Ryan McFarland

Here’s the rough draft of a web cam created video of our road trip from Phil & Gwen’s house in Virginia to the border of West Virginia. We’re thinking the frames may need to load twice to four times as fast. Naturally we’ll need a soundtrack also. This is over 3 and a half hours of travel time (including the refueling stop) and about 208 miles condensed into just under 8 minutes. The cam took captures every 10 seconds.

Downtown Charleston (West Virginia) is quite nice. The sidewalks are made of brick and are wide. The streets are lines with trees, there are nice lamp poles. Not a single bum. No signs of violence. Little traffic too. Not a whole lot to do… but i’m used to that.

We left Chris’s condo and drove south toward Phil & Gwen’s new home in Virginia.  They are tucked back on windy roads and their property is adjacent to a golf course.  It was only a 2 and half hour drive down from DC so we have quite a bit of ground to cover before my conference starts on Wednesday morning.

I flew into Reagan airport arriving at 4:30 pm. I hadn’t told Kevin my flight number - turns out I should have told him what airport. We had a great dinner (recipe to follow) and watched Inside Man. Chris made french toast this morning and now we’re on our way to Richmond, Virginia.

Cousin Chris came with Kevin to pick me up from the airport. We’re having dinner at his place tonight.

I rode the Seattle bus for the first time and then took a cab to meet up with Bailee in Seattle. We went to a small art show and then to a few clubs for music. Mass transit and nightlife - imagine that!

I almost left too many things to do this morning before my flight. I think I managed to get them all done though. I decided to pack everything in a pair of carry-ons so I didn’t need to check in too early. Tonight the plan is to meet up with Bailee and go to a show or two while I overnight in Seattle.

Palmeni’s is a Russian dumpling restaurant in Juneau. They don’t ask what you want but they do ask how many. Russian dumplings with a slice of bread and hot sauce. There is nothing better at 2 am in Juneau. Some random track on the record player and a hot dumpling in your gut..

It really is true.  You can get some sweet deals on Priceline.  This summer i booked a hotel in Seattle for my parents via Expedia and then again using Priceline.  I paid just over half for the room that i paid for with Priceline - and it was the same hotel.  I booked one for myself on my way down for a conference and to drive with Kevin.  I plugged in $60 (plus taxes), near the airport in Seattle, and 3 stars.  I got the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center for a total of $76.30.  I just looked it up on Expedia (previously my preferred online travel resource) and it is listed for $126.

Today i booked tickets for the National Recreation and Park Association congress and exposition which is in Indianapolis.  Kevin plans on moving from NY to LA and asked me to do the drive with him a while ago.  We decided this would be a good trip to do it.  I fly into Washington DC on September 22nd and out of LA on October 5th.  We plan on popping by Uncle Phil and Aunt Gwen before hitting Indianapolis for the conference.  We’ll leave there and visit Cece for a day, head toward Colorado to meet up with Mike VanElzakker, and then head for Los Angeles.  2,692 miles and 13 states using the most direct route.

I have a few ideas of things to do along the trip.  One would be to set up a computer (laptop with an inverter) with webcams set up out the front and sides set to capture an image every minute or so.  Then we could set up an art display that would involve sitting in car seats in an open room with projectors broadcasting a time-lapse video of driving across country.  Or i could work on collecting information for the field guide i have wanted to write for 10 years: the roadside field guide.  It would have information collected like most field guides - by type - and then details on specifics.  So if you saw something on a power pole you would go to that section and then flip through information on transformers, spacers, and those orange balls that are sometimes attached.  Even details on the differences between creosote poles (What kind of wood is it? What is creosote? How are they put in the ground?), metal poles (What kind of paint is it?), and the large trusses made with lots of triangles.  Perhaps sections on pavement types, roadkills, trees and shrubs, mile markers, bridges, water towers, fencing… and then imagine the details… fencing: chain link, barbed wire, birds commonly seen on fence posts.  How grooves are cut into concrete for rumble strips, or what kind of adhesive is used to glue those reflectors in the middle of the lanes.

Or we could just drive and have a good time.  Maybe steal a lawn ornament and have pictures of it sent to the owner along with the stolen gnome (how cliche).

The weekend before i leave for this trip, Cena and i are zipping up to Juneau overnight.  Then the weekend after i get back from driving across country i have to bop up to Anchorage for an ARPA meeting.  I’ll be there from Friday until Sunday.  Then the weekend after that i have a SEAtrails meeting in Sitka that will have me gone from Saturday through Tuesday.   So from today i only have two weekends in Petersburg between now and Halloween.  I better start thinking about my costume.