Madison, WI through Minneapolis, MN

Brian: Hey everybody. Nick and Brian here feeling delightfully and terrifying refreshed after our night with the boots. Back to Sophia’s this morning for breakfast, which, if you do not recall, is the heavenly establishment open from 8 to noon Saturday and Sunday only. Lucky us! Sadly our pancake breakfasts were not as magnificent as the sandwiches but still quite satisfying. We bid Gabby adieu (easily one of our best CS experiences yet) and left for Minneapolis, which means “City of Water”. The best thing about our blog? Entertaining and informative.

Nick: I like the pictures. The drive to Minneapolis was a long one. And frankly, kind of a boring one. The landscape in these parts is not really my favorite. Pretty bland. To off set this oppressive sense of ennui, we popped in one of the books on tapes we’d brought along. This story followed the adventures of a secret agent nicknamed “pygmy” as he and his comrade agents tried to infiltrate and destroy America through suburban foreign exchange programs. The book was amusing at times, but stylistically grating to listen to. Brian and I decided that we probably would have enjoyed reading the novel, but hearing it spoken was a bit much. No prob, we have others. We stuck in a book about a boy with powers charged with tracking down and eradicating aliens. Awful. Really awful. We figured it was written for young adults but I don’t know…. It was rough. But what’s that expression? Necessity is the mother of invention? I guess that’s true, I mean, in lieu of crappy books on tape we had a brain storming sesh where we came up with our own plots. My first idea: people all across the country are growing in really bizarre ways. Like… there’s some kid in New York with ten-foot long legs. Then a woman in Florida with eight-foot long fingers on her left hand. Eventually an investigation is called, and the team checks out each case as they get more and more extreme. In Kansas, an old woman has grown so enormous that she’s filled an entire house. Mysterious, no? Super gross, no? Possible short story, no?

Brian: My first idea: A mysterious machine the size of small planet is discovered in space and it is perfectly calibrated to generate just enough energy for itself to continue running. When humans step foot on it they disrupt the balance and who know what happens after that.

Nick: Next idea: a small solar systems of planets that are alive, and they relate to each other. The weather on each planet is affected by the mood of the planet, and the planet’s have the maturity and intellect of a group of middle school students. Incidently, a group of middle schoolers on one of the planets just so happen to be the exact copies (in terms of personality, gender, etc) of the planets, and the story follows them. I think it has potential actually, and I’m gonna work on it. We also brainstormed about the novel I hope to have written before too long, and Brian gave me some sweet ideas about it so yeah, what up.

Brian: For our other best ideas check out our current poll. So we rolled into Minneapolis after dark and met our first host, Abby, at a bar. We had a couple local brews and I ordered a boar shepherds pie because I don’t think I’ve ever had boar before. It was great, and I ate a big plate of Brussels sprouts on the side, mom. By this time, and I think I speak for both of us, the awesomeness of Madison was catching up to us. Abby suggested that we pop in a movie. Sounds good. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King extended edition? Wow, good luck to both of us. To even my own surprise, I survived it while Nick succumbed to road fatigue.

Nick: I was so… sleepy…. Brian and… Nick… (yawn) out…