I've gotta feeling

Best Claw Victory: The very cute camel pictured on right from Mohegan Sun. I won with the needed assistance of my mom & sis

Best Wine: 2004 Dynamite Hill Petit Syrah, shared with Kim in San Fran. If you ever see this on the shelf, it's worth the price

Best Drink: Hard lemonade with Kristi Cole in NYC.

Best Dessert: Ad Hoc mini beignets with Scott and Lindsay in Sonoma

Best Drive: Cedar Breaks National Monument (nps.gov) in Utah. Banked roads, liberal speed limit, incredible surroundings.

Best Nature Experience: Floating down Snake River in Wyoming in a rubber tube with Steve & Chris.

Best Walk: Lakeside in Chicago with Kris Mendez. Weather was perfect.

Best Beach: San Deigo, Mission Beach. A great view ;)

Best Photo: She'll never forgive me (Lindsay wishing she hadn't).

Best Board Game: Stratego vs. Ann (Dan's fiancee). She had me on the ropes early but I squeaked out a victory.

Best Purchase: A chess clock for under $25 while in Las Vegas. Stefan, a nice French guy owns (http://www.chessngames.com/)

Best Investment: A Starbucks Gold Card. 10% off plus free wi-fi, which I have used gratuitously on the road.

Best Analogy: "These geysers smell like earthen fart." - John "Yeah, geysers are god's skid marks" - Chris (said near a strong sulfur smell)

Best Discussion: Nurtured-Nature with Chris Beltz. Should the beauty of national parks be so accessible?

Fastest Drive: 96.7 mph according to Garmin. This was early on in west Texas where the speed limit is 80 mph.

Best Music Mix: Margaret Hamilton's mix was strong and beat out many solid competitors.

Best Song: The newly discovered Black Eyed Peas song which inspired this entry.

Today's picture from the road in rural Virgina: