Beyond The Bubble

Author: Claire Nielson and Lisie Mehlman

First there was Bristol, New Hampshire to Highland Park, Illinois. Then there was Highland Park to Middlebury. And who can forget the epic Hotlanta-Charleston-Savannah excursion. As evidenced in the frequency with which we report on road trips in this oft-read, commonly referenced, nearly syndicated column, we do love a little car time every now and again. Fourth in what we predict will be a long string of road trips, our latest adventure to Providence, although headed by a different (and less adept) driver in a different (more boat-like) car, still captured the traditional, pre-planned spontaneity that we seem to have mastered.

Claire attributes her newfound nervous twitch to the four and a half hours she spent powerless in an automobile controlled by the sometimes flighty, easily distracted, lead-footed Lisie (I mean, that speeding ticket yesterday was completely unwarranted, Markandbar). Lisie's tendency to postpone breaking until the last possible second rendered Claire in constant fear for her life, an unfortunate state that was in no way mollified by Lisie's perpetual demand that Claire photographically capture the New England fall foliage. Days later, Lisie was not pleased to see that Claire had, out of spite, only documented what few dilapidated, abandoned barns and unsightly slaughter farms we passed. Claire: 1. Lisie: Nill.

Needless to say, we made it to Providence in record time. Lisie had, in preparation, printed out the results of a rather comprehensive JSTOR search of the city's infamous mob history. Claire refuses to acknowledge this action and feels strongly that this factoid should have remained unpublished. Lisie's attempt to engage the Brown students whom we visited in a discussion about " Trigger Mike" Coppola and his hoodlum gang proved futile. Claire: 2. Lisie: Nill.

Unlike the notorious mobster Mike's activities, ours erred not on the side of illegality but, instead, on the all-too-wholesome, borderline cheesy side. Understanding the value of spurring one's metabolism early in the day, we stopped off at the first trolley-car diner ever established in our fine fatherland. The food was fair. We have nothing more to say about this. Then it was off to the pièce de resistance of the day - the Smith Family Orchards. But the thing about apple picking is that while it sounds great in theory, it actually takes only 13 minutes to fill up a half-peck. And we're too cheap for a full peck. Although attempting to perfect the fine art of maneuvering the apple picking rake-like device did provide several minutes entertainment, or, in Lisie's case, frustration. It took Lisie an abnormally long time to try to effectively use the apple picker. In fact, she never really did get it. Claire, on the other hand, has a knack for apple picking. Claire: 3. Lisie: Nill. Nothing like a little friendly competition to turn a fun group outing sour.

The ride home was more enjoyable for Claire for she had acclimated to the speed and tenacity with which Lisie drove. It also helped that we had, conveniently enough, stolen our roommates' "Road Trip" mixes. They still don't know. Surprise! But they don't even read this column, so it doesn't really matter. In fact we could use this as forum in which to reveal even more juicy morsels about our roommates, but, well, we won't. We thought it would only be appropriate to finish the day with yet another diner experience. At City Slickers, located in Chester, VT, population 3,044, we each ordered chili for $1.75, realizing regretfully that perhaps we could have sprung for a full bushel after all.