jbg:

this morning i began the first leg of what can safely be called the ridiculous and ill-conceived plan: move to los angeles and, oh yeah, drive there. got my license 2 months ago. got a car 6 weeks ago. turn west: now go.

to summarize: today was easily one of the 3 most trying and difficult days of my life. spoiler alert: i made it safely to dc to pick up brian and then we made it safely to a days inn near richmond. that’s where i’m currently typing this report.

started in boston, drove through hartford, nyc, baltimore, stopped in dc and then headed to richmond. where did i first get lost? why, in boston, of course. lived there for 29 years and today, i couldn’t find the pike. circled around government center and the north end for about 30 minutes before finally making it rightward to I-90 and then I-84.

experts advised taking the tappan zee bridge and avoiding the g.w.  bridge and 95 until jersey. well i saw one sign for the tappan zee, and never another. took 87 through a toll (by the way: i’ve spent about $190 in tolls today) and the kind little new york toll lady gave me a dirty look and said “naw,” when i asked if this was the way to the tappan zee. luckily, i was already driving away at that point. missed the tappan zee, and so missed any chance at swiftness and promptly wound up driving on 278 through the bronx, queens, brooklyn and possibly staten island.

never thought i’d say this: but i was so happy to be in new jersey. finally. basically smooth sailing until a brief mix-up in baltimore — but, serendipitously, the GPS took me by camden yards to get back on the highway, so there’s that.

a little bit of a traffic slow-down in maryland — why? because of a couch in the middle of the highway. a few miles later, a couch cushion came flying at me and i expertly swerved to avoid it.

but this is long and boring. here i am in our motel room, finally internetting, and what do i learn? red sox pitcher jon lester threw a no-hitter tonight to celebrate my departure from the hub. thanks jon! but the best part is two-fold: 1) i added lester to my fantasy team this week and 2) my current opponent coincidentally happens to be my traveling companion! someone up there is smiling at me! it’s about time.

CDs logged: who’s next (the who); mixes by jay (2); mix by merv; graceland (paul simon); vampire weekend (vampire weekend); momofuku (elvis costello); legend (bob marley); who’s next (again).