I just got back from my trip...

...to New Hampshire, and 2,000 miles never went past my windshield so fast. Combined with the 1,200 other miles that I logged going up to Minnesota and down to Charleston, Illinois in the last month, and I think I've had enough driving for a while. The old Dodge Caravan performed well, even if the radio did conk out on the last leg.

I started out bright and early Saturday morning, at 5:30, and made good time throughout. I saw some construction, but not as much as I expected. Where are all those shovel-ready, stimulus-related projects that we've heard so much about? The one or two that I did see had those signs that say Hit a worker, $10,000 fine, 14 years in jail. That always makes me wonder, do people really need to be reminded not to do that? Is that a big problem? Would more workers be hit without that warning? "Whoa! I'd be more careless if the fine were only $5,000, but $10,000 is steep! I'd better pay attention."

I've decided that the key to making good time is to bring your own food. I recommend sandwiches. I've tried fried chicken and ribs in the past, but find that the barbecue sauce gets the steering wheel too messy. Also, you get the strangest looks from people when you throw the bones out the window going 80 miles an hour.

I pulled into Rochester, New York at about five in the afternoon on Saturday. I stayed with some old friends, Mark and Lizanne. They actually live in the country, in a huge house on two acres. I not only had my own floor, I had my own wing. They're empty-nesters now, which seems a little weird to me as Mark and I went to high school together. The three of us sat outside on their deck and had a few beers while we caught up. Later, we went into this charming old town nearby and had burgers outside next to a little waterfall. They live in a beautiful area, with lots of horse farms. And on the drive home we saw a bunch of deer. It was a really nice visit.

Sunday morning found me back on the road again (and lost) on the way to Hanover. I stopped in Saratoga Springs, New York, for about an hour or so and just walked around. It's a really neat town and they had an art fair going on that day. I drove on to Woodstock, Vermont (another really neat town) but couldn't stop as time was becoming a factor (I told my son that I'd be on campus by five). On through the mountains of southern Vermont I drove, listening to Phish on my I-Pod and eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream. (I have to say, Vermonters seemed a little uptight to me. Some of the locals even appeared to shake their fists at me when I threw the empty cartons and plastic spoons out the window. I thought those people were supposed to be mellow!)

Joe and I met up at the appointed time and packed the van. He gave me a tour of the campus and then we grabbed a bite before heading home. Joe took me to the "Hop" where he introduced me to a "Billy Bob," which is a steak, egg, and cheese burrito. Very tasty; next time I'll try it with peppers and onions. Once in the car, we must have gotten pretty absorbed in conversation, because we ended up going a little out of our way. "Look at that billboard. Connecticut is advertising its lottery in Massachu--Hey! Where the hell are we?" But we righted the ship and got on the correct road for home. We even considered going all night and stopped into a Dunkin' Donuts for coffee around midnight. (Since when do they sell blueberry-flavored coffee?) But after a while we both faded and checked into a hotel around four. Good move.

After a quick four or five hours sleep it was back on the road. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for a hearty breakfast and I highly recommend it if you're not in too big a hurry. Joe gave me a hard time for having the waitress wrap the two pieces of bacon that he didn't eat, but it was perfect on my grilled cheese sandwich today (with Dalmatia fig spread, of course). Okay, so I extended grilled cheese season for one more day--sue me.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, except the part about the radio. But that turned out to be fortuitous, however, as it gave me more time to impart even more fatherly wisdom to my son. (It was right about then that I noticed he'd developed a peculiar eye-rolling tic since he'd been at college. I think I'll have the doctor look at that while we're home.) We finally pulled into the driveway around seven and had a group hug with his mom and brother. It should be a great summer!