19 Times

Surely this is the last time, I have often thought as I ease past another semi-truck in I-80, surely I’ll never make this drive again.

And then there I am again. Three hours into Indiana, eager to get to Ohio, wondering what the difference between a Hoosier and a Buckeye is.

I left my home in the great state of Minnesota in 2015. Moved to Pennsylvania. Since then, I have driven back and forth between the Midwest and State College, Pennsylvania too many times to count.

Well, that’s not entirely true. My wife Katie and I tried to count as we left our new home in Iowa City and headed east towards Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. I think the number is 19. 19 times we’ve driven nearly 15 hours along the I-80 corridor. Sipping coffee. Listening to Spotify. Trying to keep our two children occupied in the back seat. 19 times in nearly 10 years.

Make it stop, I think to myself on the drive. Please make these roadtrips stop.

***

Why did we go back to Pennsylvania this time? This is why:

There I am with Andrea, James, and Nate. The four of us founded an improv theatre company in State College in 2017. Opened the Blue Brick Theatre in 2021. Happy Valley Improv held its third annual XL Improv Festival a few weeks ago. Look at all those links! I returned, in part, to perform with the other founders. It has been 2 years since our group Alone in a Church performed a set. Above, you see the four of us about to do some improv. Below, you see the four of us doing improv:

I’ll admit it, people. I’ve missed doing improv at the Blue Brick Theatre. Performing in Alone in a Church with Andrea, James, and Nate. The audience was receptive, our set was wild, and I laughed a lot. I miss laughing a lot and doing improv with the people in the picture above. So the improv festival was one of the reasons we returned to State College.

Another reason we returned to Pennsylvania was that Katie and our children haven’t been back since we’ve left. It’s been two years since our boys saw the place where they grew up. So we pulled them out of school, packed up their suitcases, and hit the road. Katie, Solomon, and Samson spent the week seeing their friends. Meeting up at parks. Inviting people over. Going over to houses. It was a whirlwind.

We found time to take a hike into the mountains at Musser Gap. We’ve hiked Musser Gap more than 19 times. Want to see what time does? Take a look at this image:

Now look at this picture:

The same place seven years later. The boys are growing up. I’m decaying. What a thing the passage of time is.

We drove by our old house. 211 Greenlee Lane is in great shape. The new owners really cleaned up the backyard. I’m annoyed by how nice it looks. We even managed to grab some ice cream. I can’t tell you the number of pictures we have of the boys eating ice cream at Meyer’s Dairy. Shockingly, Meyer’s remodeled. Long gone is the 1950’s decor. More shockingly, our boys look so much older eating ice cream. See:

We have countless pictures on our phones of the boys as toddlers eating that same ice cream. And now they aren’t toddlers anymore.

Ten years is a long time. Time enough to complete 19 road trips between State College, Pennsylvania and the Midwest.

***

Why not fly? I’m not made of money, y’all. I’m but a humble educator. A humble improviser and writer, too.

All the driving aside, it was nice to go back. I have plenty of nostalgia for Central Pennsylvania. I’m still happy with our decision to move to Iowa City. In the words of the immortal Tom Petty, it was time to get going. Still, I miss the rolling hills and green forests. State College is an easy place to live. We had friends out there. Put down all sorts of roots. And I was part of an improv community. I was recognized by more people walking around State College than I ever am in Iowa City. Lots more “hey Sam Tanner!” in State College than in Iowa City. It was nice to be back in a place that was home for nearly 10 years.

And it was also a relief to get back to our new home in Iowa City. The boys finishing the school year. Me preparing for a much needed summer break.

Is there a 20th road trip in my future? Only time will tell. For now, I cherish my time off the road. My time away from Indiana, Ohio, and, God forbid, Illinois.