large tent, and Troy, the dad, and I did a trial set-up on the deck to make sure it worked. It did. We also have an actual ton of maps and camping guides that were dug up for us. I have my very own guest room with a wall of windows going across. It’s very pleasant.

Iowans are very nice. They are not at all backwards. Very homegrown American, I would say. If you ever head out here and want to fit in, make sure you substitute the word “way” for “very” or “really.” Examples: Last night was way fun! Your shirt is way cool! Also, pronounce the word “tour” like “two-or.”

Tomorrow we are on to South Dakota!

The Not Actually Great Serpent Mound

This morning we left the Econolodge, after having a "filling" continental breakfast of orange juice and a small blueberry muffin. We got on the road in search of the Serpent Mound. I knew it wouldn't be impressive. This excursion was really in homage to a professor of mine. Jim Petersen was the chair of the department of anthropology at the University of Vermont. I took 3 classes with him. He was the kind of guy who really, truly loved his job and his research. He was essentially a hippie who spent his life studying native peoples, and especially "Black Earth," which is very fertile soil in the heart of the Amazon rain forest. He was there the summer after my senior year, when he got shot during a robbery in Brazil. He unfortunately died from the encounter, but his legacy lived on. I miss him, even though I only knew him in the capacity of professor. Jim Petersen taught a class called Native American Cultures, which I took in my Junior year. He showed a slide of the Serpent Mound, which was made by the Adena Indians. It's a 3/4 mile long mound depicting a serpent uncoiling on one side, and on the other ingesting an egg, or a frog. Part of why I wanted to see this was in the honor of Jim.

We had to take a state route to get there from Parkersville. On the two-way highway, I saw a strange object on the shoulder of the road. It had a triangle reflector and seemed to be moving. At first, it really looked like one of those space probes that NASA puts on Mars to take pictures of the landscape. It seemed to have three legs. As I got closer, I noticed that one of the "legs" was moving, like feet. So my thoughts moved to thinking it was some kind of Flintstone automobile, with a person using their feet to propel it. As we got even closer, I saw that it was in fact legs - horse's legs. And finally, I realized it was a horse and buggy! THEN a boy in a round hat and overalls leaned out of the rear window. He was Amish (or Mennonite). He was as excited to see my car as I was to see his horse and buggy. It was a great moment of joy for both of us.

We rode on through Ohio, until nearby Cincinnati, when we stopped for lunch. I'm not sure exactly which town we were in, but we pulled into a strip mall, and there was an Indian restaurant. I love Indian food, and Troy was up for an adventure, so we entered the place. It was packed with Indians and white people. There was a fantastic lunch buffet, in which we consumed Saag Paneer, Chicken Mahkani, and some bindhi masala. It was really excellent!

We headed out, on our way to Iowa City. Troy's younger sister attends the University of Iowa, and we planned on staying with her for the night and getting some long needed alcohol in our systems. The city turned out to be very similar to Burlington. We stopped first at a grocery store that sold tons of imported Belgian ales, as well as local brews. Troy and I got some Rogue, which is brewed in Oregon. Then we got to Kayla's apartment. She lives with her friends Erika and Jake, both from Waterloo, Troy and Kayla's hometown. They are really fun kids. We watched Rock of Love together (a show that I am a big fan of), and then headed out to "Hamburg Inn." This is a famous place in Iowa City. Most presidential candidates give speeches from this place. Joe Biden is actually speaking there tomorrow morning at 7:30 - too bad it's so early (oh well). They also have something called a "pie shake," which is a milkshake blended with a piece of pie. Unfortunately they had no red velvet cake to blend my shake with, so I skipped it and had a piece of Boston Cream Pie instead.

We headed back to the apartment and played a few games of asshole. It felt so great to get a little bit buzzed and to relax and feel like I've arrived at a destination. I was having fun. We went out to a local bar called "Mill Run" and I got a PRB in a bottle (who knew?) for less than 2 bucks, and Kayla, Jack, Troy and I played cheap games of pool. There was a jukebox and I got to choose 3 songs for my dollar, so I put on "Jailhouse Rock," by Elvis, "The Laws Have Changed" by the New Pornographers, and "Let Down" by Radiohead. We all got nice and good with our beers, and then walked back to the apartment in the rain. We sat on some comfortable couches while eating Tombstone pizza and watched a documentary about a nomadic Indian culture. Then everyone went to sleep and now I'm watching the Cosby Show while typing this.

It was a great day. Very relaxing, full of the road, and with a great ending: a college town enjoyed with some young, happy college students. Iowa is a great state and I'm glad to be spending the night here.

Day 1: Not So Bad!

I've begun! It's almost unreal, this sense of beginning a journey I'd almost lost hope of ever taking. We left at 8:30 this morning - got out of NYC with hardly any traffic.

The open road stretched out in front of me felt like absolute, tangible freedom. I've never felt anything like it. Being present as the miles piled up between me and everyone and everything I know is utterly exhilarating. I never had a feeling and an act so closely related in my entire life. I guess this trip was something I needed even more than I'd thought (and I've definitely thought I needed it).

We stopped first at Falling Water, a house in Southwestern Pennsylvania that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He designed it on a waterfall, as my picture shows. Not only that - everything he put into the design reflected the nature surrounding it. The structure itself was made to resemble the falling water beneath it. The floor on the first floor looked like the bottom of the river bed. It was really spectacular.

Towards the end of the tour, Troy and I realized we were famished. Our tour guide, Don (with his accent, it totally sounded like he was saying "Dawn"), told us there was nothing really around except for Pizza Huts and Burger Kings. Troy and I had decided when we started out that we want to only eat at local diners and restaurants during this trip, so we were bummed. But we got back on the road, stuffed our mouths with trail mix and tortilla chips, and made our way in the direction of our next stop: Peebles, OH. We were nearly out of gas. We drove around for awhile on one road that looked like the back country in Appalachia, until we passed a town called Ohiopyle. But we were in Pennsylvania. Maybe it was a place where there were piles of Ohians? Sorry - I'm deliriously tired right now. Anyway, this town had no gas station, so we pressed on. Troy almost had a heart attack. But then Dory somehow got some extra spark of life in her, and the gas light disappeared. We found gas shortly afterward.

We entered West Virginia, and immediately pulled into a restaurant called Twila's Fine Family Restaurant. We walked in and knew we'd hit the jackpot. There was a collection of teapots on shelves, a piano, statues of Laurel and Hardy! There was even country music playing, and our waitress had only half of her teeth! I felt so happy to be there, I couldn't stop smiling. Get this - I ordered a grilled chicken salad, and it came with a pile of french fries and melted cheese on top! Brilliant. I mean, I didn't eat the fries with the salad or anything, but just the IDEA of it was enough to make my night.


Back on the road, the sun was setting. Troy and I played a game where one person names two actors, and the other person has to guess what movie they've been in together. We are having a lot of fun together. My apprehensions about whether or not he'd be a fun travel companion have been put at ease. He laughs a lot, makes me laugh, and seems to be up for anything. We took a 7 mile detour to look for ice cream in Morganstown, WV (cute college town, btw), and then just changed our minds and got back on the highway.

We stopped at 10pm because the only road out of Parkersville, WV has been closed off for fireworks. We were beat anyway. After some price checking at the 4 motels that are side by side in the town, we decided on the Econolodge! Free continental breakfast, AND we get a 10% discount because Troy works for the government! Niiice.

So tomorrow is another day, but I'm excited for the next two weeks.

Team Meagan's Law

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. We're leaving tomorrow! I already have my car here in the city. I've spent a few hours today packing and I have almost everything together. I'm a very quick packer. I never understood it when my friends would tell me they'd spent all day and night packing for a trip. I make decisions and stick to them, I guess.

I bought a knife today at Paragon. It's not for cutting twine or sticks or anything like that, though. See, I bought a bunch of oranges for the road (don't want us to get scurvy or nothin'!) and shortly afterward, I got this image of me trying to peel the navel oranges, getting all the rind underneath my fingernails, and it taking about an hour. I realized a knife would make things so much easier. I told the knife salesman as much. As he rang me up he said, "Alright, enjoy your orange cutter." It's OK, I laugh at me, too.

Anyway, I want to use this time before I leave to give everyone a rundown on who Troy is, and why we are going on this trip. It all started back in May. My friend Jenny and I went on a weekend trip to Washington, DC to visit some friends and see the city. At a friend of a friend's BBQ in Virginia one night, we met Troy. We got to talking, and it turned out he was a huge Kerouac fan, AS WELL AS a huge Daniel Johnston fan. I consider Kerouac and Johnston to be the most influential artists in my life. They've essentially made me a part of who I am. Needless to say, we hit it off. He came out to the DC bars with us, played pool with us, and Team Meagan's Law was born.

But I wouldn't exactly call Troy and I strangers. He came to NY a few weeks after I was in DC and we hung out and spent the entire night sitting on the floor in my apartment, talking about music and I guess some other things. Mostly music, though. Then we sat on my couch while he flipped through Leaves of Grass and I read some letter Neal Cassidy wrote. Then we switched. I knew from then on, we'd be friends for awhile.

We exchanged entertaining emails back and forth after that. He asked me if I wanted to travel to South America with him some time in the fall. I replied that I would, but only if we could get involved with some rebel force and be chased by corrupt policemen with guns. He thought that was a great idea! And then, the time arose that I was ready to get away from my desk job. I told Troy that if he wanted to, he should come with me on a trip through America. He agreed. And here we are today. It's finally, actually happening.

T Minus 5 Days

My trip is almost a certainty at this point. As long as I don't get a phone call from a prominent environmental organization telling me I have been hired and must start immediately, I am officially heading out on the road.

I'm extremely excited for this trip. Since I was 16, I've had the dream of pounding the pavement and seeing where my wheels take me. Time has passed, and now at 24 the opportunity has finally presented itself in the form of unemployment checks, a willing companion, and the courage to do it! Troy rode up to NY from DC this past weekend to discuss logistics with me. We have 2 weeks. The plan: go West for 7 days, then turn around and come back. Sounds simple. Although we have set up a vague itinerary, we are both pretty wide open when it comes to where we go and what we see. This will be great because I get lost pretty often and easily. With no exact destination this will hopefully not be a problem. I should go out and get a compass, just to make sure, though.

As I said in the blog description, I am going to attempt to post something everyday, or at least to account for every day of the trip in post. I'm bringing my laptop, which will be useful for this task, as well as for Map questing, uploading pictures, and as Emergency Boredom Backup (EBB.)

I can't wait to finally explore the natural (and completely unnatural) facets of the Mid-West, speak to all different kinds of people, and (OK this is silly) try and get my name on the score board on Photohunt in every state we stop. Troy doesn't know about this last goal yet, but I think he'll be down for it!