Day 3 - Blue Earth

Sunday, July 1, 2007
Driving start: 9:30 am CDT, Hampshire, IL
Driving stop: 6:00 pm CDT, Blue Earth, MN
States: IL, WI, MN
Crash pad: Americinn, RM109 (no pets)
Total road time: 8.5 hrs

We made it out of Illinois hitting all the toll booths along i90. Make sure to have lots of small change when driving this route! Hey! EZ-pass works most of the time so far.

We passed a HUGE indoor water park (Gray Wolf Lodge) in Wisconsin which also had an outside water slide feature. I think I spotted an elephant??? We also saw huge signs for cheese. Although K and S are cheese lovers (must be the dutch-ness in them), we zipped through this state.

At the start of Minnesota we stopped to see some of the Mississippi River.



Syd in the playground area of a rest stop in Albert Lea.





We ended the day at Blue Earth, MN, home of the Ho Ho Ho Jolly Green Giant. Current home is Americinn which includes a pool. ahhhh.





We had dinner at the Pizza Hut across from the motel. Not much in the way of restaurants in this town. One of the waitresses was a sweetie. She told us to beware of aliens in the corn and soybean fields.

"Look at that big mirage (one clap) give it a big applause (three claps)" -- Syd

Day 2 - Hampshire

Saturday, June 30, 2007
Driving start: 9:30 am EST, Clarion, PA
Driving stop: 9:30 pm CDT, Hampshire, IL *new time zone*
States: PA, OH, IN, IL
Crash pad: Super 8, RM124 (pets allowed)
Total road time: 11 hrs

We made it across the rest of Pennsylvania. We didn't see much from the highway. Crossed Ohio and Indiana and saw lots of corn fields. We made it part way through Illinois. It was mighty painful to go through Chicago. We came across lots of toll booths to slow things down. More details to follow as we're gearing up to get into zombie driving mode for the start of Day 3.

<< break here, to drive >>

OK, getting back to this post. We had technical difficulties as well as major traffic when we hit Chicago. Let's just say a GPS works 99% of the time. After battling through the thick of Chicago's skyline, we were on our way to lighter driving until we took a wrong turn. Keith's voice was hoarse when we pulled off to get our bearings.

Please note: make sure walkie talkies are fully charged for the day so that they don't konk out on you when you need them the most!

After getting through Chicago we were in desperate need for gas and food around 7:30pm. Finding a gas station with diesel was a challenge. Because of this challenge we went to the most convenient restaurant we could find across the street from the station -- Bellacorina's Pizza. Turns out at 9pm the place turns into a Hookah Lounge. A-ha, that is why the decor included lots of hookahs for sale and there was a weird non-pizza smell to the place. Despite that bit, the pizza was delish.

Along with a cat, we are traveling with a plant. Keith got sentimental and decided to take his Dad's schefflera along for the ride. Check out Syd rolling her eyes next to the plant. Speaking of, K's Dad was born in Gary, IN which we passed on our route.



"Do one thing that makes you happy today." -- Microtel lobby, Clarion, PA

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

One More for the Road

Thursday, June 28 found us at the ABF Milford location. We decided to get a third relocube to ship our stuff. The main concern was the weight load moreso than space.

Cracker Barrel

Thanks to Maria and Mimi for our going away breakfast!