Detroit.

Read what the banner says, then look at the windows... hmm. Such buildings were all over.

Shepherd alley (Ann Arbor)

On my way

So I'm getting the hang of using this blog and am 2 stops in to my trip. I left Friday 5/21 with 105449 mi. on Jessica's odometer. First stop was Dickinson college for the weekend to catch up with old friends, both fellow alumni and seniors about to graduate. It was a good way to get started - not at home anymore, but definitely not an unfamiliar place. I of course enjoyed the legendary Jive Turkeys hospitality, and since a bunch of my underclassmen friends will be in Carlisle this summer, who knows, maybe my last stop coming back will be there too. On a sadder note, the Arts Haus (the college house I lived in for 2 yrs.) has been disbanded by the college and is officially done... rest in peace. Who knows what the Dickinson administration's plans are for it now. On Sunday I watched the class of 2010 graduate - so proud of those kids! Dickinson graduation is a good bit more formal and full of traditions than Occidential's last weekend - I suppose part of it is the East coast - West coast mentalities. John Meacham, editor of Newsweek, gave a very brief Commencement address. I then made the drive out to Ann Arbor, MI to stay with my cousin Nancy and Chuck for a few days, which is where I am now writing this (also, as I write this, the Flyers have just made the STANLEY CUP!!! ...now how the heck am I going to watch those games when camping in Yellowstone????). During the drive up to interstate 80 on PA back roads, I was reminded just how beautiful central PA can be - the green mountains mixed with rolling farmland are a much more interesting backdrop than the largely flat scrubland of Ohio. I wanted to stop to take some pictures but I needed to make the long drive to Ann Arbor, so this is all I got for right now.

Meet Jessica

Jessica is the name I have given to my Volvo V70 which will be my home base this summer. I did my best to tune her up this spring, taking care of various maintenance issues - all I can do now is keep an eye on things and hope for ~9000 or so breakdown-free miles. The back is big enough to sleep in when needed, and the cargo box on top holds alot of gear and food. And, maybe most importantly, the driver's seat is really comfortable.

More LA trip pictures

These are pictures from my cousin Evan's graduation & the villa in Beverly Hills that we (the extended family) stayed at.

Evan's Graduation & Beverly Hills

Well, we had a great time seeing our cousin Evan's graduation from Occidental College in Los Angeles. On saturday we had a smooth flight out to LAX. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Fusako rented a... shall we say, comfortable?... villa in the 90210 area code that happily fit the 10 of us for the long weekend. It was great to get basically all of the family on my mother's side together in one place - doesn't happen very often. I brushed up on my pool-boy skills, Keith salivated over the million-dollar cars, and we watched Evan don the black robe and square hat and get handed that infamous piece of paper that says something like, "go get a job already." The commencement address was given by David Brooks. I thought he did a damn good job - lots of interesting things to think about and a good dose of humor. The ceremony was long but not as stuffy as Dickinson's had been. A professor falling asleep repeatedly on the stage provided comic relief. We'll see how it compares to my Alma Mater's ceremony, which I will be at next weekend.

I was amazed by the smog that clung to the city. I nearly missed the Hollywood sign off in the mountains because of the haze. Despite this, there are some very pretty parks just outside of the city proper - Keith and Aunt Fusako and I took a very nice short hike in Franklin canyon. I also got to see my friend Kevin for roughly 20 minutes on Santa Monica Blvd... long story. But good to see him, he's a natural fit in Cali. Another flight back to Philly on tuesday, and now it's crunch time for roadtrip preparations.

testing 1,2,3 - comebacks - the 14 week bet

First posting - this blogging thing seems pretty easy so far. We'll see how it goes.

So the big news of the day is, of course, the Flyers making an obscene comeback to win in the playoffs after being down to the Boston Bruins 0-3 in the series and 0-3 in game 7. I am glad I got to witness this ridiculous Philly sports moment with some of my best friends. No matter how the Flyers do from here on out, it was an amazing series. Speaking of friends, my buddy Dev grew up slightly closer than me to the Limerick nuclear power plant and therefore has incredible beard-growing abilities. So, we made a bet (with no consequences whatsoever... but aren't those the best kind?) that in the ~14 wks of my road trip, I couldn't grow longer facial hair than he will grow in 14 days at the end of my trip.

Today was also my last day of work at Enzo Life Sciences. It was a good first real job and I learned a lot from working there. "Don't start with arachidonic acid... start with Biomol." Man I like that catchphrase from an early catalog we got to see on thursday - what can I say, I'm a nerd. As I am writing this I am staying up all night before my flight out to LA with my family (we are leaving early in the morning, I still haven't packed, and I am wired from that game). Some context for this irony of travel - my cousin Evan is graduating from Occidental College in Los Angeles on Sunday 5/16. Our family is flying out to join this celebration and have a bit of a reunion with other relatives. We fly back to Philly on tuesday, and I leave for my road trip - hopefully - that friday. A good comparison of the quick vs. the long way to get cross-country.