Here's a secretly snapped photograph of the Minneapolis airport men's room that's been in the news lately. The action seems to have died down quite a bit, but the stalls do contain a large amount of slightly more engaging graffiti than may be expected:
We did manage to spot a moose during daylight. This medium-sized bullmoose sauntered from the watery gulch, on to Route 100, and back, again and again. Combine moose unpredictability, near-accident flashbacks, and 16 hours of drenching rain and you get a Chevy HHR in the ditch.
No damage done to us or the vehicle, and thanks to incredibly helpful and chatty Vermonters, we were on our way again in 90 minutes. For the record, the least helpful drivers are those with tiny, British sports cars who seem hell-bent on crashing their tiny, British sports cars on curving mountain roads into large, American moose.
The Ben & Jerry's factory tour in Waterbury Center, Vermont is kind of worth the price of admission. You do get to sample some, in our case, Creme Brulee ice cream, but don't bother visiting on Saturday if you're interested in seeing the product manufactured. The highlight of the stop is the Flavor Graveyard where the poorly received and poorly conceived ice creams of yore are buried and eulogized with snappy and clever epitaphs. 
The Fairbanks Museum in lovely St. Johnsbury contains some fine examples of, um, natural history and lots and lots of dead birds, but what I'll remember is this tribute to General and President George Washington made entirely of dead butterflies and beetles.
The original Old Man Of The Mountain may be lost forever, but the sprit lives on in the form of the Old Man Of The Climbing Rock.
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, we took the scenic route, and rather than gawking out the windows, we dodged out-of-shape runners and their support vans and a never-ending stream of tiny, British sports cars. To get a break from driving, we paused at a campground and found this fine bit of scenery. Big Rock. A rock that is big.
For a brief few seconds, B was the highest person in New England. Here he stands triumphant on top of Mt. Washington.
We visited the location of the world's worst weather -- New Hampshire's Mt. Washington. The weather wasn't all that bad with an air temp of around 40 degrees and winds clocking in the 30-40 mph range. The view from the top of Mt. Washington was truly spectacular. You could literally see your hand in front of your face.
Off to Grafton Notch State Park for some natural splendor!
We missed the Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor, but this guy on the other end of the state caught our eye. He looks a lot like some other Bunyans in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Hmmm...
The state animal of Maine is the moose. Therefore, you might expect to see them wandering around everywhere. They aren't. 'Moose Crossing' indicates that a moose may or may not have passed this way at some point. Moosehead Lake has no moose. 
We drove several hours out of our way on 'The Moose Highway' through 'Moose Alley'. None there either. Past the Moose Car Wash, Moose Bar & Grill, Mr. Moose's Kampground, and on and on. We did find this fiberglas flying moose.
And, then, on our way to Gorham, New Hampsh*****LOOK OUT!!!****OH MY GOSH THAT IS HUGE!!!***** Yes, a moose. Running across the highway. After dark. Not really the way we wanted to encounter the largest land mammal in North America.
We spent the day wandering through the backwoods of Maine listening to right-wing talk radio. To present a fair and balanced vacation blog, we visited this 'Victory Garden' in Athens. They did not have any gas for sale.
Yep, that's Neptune and a mermaid hottie cruising on a chopper. This was created entirely of wood entirely by a prisoner entirely in the Maine State Prison. It's not for sale, but you could buy any manner of woodcraft made by inmates at the Maine State Prison Gift Shop. From our observation, lacquer appears to be in abundance in the pen.
Hi, Mr. Geology. Thanks for visiting us in Maine.
I think this is the globe they used for the filming of such shows as The NBC Nightly News and the opening credits for Universal movies.
We caught the end of Ken Burns' documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright the other night and were inspired to visit some of his lesser known forays into restuarants.
We made the obligatory Dunkin' Donuts stop at approximately the 142nd outlet we spotted on our journey. The best thing I can say about the hot chocolate and doughnut is that I could have bought it on the other side of the street or a half block down the street and it would have been exactly the same.
The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at the Old North Bridge which stands approximately in the same location that a previous bridge stood approximately where yet another bridge stood approximately where the original bridge stood.
The people in the above photograph are:
I am by no measure knowledgeable about the American League, but I can tell you that Tyler Webster never played for the Red Sox. He was one of many Boston fans who show their respect and love for the hallowed tradition of 'The Green Monstah' by writing tributes to their beloved Crimson Hosed baseballers.
K demonstrates that a standing-room-only ticket does not necessarily prevent you from sitting down as there are plenty of seats at Fenway.
The classic children's book by Robert McCloskey takes place right about here in the Boston Common.
We asked to meet the Super Mario Brothers but were quickly asked to leave. "Il permesso ora o noi getteranno le polpette voi! Rapidamente! Rapidamente!"
Mmmm . . . Nothing like taking a long, sweet draw of Newport cigarettes on the streets of Newport. But, we couldn't find the tobacco plantation.
We picked it up, and, indeed, it does not weigh eight pounds. More like seven or seven and one-half.
The Franklin Spa in Newport, Rhode Island offers an exclusive 'Coca-Cola treatment' which involves you sitting in a bathtub full of bubbling beverage. Little Timmy exclaims, 'Free refills!'
During a quick jaunt to the Foxwoods Casino & Behemoth, we managed to win a tenderloin while losing only 32 ounces of mock steak in the always popular Roulette Of Meat.
The Boulder Dash roller coaster is the tallest and fastest built on the side of a mountain. Lake Compounce is America's oldest amusement park. I was not the tallest man in Connecticut at the time of this photo.
We enjoyed a delightful lunch at the best 24-hour restaurant across the street from ESPN headquarters. That giant satellite dish is beaming game 3 of the 1987 NBA Finals en espanol.
This cornucopia of carbonation is brought to you by Avery's Soda in New Britain, Connecticut. From the outside, it looks like an auto repair garage. And from the inside, it also looks like an auto repair garage. We're not sure what the difference is between Orange Cream and Orange Dry soda. I'll find out in a week or so when TWO CASES of sugary goodness arrive on my doorstep.
Somehow, this contraption produces a fluid that you can consume.
Okay, so we're not in New England yet. This is Detroit City. And this is an all peanut butter sandwich food kiosk. I have little to say but we did miss our connecting flight because I insisted on eating two meals here.
A white tablecloth restaurant just steps from the I-80 interchange in Sidney, Nebraska? The Buffalo Point Steakhouse? Too good to be true? Why, yes, it is. They'll seat you at a table. They'll give you a tiny relish tray. But no one will ever take your order . . . Better eat before you get there.
The only thing better than a white tablecloth restaurant is a tricked-out fast food joint. It reminded me of Italy. Or at least what I imagine Italy to be like. *sigh* Iced tea with a dash of Pepsi. No individual or small pizzas. No silverware.
K tempted this guy with whatever it is that cows like. I think it was called 'Bovine Tempter'.
Out in the Pawnee National Grassland, a herd of cows unbeknowingly mosey across an active ICBM silo! Or, maybe they're cleverly disguised anti-terrorist special operatives.
We enjoyed a lovely afternoon of rodeo action at the Greeley Stampede. Here's team roping, and if you squint really hard, you can see the All-American Rejects doing their soundcheck.
We also learned that the rodeo is the last safe place for good clean family fun like gay jokes. Ha ha! Brokeback Mountain! Gay cowboys! They walk funny! This was swiftly followed by (I am not kidding) a rousing full-costumed version of "YMCA".
And, the last thing you'd expect to hear at the rodeo is Neil Diamond. The lovely cowgirls entertain us with, um, synchronized galloping to "Coming To America".
Welcome to Part One of Brandon's Patented Set-Your-Own-World-Record Seminar. If you take away only one piece of advice, remember to GET SPECIFIC! Pick a category of record that no one has tried! You're sure to be the best! Here's a great example! The Mt. Evans Highway is the "Highest Paved Road In North America"! Place a deck of cards on the highest pavement and you've just set a record for "Highest Deck Of Cards On Pavement In North America"! Or try, "Highest Aria Performed On Pavement In North America"!
If this was bad western art, you'd see a winged topless Indian maiden riding a crying horse.
After all of my griping about not being able to see any bighorn sheep, we were overwhelmed by them at the summit of Mt. Evans. Oddly, this photograph looks like we stuffed and posed them in front of a painted background. If you don't believe it, K has the gore marks to prove it.
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