Q: “What’s the leading road trip snack right now?” — Cheese

A: If I were to answer honestly, the thing I’ve put the most of in my body during the past 48 hours has been Wisconsin’s own New Glarus beers — specifically, “Spotted Cow.” Like heaven in a bottle. But the holiday is over and it’s time to give my liver an Independence Day weekend of its own.

As for proper snacks — now that the welcome-package kettle chips and peanut M&Ms are long-gone — I’ve been eating Blueberry Crisp Clif Bars at least once a day, and putting down at least 2-3 cans of Pepsi Zero Sugar (née “Diet Pepsi MAX”) when I need something besides beer.

As for the best thing I’ve eaten so far on the trip, I had breakfast this morning at the Bassett Street Brunch Club here in Madison, and I got the “Chicken and a Donut” — a giant, classic, glazed yeast donut with a generous fried chicken breast on top, drizzled with maple syrup and a sriracha sour cream (see featured photo at the top of this post).

I’ve also gotten Chipotle twice to ensure I’m getting some sort of protein and vegetable, but that’s nothing to write home about. A few “Devour” brand microwave meals and gas station burritos have come in off the bench, too.

Q: “What’s been your favorite thing you’ve seen or done so far?” — Stu

A: This is a really good question because of the whirlwind five days I’ve been out here so far. I haven’t had a lot of time to digest the experience with superlatives yet, but I have enough reasonable hindsight to do so now.

Being able to unearth and engage with local Iowa City legend “Rory” was the sort of experience no amount of money or tourism pamphlets can find for you. And being a fly on the wall in Madison as Milwaukee made the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974, that had kind of the same effect. Ultimately, I’m out here looking for stories, and the human element tends to be the best avenue for that.

Otherwise, I’ve enjoyed the pedestrian experiences the most, perhaps literally: randomly finding a jazz festival outside my hotel in Iowa City, and taking a quick beer-nap yesterday on the banks of Lake Mendota (the northern Madison lake bordering the UW student union) were very satisfying in providing some relaxation along with the task of storytelling.

Q: “Hey Moose, first time long time. I want to hear you talk geography. Top five cities, bottom five cities, how many states you’ve been to, top of your places to go bucket list, where else you’d live. Specifically interested in America, but would love to hear your international thoughts too.” — Jack

A: Hello Jack! Let me begin by giving you a quick rundown of my travel ethos:

Most of the traveling I did before I turned 18 happened to be whatever I saw out the car window during family road trips to Destin, Florida. Occasionally, we stopped in for an overnight at a hotel in a place like Nashville, Tenn., or Montgomery, Ala., but we never really stepped out of the Ford Expedition to take in local culture. It was when I moved out on my own that I was able to find my knack for travel through choosing my own destinations. I now consider it my personal obligation to see the things I want, now that I’m the person behind the steering wheel, and not the one on nap duty in the back seat.

The places I’ve visited most (outside of Indiana/Indianapolis) are, in order: Columbus, Ohio; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago; Saint Louis; and Louisville, Ky. Typically, I go to visit friends, which means I see less of “the city” but make more lasting memories. And it doesn’t hurt that each have pretty strong music and food offerings. By proxy, I’d have to say those are my Top 5 favorite destinations I see commonly. (Madison is making its way up the list, now that I’ve been here two times.) Detroit is also a strong contender, although I’ve only been there once — it’s an incredible enigma of a city, and you need to go.

The bottom-five cities? I don’t want to take a dump on places doing their own thing and people living their own lives there, but I gotta take a pass on visiting the following, if I can: Evansville, Ind.; Joliet, Ill.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Muncie, Ind.; and Orlando, Fla. The first four are pretty explanatory as rust-belt cities, but I don’t think anywhere felt more fake and plasticine than Orlando. I’m not even a big Disney guy, so the entire place felt like fabricated gift shop, burger-hut culture. Which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for, but there wasn’t a lot there for me besides a swimming pool, and there are plenty of cheaper swimming pools closer to home.

The bucket list of cities (now that Green Bay is off the list) includes: Las Vegas, Seattle, Tokyo, New York, and Munich. Generally speaking, just major places far away from home that I’ve always heard romantic things about.

Now that I’m five years deep into a mortgage, it’s hard to have the “live somewhere else” discussion, but visiting some besties in Phoenix earlier this summer showed me that the desert is actually pretty badass. The weather’s perfect every day of the year, there’s plenty to do and see, and everybody kinda minds their own business. It’s still the Wild West, in a few ways, socially speaking. There’s something to that.

As for international travel, I was very fortunate in college to take a spring break journalism travel course called “In the Footsteps of Ernie Pyle,” which retraced the personal and literary developments of the famed Hoosier/IU student (not graduate) reporter before and during World War II. The travel portion of the course started in London, wound through Normandy and Mont. Saint Michel, and ultimately ended in Paris. (One of my early blog posts from that trip in 2012 can still be read here.)

That was an incredible 10 days. It’s a tremendous cliche, but it’s true: Seeing the world gives you an entirely different perspective of your role on this planet, and that there’s no universal experience. I could spend hours talking about all the war monuments and historic sites I saw, but I’ll save that for another time — just know that the experience took this rural homebody and turned him into an explorer.

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Well folks, that does it for the inaugural entry of Moose’s Mailbag. This feature will run every Monday to give you further engagement with what I’m up to, as well as to help me scrounge up some meaningful content on my busiest day of the week.

Thanks to those who submitted a question this week. Mailbag questions are accepted every day of the week at top of the page, at “Moose’s Mailbag.” Until next time, thanks for taking the time to read!

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-moose