I began my three-week adventure with a 16-hour drive from sunny Tampa to quaint Dover, Delaware. As most of you know, Dover is my hometown. While I find the town a bit too small for my taste, there is something very relaxing about spending time with my family. The air is crisp, the trees are distintly green and the evenings are much more comfy than balmy central Florida. One of my first days in town was spent like a true tourist, wandering around the beaches of Delaware. This was highlighted by shopping at the outlets, eating Grotto pizza, buying Dolly's popcorn and taking a tour of an old Coast Guard lifesaving post. The next few days were filled with plenty of sleep, eating dinner at the famous Sambo's and getting anounced at the Delaware State Legislature.

After spending a week or so in Dover I had to hit the road if I wanted to make it to Cali in time for the movers. So I packed up the cat and got on my way. The first part of the drive sucked for two reasons. One, the cat was pissed and cried the first 8 hours of the trip. And two, I had to start my trip by driving through Pennsylvania, which has the worst roads in the history of paved thoroughfares. The Keystone state was one of the most boring I passed through the entire trip. Thankfully it was one of the first states I had to get through. But hold your hats, this is where things got interesting...

So everything was cozy the first two weeks as I visited with friends and family across the Eastern seaboard. But wouldn't ya know it, the day I leave on my four-day trek to Oakland, the cat decides to get plugged. I know what you're thinking, plugged??? Yeah, stressed out from moving house to house, hotel to hotel, and state to state, my cat spent the first day unable to go to the bathroom. Don't ask me why these things happen. Poor guy was trying, but just couldn't. Talk about gun-shy!

My goal was to drive from Columbus, Ohio to Topeka, Kansas. After quickly seeing my cat in serious discomfort, I got on the horn with mamma Van Sant. Those of you who know my family are well aware my mother is the queen of taking care of cats. Mamma Van Sant found a 24-hour vet clinic in Topeka. Before I stopped for food or hotel, I dropped Mr. Snowflake off to get un-plugged. Eat your heart out MTV!

Aside from the feline distraction, this first part of my trip was very interesting. I drove through the downtown's of Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City. Quite the metro mid-western city tour! Indy was cool with a surprisingly tall skyline. St. Louis was facinating with the great arch and what seemed like miles and miles of ghetto and abandoned homes. But Kansas City was disappointing, as their downtown was completely dead and their sports facilities were some 15 miles from the urban core.

So with Snowflake able to do his business, I left Topeka for the 400 mile ride across Kansas. The good news after his little doctor visit was that Mr. Snowflake basically slept the rest of the trip. And trust me, he didn't miss much in Kansas. Now, it was cool at first when you look across an open plain and see absolutely nothing, not even trees. But after 300 miles of it...

I got through Kansas and I was surprised to see that Colorado wasn't much better. That John Denver was full of crap! But seriously folks, it might be the rocky mountain state, but eastern Colorado is as flat as a pancake. As the skyline of Denver came into view, so did the majestic Rockies. And it was at that moment I felt like I actually made some progress in my travels. I hit Denver and then drove north to Wyoming. The second day goal was to stop in Cheyenne, but I was making good time and decided to push on to a small town called Rawlins, Wyoming.

I crashed in Rawlins and realized I was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. I asked one of the nice folks working at the gas station what the town was known for, and he simply stated, the prison. Nice! Needless to say I moved on. Next stop, Reno.

Wyoming was dry, brown and desolate. It was probably the most remote location I had ever seen up until that point. But I got a reprieve when I hit Utah and found my way snaking through the beautiful mountains near Park City and Salt Lake. SLC appeared smaller than I had expected, but the Great Salt Lake was unreal. It was literally a great lake in the middle of the desert. It was something truly amazing to see...until you hit the salt flats. Here is where any ideas you have of what it would be like to live on Mars start to come into view. Slate colored mountains, hundreds of miles of salt, and one road down the middle.

Again, the first five miles of the salt flats were cool, but 40 miles in and you wanted to be shot. But I survived and continued into Nevada, probably the second most remote state on the tour. When you drive 4 and 5 hours and the largest town you see has a population of 25, you realize how lucky we are to live in major cities. So as the third day came to a close, I hit Reno, crashed for the night, and prepared for my final decent into Oakland.

Day four begins, I cruise through Donner Pass, Tahoe, Sacramento, and finally...I see the light. The distant skyline of San Francisco comes into view. The vast empty fields part way to miles and miles of homes, buildings and concrete. The desolate mountains and hills turn into an urban jungle beyond your thoughts. I made it! I survived it! Snowflake can do his business! And I can sleep in my own apartment on the west coast. Welcome to California.