Depature (Monday 6/20)

Well we finally did it.  At approx. 10:30 this morning the band piled into Jonny's new van and we headed out for the West Coast.  We won't actually arrive there until Thurs, but the road trip should be a fun part of the experience.  Anyway, today we made it as far as Iowa City and got a hotel room for the night.  We've spent less than $80 on gas, tolls and food so far which is pretty surprising considering how far we made it.  Along the way, we grabbed dinner at a local mall, which we all agreed was probably the cleanest and nicest looking mall we’d ever seen.  We also went to see ‘Batman Begins’ at this mall, mostly because Tank was raving about how good it was (having seen it the night before).  Then we hit the road again, arriving in Iowa City around 3:30 a.m.

  There are a few pics further down on this page from the day, be sure to check them out.  The ride went fairly smoothly despite the fact that the van was packed to capacity.  The single passenger seat left in the back (which is surrounded by gear) is quite a claustrophobic environment, which we nick-named 'The Cell'.  We each took turns driving and everyone dreaded their turn to inhabit the cell.  Tomorrow we will arrive in Denver and stay with Jon’s old college roommate Matt Fria.  We’ll check back in then.