EVANSTON, Ill. — I’ve arrived safely into the friendly confines of the Windy City (well, the Northwestern part of it), but leaving Madison was rougher than I’d like to admit.

After my all-evening chicken-binge at The Vintage, I had my worst night of sleep at the Madison Graduate. I had shrugged off the warning upon check-in that the July 4 weekend was “going to be a scorcher” at 89 degrees, but the sun wasn’t the main woe: it was the air conditioner.

Perhaps Wisconsin lakefront summers aren’t meant for handling high heat, but the air-co in my 4th-floor room along State Street was paltry at best. Even though the thermostat went as low as “65,” the blower in the room (a single vent, located above the bathroom door) was barely enough to feel on my skin. I sat in bed, unable to sleep, brushing sweat off my brow as I eventually conceded and watched the first half of “The Godfather, Part I,” on TCM until 2 a.m. (And then the Wikipedia wormhole about Don Corleone’s confidante Luca Brasi and the former pro wrestler who played him put me solidly to sleep.) Continue reading →

MADISON, Wisc. — The pleasure principle of the trip is thus: I watch my dollars and sense on the first few days in each city, then I treat myself to something special on the last night in town.

And tonight, for my swan song in Madison, between Lakes Monona and Mendota — I can almost remember which one is which at this point — I spent my splurge evening binging on chicken tenders and trying not to get the meat sweats.

But I left with a powerful story about Madison’s struggle and redemption, meat sweats notwithstanding. Continue reading →

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 Continue reading →

MADISON, Wisc. — I underestimated the power of the sun up here.

While I was warned by a local postman on Saturday afternoon that “we’re in for a scorcher” at 89 degrees, I waved it off as something any Hoosier could manage.

I was wrong. The sun bounces off the lakes. The lake-light bounces against the stone buildings. Then, the ricochet of solar energy blasts you in the eyes.

And then you start to cook from the inside out.

Between all that heat zapping my brain, and my blog reaching 10,000 words in a short period of time, I figured I’d take a mental break to share some pictures I otherwise haven’t been able to include in a story.

Let your mind take a break and let your eyes do the walking: Continue reading →

MADISON, Wisc. — The alternate headline for this entry, as suggested by my loyal housemate Miranda, is “Say, Do Any of You Guys Know How to Madison?”

A dance proposal in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” delivered by the cluelessly straight-laced Brad Majors (“asshole!”), the cheap one-off line could very well describe my ethos in coming to Madison for a few days — let’s dance!

And Saturday night on State Street — with the nearby Milwaukee Bucks playing for their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1974 — it was all too easy to be part of the crowd, stepping and swaying in a collective number of joy. Continue reading →

Photo description: The aquarium at The Dublin Underground (Rory’s bar) has some interesting admission requirements. Or elderly fish.

IOWA CITY — Good afternoon! I’ve made it safely to scenic Madison, Wisconsin, for Independence Day weekend after wrapping up a breezy 39 hours in Iowa City.

Speaking of which: Due to the whiplash of my travel schedule, there will be some days where I only have time to tie up loose ends here on the blog. I don’t want to spend all of a new stop writing about the last one, and frankly, some days are going to be less coherently poetic than others.

The last night in Iowa City was one of those stays, so let me fill you in before taking off to see what Madison’s all about: Continue reading →

There’s tremendous anxiety in traveling, I find, to make sure you see it all.

“See it all” so the trip isn’t wasted — that you experience every single pleasure and cram each piece of knowledge you can fit into your brain in a short period of time.

That’s a fine and valid approach, but allow me to rebut firmly: It’s not possible to see everything worth noting, in any city, even if you stayed a week or a month. Everyone who lives in a city, by and large, will never see it all, or to cultural completion. Don’t expect to out-local the locals. You’re a tourist. Know your role. (Say “please,” tip like family, and try to stay out of the police bookings. That’s your job.)

And since this oh-my-God-I-only-have-24-hours-left-and-I-just-got-here feeling is so deeply unsettling — you’ve never been here before! you’ll never see it again either! and look at you, you’re wasting it! — I find it easier just to get to The Big Goddamn Thing as quickly as possible and work myself down the rest of the cultural checklist as I see fit, knowing that I’ve completed the most important stop.

Then, hopefully, you can rest easy and actually enjoy whatever the journey brings you. Continue reading →

Kids, put your shoes on, we’re here!

I’m writing this post to you live from the top floor of the Graduate Hotel in Iowa City, in a cute suite tucked away in the furthest corner from the escalator.

After more than 7 windy hours on the highway — driving a light pickup with no cruise control — I’ve arrived safely at my first destination of this 31-day venture. The Iowa-themed hotel is located east across the river (“Iowa River”) from the University of Iowa campus, and a few blocks away from the old capitol (“The Old Capitol”).

So far, the names are easy to remember, so I’ve got that going for me.

Very rarely has anyone written a compelling story about a solo drive on the highway for an extended period of time, so I’ll give you the bare necessities on this one: Was rainy when I left home. Got sunny and stayed sunny. I destroyed the entire box of Uncrustables within 200 miles. I have no shame. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →