16 Hours, 5 States, 7 Cigarettes, 2 Redbulls, and a 5-Hour Energy

The drive to Colorado began early in the morning. I said one last goodbye to the amenities of the motel room, not knowing if the Toyota Matrix would carry me all the way to Colin's couch in Boulder, or if I would be camping in the very flat state of Nebraska. I started the drive in Chesterton, Indiana, roughly 40 miles east of Gary. The few miles left in Indiana flew by and soon I was welcomed into the state of Illinois.

Immediately, the selector , put on the Sufjan Stevens Album "Come on Feel the Illinoise". It was interesting to imagine what he was looking at when he wrote that album, as I was driving through. With the music carrying the Matrix across route 80, I was able to slip through Illinois fairly quickly. When I got into Iowa, things really changed...



They have this thing called i-Zoom instead of EZ Pass. I think EZ Pass still works in an i-Zoom toll booth, but I couldn't help but think about which other i-Products must be out there for the general public. Something like this would surely take-off.


Oh wait, this one's actually for real. Hunger overcame the Matrix and me, so while she gassed up I satisfied my craving for greasy hamburger meat.



Even though Keenan and Kel were not there to greet me, I was still pleased with both the food and service of this establishment.



The burger was a sort of hybrid thing. It had the flavor of a super dank burger, but the consistency of a sloppy joe, minus the sauce. Whatever the creature, it was mighty delicious. I thought about that burger the rest of the way through Iowa, and even upon entering Nebraska, where the traffic was so thick in Omaha, I missed the 'welcome to' sign. Since the fullness of the burger had worn off, I decided to pull off of 80 and snag some beef jerky. In the gas station parking lot, some fellows were trying to make room for something in their pick up truck. In order to achieve maximum efficiency whilst moving shit around in a vehicle, a person must take his/her dead deer's head out of the vehicle and place it on the roof of his/her vehicle to sit there and drip fresh blood all over the windows and doors...of said vehicle. This was something I'm glad I witnessed because that scene doesn't happen often in NJ. Back on the road, the sun began to set over Nebraska and generally blinded me for the next two hours since I was driving straight at it. Nebraska was large, flat, and chock full o' farm equipment.

Hours later, while belting out my version of Patois with Damian Marley, the colorado border hit with a breath of fresh Rocky air. With only two hours left to go, the sheer excitement of not driving anymore was pushing me on as well as a second Redbull.

Upon arrival, Halloween night, there were students everywhere, some in costumes, some not. All were definitely 'loosened up' one way or another. Welcome to Boulder!

-J