Garlicheads - California or Bust Day 1

Friday, June 29, 2007
Driving start: 9:30 am EST, Norwalk, CT
Driving stop: 7:30 pm EST, Clarion, PA
States: CT, NY, NJ, PA
Crash pad: Microtel, RM116 (pets allowed)
Total road time: 10 hrs

The move-out morning found us packing the van, trailer and car. Last minute cleaning was also on the to-do list. We finally made it out of the house at 9:30am EST.

Connecticut, New York and New Jersey went by in a blur. Lots of green with rock faces here and there. The driving was pretty smooth sailing and uneventful until Pennsylvania. We experienced lots of rubber band traffic all the way to Clarion, PA. Road construction sites seemed to crop up every 25 miles. Traffic would slow to a crawl and sometimes come to a dead stop. blah!

Poor Willy the cat. He did not like the start of the trip and promptly made his discomfort known by pooping on Syd and then on Keith. Ewww! The rest of this trip will find him segregated to the back of the van! He's got lots of space back there to roam with all his amenities.

We stopped for the evening in Clarion, PA at 7:30pm EST. Luckily, the first hotel we found allows cats -- Microtel Inn and Suites. We headed out to the Roadhouse Restaurant for some grub. The Roadhouse is one of those steakhouses like Outback Steakhouse with a tame Roadhouse theme - no mechanical bulls in sight. Syd was fascinated by the peanut shells that littered the ground. After being trained not to be a litterbug, what a weird concept it was for her.

Syd says hello to all. She is in good spirits although her tummy has been queasy the last few days. Instead of the license plate game, Syd enjoyed spotting the roadkill.

"Roadkill!" --Syd