When: 8 p.m. EDT
Where: I've just unhitched and am pulling out of the boathouse compound.
Notes on the drive: I made it back in good time and in good health and with a good safe load. The total for the trip was 2,559.8 miles. I did it in 38 hours, 55 minutes of driving and 16 hours, 51 minutes of stop time for a total of 55:46. That makes my average for the whole trip 45.9 miles per hour, average driving speed 65.8 miles per hour. The average time and overall time are both quicker by a hair than the last trip.
The trip went without major problems of any sort. I arrived at the Clemson boathouse just as their practice began so they were able to unload all of their stuff and Ohio State's stuff off the trailer in just 15 minutes, so that made for a good quick return to the road for me.
So, one more trip is done safely and it was a great opportunity for our student-athletes. The trailer is safely inside the locked gates at University Lake. I'm headed home, should be there by 8:30. I'll be back at University Lake tomorrow morning at 5 for our 5:30 practice, so I'll try to catch about six hours of sleep tonight. We'll have morning practice and I'll spend the rest of the day getting ready for my departure tomorrow evening for the regatta up in Camden, N.J., things like changing the oil in the truck, coordinating with Duke to get their boats back to them, loading our boats, all of that good fun stuff, so it will be a busy day tomorrow.
It was definitely a challenging journey back. Even though I made it a little bit faster, it felt much longer. I would have stopped at a hotel, but each time I stopped on the side of the road I thought three hours would make the difference and I'd be able to press on. Each time after just about 20 minutes on the road I realized I needed more sleep and so I pulled over at the next opportunity for more rest.
A lot of the challenges that I faced a long the way are the same as what our athletes face in their competitions. Mental challenges--focus during uncomfortable times or when you're tired--and things like that. A lot of what I do to get through those, what makes me able to drive like this, is the same kind of stuff our student-athletes go through.

Where: I-85 in Pendergrass, Ga., the site of Georgia's largest flea market and home to giant billboards which simply say "Flea"
When: 1:54 p.m. EDT
Soundtrack: The music has been a little of everything, including some local radio stations. Classic rock and oldies have carried the day.
Last meal: Meals have been few and far between, a couple of truck stop hot meals but other than that just snacking and rolling eastward.
Coming up: Right now, I'm about one hour outside of Clemson, maybe an hour and 15 minutes by the time I get to the boathouse, where I'll be dropping off boats for Clemson and Ohio State. Clemson is racing in Columbus this weekend so they'll take the boat right up to Ohio State, and the chain continues. Clemson will be arriving for practice at that time, so there should be many hands to make unloading go quickly. Then I'm on to Chapel Hill, which should take me about five hours. I'll drop the trailer, go home for a quick night's sleep and be back at the boathouse for a 5:30 a.m. practice with the team. We'll go out for a quick row in the novice's boats then we'll de-rig those and load them on the trailer. I'll leave tomorrow evening to head up to New Jersey and I'll stop on the way in Virginia to drop off Virginia's boats and some for Norfolk Academy.
Notes on the drive: It's bee a long haul since Pecos, Texas. It's definitely been challenging. I've had two naps on the side of the road. No remarkable events, the truck is doing well, averaging about eight miles per gallon. I ran into quite a bit of traffic in Dallas and Atlanta, so my driving average speed is running about 66 mph, a couple of miles per hour slower than the way west. My overall average is right about 45 mph, which if you account for my hotel stay on the way about is about what I averaged that direction.
Heading this direction always feels longer. I'll admit my body is pretty worn out--mentally, I'm wide away but my body definitely knows its getting closer to home and if I can just rattle off these last 350 miles I'll be in good shape . We'll see how bright and cheery I am at morning practice, but I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to my house in the woods in Chatham County and getting to know my buddy Clay again, even it if it's just for a couple hours. That's the report from the side of the road. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here on in.

Where: A few miles east of Pecos, Texas
When: 11:10 a.m. Central time (12:10 p.m. ET)
Soundtrack: Another mix CD. The song on right now is George Benson, "Turn Your Love Around", a good early-mid 80's classic that I remember from the roller skating rink back in junior high. It was the backwards skate song.
Out the window: Pecos, Texas, is the home of the world's first rodeo. There's a McDonald's right across from the rodeo arena.
Last meal: Egg and cheese bagel and coffee from that McDonald's
Notes on the drive: I'm about 975 miles into trip, not a lot of progress since the last update. I was getting very tired last night and running into a lot of one-lane construction so I pulled over and took a three-hour nap. I woke up to call the team at morning practice, but couldn't get cell phone service. So I started driving again, but I was exhausted and was not in a good, safe place so I pulled over again at the next rest area and slept for about four hours. Between that and a stop for breakfast and fuel, not a lot of progress through the night, but I'm back on the road now.
So, 975 miles down, about 2,100 to go before I drop off the boats at Clemson, and another 300, 250 after that, to get home. Still alot of road in front of me. I'm definitely challenged a little bit here energy-wise, but I'm wide awake and doing fine. I'm still hoping to be back in Chapel Hill late Wednesday night.

Where: Just leaving El Paso, rolling across Texas. I've been through Truth or Consequences, N.M., and I've got 750 miles under my belt.
When: 10:45 p.m. Mountain time (12:45 EDT)
Soundtrack: About to put in some Garth Brooks
Notes on the drive: I got a terrific phone call 20 minutes ago from Lance Yamakawa, the father of Robin Yamakawa, who graduated last year. He was up at 12:30 eastern time and knew I was driving. We chatted for 15 minutes about the team and how everything is going and how his daughter is doing. He was just letting me know he was still following the program. It was great to hear from him and gave me a boost of enthusiasm to help me out on the drive.

Where: The outskirts of Las Cruces, N.M. I'm 680 miles into the trip, about 10 hours driving time.
When: 9:25 p.m. Mountain time (11:27 EDT)
Soundtrack: I just finished up a CD I put together for a former girlfriend, a story about how we went from being friends to dating to being friends again. A neat thing about technology now is we really get the chance to make a soundtrack of our lives. So, that was a good way to pass the an hour and a half.
Last meal: I stopped at a place called A Little Taste of Texas, just over California border into Arizona. I had some great Texas style barbecue, definitely not as good North Carolina-style barbecue in by book, but it's good to experience the place you're in. After that, I drover a good five-six hours drive and I just picked up a veggie sandwich from Subway to change things up a little bit. I'm looking to eat this and get back on the road. Coming up: Up next is the beautiful state of Texas. I have a little bit of New Mexico left then I'll spend 800 miles driving east across Texas.
Notes on the drive: I'm making great progress, averaging 68.2 mph. There's a little wind here and there but it has calmed down quite a bit in the last two hours. Looking to press on for a little bit more, how long will depend on home I'm feeling

Where: Just heading out of San Diego on Interstate 8
When: 9:05 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. I spent about an hour and a half this morning getting the trailer squared away with everybody's gear on it and departed around 9 a.m., so I'm just about five minutes into the journey
Soundtrack: Bon Jovi, playing on a local radio station
Out the window: San Diego is behind me and the sun is trying to burn through the marine layer, a cloud cover that's typical as the weather systems push up against the mountain ranges to which I'm headed. I'm driving past the ballpark where the Padres have their home opener tonight against the Diamondbacks. I'd love to be there, but I've got to get on the road.
Last meal: Last night we had a great dinner at the Corvette Diner with the team. I had an open-faced hot turkey sandwich. A pop tart and coffee this morning should get me through to lunch.
Coming up: In front of me, I've got the climb over the mountains then the stretch across the Imperial Valley of California. My goal is to make good time getting home, to do it safely and get home as quickly as I can so we can get back to the business of making everyone faster again. I'll be stopping in Clemson to drop off boats for Clemson and one for Ohio State. I should be home Wednesday night and be at practice Thursday at 5:30 a.m. We head out on Friday for racing in Camden, N.J., this weekend.

Complete results from the San Diego Crew Classic.

Sunday's UNC results from the San Diego Crew Classic.

Saturday's UNC results from the San Diego Crew Classic.

Where: San Diego!
When: 3:37 p.m. PT (now official Carolina rowing time)
Soundtrack: Now, the seagulls in the background. The soundrack for the trip worked out beautifully. I only replayed one CD once, because I liked it so much. Other than that, I had new music the entire way. All my mix CD's were a big help. They really got me through some tough spots driving.
Out the window: The sun is doing its best to poke through a fairly heavy layer of clouds, but San Diego is beautiful nonetheless. A nice offshore breeze is coming in. The last stretch here, I actually spent some time so far below sea level that if I had stood the boats up on end on the trailer, the bows would still be beneath seal level. I was over 65 feel below sea level. Immediately thereafter, I got up to about 4,200 feet in the mountains near San Diego. So definitely a little bit of everything on the trip.
Last meal: Yesterday's dinner, which I had at a truck stop. I've not had a sit down meal since then, just some snacks, so I'm definitely ready for a good meal. I'll probably try for a San Diego specialty of some sort.
Notes on the drive: I pulled in with the trailer at just about 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. I made it in 37 hours, 37 minutes of driving, covering 2,558 miles. I had 11 hours, two minutes of stops, including my naps, but not Wednesday night at the hotel. The total time of the trip was 48 hours and 39 minutes, again not counting the night over at the hotel. Average speed was about 68 miles an hour. So a good run, a safe one, and I'm here well ahead of schedule. I'm going to go ahead and dismount the trailer from the truck, get myself checked into the quarters at the 32nd Street Naval Station, which will be our temporary home for the next five days, and get myself some sleep. I'll get up tomorrow morning, get the truck serviced, get the rental vans and passes at the base squared away and meet the team at the airport around 8 o'clock tomorrow evening. So I'll have a little bit of time to relax, too. If it heats up--it's only 65 right now--maybe I'll spend an hour on the beach. More than anything else right now, I'm just looking forward to a good long hot shower, a good dinner, and then I'll go ahead and head off to bed.

Where: I've Just entered New Mexico. It's good to see different shaped road signs for a change of pace. I'm on my way north toward Las Cruces and I've left El Paso, of Marty Robbins country song fame.
When: 5:40 a.m. MT
Soundtrack: A mix CD called "Hey Lover", named for the song by LL Cool J with Boyz II Men. It also has Ella Fitzgerald, Jim Croce and Harry Chapin and Pat Benatar on it, a little bit of everything to keep me going this morning.
Out the window: Lyle Lovett says the sun comes up in a coffee cup and I've got a beautiful sunrise both behind me and inside the cab here, so I'm going to keep on driving and see what I can do about heading straight into San Diego. The sun is rising behind me, its going to be a beautiful day from the look of things, a little bit of fog in front of me as I head north. The only downside is that the sun seems to be bringing a little bit of wind with it, and I'm getting thrown around again. So I'll go ahead and drink that coffee before it picks up much more.
Coming up: Right now I am 1,848 miles into the trip. That means I have 700 miles to San Diego. Depending on my stops and traffic and climbing the hills, I'm looking to get in there sometime about 4 o'clock Pacific time, which will be perfect. I can drop the trailer and head over to the 32nd Street Naval Station and check in to my room, get a good night's sleep. I'll get the truck serviced tomorrow before the team arrives and we'll be in good shape. So that's knocking on wood and hoping nothing else comes up.
Notes on the drive: Not too much went on through the night. I took about a three or four-hour nap at a rest area in Texas. I was getting tired, but I really wanted to get out of the state. After that, I feel pretty good. Right now I have 160 more miles in New Mexico then I get to Arizona.
I know the team is enjoying a day off today. They'll have one more practice in town tomorrow morning then get on the plane to San Diego after classes on Thursday.

Where: Interstate 20 in West Texas
When: 7:10 p.m. MT
Soundtrack: I've been listening to a CD called "Night" that I put together. It's great stuff, everything from Elvis to KC and the Sunshine Band to Dizzy Gillespie and a couple of dance tunes?a little bit of everything, a great way to lead into the night.
Out the window: I've been driving across the Permian Basin of Texas, where there are a lot of oil refineries. Georgia Tech has a piece of land out here, right by the highway. I drove through Odessa, the home of "Friday Night Lights", the book about high school football in Texas, and Midland, the home of George Bush when he's not in the White House, and Stanton, Texas, which according to the sign on its outskirts, is "Home to 3,000 of the friendliest people around and a few old soreheads".
Coming up: My goal is to get out of Texas tonight, and I've got quite a ways. There's still a good piece of road in front of me, but if I do get out of Texas, that will set me up to be in real good shape for the run in close to San Diego tomorrow.
Notes on the drive: The winds eventually died down and the road has opened up a little bit, so things are going well that way. I've gotten to race trains a couple of times, and I got to chase the sun down into a beautiful sunset full of oranges. It's just been a pretty good last three or four hours, making decent time, keeping the speeds down since it's gotten dark. No traffic problems, just big rigs on the road now and we're all working together to make things go quickly.

Where: Mile marker 390 on Interstate 20 in Texas, smack dab between Milsap and Mineral Wells, in the Texas plains, just south of the panhandle. I'm 1,262 miles into the trip, so just 10 miles short of the halfway point, which will be exciting to cross.
When: 3:23 CT
Soundtrack: Local radio, for a change of pace
Out the window: I'm being buffeted by very strong northern winds. This is the first time I've seen northern winds along this stretch and they're at about 90 degrees to the path I'm traveling, which is due west, so they're blowing the trailer around something fierce. It's not a super heavy trailer and you get all those boats on it and its like a giant sail. It's definitely tossing me around the lanes a little bit, even with what is a very stable and strong truck. I'm glad we were able to upgrade our tow vehicle--this would really be a challenge in a lesser vehicle. I would guess the winds are gusting over 30 miles per hour.
Notes on the drive: I just had one of those moments of coaches' intuition and I pulled over at a rest area, the last one for 90 miles. I took a look at our straps, as I do at every stop. Two straps had worked loose on one of the Duke boats and two straps were about to fail, rip open, on a shell we're taking out to the race for another team. One of the straps had only about a third of its width still intact and the rip was growing, the other had a half. If those had gone, there was only one last strap holding the boat on, the stern-most strap. The wind, just from traveling 65 or 70 miles per hour down the highway, would have picked up the bow of that boat and might have just taken it. I had to do along of climbing over the boats in the wind, but managed to get both straps replaced, tighten the Duke straps and check everything else. A little bit of providence there, that I managed to catch those.
Coming up: It's definitely draining, driving in these winds. It doesn't help to speed up or slow down--no matter what speed I'm going, I get tossed around pretty good. Luckily, traffic shouldn't be too heavy. It's about 100 miles to Abilene, and past that on to El Paso. I was really hoping to get out of Texas tonight and get some good miles under my belt, but this is definitely making progress a little more challenging.

Where: 30 miles shy of Dallas, 1,150 miles into the trip. According to the computer, I'm about 1,400 miles from San Diego.
When: 1:15 p.m. CT
Soundtrack: Just finished listening to a collection called "Harley Davidson Road Songs" that I've had for a while. About to pop in a CD of songs with the word "Go" in them.
Out the window: I've run across a bunch of truckers (always get a good wave) and a lot of NASCAR people. NASCAR is at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth this weekend and I've seen lots of folks, both the teams and the merchandise, heading down there. I got what I would call good mojo when I passed Kenny Schrader's trailer--he, of course, is sponsored by M&M's, the official snack food of Carolina rowing.
Last meal: A turkey sandwich from Schlotzsky's Deli. I try to find local places to eat, but it seems like the chains are pushing out local businesses. And despite the great expanses of land in Texas, they don't allot much of it for parking big rigs, so I've had a couple of challenging stops.
Best bumper sticker: America seems to have left bumper stickers behind, with the exception of patriotic ones.
Coming up: The run through Dallas and Ft. Worth, the last really major metropolitan area until I get all the way out to San Diego. I'll hit Tucson and a couple of other smaller cities, but this is the big one. It's always fun for me to go through Dallas--I was born and raised a Dallas Cowboys fan back in the days when Roger Staubach played at Navy, served his duty, then went and joined the cowboys.
Notes on the drive: It's been a frustrating morning. I've been making pretty good time, but have had a few challenges as I've tried to get fuel or something to eat. Other than that, things are going well, the trailer's holding together, the truck's running beautifully and is very comfortable. Things are good. My original goal was to get 1,000 miles in tonight, which means I've got about 630 to go ...

Where: Super 8 motel on the outskirts of Jackson, Miss.
When: 6:48 a.m. CT
Soundtrack: I'm going to start off today with another compilation. This one is called "Cali" and it includes California songs--Led Zeppelin, LL Cool J, The Mamas & the Papas
Out the window: Last night, I passed Talladega Super Speedway, and that was neat for me to see, even from the interstate. I grew up watching A.J. Foyt and Richard Petty and the Allisons and all those great drivers and listening to Chris Economaki calling the races, so to even see Talladega was pretty neat. I also drove through Raleigh, Miss., so you're never too far from home, are you?
Next meal: First thing today is to get a little coffee into me, along with some Pop Tarts. Hopefully that will carry me through Mississippi and Louisiana.
Coming up: It's pretty foggy right now. Hopefully I won't hit too much rush hour traffic in Jackson and be on my way west. I have 52 miles left in Mississippi then into Louisiana and on into Texas. Once I get to Texas, that's when the long haul really starts.
Notes on the drive: It was pretty nice driving last night, not many people on the road. I hated to stop, but I was definitely getting tired. I put in 771 miles yesterday, but I'm hoping to get closer to 1,000 today to set us up for a good approach day on Wednesday.
I did have one Tar Heel fan drive by and honk his horn excitedly and show me his Tar Heel hat. Tar Heel faithful are everywhere!
News from home: I did talk to Laura [Fogt] and the team had a great practice this morning, a little technical work at the beginning and then getting into some racing pieces.

Where: A truckstop in Tallapoosa, Ga.
When: 5:15 p.m.
Soundtrack: A homemade compilation of Garth Brooks' greatest hits.
Out the window: I just went through downtown Atlanta. It's definitely true what they say about Atlanta drivers-they're a little crazy and a little fast. I was cut off about three times and blocked in more than I could count, but made it through without too much traffic. I drove by the famous Varsity restaurant and the Georgia Dome-I have lots of good memories of the Peach Bowl last December and the great things that Coach Bunting's team did there and the good time that we had with the athletic department folks there. I also drove by the exit for Gainesville, where I helped build the Atlanta Olympic course in 1996.
Next meal: I'm about to sit down to a dinner of Kentucky Fried Chicken. There's a local barbecue place at a truckstop across the street, but there are not trucks there. Any time you see a truck stop with only one or two trucks there, you've got to wonder about the food. So I'm going to get some standard fast food fare, but it will be my first sit down meal since dinner last night and I'm looking forward to it.
Coming up: Up next is several hundred more miles of driving. I've gone 450 miles. according to the trip computer, I have about 2,100 left to go. My goal would be to get in another 300-350 miles before calling it a night. I'd like to get to 800 today, then 1,000 tomorrow, and 800 or 750 on the final day and I'll be in good shape.
Notes on the drive: Overall, it's been a good drive. It's still a beautiful day, the trees are blooming down here. I picked up two more boats in Clemson, so the trailer is as full as it's going to be on this leg, with a total of 10 boats. Susie Lueck, the coach at Clemson, had three large bags of M&M's for me-plain, peanut and almond. We're rival coaches, but maybe that's what's different about our sport-we still give each other snacks for the trip.

Where: Just over the North Carolina/South Carolina border
When: 11:55 a.m. ET
Soundtrack: A homebrew CD, Raptastic. I call it old school rap, going back to the Sugar Hill Gang and Curtis Blow. The most recent stuff is some early Will Smith rap, back when he was the Fresh Prince
Out the window: A gorgeous day. It's pretty gusty and that's throwing the trailer around a little.
Last meal: Dinner last night. I'm still going on snacks this morning, trying to get down the road a bit.
Best bumper sticker: I've seen lots of patriotic ones with America flags. Nothing terribly funny so far, we'll see what comes up.
Coming up: A stop in Clemson, about two hours away (120 miles), where I'll pick up Clemson's eight and a four that we're moving for the University of California's lightweight men's team.
Notes on the drive: It's going all right. The new truck is doing beautifully, handling well. I checked the boats at 70 miles in and found no problems. Now I'm having to spend a few minutes on the hardware for one of the other teams' boats. I'm making good time except for the small hassles and should be in Clemson by 2 o'clock