NEW YORK, N.Y. -> CLEVELAND, OHIO

DAY THREE……………………….470 miles

Catch ya later, East Coast!

So this is Ohio. I try to block the memory of a thousand teenagers rambling about it, rizz, and whatever the hell else my students were talking about. Oh my God. Am I a grumpy old man at twenty-six?

Enough cranky Ry. The sky is gorgeous, and the tunes are bumping. Could I have told you ten years ago, when baby Michael and baby Ryan were blasting Kendrick Lamar through the streets of our hometown, that things would turn out like this? Leading an award-winning team of theater artists, then an adventure driving the width of the continent? No, but we’d be pretty damn excited.

We touch down in Cleveland and spend our evening appreciating the local neighborhood vibe of Proof BBQ. A cool breeze eases in from off Lake Erie, the shore just a few minutes north. Warm stringed lights illuminate a performer playing guitar and singing the blues. Some regulars call out to him in between songs, friendly ribbing mixed with just a dash of heckling. “You been playing the same songs for thirty years,” one woman says, laughs, then rests her cheek on her hand to listen more closely. He cracks a grin and starts the next song, vocalizing an aged, wounded soul. As we chow down on the sweet tang of Cleveland barbecue, we decide tonight is worth all the repetition in the world.