May
2
Trip officially over. Fare thee well, truck #664211…
SF 2 NYC
May
1
The end is near
We’re getting to the end of our little adventure. I just spotted a sign saying 45 miles to New York. Today I discovered just how beautiful Pennsylvania is and why the Poconos is a vacation spot. Gorgeous! I’d totally visit there…not sure if I’d want a heart-shaped bed or a champagne glass hot tub, though. While driving through the rolling hills of PA, we passed over the highest point on I80 east of the Mississppi. Pretty cool, but after being on the actual highest point on I80 (between Cheyenne and Laramie in Wyoming), it wasn’t as cool as the sign was hoping it should be. The most exciting part of the day was the grilled chicken sandwich I had at McDonald’s. It was actually really really good. Like good for a healthy lunch, not just good because I was on the road and extremely huingry. Yes, that McDonald’s! Golden arches and scary clown. I know!! You learn something new every day. We’ve abandoned I80 for the first time since California, and are now on I280 heading towards Newark. NYC, see you soon!
The last leg
We woke to hazy sun and a mild case of conjunctivitis in my right eye. Needless to say, I swabbed the entire cab of our truck with antibacterial wipes before we got on our way. A hot compress and the thought of spending tonight in a clean bed have cause minor improvements in my eye already - I just have to stick to a firm “no touching” rule today. I’m not a travel expert by any means, but I do have some advice for people traveling through Toledo: avoid the Motel 6 on Heatherdowns. It’s disgusting in so many ways. The dirty carpets, the unavoidable smell of dog food (Motel 6 is pet friendly, which some of you might appreciate, but which I, Queen of all Nasal Allergies, don’t), and the in-desperate-need-of-renovations bathrooms. This particular location also comes with rooms that are too large for the amount of furniture they contain, giving the room a horror movie set feel; and a sassy black lady, just like the ones you meet behind the checkout counter as Duane Reade, manning the front desk. Now, it’s not like the other Motel 6’s we stayed in were Waldorf-comparable, but they were, for the most part clean, clean-smelling, and we were greeted by friendly midwestern girls who seemed genuinely happy that we were staying there. I think Chicago is the sassy black lady divide, and as we head further east, they’re going to become part of our lives once again. (Probably as soon as I head to Duane Reade tomorrow for some Benadryl.). Mostly, though, the Motel 6 gave me bad dreams - I’m not kidding - our room really did look like the setting in a horror movie. I didn’t sleep well, and I’m grateful that the Ohio Turnpike rest stops have Starbuck’s in their food courts. We’re bounding towards Cleveland now, still on the stretch of I80 that travels along I90. This part of Ohio is still pretty flat, and it amazes me that so much of the country’s landscape is so similar - and yet so different from where I’ve spent most of my life. I was talking to my dad about it yesterday and he observed “doesn’t it kind of make you feel like an outsider?” And it does, in a significant way. Growing up in Boston, getting educated in Chicago’s south side, and living in New York has, I’ve realized, opened my mind in so many ways, but closed it in others. Especially living in NYC, you start to this that this is how the world is, this is the pace, everyone lives on top of each other, everything is so close. Most of the U.S. doesn’t live like this, and this drive has given me some perspective on how small the Northeast and our sensibilies are in comparison to the rest of this great country. Now I’m really curious to visit the states I haven’t yet and to see more and learn more. That, of course, will have to wait. Today, I’ll see Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and then be back in the land of subways and skyscrapers.
No Chi-town for me
Today is the first day it rained. It was a pretty sparse rain throughout eastern Iowa and most of Illinois but we got caught in a downpour just outside of Chicago. That didn’t stop me from wanting to go visit campus. As we flew by I55, then I94, I thought about pulling off of I80 and making my way up to 57th Street. But Evan was right: where would we park? The monster we’re driving around wouldn’t make it through the small, crowded streets of Hyde Park…and forget about parking on campus. It wasn’t easy to find parking even for Evan’s Saab that he drove in college. So, we passed by Chicago, I pouted, and now we’re in Indiana. We didn’t stop much at all today. The rain, the focus on healthy eating, the goal of getting back to NYC by tomorrow night; all these things have kept us on the road today. We ate lunch on the road, all-natural peanut butter (the kind that I can resist eating by the spoonful right from the jar) spread on Wasa crisps. Delicious! We also had carrots dipped in this amazing mustard we bought a Hop Kiln in the Russian River Valley on our last trip to wine country. (I’m going to miss those!!) The day just keeps getting grayer, and the landscape more familiar. On some stretches, we might as well be on the NY Thruway - though there is still the occasional farm that reminds us we’re still in the midwest.. Indiana is a weird state; it is to Illinois as New Hampshire is to Massachusetts. Cheap gas, cheaper cigarettes, and fireworks are legal (and are sold in stores with names like Krazy Kaplan’s). Evan used to drive down here in college to make use of the former two, which used to annoy me, mostly because he’d travel with this girl in our dorm who had a “reputation” and who wore belly tops. I forgot her name, and now I think it kind of makes sense: gas is a lot cheaper. (People just shouldn’t smoke cigarettes…or wear belly shirts - come on!) I’m not that excited about the rest of our drive. I already did it, years ago with my dad on the way to and from Chicago. I remember the feeling I had as we approached “Chicagoland”, when I80, I90, I94, and I55 all seemed to come together south of the city - so excited to be somewhere new and different, 18 and ready for a huge adventure. Today I was just annoyed at the traffic through that area. My sense of adventure hasn’t diminished, I don’t think - I’ve just become less patient and less optimistic. I remember that Ohio and Pennsylvania take a long time, but I read recently that the rest stops in Ohio are pretty nice…so there’s that. We’re aiming for Toledo tonight. Evan hasn’t driven since first thing this morning and he just downed a Red Bull so I’m confident we can make it. I can’t believe we’ll be sleeping in the Village tomorrow night!!
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