Day Four: On The Road Again…

I got up nice and early and went to Rosen Nissan who was kind enough to fit us in this morning. Turns out the noise was from the connection between the muffler and the center pipe.  They clamped it together and we should be good for now! So, a little later than planned, we were on the road again.

We drove a little distance out of Madison and stopped for coffee. When we did, there was also a Cheese Market and a Jerky Outlet, so we had to partake. After refueling the car (and us), we hit the road.

We saw this cool site around Orange, WI:

 

We drove into Minnesota, which apparently seems to be embarrassed about itself because this was the only sign we saw on Route 90 when we crossed the border:

No fancy, welcoming sign, just information.

So we continued to drive across the bottom of Minnesota.  And drove some more…And drove some more…..

Until we finally made it to South Dakota:

It was kind of a long day because of the late stuff, but we’ve just got back from supper and settling in for the night.

One thing I’ve noticed so far is that during much of our trip, the landscape (with a few exceptions) could be anyplace in upstate New York.  We’ve seen plains that go on for over and gentle rolling hills; lakes and rivers. Tomorrow, we drive to Wall, SD and then into the Bad Lands. This will probably be the point where the landscape REALLY changes.

Happy Journeys!

Mike

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Great American Road Trip Day 3: Badgertown

Today,  was the first official college visit: University of Wisconsin – Madison. With the Cube still sounding like a poor man’s Harley (we have a 7:30 appointment tomorrow morning to get it fixed), we headed for downtown Madison.

In the morning, we sat through the obligatory Admissions presentation and then did a 90 minute walking tour around campus. Here are a few of the sights along the way:

Here is the view from campus towards the Wisconsin State Capitol Building:

This is Bascom Hall; one of the three oldest building on campus and site of the annual snowball fight:

This is Van Hise Hall which is the language building and probably the place my son will spend the most time if he decides to come here:

Here’s Washburn Observatory which I photographed because I thought it was cool

After the tour, we ate lunch on campus and made use of our coupons at the Daily Scoop, an ice cream shop where the ice cream is made by the Agriculture Department. It was excellent ice cream and we enjoyed it greatly. But if there were any doubt about the existence of the Agricultural Department, here’s a photo I took in downtown Madison:

Yes, Virginia, there is a silo in downtown Madison!

I found the whole trip very fascinating. According to US News and World Report, my alma mater, Clarkson University has an undergraduate enrollment of 3,247. University of Wisconsin – Madison has an undergraduate enrollment of 31,289 – nearly ten times the enrollment of my college. My wife and I were discussing this and remarked that in New York, we don’t have very few giant schools. Interestingly, the average class size is around 27 – which I find remarkable for a school this size.

I envy my son in many ways. While I don’t think I could ever go back to living in a tiny college dorm room (which the tour reminded me exactly how small those rooms were), I envy him all of the opportunities that await him in college. I have very few regrets about my own college experience, but I just envy the opportunities and experiences that are available now. Like even considering a college nearly halfway across the country. When I went to school, the guidance office pretty much could only get you information on schools in your region – mostly New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Thanks to the internet, you can find out about any college anywhere.

Now, we’re just relaxing in the hotel room – the wifi seems to be a little more cooperative tonight. Tomorrow, after a quick stop to get the Cube checked out, we’re off to South Dakota!

Happy Journeys!

Mike

 

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The Great American Road Trip: Day Two, or One Does Not Simply Drive Through Chicago

As Day Two dawned, we left Toledo and headed west.  Unfortunately, we seemed to have ran over something that seems to knocked something loose under the car and now the Cube sounds like it’s auditioning to be a Harley.  But once we get under motion, it returns to normal.

We left Ohio and after driving past fields of soy bean and corn, we entered Indiana:

The morning saw us cruise past more soy and corn and drive by the alma mater of Professor Harold Hill:

And before we know it, we were in Chicago (no “Welcome to Illinois” here – just straight – You’re in Chicago):

And now the fun began. My wife had the misfortune of driving and the great progress we made dwindled to nothing as we hit construction and traffic.  The stop and go traffic was great for me to get pictures, not for my wife who had to deal with the noise the car made overtime it stopped and stress of dealing with the drivers who insist on switching lanes when there isn’t necessary space.  But I got a few good pictures of the Chicago skyline:

And finally, the most intriguing shot:

Are we in Chicago or Morder?

I’m going with Morder personally, because I found the Illinois section of Route 90 to be the worst we’ve dealt with so far! We complain about how expensive things are in New York, but we’ve got nothing on Illinois! We must have paid over $30 in tolls (I wish we’d actually kept track) for the pleasure of driving through Illinois.  And instead of doing something sensible, like give you a ticket and pay when you leave, if you don’t have EZ Pass, you have to exit off the highway, pay the stupid toll and then get back on. And you get to do this a bunch of times.

Thanks goodness we accidentally got off when we didn’t need to because we eventually found a park where we could get out and have a nice picnic.  We then circled around forever trying to get back onto Route 90 and finally got on the way.

And we finally left Illinois and made it to Wisconsin:

And we had the enjoyment of more bumper to bumper traffic, this time as a result of an accident.  We finally made it to our hotel and we were all glad to get out of the car!

A great meal at the Great Dane Brewing Company was a great way to end the day.  However, crappy wifi at our hotel has not been any fun.

Happy journeys!!

Mike

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The Great American Road Trip: Day One

Today, we left on our Great American Road Trip today. Here is the odometer at the start of our trip:

And then we started to drive…and drive…and drive…

We left New York and entered Pennsylvania:

and then into Ohio:

We drove past Lake Erie:

And past Cleveland:

It’s the best I could capture while I was a passenger.

And now, here we are at just south of Toledo, just over 500 miles from home.  Tomorrow – it’s on to Madison, WI!

Happy Journeys!

Mike

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To Boldly Go….

The countdown is on for the Great American Road Trip at the Tefft household. Five more days of work (which can’t finish soon enough) and we are on our way to Seattle and back.  I’m intending to blog every day to document our travels and I hope you watch the pages for the riveting details of spending 6 – 7 hours in a car every day :). With content like that, how could you not want to stay?

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I haven’t done anything yet because we haven’t had vacation yet.  But what I’ve mostly been doing is working my day job…..ALOT. This was the first weekend in several weeks that I haven’t worked at least part of the weekend.

And I’ve been playing trumpet. Twice a week in local community summer bands and the big band group I play in did a concert in the park that is literally across the street from my house.  Couldn’t really ask for a closer gig!

I have managed to catch a few movies this summer. We say  Star Trek Beyond (which I loved – my personal opinion is that it’s the best of the reboots) and today we just saw Suicide Squad which I also liked quite a bit. Truth be told, I liked it much more that Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Maybe it’s a better written and directed movie, but I found the horrible villains of Suicide Squad far more sympathetic; I cared about them more than Batman or Superman.

AND I WROTE!!!

I finally had a couple of free hours on Saturday so I hammered out the completion of a very tough scene. I know what I wanted to accomplish, but I wasn’t sure how. I’ll still have to rewrite it, but I’ve got enough there to keep moving forward.

This is the last update before the trip. Stay tuned for adventures on the road…I’m sure it will be riveting!

Happy journeys,

Mike

 

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“Space…The Final Frontier….”

Anyone who knows me or has read any of the posts here knows I am a major fan of Star Trek in nearly all of its incarnations.  When I was in college, my roommates and I would watch WPIX at 11:30 every weeknight and have a contest to see who could identify the episode first during the one minute scene before the main credits.  I watched with the same college friends when Star Trek The Next Generation debuted. We didn’t like the shape of the new Enterprise (D that is) and thought it looked like a bathtub (I will say that I did learn to love the shape). We cheered when Wesley Crusher was stabbed with a bayonet and then depressed when it was all magically reversed (on the freak chance that Wil Wheaton is actually reading my blog, I respect your work now and am a huge fan, but I REALLY hated Wesley Crusher. I can, and do, separate the actor from the role). I’ve been to three different Star Trek conventions and have autographs from several cast members.

So, it’s safe to say…I like Star Trek.

As you can imagine, I’m very excited for the opening of Star Trek Beyond. I must say, I was hesitant because the early trailers were all action and no character. I’ve been intrigued by the more recent trailers that focus more on the characters than explosions.  And I’m now REALLY excited because it seems to have, at this writing, a very good score on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you have read my blog, you know that I submitted a story for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fan fiction contest earlier this year. Much to my disappointment, it was not selected.

So, in honor of the premiere of Star Trek Beyond, I give you my humble contribution to the Star Trek universe:

“If My Grandmother Had Wheels, She’d Be a Wagon”

The story takes place during the start of Star Trek II: The Search For Spock and of course, features Scotty.

So from one Trek fan to another, I hope you enjoy the story!

Live Long and Prosper!

Mike

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What’s The Story, Morning Glory?

It’s been way too long since I’ve updated the blog, so I thought I’d give a little recap of my life, already in progress….

Book Signing

On June 11, I set up my little tent in the rain at the Sherburne Arts Festival to sell and sign my book. It was a typical Central New York day…it started with a thunderstorm, was cold enough for me to see my breath later in morning, and by the afternoon, was really hot.  And I actually managed to sell some books; making this infinitely more successful than my foray at Barnes & Noble. I was happy with how it went and got to talk to many people.

How’s The New Book Coming?

The answer to that is…slowly. The last few months have been brutal in my day job and I’ve found myself working late, some evenings, and the weekends. That means almost no time for writing and I’ve been too stressed out to focus (although I did get a couple of hours of writing time on Father’s Day!). My wonderful wife is sending me on a homemade writing retreat. In the Fall, I’m going back to a camp we stayed at last year near Woodstock and I’m going to have a cabin to myself for a long weekend and I just plan to write and write and write.  I’m so looking forward to a concentrated push on my novel so I can get the first draft finished.

But Why Can’t You Finish It Before the Fall?

Later this summer, we’re going on a cross country tour of colleges, with a number of stops along the way. I’m planning on turning this blog into a journal of our cross country adventure, so stay tuned for the “Great American Road Trip” edition of the blog.

Anything Else?

It’s summer band season, so I’m off playing in two area bands. Although you would think playing a concert of music you don’t see until the night you play it might be stressful, I love it and it almost always revitalizes me when I finish. It’s often hot and crowded, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Enjoy your summer and Happy Journeys!!

Mike

 

 

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