I never read “On The Road,” but I could venture a guess that Kerouac’s road tripping didn’t involve him making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at a rest stop outside of Cleveland.

A few years ago, when Amanda and I drove DC to San Diego, I chronicled the trip and, looking back at it now, I find it trite. There was some part of me that actually thought I was going to “get something” out of a six-day cross country road trip with my life partner.

That’s too easy. If I’m going to get something from a road trip, it better be this one. Day one, however, was not the day where I got much of anything.

Today’s drive wasn’t difficult, per se. Two hours of heavy rain certainly wasn’t fun and never being able to drive with the windows all the way down was a pain, but as far as driving, it was easy. And boring. REALLY BORING.

The only highlight really was my version of the license plate game. I opened my notebook in the passenger seat next to me and kept track of every state’s license plate that I saw (tractor trailers are excluded. As are rest stops. I have to see the car driving on the highway. I’m serious. I debated these rules with myself.). Here is that list:

Alabama
Colorado
District of Columbia
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Oregon (in Rockville, MD)
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Other notes:

-I have seen 0 other Fiats since I left Washington, DC. My guess is I’ll see one in Chicago tomorrow.
-Never eat chili the night before you go on a long road trip.
-When in Rome (or South Bend, Indiana) eat at Fiddler’s Heart Public House. Tell them Jason sent you. They’ll have no idea who you’re talking about.
-When in Rome (or South Bend, Indiana) don’t necessarily stay at the Waterford Estates Lodge.
-The entrances to Notre Dame Stadium are named after famous coaches at the University. Not pictured: Tyrone Willingham, George O’Leary, or Charlie Weis.

I’ll try to make this more interesting tomorrow by picking up a hitchhiker in Wisconsin, though it’ll probably just be the guy from Bon Iver.