Traffic and road noise and cars and petrol stations and driving and endless NPR and more bloody driving OH WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!
After leaving the RV campsite in Iowa, our plan was to get to across Illinois and into Indiana. We definitely did it, I just can't remember that much about it. Seriously, I could slap a random pic up and it could be from any point in our trip. I did wonder if I'd have problems writing these posts but I thought that would be down to a lack of internet, not brain death.
One thing I totally forgot to take into account was the time zone changes. We're crossing all four zones — Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern — so to our Californian bodyclocks it's like being constantly jetlagged. But we made it to Indiana, which I think we can all agree is the most important thing. And we did another 536 miles, taking us a lot closer to the Green Mountain State.
Another morning, another sunrise over a cold Walmart car park. This one is in Indiana. It wasn't our first choice; Alicia had originally planned for us to stay overnight at a Walmart in Sturgis, Michigan, which was closest to the Interstate. But when we saw two tweakers within three minutes of entering the town, and when the Walmart looked — and this is putting it lightly — pretty skeevy, we ended up driving another 36 miles to the town of Angola and stayed there.
Leaving Indiana for Ohio, our GPS kindly sent us on backroads, pictured above, so we could avoid the $1.80 toll on the Interstate. Alicia, who was driving, was not a happy bunny.
Cadbury was a happy bunny as he got to be close to me and keep an eye on the road.
Crossing Ohio meant driving the entire length of the Ohio Turnpike, which cost us $30. There are toll roads and lanes on California freeways but they're meant as an alternative, not the only way. Still, it was an easy drive and pretty much looked like this all the way across:
The one good bit of Ohio was stopping to get coffee and picking up a t-shirt and fridge magnets for Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, bringing my Tat Total® so far up to two t-shirts, three stickers and five magnets.
We remembered to take a pic of the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign, so yay us. Pennsylvania looked much like Ohio, which in turn looked a lot like Indiana. I know people drive RVs all over the country to see sights like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, but the bits in between must kill their will to live.
Me: "Babe, can you get a pic of that sign?"
Alicia: "Is it because it's slightly dirty?"
She knows me so well.
I have to say, the "Welcome to New York" sign is pretty boring. But it was a boost knowing we'd got to the penultimate state of our epic cross-country drive. Of course we still had over 100 miles to go until we reached the RV site so it's not like we cracked out the champagne.
What the hell is this? Another toll road? Is this what the North Easts's economy is based on or something?
When I posted this on Facebook at least two friends urged me to take Exit 53 and head for Canada. The toll was only a couple of dollars but they don't take ATM cards, leaving us scrabbling around for cash.
Here's a tribute to a few of the hundreds of dead bugs littering our windscreen. We got off the Interstate and followed the GPS along the road past some beautiful houses which I totally failed to take photos of. Alicia again couldn't believe that she had to drive the behemoth around what, to a Californian, are basically footpaths. We arrived, took the dogs out, discovered the camp has free wifi and so here I am, sitting outside at a picnic table writing this in the dark.
Another 461 miles, making a total so far of 2,568. Alicia assures me that the final stage tomorrow should be around 250 miles, and at this point in our journey I could do that in my sleep.
Again, I apologise for the paucity of this post but to put it in simple terms, I'm buggered. It's 8.20pm here and I'm going to bed.
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