August 1, 2006.
I get in the car and wave goodbye…hit the road…and plan on tearing across the Eastern portion of the country as quickly as possible. It is this geographic location that I wish to escape so badly. There’s not much to look forward to in the next two days, so I pop in a CD and lose myself in the music. Before the trip, several friends and family members made me CD’s to listen to on the long drive. I am eternally grateful for all that free music because without it, I would have gone crazy driving by myself. I am good to talk to, but talking to myself isn’t as satisfying as talking to someone else. And so I drove…
225 miles later I pulled into a rest stop to stretch my legs fill up the gas tank, and hit the ATM. It was probably 95 degrees outside and very humid. Back in the car.
The day continued this way for nearly 12 hours. Change the CD, grab a snack from the cooler, look around at the bleary scenery. Eventually the traffic thinned, the landscape flattened out, and I was nearing my first stop. Lucky for me I have a relative conveniently stashed near Cleveland, Ohio. She graciously took me out for dinner and let me crash at her place. This was a pleasant first night.
August 2, 2006.
6:50 am and I’m back on the road. I’ll drive about 12 hours today. Well, maybe 13. I crossed over to Central Time before noon. Ohio, Indiana….uneventful. Illinois. TOLLS. Constantly. I was so annoyed at having to stop so frequently. Can’t they use a ticket system like every other major thruway? And the worst part was there were no signs indicating the price of the toll until you were at the tollbooth so you have to fumble around to accumulate the correct amount. What a ridiculous system.
At last I escape that awful state and then reach miles of cornfields also known as Wisconsin. Driving here is mindless and sleep-inducing, but occasionally I was awakened by interesting buildings, low-flying planes, random rock formations and funny signs. I press on to Minnesota, which has the same scenery. I spend the night here and anticipate better things ahead in South Dakota.