To Mount Holyoke and Back

It has been an 890-mile weekend for me already. Yesterday, my daughter Mary and I drove 425 miles up to Cambridge, Massachusetts and spent the night at my sister's place. The drive was livened by listening to ten episodes of Welcome to Night Vale, an amusing podcast radio show about a town in the desert overrun by demons. It isn't scary, just darkly absurd. Sample public service announcement:

If you see something, say nothing. And drink to forget.

No idea what was going on with this car. We also saw a minivan with "Off to College" painted on the rear window. As we passed we saw the mom dancing in the driver's seat, her daughter sitting calmly beside her. At least somebody was excited.

One of my favorite bits of contemporary America, the cell tower camouflaged as a tree.

This morning we drove 95 miles from Cambridge to Mount Holyoke, listening to three more episodes of Night Vale along the way.

Mount Holyoke, which really looks like this.

Harry Potter-themed banners for the dorms known to muggles as Buckland and Abbey. These were hanging on all the dorms before last night's torrential rains.

Mary in her dorm room. Her bed is the one on the right with the dark colors.

And then the lonely 370 mile drive from Mount Holyoke back home.

The Connecticut, first of the four great rivers to be crossed on this journey.

Please don't jump off our bridge.

The anti-suicide guard rail.

The Tappan Zee bridge looms ahead.

In the belly of the beast.

Lunch. In my opinion the huge, yummy burrito has been one of the most important innovations of my lifetime. I ate in my car so I could listen to the World Cafe with Bombino.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge.

The last of the four great rivers, the Susquehanna. And then home.

Update: Mary posted this picture of her dorm room.