We made it!

It was a bit longer than expected, but Tim and I arrived at our hotel in Grinnell, Iowa, around 9:45 p.m. local time (CST). We left Rockingham, N.C., at a little after 5:30 a.m.. Long, long day. We switched the driving duties by fuel loads, and with Tim's Blazer traveling slightly more than 300 miles per tank, I got two turns at the wheel.

Here are a few highlights:

• I finally got to hear "The Steve Czaban Show" on Fox Sports Radio, XM 142. Over the past year, I certainly had heard a lot about it, and it didn't disappoint. It was on for three hours starting at 6 a.m. and carried us into West Virginia. Very funny show. His take on Tiger Woods was awesome (said Tiger was accustomed to "road strange"), the segment called "This might be a dumb question, but ...." was hilarious and his explanation of the new NFL Network Redzone Channel (he compared it to "freebasing" the NFL) had me laughing out loud. Might be worth adding the best of XM to my Sirius package.
• Unfortunately, we were enjoying the radio so much that a West Virginia trooper pulled us over for slightly exceeding the speed limit. No, we weren't exactly Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings running back who was given a ticket for 109 in a 55 mph zone, and we got away with a warning. I believe it was 80 in a 70, hardly worth the trouble, right? Thank you for letting us go, Trooper Kennard!
• We had a great lunch at Hooters in Dayton, Ohio. Yeah, I thought the same thing before we pulled in to the restaurant, that the quality of "service" might not be up to par due to the location. My worries were unfounded; the food was excellent (onion rings for an appetizer, buffalo chicken sandwich with curly fries for the meal), and our server, Sarah, couldn't have been nicer. I think Tim had a good time, as well. 8 > )
• When we arrived in Davenport, Iowa, where we planned to gas up for the final time and grab a bite for dinner, we were greeted with some pretty heavy snow. The temperature was around 32 degrees, but fortunately, the roads remained clear. We even found a Hardee's next to a gas station and ducked in for a "Big Hardee" combo. And believe it or not, there was a guy inside wearing a Carolina Panthers jacket! Pretty sweet.
• Finally, we arrived at Grinnell. Although the snow had lightened somewhat, the ground was covered, including the parking lot. It was really a beautiful scene. I almost asked Tim if we could cruise around campus -- it is about 3 miles away -- but we both were ready for a break. Besides, it's doubtful we could have seen anything in the dark.

I have a meeting with Coach A and his son at noon Friday to gather some information for a story I plan to write for Basketball Times magazine. A few of the players are supposed to stop by, as well. It should be interesting.