Da reason to travel
Ok, so why would anyone in his right mind go travel? To this place of all places?
Well, the answer is of course too complicated to explain here, but one good excuse always is: to visit friends. In this particular case: da one Scott LaPlante, a buddy of mine with a friendly character and a good appetite, who cheeringly let me use his car and apartment (of course he did this because I am very special to him, so don't think he's gonna do it for just anyone, like, you reading this for example).
I also have the slight suspicion that he didn't mind giving up his apartment so he could stay with his girlfriend all the time, which you will understand when you see the next page.