Taking It On The Road

As many of you know, I'll be driving my youngest back to college in a little more than three weeks. We'll be leaving Leesburg, VA on August 5, and have to be in Boulder, CO by 4:00 local time on August 7 so she can make the Buffs' first cheer practice of the Coach Prime era. I assume he'll stop by.

I'm warming up for that 1,678 mile, 25-hour trip by doing some light driving on the East Coast in the days prior. To wit (and to Whit), I'm headed to Richmond on the first to see my kid do her first-ever poetry reading, then to Norfolk on the second to pre-game for OBFT XXX, then to the Outer Banks for a far-too-brief overnighter at the aforementioned beach extravaganza, then back to NoVA on the fourth to back before we hit the road for Colorado.

Now is the moment I seek the assistance of the assembled community of Gheorghies. I have a few requests. 

First, I'm looking for advice on things to see, eat, and drink along our route west. Our first stop is in South Bend, Indiana. If we leave on time, we should get there around 5:00 local time. We're staying in a hotel about half a mile from the Notre Dame campus, which I've never seen. So that's a bit of a no-brainer, but if you have recommendations for good grub and cold pops in and around the campus, and any must-see sights (like Touchdown Jesus), I'm all ears.

We roll out of South Bend and through Illinois and Iowa before stopping for our second night in Omaha. Our hotel is right across the street from Charles Schwab Field, home of the NCAA College Baseball World Series and just a few blocks from Creighton University. I've been to Omaha once, years ago, and I don't really remember much about it other than it's pretty brown. If you've got ideas for things to do, see, and eat that don't include beef (I don't dig on the cow), hit me up.

Our run finishes across the plains, as we go through most of Nebraska before we get into Colorado. I'm guessing it'll be flat, so it's important that we have ways to entertain ourselves. I've been working on a few playlists, for example. But if Mark wants to add to the Tiny Dictator rap primer with some new stuff, I wouldn't complain. And if Dave could record a bunch of new 'We Defy Augury' episodes, I'd be much obliged. As for the rest of you, any ideas for podcasts that might appeal to a middle-aged dad and a 19 year-old college sophomore would be welcomed. Or if you're so motivated, drop a public playlist on the Spotify to keep us engaged.

And if there's a giant ball of twine or a local version of Wall Drug out there on the path between Leesburg and Boulder, you gotta let me know about it.