The long (long, long, long) ride home

25 hours in total. Atlanta to Chattanooga to Nashville to Louisville to Cincinnati to Detroit to Windsor to London to Toronto (Yorkdale first, argh) to downtown Toronto. Don't ever do what I did after spending 32 days on the road.

It's fine to take one of these long trips, or even two or three -- okay, not three -- but the rides just don't end. Toss in some crying babies, some sickeningly irritable coughing from all sides, and the cramped space that is the Greyhound, and you get cabin fever almost instantly.

This, though, was one of the better looking parts of the trip. It's the Tennessee River just a few miles north and west of Chattanooga. Sorry for any glare.

Otherwise, not a fun trip. I did pick up a book called The Edifice Complex in Chattanooga (at the bus station, of all places) and got through some of it. Take a look at the review if you're interested. It's all about power and its relation to architecture, and vice versa -- really interesting stuff. I just couldn't get too far without getting annoyed by a shrill baby or gross cough or an unsettling bump in the road.

Lexington: a blue city in a red state

There are a few "blue" cities in a few red states. Cities tend to be more liberal than rural areas as a general rule, but some are better known than others. Austin, Texas is one, but I learned that Lexington is another.

Please cherish the photo below. The man in the middle is Andrew Owen, a friend from the NDP a couple of years back. He participated in an internship that brought a bunch of American students to various offices on Parliament Hill. He worked with me in Nathan Cullen's office.

Rachel Wilson, who kindly went out of her way to meet up with Andrew and me for a little while to catch up, interned in Liberal Mike Savage's office down the hall. Such a nice person.

Simply put, Andrew is a rock star. And he was going to a jungle-themed sorority party in the get-up you see pictured. Missing is his pair of pants. Leather (or pleather, I guess). Owen is a hero among his floormates and fraternity brothers at Transylvania University.


Unfortunately, the timing of the bus schedule meant I couldn't attend that party. Imagine the stories. Well, another time soon, perhaps.

Andrew, Rachel, thanks for the welcome.

VIDEO: Cincinnati, America's disappointment

I might be knocking Cincinnati for no good reason. I might just have been trying to fill time there by recording this uninspired video. But if someone can tell me something redeemable about Ohio's southern terminus, I'll be glad to hear it.

Sitting here in beautiful, downtown Lexington, the sun is shining again.

Eighteen hours through the Appalachians

Not everything always goes according to plan. Case in point: Columbus, Ohio was not part of the plan for Thirty Days. But the way Greyhound travels the land isn't always the most convenient.

As the map illustrates, West Virginia and Kentucky border each other. But in order to get from Charleston to Lexington, you have to transfer (twice!) in Ohio: Columbus and Cincinnati.

Even though the trip cuts through part of Kentucky no more than two hours from Lexington.

All of this made today a little longer, and it's the reason I decided to spend the night in Columbus.