Lets Do The Math: From IN to CA

How long?
Left at 9:30 AM Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 9th.
Arrived at 5:00 PM Pacific Time on Sunday
Moving Time: 38.45 hours
Total Time: 106.5 hours
Total Distance Traveled: 2446.73 miles
Gas Consumption: 29 mpg or 84 gallons
Gas Price: $2.60 average or $124.80

How fast?
Moving Average 63.8 mph
Total Average 22.97 mph
Max Speed 86.7 mph

Shall we break it down?
11 hours from North Vernon, IN to Tulsa, Ok
9 hours to Albuquerque, NM
4.5 hours to Flagstaff, AZ
3 hours to the Grand Caynon and back to Flagstaff
4.5 hours to Las Vegas, NV
5 hours to Los Angeles, CA

Notes: The reason our stopped time is so long is because we spent a long time at the Grand Canyon and a day in Vegas as well as getting plenty of sleep when possible. Mom did set the max speed as registered on the GPS. Gas consumption wasn't all that high because of the high mpg of the Sunfire. It gets closer to 35 mpg when it isn't overloaded with my stuff. Thanks to Garmin for providing most of the moving speed, distance traveled, and moving time. The rest could be extrapolated from those stats and memory.

A Night at the Arclight with Transformers 2

So we started our adventure with my first subway ride. We arrived 10 minutes early, which if you know me is exactly how I'd want it to be. The ride itself was inconsequential which, again, is exactly like I felt it should be. The only problem I had was that my foot slipped out of my shoe because my new socks are still to slippery. It sounds ridiculous but that's my reason. On the way out we saw Michael Jackson's star on the walk of fame. As you can see from the picture many people have already paid tribute to the king of pop.

After our walk from the subway we arrived, with only minutes to spare, at The Arclight. The place is huge and as you can see from the pictures had the actual movie cars in front. You have to pay fifteen bucks to reserve seats and most shows are sold out. We went to a LATE show so we could get decent seats. The movie was exactly what you've heard it was. It was mindless escapism at it's most bombastic. At two-and-a-half hours long the movie pushes it's luck on a few occasions. I think I could have edited out another half an hour and fixed my biggest issues but on the whole I had very few complains.

I would have taken better pictures but there was a crowd outside of a club next door and we were in a hurry to make it to the subway. There were some cameramen so somebody in the crowd must have been famous. O'Neil claims he saw T-Pain. It's two in the morning at this point and we didn't know it but the subway had already closed. We then hopped on a bus. We realized it was heading the wrong direction and got off immediately. Then we got in a cab which took us home. So I used all major forms of public transportation available tonight. What an adventure!

Road Trip Blowout

Here's an archive of all the awesome pictures from my Indiana to California road trip. I'll try and caption some for explanations.

More posts coming soon including an apartment walkthrough and road trip statistics for those of you who care.

Quick Update: Part 12

I made it. Los Angeles, CA now has Ewzzy to deal with.

Quick Update: Part 11

We're on the road again. I have a faulty water pump to get fixed this week but it could be worse. Only two hours from our destination now.

Can of Coke

See that can of Diet Coke? That was found in the undercarriage of my car. I checked the can is labeled "best before Nov 15, 2004. I got the car in '05. This is just ridiculous.

Quick Update: Part 10

Coolant leak just outside of Vegas. Now in Barstow CA trying to get it fixed. Don't think I've ever been more frustrated in my entire life.

Vegas Concluded

Vegas is a crazy place. It walks back and forth between famiily freindly and shamefully skanky. I think I wouldn't have been so bothered if I wasn't there with my dear sweet mother. Nothing is more uncomfortable than a man offering you hookers when your mom is next to you. Same thing happpened to me in Tijuana. Do I look like I want hookers?
Blue Man Group was so amazing. They have a simple way of setting up the rules of a scene and then pushing those rules as far as possible before breaking them. It's hard to describe but it's consistent throughout the show. My favorite thing about the show was the way you can be given everything you need to understand what's going on, but you can still be suprised. If I wanted to I could describe the whole show to you section by section, but I don't want it to lose it's impact. Suffice it to say, it was a highly memorable experience.
We also watched the Bellagio water dance like 4 times. It is so cool. Now for the final road trip: to LA!

What happens in Vegas goes to LA

We're in Vegas baby! The first hotel we tried was surrounded by homeless tents so we got a different one. This one is just full of Wisconsin tourists.
Another change of plans: we're only spending one night in Vegas so we'll be in LA even sooner. I can't wait!
But first! Off we go to see Blue Man Group and lose horribly at video poker!That's not the hotel BTW. That's the Venetian. It's a bit more amazing.

The Hoover Dam

Don't worry Cara. It's supposed to have some give. I loved seeing the nature of the Grand Canyon but seeing nature conquered at the Hoover Dam may be even cooler to me. It just makes me go, "Damn, humans are great." We've made it to Nevada now. It should be a half an hour to Las Vegas if I set the GPS properly.

The Grand Canyon

Yeop, it's grand. My mom is freaking out about my standing that close to the ledge. I swear there was only a ten foot drop to the next ledge. Nothing to worry about. Next stop at the Grand Canyon: The Abyss!

Ennui

We're on our way to the Grand Canyon now. I haven't slept well on this trip and it's starting to show. I can tell I'm getting grumpy. My space feels like it's getting smaller and even the beautiful landscape is vaguely annoying. I'm missing life off the road pretty badly. If you're reading this and have my number: call me sometime. Don't wait till I'm at a hotel I have time for you now. I'm staying the night in Flagstaff then going to Las Vegas. We're seeing Blue Man Group and staying the night. After that it's on to Los Angeles for the move in.

Quick Update: Part 9

It was bad when the streetlight shone through my window at night but did the hotel room have to be on the east side? Sun woke me up at 5 AM.

The Taft Presidential Suite

My first hotel room had bugs so I got moved to the Taft Presidential Suite. Life is good. Now off to see Land of the Lost. There's no 'topes game tonight or you know where I would be. See you tomorrow for the Grand Canyon.

Quick Update: Part 8

Made it to Albuquerque. Maybe we'll catch an Isotopes game since it's still so early here. Ooh then I can get a shirt to match Tom's!

Quick Update: Part 7

Hello New Mexico! It's better than old Mexico.

Quick Update: Part 6

Welcome to Texas: "Drive friendly, the Texas way."

I almost forgot!

Yeop I duck-taped the crap out of it. I still love my Sunfire but the design flaw of a single lighter-charger spot in the least convienient spot possible is infuriating. I already feel like a giant in my tiny overpacked car. With a small area that I can't touch because it'll disconnect my music it's just ridiculous.

Quick Update: Part 5

Left from Tulsa a while ago. 545 miles to Albuquerque. Gas mileage is 29mpg with an overloaded car. I love my Sunfire. Miss you all already.

Oklahoma Where the *Something Something* on the Plains!

We've arrived in Tulsa, OK and it is okay. Sure that joke is bad but I had to try. Check out the view from my hotel room. Snazzy. Don't get me wrong. It may seem like I'm just posting negative things but I assure you, I'm having a great time. My uncle Bob even got us seperate hotel rooms so me and my mom can spend some time apart. Isn't that sweet? More updates to come tomorrow as I continue on to Albuquerque.

Quick Update: Part 4

Now entering Miami, Oklahoma. Passed by Cuba, Missouri earlier. Is this where your family is from Tom?

Quick Update: Part 3

St Louis! Swap drivers and then on to Tulsa. If the radio transmitter comes unplugged again I'm gonna duck-tape the crap out of it.

Quick Update: Part 2

Now leaving Indiana. Hello Illinois and lower speed limits.

Quick Update: Part 1

We woke up 45 minutes late. The power went out on our block. I loaded the rest of the car in a thunderstorm. We're off to a good start. Los Angeles here I come.

All packed up for LA

So I'm leaving tomorrow for LA with my car all packed up and ready to go. My mom is driving out with me and flying back once I've settled in. We've got space saver bags in the trunk. God help us if they should re-inflate. We'll be stopping in Tulsa OK first. I'll be posting from the road every day so keep posted here.

Without Troy Re-Premiere

So I re-premiere Without Troy in North Vernon, Indiana at the Park Theatre. It was a lot of fun. We had almost one-hundred people in attendance and we raised a lot of money for the scholarship that the Park Theatre gives to art students from North Vernon. I was the first recipient of the scholarship in 2005 and I can't thank them enough for all the support I've received over the years.

Forgive me Homer

When I was a freshman in at Jennings County High School I did a project of The Odyssey that resulted in me drawing anime versions of the characters. These are those drawings:

I am so ashamed. Truly this era of my life couldn't have ended sooner.

Ms. Arbuckle's Class

You may remember that I gave a tour for my friend Katie Arbuckle's 4th grade class. Five of her students were so thankful that they sent me letters. I've been meaning to scan and upload these forever. These kids are too freakin cool. Enjoy.