Bad decisions make good stories, and I now have the tee shirt to prove it.
My nephews march with Spartans Drum Corps and tour all over the eastern United States before the culminating championships in Indianapolis mid-August. Unfortunately, their closest show to me this season is in Syracuse, NY. So, me being me, I start planning a trip out to Syracuse, with a plan to take in what I like to refer to as "roadside oddities" on my way. If I plan it right, I can even stop in Cooperstown to tour the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I plan three different routes just for fun: I-90 (through NY, this is a given), route 2 Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts, or route 9 across southern Vermont through Bennington. There are too many possibilities, and I want to see everything. Route 9 is a no-go because, if I pass through Bennington, then I also need to see part of the Mohawk Trail and vice versa. So, both 2 and 9 are ruled out simply because of the high distraction value.
That leaves route 90, a rather tame initial journey where the most exciting thing is the speed trap crossing over Massachusetts into New York state. But, there are multiple side trips to see roadside attractions across New York. This is a huge draw.
However, my sister-in-law is also planning a solo drive to Syracuse because her husband, one of my crazy-arse brothers, has been volunteering on the corps' food truck -- feeding something like 300,000 kids and staff (okay, maybe 200) three meals a day and basically not sleeping for six straight weeks -- and his tenure is up with the Syracuse show. My brother and his family live in the North Country of New York, a little over an hour south of Montreal.
I have a brilliant idea! I'll take the backroads and scenic byways to my sister-in-law, and we can drive to 'Cuse together. Even crazier . . . she agrees to this evil plan of mine.
Me being me, I start planning with the roadside oddities. What can I see and do that is totally whacked? Again, route 2 and route 9 compete for my attention, but, again, I discount both because it would mean at least one extra day of travel. There's simply too much to see, so that needs to be a separate trip or done in a Winnebago. I start plotting routes 30 or 100 or 7 through Vermont. They're all winners, but some of the directions involve north-south deviations to traverse the Green Mountains. My car has 93,000 miles on it. Is this my brightest idea? (Hold that thought.)
But, anyone who knows me also understands this is not how I operate. I get easily bored on the highway. People drive like idiots, and there's not too much to see for 80% of the drive. Plus, my foot and butt get tired just sitting there driving. It's like a really stressful plane trip without benefit of free drinks and snacks and bathroom.
You'll have to wait until next week's blog for more of the story, but, I promise you, it's epic. I did make it home mostly safely and mostly intact, no thanks to my own stupidity. But, as the tee shirt says, bad decisions make good stories. My friends, I trust it will be worth the wait.
