22nd Jul 2005
2005 American Tour
Updated July 28th, swapping out Columbus for Cleveland …
Aside from OS updates, Mac mini and TiVO hacks, and studying LAMP + AJAX stuff in preparation for OSCON 2005, I’ve had the task of figuring out the route of a cross country drive.
I’ve never driven across America. The move out of NYC gives us a good opportunity, as we’ll have some things to bring back that we don’t want to ship, and it’s a one-way trip. We’ll set off August 11th, and take roughly 12 days. Oh, and by the way, yes, my house is pretty well watched, and booby-trapped …
The preliminary route is like a stone skipping over the urban archipelago. Susan and I are looking at it as a reconnaissance for future trips with more depth.
Aug 11 - NYC -> Pittsburgh (366 miles)
We’ll never leave New York. We’re just saying “bye” for the moment. I’m sure there will be more chapters.
Aug 12 - Pittsburgh -> Columbus, OH (186 miles) — Pittsburgh -> Cleveland, OH (139 miles)
Before setting off, we’ll visit The Andy Warhol Museum
Aug 13 - Columbus, OH -> Chicago, IL (354 miles) —
Cleveland, OH -> Chicago, IL (343 miles)
Stop in Indianapolis.
Aug 14 - Chicago, IL -> Ames, IA (356 miles)
Ames, Iowa, you say? We know someone that was born there, and so we’ll shift (all the more) into documentary mode. Check out beautiful Iowa State University.
Aug 15 - Ames, IA -> Lincoln, NE (221 miles)
This day is a sort of calm before the storm of driving the long stretch to Denver. We’ll stop in Des Moines and Omaha.
Aug 16 - Lincoln, NE -> Denver, CO (488 miles)
Lots of miles. Lots of Nebraska. I won’t drive through Kansas if I can help it.
Aug 17 - Camp out with folks in Denver. Chill out after so much driving.
Aug 18 - Denver, CO -> Santa Fe, NM (391 miles)
Aug 19 - Santa Fe, NM -> Sedona, AZ (410 miles)
Squeeze in desert photography. Try to stay cool.
Aug 20 - Sedona, AZ -> Las Vegas (277 miles)
Quick visit to Grand Canyon. Keep the miles down today. End up in Vegas.
Aug 21 - Las Vegas, NV -> Bakersfield (290 miles)
Desert, Desert, and more Desert. Stay with folks.
Aug 22 or 23 - Bakersfield -> Petaluma (318 miles)
Home stretch. Get Sophia home in time for first day of school on the 24th :-)
A whirlwind, ain’t it!? It would be nice to have three weeks or so to do this. Hopefully this will be well paced.
