The Great American (And Some Parts of Canada!) Road Trip Part One

A couple of days ago I mentioned reminiscing with Dan and Wes while their respective girlfriend and wife listened with way more patience than they should have.  The stories had to do with one of the road trips we took in college.  Since my post a couple of days ago, I've had people ask me about the sardines and nuns.  And I realized I've had this trip running around my mind because when the squad and I went to lunch today at Habibi's and someone asked if I had ever been kicked out of any place, I could only think of Crater Lake, which also was a story from this road trip.  And so here it is ... The Great American Road Trip Part One.

(P.S.  The sardines up there were actually chocolate and a gift from Wes.  I say were because ... well ... they were chocolate ... and therefore, promptly eaten by me.)

The cast of characters:

Dan  

Then:  Engineer of road trips and social butterfly.

Now:  Engineer at Google and (coffee) bar fly.

Dana

Then:  Chemistry major who frequently donned a periodic table t-shirt and looked for a girl who was willing to go horizontal.

Now:  A chemist at Coors Brewing Co, married and climber of anything vertical.

Wes

Then:  Nursing major who spoke softly but carried a "big flashlight."

Now:  Registered Nurse who has to speak loudly as the only Republican in the state of Oregon but we go (kind of) easy on him, because he and his wife are having a baby any minute now.

Wayne

Then:  Math major who was just starting to embrace his Mormon roots.

Now:  Last we heard after he got back from his mission in Korea, he's the married father of two ... three?  Maybe four, sources are sketchy.

Digs

Then:  Psych major and roommate of SSG.

Now:  Secret Agent at Goldman Sachs and SSG wishes she could be her roommate again.  You can read more about that by clicking here.

Bree MastAH

Then:  Younger sister of Digs and smarter than all of us combined, in her first year at Notre Dame.

Now:  Incredible graphic designer for a magazine based out of San Francisco and still smarter than all of us combined.

Frenchie 

Then:  Dan's girlfriend (ish).

Now:  Um?

Sometimes Serendipitous Girl

Then:  English major who believed everything she said was right.

Now:  Financial analyst who believes everything she says is right.

Miles Driven: 3,432

Days on the road: 15

Estimated time of departure on Day #1:  8 a.m.

Actual time of departure on Day #1:  5 p.m.

Number of times the weather was checked:  0

Genesis of The Great American (including parts of Canada) Road Trip:  San Diego, CA

Destination: Banff National Park, Canada

To be continued ...