Man, I do not feel like I'm about to be driving for a week and then spending a week in New Jersey. Maybe that's a good thing, I'm not freaking out, just keepin' it real, holmes. I'm taking a bunch of stuff to store at my parents' house, but I'm hoping I'm not traveling in a packed car - that tends to be stressful if it looks like valuables in the car. No sleeping in the back of my car either, all motels. I'll keep the drums and guitars covered. And I'm leaving it open at the last minute to decide not to take stuff if it fills the car. Other stuff I'd like to take back includes: my blue Fuji road bike; a classic, ancient, hand-me-down K2 Pentax SLR camera (not as classic as the K1000, but a much better camera); a trumpet (??!!!); three beautiful CD shelves that my brother made for me in college and I wouldn't get rid of at any price . . . short of, like, $10k (any takers?); and a busted first generation 4-track tape recorder. Anything else?

And I'll be stopping at Deer Park for the weekend prior to taking the far southern route, so even though I'm envisioning this road trip with a "smile" (feeling light) anyway, hopefully I'll have an extra dose of good energy, rolling with any punches that may come my way.

As for the week in New Jersey in December, I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fill the time without my parents driving me crazy. I'm thinking: 1) I'll still have my car; 2) I'll have my Yamaha drums which haven't been played in earnest for almost two years; 3) I'll have my bike and my brother's old set of rollers (unlike trainers, you're really riding with rollers, ie, if you don't concentrate and balance, you crash); and 4) since I'm bringing my father one of my Takamines, I'll have a decent acoustic guitar (if he's serious about learning to play, he'll probably want me to get him a guitar tuner and put a set of light-gauge strings on. I'm so fucking considerate!). I think the week will go by reasonably quick.