Was overly proud of myself with the ease of the departure. Packed the Saturn as much as I could the day before, letting the car cool down before putting in the film and chemistry –ah platinum and film in the boot what happens when we stop for a meal or in the evening. Glad that there were those screen reflectors in the car and hoped that they would work.
Left when I thought about 6:30 the ride into Chicago was uneventful no traffic, made all the lights no tailbacks anywhere along the way. Of course I didn’t verify Kendra’s address so I was hoping that I didn’t transpose any numbers.
The car looked fuller than I thought it would a day earlier and there was still things to get from the ‘tute. There would be some stacking. Kendra had few things - video camera, clothes, camping supplies, and in the end computer. Made some snaps of the neighbourhood with the digital camera, packed the car – calmer now as there would be space – barely – for the printer, and some developing dishes. Kendra picked up a digital camera.
The only problem at the ‘tute was me double checking and triple checking what I needed before I left. We were on our way officially at 9:30.
It was a good time to start – early enough so that we could make some distance late enough to avoid the racing aspect. It also put me in the frame of mind that we wouldn’t be able to have an average speed of 65 mph.
It somewhat lessened the tension I felt when we hit our first tailback at the I-80/90 junction south of Chicago. Impatient but glad we were leaving all of this behind. Still really hadn’t decided which route we would take to the rock, maps.google.com. came up with a third option only the day before when I once again was checking distances for possible stopping points for the evening. I goal was to make it to western Massachusetts. Now there was an option of going through central Pennsylvania, bypassing most of the toll roads heading diagonally through, Connecticut, skirting Boston then up through Maine.
The option to race to Canada playing tag with the border option was ruled out by default when the off ramp for Detroit was passed.
Indiana wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I think mainly due to my fear of how bad it was going to be. Stopped once for coffee at a Starbucks, made some snaps of the oasis, the trucks the car park, a serviette left on the ground, all done with the digital these were to be records of the trip for the online diary not my “work” all the real cameras stayed neatly and nicely packed someplace in the car,
Ohio was more of a problem, longer - I had grown used to the narrowness of Indiana – Ohio didn’t have any milestones to prove that we were making progress or kill the monotony. Again it was brought home that this wasn’t the romantic trip of the past when one could check off distance travelled by things seen, we bypassed Toledo and Cleveland – manifested only by some suburbs. The boredom was alleviated by Kendra reading aloud from Wendell Berry while I drove. We also gave I-90 a miss by choosing the toll free I-80. a convoy of Christian fundalmentalists quest for god pass us all driving Nissan Quest minivans. Am on the lookout for any plate from the maritimes.
The choice was made by the curviness of the road as well as the price of tolls along the New York State Thruway. I reckoned that this would give up better scenery even along the interstate. It did.
Also thought that there would be better food as we wouldn’t be trapped into oasis sanctioned restaurants. This would have been a great idea if I had paid more attention to the off ramp signs and not to the passages being read. Just into Pennsylvania we decide to stop and have a meal, It is about 5:30 pm and we are a bit peckish. We pass for varying reasons – seeing what was on the sign too late, seeing nothing around the off ramp and me being engrossed in the reading – so I make the declaration that we will exit at the next off ramp.
It looked promising as, while there was nothing at the interstate exchange, there was a college town Grove City so there would be food.
Well no we went through town twice and only found a McDonald’s and a Subway open the town had no bars. We headed to the next town – Harrisville - where there was a Subway, no McDonalds. Defeated headed back out to the interstate at Brakeyville which of course was a main junction complete with gas bars, restaurants and a place where I can pick up a gun or two. Pulled into the Kings Family Restaurant - a pre chain type of restaurant where one can get breakfast all day and – where this area probably being dry – had ice cream happy hour Monday through Friday from 6-9pm. Food was what one would expect but I was too engrossed with the family opposite and the kid when upon finishing the special which was on a bed of lettuce looked at it as if he were questioning what to do with it. Kendra had a lemonade that never came in contact with a lemon – all sugar she said as she diluted it with water the way a Floridian does their coffee.
The delay and the misread of exits again helped me. It got me out of the making time mode broke what was becoming a monotonous ride, allowed me to make mistakes and in the process explore a bit.
It also made rest stops more efficient as everything was done when we did stop – food gasoline, The Saturn, to my surprise, was getting 40 miles to the gallon.
Pennsylvania was great we talked about the difference between the openness of the Midwestern road where there is always an horizon to this where it became claustrophobic with its trees and curves, there wasn’t an all encompassing view. Distance was marked by atmospheric perspective rather than water towers. The land was mediated but instead of farm it seemed to be left saying this we don’t need. All those trees.
This also brought back my distant past as we were passing places that I applied to for college – not knowing really why. There was crossing over the Susquehana the water supply for Baltimore.
Wished that we could have stopped, Wished that we had a month to get there, wished that we could have taken U.S highways for I wanted to see the little league hall of fame wondered what these signs along the interstate really looked like. We pressed on.
Secretly kept up my visible and invisible landmarks – state lines, 10% of the trip over, 500 miles gone etc.
In Barkeyville we agreed that we would start looking for a place to stay at 10pm. That put us in Wilkes Barre/Scranton where we tried to read the billboards searching for places with both internet access and a AAA discount.
We ended up at the Roadway Inn in Scranton with the later not the former. It did have an overzealous air conditioner, a shower curtain that hugged you while showering, a hall way that looked like the 21st century rendition of the path to pugatory, and weird bulges in the ceiling.
I worried about our belongings in the car and what the heat of the morning would do to the film and chemistry but wasn’t going to bring it in. we hung out in the carpark as it was warmer. I think that there were people living there as one place had a barbeque and a lawn chair in front of it. Munched on the granola bars and the bananas Carol packed. The pillows were hard and wide giving me a stiff neck.
So ended the first day.
770.1 miles down
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