Hello there again! I know all of our 6 followers have been eagerly awaiting the second update on the road trip, so here it is! The '13s are currently 1 week into this adventure and on the way to Little Rock, Arkansas, for some eventual camping. We look forward to spreading goodwill and holiday cheer to the Mecca of methamphetamines. But now, a recap of our journey so far:
CANADA: We greatly enjoyed our time last Sunday and Monday with Anthony Romaniw. Our arrival was timely as all of Canada was in celebration for the Grey Cup final. Nobody really knew who won, but everybody agreed that Carly Rae Jepsen put up a fantastic performance in the halftime show. The town of Guelph where we stayed was nice, with a stark resemblance to the friendly confines of Enfield, CT. With 1000 restaurants and an osteopath, what more could we have asked for?!
Monday's run was interesting, as we went onto some wooded trails in town. After a couple of miles, we encountered a portion of the course that we were informed by Romo was on a resident's property. The two instructions we received were 1) To stay quiet, and 2) "If you hear dogs, run." Well, sure enough, within a couple of steps, there was barking in the distance. Being the cultured Dartmouth students we are, everyone immediately recalled the horrors of approaching dogs in various stealth missions in Call of Duty MW3, tapped down on the left joystick, and "tur-broed" our way out of there. Although the barking got steadily louder, we were able to escape the property unscathed with the help of Jon-Jon, 10K specialist and dog whisperer.
Our final Canadian evening was pleasant and relatively uneventful, with a bowling game the main attraction. Romo, with arms like two Ontario hickory stumps, was able to power through and win the first game, while we were all outdone by a Diesel engine in the second. The other highlight in the bowling alley was a death machine known as the "Hurricane." You basically spend 2 loonies (also referred to as a "toonie") for a glorified air conditioner to cough air on your head for 30 seconds. Let's just say that we weren't exactly "blown away" by this fearsome apparatus.
We then made our way to MICHIGAN to meat a certain furry fella known as Ethan Shaw (now running profesionally for Brooks-Hanson) for 2 nights. Tuesday night included a fair amount of Smash Bros and general mayhem, but we faced a rude awakening the next morning when he woke us up at 7:30 for a 12 miler. We also didn't realize that at night,the guys kept their house colder than Adam Doherty from 3 point range to save on heating costs. No rest for the weary, I suppose.
After a nice nap, we had quite the epic evening that included a trip to Dave and Busters and a Detroit Pistons game. The Pistons game was awesome: we were able to snag 7th row seats (usually $60) behind the basket (formerly known as Hoops Karma) for $9 each on StubHub, end up on the Jumbotron 3 times during the game, and leave with a bunch of free shirts, courtesy of "tees for threes."
From there, we've had a couple of one-night stays in various locations. Thursday night featured Chicago, where Philly Chesesteak was busy bombing the GREs while the rest of us tried some deep-dish pizza by Millenium Park. Friday night was spent in South Bend at Notre Dame, where we partook in the local residents' seven hobbies: drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking, and fighting respectively. We also enjoyed a nice run with our new friend J Rae, with our main man "Touchdown" J Christ keeping watch. Digger Phelps himself was even there to greet us as we left, with a friendly "why the hell don't you guys ever run east!?!?! You're always going west!" That one went a little over our heads, but whatever. Lastly, we hit the ol' dusty trail in Louisville yesterday at my Uncle's house before today's long haul.
Other fun facts from the past week:
-Not many girl stories of note. Adam has developed a habit of mentioning that someone from his high school is in each city we're visiting. He then proceeds to downplay the whole deal to us while secretly texting said girl frantically in an attempt to meet up. Jon left his number on the receipt at a bar in South Bend, but no dice. And, well, I got elbowed by Phil yesterday morning because he claimed I was spooning him on the futon. Such is life.
-Many of you have noted that most of our photos feature Phil in his classic Marvin Martian pants. As we've moved to warmer weather, he has officially changed his wardrobe to feature the only other thing he wears: the dreaded Billabong boardshorts.
-Staying with Phil, he has spent today calling restaurants that offer Memphis BBQ and asking "if y'all are open on Sundeeys." He has also brushed his teeth a grand total of 0 times so far. Because, you know, germs train your body to get stronger.
-Dave's glasses, once kept together with Scotch tape, now feature a thick, prominent layer of electrical tape.
-I have been the subject of ridicule for my liberal (sorry Peter) use of the term "inception" when (not so) puzzling coincidences occur on the trip. Some people just don't appreciate a mediocre sense of humor.
Speaking of which, I'm out of bad jokes. Hope all is well with everyone, another thanks to all of our hosts along the way, and stay tuned for the next update!
Mike
