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!!
