Total travel time (est.): 296 hours
Total miles traveled in Grasshopper: 3,291
Total miles driven by Mike: 194
Portion of miles driven by Mike: 5.9 percent
Total gallons of unleaded, 87-octane gasoline: 117.8
Total spent on gasoline: $276.02
Average fuel economy: 27.9 mpg
Average cost per gallon: $2.34
Average cost per mile: $0.08
Windshield wipers lost: 2
Windshield wipers recovered: 1
Windshield wipers replaced: 1
Number of state lines crossed: 17
Number of states visited: 14
Total photos and videos taken by Curt: 670 photos, 2 videos (2.1 GB total)
Photos uploaded to Flickr by Mike and Curt: 397 (incomplete)
Videos uploaded to Vimeo by Mike and Curt: 16 (incomplete)

We listened to a lot of music in the car. While we can't track the music we heard on the various local radio stations we checked out, we do have a record of all the songs played from our iPods. Below is a list of all the songs played from my iPod. Some of the songs may have been played more than once, but will only appear in the list based on their most recent listening.

The list of songs played from Mike's Nano is coming soon.

Continue reading

By no small miracle, Mike and I arrived in Brooklyn, New York, yesterday evening.

It all started on the way out of Clifton Park, in upstate New York. As we pulled up to a stoplight before getting on the freeway, the passenger-side windshield wiper flew off its arm. Mike was able to jump out and grab it before the light turned green, then we headed to the gas station to reattach it.

After filling up we turned on "Faith" by George Michael, which we listened to on repeat for the next five hours.

There was a light rain that came and went as we cruised down I-87 toward the city. We decided to maintain a reasonable speed on the freeway after racing (not literally, but close) to Clifton Park the day before.

Somewhere around the 30th iteration of "I gotta think twice / before giving my heart away," the driver-side wiper couldn't take it anymore and ejected itself into freeway traffic.

Fortunately the rain had let up and we made it safely to the next service exit. Unfortunately, the gas station didn't have any wipers for sale, so we promoted the passenger-side wiper to the driver side and continued on our way.

Roughly 20 miles later we lost our Google Maps-charted course. We were on the edge of the city and had to rely on highway signage to guide us in.

We entered Manhattan on the H. Hudson Parkway in the upperest, westest side. "How hard could this be?" we thought. We know roughly where we're going, and we know that avenues run north-south and streets run east-west; and close to all of them are numbered, so we should be able to figure out where we are on the island based on the intersections.

Unfortunately, we were trying to cross the entire island of Manhattan, not only during rush hour, but also during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

We exited the H. Hudson Parkway at 56th Street and began our trek east. With the help of his instant-message-capable Sidekick, Mike was able to get in touch with Josh in Portland and learn we didn't want the Lincoln Tunnel (which we were looking for based on our limited memories of our now-useless map), but either the Holland Tunnel or Brooklyn Bridge.

After several blocks of driving in Manhattan, I learned in order to survive in the concrete jungle, you have to act like you're the only car on the road. Unless the other cars are city buses and have you surrounded, then you just have to get the hell out of their way.

It was close to an hour later when we made a left turn and found ourselves on a street facing a bridge. As we got closer we learned that it was the Williamsburg Bridge -- not necessarily the one we were looking for, but it would get us out of Manhattan all the same.

The bridge had two pairs of lanes separated by a large concrete barrier. We had to commit to the left pair of lanes before we could read the signs indicating the difference. We got the wrong pair. We were now on the expressway (though there was nothing "express" about it) to Queens.

Like Neo being chased by Agent Smith, we needed an exit. Fast. Of course, we were in the far-left lane of a packed highway with less than a mile to get to the far-right exit lane. If my Georgia tags didn't give it away already, my use of turn signals surely let everyone know I wasn't from around here.

I focused on not hitting the car in front of me while Mike looked behind to check for open spots in the next lane big enough for the Saturn. We made it across several lanes of traffic with about a quarter-mile to spare.

So we were in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the map we have only showed a small portion immediately surrounding our intended destination. We knew we were north of there, so we pointed the car south and hoped we run into a street whose name was on the map.

Eventually we hit a cross street on the corner of our map and navigated the much less hectic streets of Brooklyn to our destination. Parking and turning off the car (and George Michael) was the most amazing feeling; the blood returned to my previously white knuckles and I was able to relax for the first time in hours.

Welcome to New York.

I got to cross off Michigan on the list of states I haven't been to. We arrived in Grand Rapids just in time to catch George's movie on the bridge. It was an awesome event, but I was too tired to last more than a few minutes into the movie, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg."

On Friday, we were able to check out the city in the daylight. We had a hearty breakfast, then checked out East Grand Rapids (which is where "American Pie" is based, but it's called East Great Falls in the movie). Then it was off to see Lake Michigan in the town of Grand Haven (which is where "American Pie 2" is based, but it's called something else in the movie).

We stopped at the Michigan Rag Co. in Grand Haven to get a look at the Maroöshka prints. George has been collecting them for some time and was excited to meet the guy that's continuing to make the prints in the same way they've been made since the 1960s. I picked up a good-sized print (50% off!) before we headed for the pier.

Since we've established a no-chain rule, we've been eating at small local places, and our Grand Rapids meals have probably been the best of the trip so far.

One place we ate was in the side of a liquor store. Chef Rainbow's Hole in the Wall served everything from veggie burritos to burgers to pasta, and insisted on delivering our meal -- which tasted very good.

The other food-related tidbit worth noting is that hot dogs in Michigan don't come with relish; instead they are topped with shredded pickles. I haven't seen that anywhere else, which is too bad because it's way better.

After a full day of GR sights, including the DAAC, Nest, UICA and Civic Studio, we had to cram in a few more in the morning before driving east. We saw the Calder sculpture, which is now part of the city's logo, and the giant tire swing downtown.

By any measure, our short visit to Grand Rapids was a success.

More of my photos from Michigan, and here are Mike's

On Tuesday, September 19, Mike and I will be driving from Clifton Park to New York City. Inspired by Steve of Coudal Partners, we will listen to one song on repeat for the duration of the approximately 185-mile, three-hour ride. Here's where you get choose which song we listen to. The options are:

• Mr. Roboto -- Styx
• Ride -- Captain Ahab
• Faith -- George Michael
• Since U Been Gone -- Kelly Clarkson
• Bullets Fever -- Nils Lofgren
• Other -- please specify

Voting is now open on UHX. Cast your ballot by Monday.

(videos and photos from our trip so far)

Updated: Now with audio

I wouldn't really consider myself a bourbon fan, but my taste for the drink increased exponentially after visiting the Maker's Mark distillery.

Bourbon is a specific kind of whiskey. In order to be called bourbon, the drink has to be distilled in the United States. Bourbon has to contain a certain amount of corn. It has to be aged in barrels that have not been used before. And there are a couple of other stipulations limiting the proof and other ingredients.

There are 85 employees at Maker's Mark distillery. They output more than 600,000 cases (12 bottles per case) of bourbon each year. Each bottle is hand-dipped in a can of resin-based wax, creating the signature drip down the neck. Workers can dip a bottle every two seconds. It took me considerably longer.

After touring the distillery, we hit the "Racing with the Spirits" event. We weren't really sure what to expect, and considered bailing early, but it turned out to be amazing.

We were given $1,000 in play money (featuring bourbon industry luminaries in place of presidents) with which to bet on horse racing events. Some races were pre-recorded videos that had been dubbed over with distillery-themed names. Other races featured attendees on wheeled carts.

I raced once, but my horse belonged in a glue factory.

The featured event was a race among the master distillers. Mike lost his money on the guy from Maker's Mark, but was able to meet him after the race.

After the final race, people used their winnings to bid on bourbon-based gift baskets. Click the button at right to listen to sounds from the auction.

We didn't have enough fake money to win any of the prizes, which was unfortunate, but we'd had a good time, enjoying the appetizer and dessert buffets as well as the open bourbon bar.

...and I would drive 400 more...

Mike and I set out this morning from Atlanta and are now in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Before we set out, I applied Rain-X to the windshield and replaced the wiper blades. It turned out to be the best decision in the history of driving: It started raining after we left Chattanooga and hasn't stopped. There's nothing like driving in the middle lane of an Interstate between two semi-trailer trucks while sheets of rain reduce visibility to a few car lengths and water flows on the road's surface keep your tires from making direct contact with the asphalt.

We've discovered that driving long distances can be made quite tolerable with regular (but not too frequent) stops and iPods full of music. Some video-capable digital cameras don't hurt either. I've been doing the driving so far, so I don't have (m)any pictures to post yet, but Mike is uploading photos and videos to Flickr and Vimeo. We're also keeping a travel log, which we'll probably post when we get back.

Tomorrow is our visit to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, which should result in more photos and videos. We'll be betting on video horse racing and hopefully venturing to the Maker's Mark distillery.

Check out Make it Happen for more trip details, including our rules of the road.

Read in the voice of movie trailer master Don LaFontaine: In a world held under seige by soaring gas prices, two brothers defy the odds and hit the Interstates in search of something larger than themselves...

In six days, Mike and I are firing up the Grasshopper's four cylinders for a lap around the eastern United States. We'll be traveling nearly 3,000 miles -- passing through about 15 states -- in 12 days. Here's a list of our scheduled stops:

• Day one of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival
• Hang out with G-Rad folks in Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Visit Emily in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• See Kathryn for the first time in nine years in upstate New York
• Chill with Liz before she moves to Denver
• Possibly stop in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (home of Dollywood)
• and Catch a round of the PPA Southern Putting Tour

We should have somewhat regular access to the Internet, and I expect lots of pictures will be taken and posted to Flickr, and even some video clips to share via Vimeo.

...But these two travelers will learn what they're looking for comes from within -- if they don't kill each other after being in a cramped car for thousands of miles first.