We saw The Dark Knight this afternoon. I think the thing I like the best about it is that its one of those movies that rewards thinking about what it “means”. Several hours later I’m remembering events and nuances and connections that deepen the themes of the movie for me.

Probably my second favorite thing was that while in the theater watching I didn’t have a single thought in my head other than “DARK KNIIIIIGHT”. I was totally glued to my seat. It was Fing awesome.

One thing that Scott and I share pretty deeply is a distaste for the way that society imposes on us norms that we disagree with. Probably neither of us never fit very well into the standard slot that a young white male should fit into. Or at least as far as I can tell. And both of us are self-absorbed enough to discredit whatever the rest of the world wants us to do. What do they know anyway.

Here Scott bucks his own social norm by wearing women’s clothing. There are two things to note about this- first is that I am also completely down with this look, probably because it seems comfortable and evokes some kind of desert culture from a fantasy novel (I’ll cop to nerdiness when it’s applicable). The other is that after this episode Scott is in the market for his own sarong. I think he pulls it off just fine but I’d be disappointed if he cares what I think.

Keep reading…

On day 3 of our Toronto visit with Greg ad company, we took a ferry to Toronto Island and enjoyed a day at the beautiful park there.

We took a while to get ourselves ready, stopping at the mall for lunch and to pick up some supplies, but by the time we arrived and settled in we were rollin’. It was a beautiful day- the sun was shining and warm, and the park had a great atmosphere without too many people crowding us. Our only oversight- we brought plenty of drinks but no snacks! Argh! Never Again!

Well, it wasn’t long before we wanted to visit the “clothing optional” beach. On the way, Scott got cat-called by some dudes on a nearby bench. I believe they said something about his “cute ass”- Thanks Boys! We also saw some guys windsurfing off the coast which was pretty cool. A few of us were nearly decapitated when one of them came ashore.

The beach was pretty exciting, though the penis-to-breast ratio was way, way too high. At one point, as we walked along the edge of the water, Scott happened to glance into the woods and saw a couple enjoying a little handjob! They glanced over at us casually as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and we looked away to avoid being rude, but deep down we were thinking: right on guys! “Things are a little different over here.”

Of course it wasn’t long at the beach before Scott was naked. Nothing I didn’t expect, though I think Elaine may have been a bit shocked. Below you’ll see the only shot we took (as far as you know), and you’ll be happy to see the round naked buttocks in the foreground.

On the way back to the ferry, we met some cool people as Scott and one of their team desecrated a monument together. Pictured above with Scott is Lee, who we spoke to with interest as he told us of his adventure backpacking through South America. Below Kathy and Scott figure out a hula hoop. I love that picture- perfect timing!

All in all it was a great day. We finished up with some authentic Chinese food (including Sweet and Sour Pork- Ronnie can trash talk all he wants but we caught him sneaking some bites!!). Then it was back to Ronnie’s apartment to reintroduce Scott to his Counter-Strike addiction on the big screen TV. As Scott already said, thanks to Greg, Ronnie, Madeline and Elaine for showing us a good time and putting up with our ridiculousness for an entire weekend. We had a great time!

Today marks the 1 month “anniversary” of our departure. We’ve had an amazing time so far and I can’t believe that we’re only about a quarter of the way in. And we still have a ton of the continent to see yet.

I’m several days behind on my blogging, so expect more posts about Canada and Michigan, but I had to write about what happened today in Chicago near Wrigley field.

Scott and I visit the home of the Cubs, and then take a walk back into town to check out all the restaurants going on. We’ll try to get a feel for it in pictures when we head back but it was a hot neighborhood. We’re looking for a place to eat, and Scott is sweating so he randomly walks right into this pizza place that, as we enter, I realize is under construction. We see a few guys sittin around chatting.

“Hey guys! How’s it going! We’re on a road trip…”

Cut to 4 - yes 4 - hours later. Turns out these guys are just a few days away from opening their own pizza joint and they were cool with letting us hang out. We have just each had 3 of the best pieces of pizza we have ever had in our lives, given to us just for walking in the place and saying hey. We’ve each had 3 beers straight out of a keg still standing from a party a few days before. We’ve gotten a personal tour of the construction and operation of the first Ian’s Pizza in Chicago, and we’ve seen the dedication of some guys who love pizza even more than I do.

Tomorrow we’ve got pictures to upload, and several pizza recipes to rave about. But for the moment we’re basking in some really spontaneous road trip excitement. We’ve had some awesome times so far, visiting family and friends, all of whom have been far more generous and fun than we’ve ever expected. But to fall ass-backwards into the good time we had this afternoon definitely blows a mind right open.

We’re currently…as in right now…hanging with some awesome people in a new restaurant in Chicago. It’s right next to wrigley field and it’s the best pizza I’ve ever had. These guys are amazing and we’re having a blast….Ian’s Pizza. Check it out. Back to the good times.

On the Canadian side of Niagara, Scott and I came upon a thin young police officer speaking with some of our fellow Americans. The American father figure, a portly mustachioed guy in a red shirt, walked up to the cop and leaned over to look across his hip. He was surprised- “You’re not armed!” The cop’s reaction was classic. In a that soft-spoken Canadian way:

“Things are a little different here”

Turned out the American was a former police officer himself, so they had a nice conversation. Scott and I went on to use that phrase several times in the course of our visit to Canadia- classic!

Sitting in that parking lot, my plan was to call a couple of college friends, work on the bike, dry all my stuff out and find a place to sleep. Not only was all of that accomplished, but also when I called my friend Marc, he (with no notice) upgraded our dinner plans to “how bout you stay with us” plans. I had met Erin while I was in school and while Marc and I had always been big fans of the other, we’d just always run in different circles. So that these two to put us up for the night, did it with zero notice and on a night when they had plans…unbelievable. We met Marc and Erin at their place as they returned from a retirement dinner and things went so well that we must have hung out together for 4-5 hours. Sometime in there, the idea of spending the day on Thursday was passed around as there was going to be a free concert in the park. And of course, we’d have to stay after the concert as well! So what started as a last minute call for a bite to eat, turned into a three day and two night marathon of fun in Buffalo. The concert was a blast; we met some really fun people and were practically waited on like kings. To top it all off, Cosmo the cat was our friend to hang out with and provided plenty of entertainment as he had more energy than any cat I’ve ever met. He was also a professional climber. Not only did he like to climb anything and everything, he was a huge fan of climbing upside down and sideways…like on the back of a couch or the underside of a pull out sofa bed! Cats rule, dogs drool… I know, I said it.

In a final act of host-ly greatness, Marc and Erin demanded that we take about 500 pounds of food from their house. They had just started a new diet and convinced us that we would be doing them a favor by ridding their apartment of all this food. So, well fed and supplied we left on Friday morning for Canada…unfortunately needing to leave our Five-Star Hotel behind. Hats off to a really great time with some amazingly fun people.

The second person that I called from that Buffalo Library parking lot was Greg Rainville. This is a guy that I met on the first day of orientation and had made fast friends with. Greg finished before I did at Potsdam and moved to Toronto for grad school. These circumstances, combined with my own laziness, provided the perfect storm for us to lose touch. Greg cleared his rather busy weekend schedule and got approval for too aimless bikers to camp out in this new amazing house that he has just moved into. The details are endless, but let’s just say, our bikes had their first ever choice between a garage or a carport. We chose garage so that they could have that life experience but soon decided that the car port was a better option…it was right next to the treehouse! This is a treehouse straight out of the Bernstein Bears books. This thing was built to outlast a hurricane and had ladder steps on the tree, a cargo net to ascend and a slide to exit. Wow, all that and we’re not even inside yet!

Following 2AM street football, we headed into the city for a baseball game the next day. I had never been to the skydome (Rodger’s Centre) but had heard stories from my dad of the dome closing. We got tickets for the 500 level seating which put us just a few rows beneath the dome. About halfway through the game, the weather turned and they closed the dome! I was hoping that it would be this monstrous sounding leviathan, bearing down on us. Rather, it ended up being the quietest gargantuan structure possible. The only downside of this was that it created the illusion of night in the stadium and slowly but surely…Greg, Brendan, Ronny and Scott all started to doze off. Awakened by pizza and beer, we closed out the 9-4 loss to the Yankees with some photos and headed back to Northern Toronto.

Seeing Greg was a great surprise for the trip and hanging out with his friends was that much more enjoyable. Thanks to Madeline for distilling men down into 4 easy categories, explanation of tempered perfect pitch and the furry world of cat scratching. Thanks to Ronny for sharing his knowledge of the local vegetation, politics, CS, and a hell of an arm. Thanks to Elaine for a great sense of humor, that killer sarong, and chauffeuring the two of us around town. A thank you also goes out to Greg’s roommate Lily and her parents. The house we stayed in was the picture of comfort. Again, all these people threw aside their normal plans and put on an amazing time.

Following our rainy morning, we arrived in Buffalo, NY. I knew that Buffalo was an industrial city and one that was suffering from the de-industrialization of America. What I didn’t know was what that would look like. While there were some nice buildings to see and surrounding communities, the center of Buffalo seemed dingy. That may not be the most illustrative word, but I think it fits. As it tries to remake itself, the infrastructure is still heavily industrial and most of the buildings are very plainly built. Bricks and concrete with little flare don’t give much of a skyline, but what Buffalo lacks in skyline, it makes up for in people. The people we met, from the gas station mechanic to our hosts Marc and Erin, were very kind and down to earth.

A fun coincidence for me was that after escaping the rain and stretching out in a library parking lot, I found out that we were parked next to the church that my mom had grown up attending. We’d just stopped at the first library we saw. Between a place to dry out, work on the bikes, internet and bathrooms…we were set. It wasn’t until I called my folks and described where I was that I realized. This church was only about a block away from her childhood home!

I installed the ‘Powerlet’ adapter while everything dried out. It was a fairly easy process of connecting a cigarette lighter type adapter to the battery. The only tricky part was snaking the wiring through the chassis. I also turned my tank bag around which allows me to use a ton more of the space it has AND not worry about everything falling out.

Brendan has addressed some of our camping but I need to add some details….or deets as the fine Mr. Brian Clark would say. As silly as it sounds, try it out a couple times and see if you can stop yourself. My hammock is a work of art. It’s a mosquito proof, rock you to sleep, compact lovely shelter from the world. If you think about it for just a minute and get over the fact that you need trees and that it hangs instead of sitting on the ground, it becomes clear, it’s amazing. Brendan has issued a challenge and I confidently accept. I will improve on my lackluster performance and deliver a stunning performance of hammock hanging. Video evidence will prove the hammock splendor.

Thanks for everyone who’s checking on the blog…it’s flattering to think about all the people who have supported us in getting to this point.

We’re back in the states and will be doing our best to get some updates to the pictures link as well as posts to the blog. Hope you’re enjoying the weather.