I got back from my whirlwind tour of the MidWest (for the second time in 2 weeks) yesterday afternoon. I'd originally planned to be back on Sunday, but the glory of a flexible schedule is that I was able to take an extra day.

Even though I didn't make it to any of the interesting festivities, I picked a winner of a weekend to meander through Chicago. "Taste of Chicago", Pride, etc were all going on, and the background ambiance was nice even if I didn't happen to hit any of the events proper.

As usual, norabombay was fantastic as a hostess, providing not only a bed/dachshund/food/computer-for-use, but also entertaining company. We went out to a local bar on Friday evening and spent 2-3 hours exploring logical fallout of various international and diplomatic disasters (and entertaining the bartender with our coaster!continents). It was awesome.

Saturday, I finally managed to catch up with neviachiel, whom I've been sending holiday cards to for the last 6 years. It's always such a lovely experience when you get on with someone even better than you'd hoped, and she's an absolute sweetheart. We spent Sunday morning wandering around her old/current campus, and somehow she came away unscathed while I managed to both broil-like-a-lobster *and* blister up my feet horribly (although the feet were my own fault - I'd picked up a pair of cheap flats b/c my flipflops were starting to rub a bit, and didn't have socks, and then walked several miles in them). I still look like someone spray painted me, right down to the China!White purse-stripe across the middle of my chest.

The only down side is that, between changing my driving plans geographically and chronologically, I managed to catch up with neither scarlett_o or khyrra, but I'm sure this will be far from the last trip I make in the general vicinity in the next few years. I also managed to not catch fortysixthhour, but that was more a matter of goings-and-comings not quite meshing.

Got back yesterday afternoon around 4:30 EST, found out the electrician had rewired a number of phone jacks and unplugged the modem (amongst other things), so I didn't get online until today. Got 8.5 hours of sleep last night, and will be shooting for more like 10 tonight, given the 3 hour night at Nora's before the 12 hour drive back to WV.

*Waves* In short, not dead. And people in Illinois are kind of awesome, at least the fannish ones.

Cross-Continental Driving Trip the Third is coming up next week, so I'm putting a shout-out to all of my friends in the metaphorical flight path.

• Tuesday night I'm driving West Virginia to Somewhere-in-Ohio along route 80/90.


• Wednesday morning I'm driving Somewhere-in-Ohio to Two Rivers, Wisconsin.


• Thursday I'm spending in Janesville because my grandmother is turning 90, although I'm spending the night in Madison.


• Friday, I drive Madison->Chicago and hopefully spend the next 2 nights on norabombay's guest bed.
• Who's up for drinks next Friday Night??


• Somewhere between Friday and Monday, I need to hook up with neviachiel.


• Sunday I tentatively drive Chicago->West Virginia, with a hopeful stopover to see scarlett_o a bit shy of Pittsburgh on the way (the only way this changes is if I spend half of Sunday driving around Illinois to meet up with neviachiel), in which case I only drive part of the distance from Chicago to WV on Sunday and finish on Monday).

Thoughts, suggestions, desires to meet up?

With the visible end of my undergraduate career, a move is in order. I've done a bit of finagling, and hllangel is going to be flying up to co-drive the (roughly) 2,796 miles from here to West Virginia.

We'll be departing on Friday, May 1. In order of visitation, we'll be stopping over in Montana, Minnesota, Chicago (2 nights, Sunday and Monday), and then WV. Two Rivers, WI and Pittsburgh, PA are plotted as mid-day stops.

The Projected Travel Plans

If you live in/near somewhere we're going through/stopping over, and you'd like to get together, drop me a line.

ETA: Also, I should start appearing here a bit more regularly in the near future. Aside from, you know, the logging 10,000 miles of driving in the month of May. *Whimpers*