well, after two and a half days of driving, four books on tape, and 10 states, we're finally in boulder. here's a list of things that we learned on our trip:

1. famous amos was black.
2. indiana needs to follow daylight savings properly.
3. jesus is the answer, and he speaks to you through billboards.
4. taking pictures of state signs from a moving car is very stressful.
5. there are no speed traps in the midwest because it is too flat.
6. the words "dissolute" and "obdure" exist.
7. there is nothing in illinois besides chicago.
8. the capitals of the 50 states are tricky.
9. there's a town named dinosaur in between utah and colorado.
10. if you hit a worker on the highway in illinois, it's a $10,000 fine and some jailtime.
11. the beatles were more successful than the beach boys because they were british.
12. splenda is taking over the world.
13. banana contaminates everything.
14. in a bar, you can use the strawberry from your neighbor's daiquiri as a lovely rouge and lip gloss. just watch out for the bees.
15. you can't escape xanadu.
16. "fleshy" is more insulting than "fat."
17. apparently retired greyhounds are considered "heroes."
18. there are attractive asians. i mean, you know...
19. mv thinks she could be a character in a movie.
20. mv's going to fail conducting class.
21. happiness is a crock of beans.
22. the world's largest groundhog weighs 8000 lbs.
23. bug guts splattered across the windshield come in an array of colors.
24. cruise control is a great invention.
25. our phone company doesn't believe in providing cell phone service to the middle of the country.
26. when a man voices a sexy woman character on an audiobook, she ends up sounding like a frightening transsexual.
27. there are places where we would be considered "city folk."
28. if a 3-star Best Western is in a sketchy deserted area between a gas station and a liquor store, then it's not really 3 stars.
29. nothing wakes you up more than singing/screaming show tunes in the car.
30. road trips can be fun (look out for my potential move from dc to la next year!)