The distribution of destination points worked out such that we never had more than a 8-hour day of driving until the end of the trip. Less driving and more visiting and exploring made us all dread getting into the car a little less. Tina brought her portable DVD player and the boys watched the Indiana Jones trilogy when the drive got too long. I brought books but I never did any reading in the car since I was either driving or sleeping.

I started to write a summary of each day in this entry, but it turned into an incredibly long read, so I’ll be breaking it into a series. Watch this space for a day-by-day rehash of our journey to Arizona and back.

• I’m living in Iowa and trying to get my car working. I own several cars and one of them is a muscle car which my dad is helping me fix up.
• My dad and I trespass on a farmer’s land. The cops come and we make a break for the car, but I am shot in the back. My dad gets away. The cops question me for several minutes before I ask them if they want to look at my wound or call an ambulance. They were unaware they had shot me.
• I’m riding my bike through Cedar Falls trying to find my old apartment. I purposefully cut through the bank parking lot by the ATM but still end up going down a hill by a park. My previous experience (which is fictional in real life) tells me I have overshot my destination and I am bummed I have to pedal back uphill.
• I am at dentist office and I remember belatedly that they should check my bottom left molar because it’s sore when I chew (in real life).
• I’m back in Riceville and there’s something incredible happening in the sky. It could be aliens and it could be atomic bombs. Everyone is outside watching it.
• The whole family is on a road trip and we decide to go through Kansas which is way out of the way.
• I’m late getting on an airplane that is taking me home. As we fly in to land, we dive at a terrifying steep angle.
• I’m back in Charleston and wondering around trying to find a particular place. I have an idea of how the city is laid out but I keep getting confused.
• I find a pawn shop in a really shady part of town. When I walk out of the shop I find that my car has been stolen from the parking lot.
• I go to a club where I know that there is a play. The play is self-referential and recursive which makes it cool. But there is something evil in the back of the club that I can never remember.

The level of Battlestar nerdiness achieved by this car’s owner is close to uncomfortable. I’m not sure if I should be chagrined or jealous. Probably jealous.

I’ll always be a Hawkeye fan.

• After a little drama with the van (seeping coolant), we got it back from the mechanic a couple of weeks ago and it’s running like a champ again.
• Last night Thomas crossed over into Boy Scouts.
• Thomas recently passed his swimming lesson class.
• Graham played the last basketball game of his season on Saturday.
• Graham has been having continual problems controlling himself at basketball practice, in games, at home and at school. He received several referrals one week from school, so we took away almost everything he loves (Wii, DS, computer). He needs to learn to stop and think before doing things. He’s back on the right track, though, and expects to get his keyboard back for his computer this week.
• Nietzsche has recovered from his enema, but is very upset at not getting table scraps anymore. Very upset.
• If you’ve been tracking Vital Statistics here, you’ve noticed we haven’t caught any mice for weeks. I think they are all gone.
• Thomas and I spent this last weekend at a Boy Scout lodge up on Mt. Hood with Troop 606. It was fun and I may write more about it later.
• I’m transitioning from one project to another right now at work so it’s a little hectic. Hopefully, I can give you more details about the new project soon.
• Tina is finishing up another term at Mt. Hood Community College and will enjoy Spring Break with the boys at the end of this week.
• Planning continues for a family reunion this summer. Looks like it might be the first week in August, but that’s only tentative.
• Thomas has taken an interest in programming recently. He inquired about a game that a collegue wrote and I explained how programming works. I’m thinking of starting him on Logo. Any thoughts, readers?
• My new front fender is awesome.
• After the MP3 CDs went over so well at Christmas, I started a “Song of the Day” club in our house. The idea is that members (everyone in the house) get a new song added to their iTunes every day. Graham really seems to enjoy it and occasionally requests specific things. Some requests have been for Queen and “heavy metal.”

Can you tell I love unordered lists in HTML?