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gary, IN: this place is hell, i'm certain of it.

<b>north carolina:</b> someday, i will learn how to drain a cooler without soaking my shoes. strange strobing traffic lights. get stuck behind a house on the freeway (no, really). the border with tennessee is seriously mountainy, wow - so this is what i missed driving in the dark.

<b>tennessee:</b> cloudshadows falling on pointy green landscapes. realize my ticket to burning man is on a moving truck, not in my car. gps freaks out shortly thereafter, sends me on frustrating and unnecessary detour through downtown knoxville; have minor meltdown in car before getting back on freeway.

<b>kentucky:</b> "kfc birthplace" merits a brown point-of-interest sign. pass a dumptruck which, unbeknownst to the driver, seems to be full of Stuff On Fire. most popular roadkill species: 1) blown tires, 2) raccoons, 3) mattresses (?). have lunch in a mexican restaurant with an intense zeal for service, despite being in the middle of nowhere.

<b>indianna:</b> "james joyce's truck sales" - really? homemade sign in the middle of crop reads, "visit www.thesquattingtoadband.com;" the internet has arrived in rural america. much of this state smells like a rendering plant, eeeew. most of the other traffic is 18 wheelers. have to take detour through gary, IN when highway ends re: construction; gary is full of billboards about jesus, but looks and smells like someone's version of hell.

<b>illinois:</b> see the chicago skyline and think, "hey, gotham!" drive by "us cellular field" (what is it supposed to be called, i wonder?) and see lights, thousands of people in stands. meet up with highschool friend and his girlfriend for dinner; get surprising news about old classmates. stay up late into the night drinking, smoking, discussing addiction/insanity/behavior, family and social class, judgment and lack thereof. pass out.