The last two days have brought me from Morgantown, West Virginia to Champaign, Illinois. The relaxing part of my vacation has ended. Bring on Ebertfest!

Here are a few photos I snapped along my travels:

Morgantown, West Virginia: “Ladybong Graffiti” will be the name of my reggae Ladysmith Black Mambazo cover band.

Indianapolis, Indiana: The GPS in my car must have met the ladybong, because it took me off the highway for several miles while traversing through Indianapolis. The upside of this is that it led me right past the home gates of the Indianapolis 500.

Urbana, Illinois: This was my welcoming committee when I arrived in Champaign-Urbana. This is also proof that a GIANT malamute will be watching me while I write posts for the next several days.

I’m still hanging out in West Virginia, relaxing as much as possible before the flurry of Ebertfest. Thus, I don’t have a whole lot to report, except for the fact that the movie Lockout was better when it was called Escape from New York. Here are some random photos:

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania: Canonsburg is the home of the talking Perry Como statue. No, really. It talks to you. Unfortunately, it was also dark and rainy, so I didn’t get a photo. Thus, here’s a photo of a singing Elmo robot.

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania: Rocko is my new buddy. I protected him from a rampaging toddler, so he spent the rest of the night huddled by my side. Eventually, Rocko’s family was threatened to send him home with me.

Morgantown, West Virginia: Nuwa has taken up residence in my suitcase. She gets indignant if anyone tries to move her.

Morgantown, West Viginia: Poe and I visited the Morgantown Brewing Company, West Virginia’s oldest brewery. This is a tasty lager, and it came accompanied by beer bread with honey butter. I would have attempted a photo of the beer bread, but its sheer, unadulterated glory caused my iPhone to avert its eyes in respect.

I’m in the midst of spending around 10 days on the road, visiting friends around the country and, eventually, Ebertfest. Right now, I’m hanging out with my dear friend, Poe, in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The first two days mostly involved driving, as there is a lot of highway between Minneapolis, MN and Morgantown. Yet I had an excellent and smooth drive, and the odyssey was capped with another viewing of Cabin in the Woods. So far, the trip is quite lovely.

Enjoy a couple photos from my adventures thus far…

Madison, Wisconsin: I stopped by the Madison Radisson to catch John Kovalic, Ken Hite, Monica Valentine, and Mark Stegbauer at the bar. Within 30 seconds, John challenged me to a German zombie dice game. Here’s Monica, John, and Mark attempting — and failing — to beat my score.

Fremont Rest Stop and Travel Emporium, Indiana: THIS IS NECESSARY.