ramblings from the road -- day 1

I've shared with many of you that I set out on the road today for the great states of New York and Connecticut. I'll be participating in many college fairs and visiting some high schools while I'm out here as well. In addition to snippets of my regular itinerary, I'll be posting thoughts and observations.

This morning I left Holland and drove to Buffalo, New York. The drive takes one through Canada, and I made fairly decent time at 7 hours. NOTE: This can be a long time in the car when you are alone. Thankfully, I had a new mix CD and my XM satellite radio to keep me company! New music is always tremendous.

Rolled in to the hotel around 4 and attempted to get caught up on the emails. This is maybe my favorite part of any travel day. I get to see what's happening both personally and in the office -- I enjoy staying connected! What was the life on the road like pre-email, I wonder?

There is one thing that I am always a bit concerned about when I do the cross Michigan-Canada-New York drive. The border crossings. Now, having attended Hope, I have done this drive back and forth literally 50 times, and I can safely say that you just never can know what to expect. Sometimes there is a line of cars an hour long. Sometimes the official gives you the third degree. Sometimes they look at you and send you on your way. Well, today I must have seemed suspicious, because the customs official and I had a nice a little conversation. It all stemmed from the fact that I had my golf clubs in the back seat.

To be honest, I had no idea what the weather was going to be like when I got to New York. I hadn't really checked it online or anything, but I was certain that should I have the opportunity to play golf, I wanted to be prepared. (It was 60 degrees in Holland last week, come on.) As I get closer to the Canada-US border at Buffalo, all I can see is 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground. Needless to say, the customs official was a bit interested in the golf clubs in the back seat. "Not exactly golf weather," he says to me. "I guess it was just wishful thinking," I reply. He let me through without any trouble, but it was a bit nerve-wracking nonetheless.

Always an interesting trek to the great state of New York. Tomorrow I head out to the city for a national college fair. Thankfully, George Mason won't steal our thunder again like last year. More tomorrow.