i-80 and iowa

I'm in Omaha! I had a long drive today - 7 1/2 hours. And Iowa is pretty, but not what I'd call the most exciting state. In fact, I'd call it boring. I didn't venture off the highway except for a few rest stops, so this in no way means that Iowa is a boring state. But driving straight through it was.

The good news was that it was the first state that was free to drive all the way through! No tolls! Which unfortunately was not the case in Illinois, where a creepy toll booth operator tried to start a conversation with me, and I'm a nice person so I obliged, and then he asked if I could take him with me to Omaha. I smiled and played along like he was funny - yeah buddy, good one! - but I quickly took my foot off the brake and gassed it back onto the highway.

On an exciting note, I drove through Madison County where I saw signs that advertised tours of its famous bridges, which I am sure would be absolutely fascinating. Otherwise it was a long, steady drive of uneventfulness. I started a book on CD of Nineteen Minutes - quite the story so far. It was making me tired though, concentrating hard on the narrator (a lady who is pretty funny to listen to when she imitates male voices), so I listened in small doses, leaving most of the time to finding the oldies and pop stations so I could sing as much and as loud as I wanted, which keeps me wide awake and happy.

So that's about it. I'm at PJ and Jordan's place and I really like Omaha! I didn't know what to expect but it's really quiet and cute! We had a great night of dinner and then Rock Band on xbox, which I will say is QUITE the game. I'm a little weak on the drums but much better on the bass and decent on the guitar. Nothing a little practice can't fix.

Tomorrow's a day of exploring with PJ so I'll report back with some more exciting news on Omaha. Good night.