Tomorrow, I hit the open road for 31 consecutive days.

All of July — that’s the plan.

Admittedly, I’m pretty nervous about this whole Graduate Hotels “Hall Pass” experiment shebang. And I’m a pretty good planner when it comes to long-term travel — my previous records away from home were 11 and 21 days, respectively. But the idea of spending a whole month on the road, even with a brief dip back home to Bloomington for my birthday, is a lot.

Why is it racking my brain? I don’t know for certain. Maybe it’s just part of the territory, another slice of The Great Unknown, where because many of the details are yet to be determined, it’s hard to get excited about or see the memories-to-be on the horizon.

Alas, it’s my last night at home for a significant chunk of the summer. I’m spending it packing my bags and waiting for AEW: Dynamite to start so I can stream it with a best friend. Pro wrestling has been my great stress relief for years, and I’m certain that watching it before setting off in my truck will be very therapeutic and familiar.

What I’m bringing:

A month away from home obviously entails a lot of clothing changes, and different articles for different climates: I’m packing about 5-10 different collegiate T-shirts (hello, Homefield Apparel) and a few dress shirts, in case an important Zoom meeting gets scheduled, or I need to pop into an important Zoom meeting, or in case my boss wants to have a 1:1 meeting on Zoom. You know. That’s life on camera now.

Speaking of which, I’ll have a Microsoft Surface laptop/tablet with me, which I snagged for $100 at the IU Surplus Store. It’s a little old and chintzy, but it works with the university’s VPN, and it’ll let me blog to the world every night, so I was perfectly happy to invest in a new computer for the trip.

After that, it’s jeans and khakis, some cut-off shorts, and a swim-suit: I’m hoping to take a dip at a few places (Nashville, for instances, has a rooftop pool; Madison is sandwiched between two freshwater lakes) whenever I can.

As for food and snacks, I have a rudimentary plan for that: Yesterday, I bought the smallest microwave that Menard’s sells (we’re talking sub-$50) with intent to make dinner with it a good portion of the time. Since most hotels don’t have microwaves, going it alone would have meant eating out every night or a constant diet of cold cuts — which is even harder to pull off when travelling in a hot car across half the nation.

So the microwave it is. I’m sure a few great opportunities for local eats will present themselves (looking at you, southern BBQ), but Ye Olde Discount Sunbeam should be able to take care of things during quieter evenings. Clif Bars and UnCrustables will be able to handle peckish moments in between.

I’m also bringing a few books to help inspire my fall semester curriculum, “Successful College Planning Begins With Throwing Away Your Lecture Notes,” and “Dissent in the Heartland,” which is about 1960s/Civil Rights Era protests at Indiana University.

Then you’ve got your basic incidentals: Phone charger, toothbrush, toiletries, vaccination card, three extra face masks, some hand sanitizer, prescription meds, Trident gum, headphones, earplugs, and extra sunglasses.

And, last but not least, I’ve got a die-hard IGLOO cooler covered in stickers from my previous journeys: the boat ferry from Wisconsin to Michigan; the avian migration-themed brewery in Little Rock, Arkansas; and the diversity-forward coffee shop from the DFW area in Texas, and the hockey bar in St. Louis. I treat this sturdy icebox like one of those stereotypically old suitcases slathered in travel stickers. It’s kind of a neat tradition. I’m eager to get a few more stickers slapped on.

What I’m expecting:

While I am going to travel solo — 2,000 miles and 48 hours in my aging Ford Ranger — I should be meeting up with a few friends along the way. On the nights where I’m not venturing out to see them and make new memories, I’ll be people-watching or working on personal projects at venues around the host city’s hotel.

Speaking of which, the Graduate Hotels company reached out to me privately this week, essentially hinting at a few kudos and surprises along the way — I hope to share them with you as they become available! While it’s incredibly kind (or perhaps situationally aware) for the brand to reach out before my trip to foreshadow some hospitality, I’ll be doing my best to provide you readers with a neutral, unbiased review of what I’m seeing around me.

There is, of course, a heat wave going on nationwide — beyond the normal highs we’re seeing during the summer, and quite likely, a catastrophic heat that’s a harbinger of things to come. Nevertheless, with the majority of my visits coming below the Mason-Dixon line, I imagine that some days will be quite hot. I’m planning on visiting many of these cities by foot, but there’s always a chance I’ll call it and stay inside my room if temperatures exceed 100 degrees, etc. It’s a long trip, and I gotta stay healthy!

Stage 1: Bloomington to Iowa City, Iowa

Tomorrow, the opening 6.5-hour trip leg begins around 9:30 a.m. ET, stretching 400-or-so miles. The drive, barring an extended pee break or stoppage point at a fast-food restaurant, should put me in Iowa City around the 4 p.m. CT check-in time. After that, I plan on taking a hot shower and walking around the city to relax on my first night.

I’m particularly excited in a nearby combination putt-putt/bowling venue with a brewery down the way — maybe staying up late enough to catch the NBA Playoffs game between Milwaukee and Atlanta.

In any case, I don’t want to make too many plans in fear of me letting y’all down or completely missing the mark of something better I missed, but Iowa City is promising to be a solid first start on this weird July. I’ll check in when I get there safely.

Truth is, I don’t know a lot about Iowa. Never been before.

I’m very eager to start there, and see what this sightseeing journey can offer me in the days and weeks to come.

But tonight — wrestling. Tomorrow, the road.

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-moose