This American Summer

Day 40
Fri July 11, 2008
Destination: stayed in Chicago
Couchsurfing: Ethan

woke up, i’m the only one who showered, got our things packed up
walked back to van to put things away and repack for walking around all day
set out for Millennium Park
Chicago is surprisingly pretty - lots of green space, not terrible traffic
wandered around park, took pictures
the shiny bean!

me and david were very hungry, but alex not so much, so alex went to Chicago Institute of Art Museum
me and david went across street to Corner Bakery Cafe for breakfast
very quaint little restaurant

walked up to steps of art museum
some people were doing street performance art
slinky shiny costumes, had a sign: if it’s worth a photo, then it’s worth a dollar
also, really good street violinist in front of the museum
does Chicago not have street performer licenses/rules?

cranky security lady on the steps - “no stopping on the steps” wtf
got our tickets (student discount!), checked a backpack david was carrying, and started wandering around
very old-school museum, but lots of cool exhibits
spent a LONG time there, i was whooped, feet tired

met back up with alex and headed out
walked to Navy Pier
lots of bike tours in this city
got to the pier, hungry again, split up to find food and booze
they have an amusement park, wanted to ride the tilt-a-whirl (? not sure if this is actually the name of the ride)
couldn’t find where to get tickets, but did find a giant indoor arboretum
they have jets of water shooting in arcs, you can walk under the arcs and not get wet
walked to the end of the pier, got some beer and chicken fingers and fries
got a text message from couchsurfer Ethan asking if we still needed a place to stay that night
hooray! replied, let him know what we were up to, and confirmed staying with him that night

at around 5pm, headed to Chicago Public Radio’s studio on the Pier
met up with Usama, the host of the evening Vocalo show on which we would be guests
he took us to Vocalo’s main studio, then gave us a quick walking tour around the whole chicago public radio space
told us about vocalo - trying to connect with chicago’s minority and lower-middle class demographic
they give hand held voice recorders to people so that they can record things wherever they are and submit them
on the walking tour ran into his co-host, camille
met the other regular on the show - tazama sun: music teacher, used to train boxers, masseuse, trying to make it big in the music industry

we got set up in the studio, sat down with headphones and mic each (camille and tazama shared), and got started
just kind of talked about all sorts of things
travel, our trip, but also just random things, like necrophilia, measles, gay or not gay, what it means to be american
we were there recording the show live for about 3 hours
they gave us tshirts and lots of other cool knicknacks
chocolate covered fortune cookies - yum!
we sat outside the studio and just talked with tazama for about another hour
told us more stories of his travels, when he used to hitchhike around the us
suggested we go to Unleaded Blues for some awesome live blues and good dinner
camille invited us to a party and gave us the address

we decided to walk back to where our car was parked (all the way back in the theater district, eek!)
called up Ethan to invite him to go out with us, but he said he’s partied out for the night
so we decided to just go straight to his place

Ethan lives in apartment in north side of Chicago
has two tiny kittens, so cute and playful
stayed up talking a bit
i was exhausted, kept falling asleep during conversation
we finally crashed, Ethan has very comfy couches

Day 41
Sat July 12, 2008
Destination: Madison, WI
Couchsurfing: Kat

thunderstorms all night, had to keep opening then closing windows cuz i wanted air and ventilation, but in the spurts of heavy downpour rain was getting in
got up and said temporary bye to Ethan
walked to Chicago Pizza to get some authentic pizza
this stuff is thick and dense
we each had two slices and were done

walked around, got to a creepy elementary school playground
we decided to chill in the grass, plan was to meet up with ross, waiting for his phone call
i napped in david’s lap while david and alex read issues of transmetropolitan
ross called, sorry so late, we decided don’t have time to hang out today, but we’ll see each other in boston

on the walk back to Ethan

went back to Ethan’s apartment and took him to Superdog for authentic Chicago hot dogs
hot dog has pickle spear, neon green relish, onions, tomato, peppers, and mustard - NO KETCHUP
also got some superthick (and delicious) malted shakes
dropped Ethan back at his apartment, said goodbye

set off for Madison!
Kat lives on the isthmus
called me and let me know where the spare key was, gave us suggestions on where to go around the neighborhood
got in, met Kat’s roommate Sam
did some work, then decided to drive around looking for dinner
ended up walking around capitol building
went to state street and ate at the Noodle Company

walked back, Kat and boyfriend Brandon were back from a potluck
we had tea, sat around and talked
Brandon has traveled around Russia, Europe; traveled a lot
boiling water: every day is just a simple search for boiling water
ask someone for boiling water, by the time they get water boiled and to you, maybe willing to let you sleep on their floor

Day 42
Sun July 13, 2008
Destination: St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN
Couchsurfing: Brian

woke up early, went for a jog around neighborhood
went up to state street, then to lake on east side, then to lake on west side
found a tree where a glass jar and laundry clips were wrapped around tree using hemp string
instructions: leave a comment
glass jar had water proof paper and a sharpie marker
i wrote: go on a road trip, this country is amazing
lake level so high, it was spilling over onto sidewalk next to lake
took off my shoes and walked on the flooded sidewalk
wind was blowing into my face
managed to get very close to a group of ducks and a seagull, got to watch their morning routine
ducks: clean and groom in the flooded water area on sidewalk, then go to grassy area next to sidewalk to graze, then nap with watchful eye for predators
two males, two females, and one young male? i think the last one was a young male - could see bits of shiny green on its head, but it was still mostly fuzzy, so it almost looked like brown female head. one of the other males had like a zebra mane of brown fuzz over its shiny green head, so maybe that’s part of the maturation process for male ducks
gull: had a dead fish, probably washed up from flooding or something
had method of poking hole in skin/scales, then digging flesh out from that hole
water kept washing the fish around, haha could tell that it got annoyed with the waves sometimes

got back to kat’s house/apartment just as everyone started waking up
showered, checked email and couchsurfing
kat and brandon made hearty oatmeal and coffee
had breakfast on their porch, also included cake from last night
very delicious meal
they have lots of plants on porch

kat and brandon LOVE wisconsin
talked about the lakes, microbreweries, weather of the area
swimming and ice skating on lakes
can’t swim in lakes this summer cuz flooding dumped tons of sewage into the water

told them what our route approx would be
kat was like, ooo I need to tell you about a local wisconsin secret treasure
told us to go to Forevertron
showed us some pictures and gave us directions
we were like cool ok
said our thank yous and good byes

got to car
should we go to forevertron? sure ok, sounds cool
drove towards natural bridge park
got a little lost
finally found it
so lucky we decided to go, so lucky kat told us about it
it is a junkyard of awesome
took tons of pictures
also met lots of awesome people
got to ride a segway designed for handicapped veterans
talked about lots of different engineering projects
when I introduced myself to Dr. Evermor, he liked my name and decided to name his next mechanical bird after me
I spent most of my time talking to Luke
told me stories of his travels
bought a one way ticket to Spain after being in back from Vietnam - he figured, fuck the US, I’ll come back later maybe things will be better
taught me lots of phrases
gave advice on traveling - attitude. attempt the language, learn just a few words, always look like you know what you’re doing
gave me a bunch of recipes involving spam - cheap meals for term time!
finally after like 4-5 hours we reluctantly leave

they told us where to go for dinner, beer, and cheese in nearby town of Baraboo
go eat at Kristina’s family restaurant - huge portions, delicious food, lovely waitstaff
got like 2 pounds of cheese and variety packs of local beers

drove rest of the way to St. Paul to meet our host, Brian
had beer and chatted pretty late
told us about traveling the US on a motorcycle
different motorcycle events you can do - basically like a giant scavenger hunt for adults

Day 43
Mon July 14, 2008
Destination: Fargo, ND
Early stop due to MUO being sick in Sauk Centre, MN
camping in Sinclair Lewis campground

woke up a bit later than usual
Brian took us to diner called Key’s Cafe and Bakery
family style food
we all got breakfast omeletttes - huge, soooo tasty
towards end of meal got a call from Cassie
she said she left her car unlocked and someone stole her mixed cds
also, her friend anna invited a band to stay at her apartment too, haha she said it might be crazy tonight

then we went to Walker art museum and sculpture garden
mini golf course designed by artists
lots of funky designs, interesting new mediums used
then walked around outdoor sculpture garden

one exhibit - benches arranged in square with phrases water jetted into them
found some other really cool stuctures
said goodbye to Brian
he offered to call up a friend who has a house in Montana where we could stay if we want

decided to get lefse on the way to Fargo
we noticed that ac wasn’t working so well
earlier in trip ac was making gross smells, then was spitting foggy air at us
uh oh engine temp is HIGH!
we think we had a coolant leak
pulled over in Freeport to call up people, find a ford dealership
slow speed on backroads to get there
Ford dealership in Saux Center, got there right before closing time (5pm)

took a look at our engine
something is leaking
coolant is all gone, motor oil is very very low
no more driving for today
they gave us a ride to nearby campground - Sinclair Lewis campground

very pretty campsite, right next to lake
camp manager lady very nice and friendly
we bought firewood
took a walk to town to buy bread and marshmellows
also got some beer

got back to campsite, started fire
made grilled cheese sandwiches and toasted marshmellows over the fire
lots of mosquitos, sigh forgot to grab citronella candle or bugspray
very nice stars

Day 44
Tue July 15, 2008
Destination: Fargo, ND
Couchsurfing with Cassie

david woke up early to go see the ford dealership people to see what’s up
i gave my hair a trim after showering
got back to campsite, david’s back
mechanics gave us an estimate, said need new part, part will be in at noon, labor will be done at 5pm

walked to DQ for food
kind of napped there a little
meandered our way back to campsite
spread out blankets on the grass in the shade
worked on posts, emailing people, couchsurfing contacts
very relaxing day, just chilling
made friends with a cat, “belongs” to camp manager lady

finally got call from ford place
yay! MUO is back, and healthy
david asked them for our old heater core, got it in a box
repacked the van, on our way to FARGO!
called Cassie for address, said she will be at a concert, so we can just come in and make ourselves comfy

got in, met Cassie’s friends Molly and Steph
she gave us directions to grocery store and liquor store
bought lefse!
and cheese and butter and sausages and stuff for guacamole

came back to cook food
cleaned Cassie’s kitchen - well, really just did the dishes
Cassie showed up after the concert, brought some more friends
made lefse with butter and sugar, then also with sausage and cheese
watched “Say Anything” and “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”