The Journey East

I'm creating this blog as a way of letting people back home know what's goin' on. Here's a recap for those of you just joining the story:

Our brave young hero, having undergone two years at the University of Idaho working on an undergraduate degree in Materials Science, has decided to embark on a long and perilous journey. He has set forth in search of an education that is not just free; nay, one that actually pays money. A mirage, a fantasy you say? With a letter of acceptance and an offer of a Graduate Research Assistantship in hand, Brian set forth to the promised land: Ann Arbor. It is there that he was promised by the powers that be free tuition, health insurance, and $1,921 per month while pursuing a PhD in Materials Science.

First step: after teaching at the Jazz Camp for two weeks, I needed to get all of my stuff half way across the country. As moving trucks are reaaaaly expensive ($1200-$1800), I decided to hock my bed, dresser, microwave, etc, and mail all of my non-fragile belongings. Because most of my stuff consists of books, sheet music, DVDs, and about 500 CDs, I figured I could use media mail and get a cheap rate. So I'd say I ended up spending about $500 on shipping. Then I packed the rest of my stuff (saxophones, computer, etc) and made ready for the long journey.

Eri, me, and my little car

I decided to take the I-90 route through South Dakota, even though it's a tad bit longer.


The first day was a long drive. VERY LOOOOONG. 898 miles to be exact. I didn't leave until 11am because I had to mail the remainder of my stuff, and I ended up getting to Rapid City, SD at 2am. The only real thing of note is the fact that Montana's normally beautiful skyline was marred by thick, brown smoke. Plus it was HOT, especially since I don't have AC.


The next morning I left at 9am to take a quick jaunt to Mount Rushmore (named after our nation's founding father of talk radio).

An exciting view of the Mt. Rushmore parking lot

The original sculpture that the mountain is based off of

A random picture of Rapid City

All the rest stops in SD had these

So I drove another 770 miles to stop in Madison, WI. Wisconsin has all of their state highways labeled with letters instead of numbers, which is a little weird.

Then on through Chicago to my final destination of Ann Arbor, MI. More later on my new digs.