Journal Entry #23 - Willoughby Hills OH, Indiana, Chicago, Union IL

Saturday 9/21/02                                                

Day Twenty-three / Day 1 of 2nd leg

Starting mileage 92190 / Ending mileage 92610

Dog duty called at 6:30am, and I was fairly alert so I got up. Besides, David seemed to be resting well. It was T-shirt and sweatpants temperature, and only slightly damp from last night’s thunderstorm (more light than boom). The dogs ate, and “both did both”, but when I got back in the trailer I wanted to leave David undisturbed so I just stayed up front & read my book. Didn’t want to run the water since the pump would wake him up, so I filled the coffee pot with water from Leslie’s garden hose...

By 7 it was starting to be light, and I read until 8:00 when I heard David stirring. Alex helped me take the dogs for a walk, then we went back and had waffles & eggs for breakfast. David had cereal in the trailer, then started packing for the next leg of the trip without the trailer.

Leslie had to go to a baby shower at 11:00, so we ended up parting ways then. Matt & Alex were a big help keeping Tessa entertained and also by carrying things out to the truck. They were disappointed that Vince didn’t warm up to them but we tried to convince them that was normal for Vince—he’s just that way.

Departed Leslie’s at 11:10. Made one stop to get ice for the cooler, then hopped on I-90 at 11:25, mileage 92196. Next stop fuel & a Subway sandwich at noon. Got a good strong digital signal on the phone, so I called Karin and we finally talked live vs. email. She said Dick is on vacation to see family/friends until the 29^th and that this is “hell week” for her at work. Sounds like *Alex & Winston are helping her stay sane!

Rest area stop at 1:30pm to give us & the dogs a potty break. I decided to drive for awhile, and it went okay. We’re testing out how long I can drive before getting sleepy, and if I can get through the impulse to close my eyes. Felt a little cotton-headed after 45 min or so, and again on & off for the 2 hours I drove, but it seems fairly beatable. We crossed into Indiana at 2:55pm, mileage 923855. At 3:30 we switched drivers—I’ll go longer next time. Our general plan is to get an hour past Chicago to a KOA, probably around 6:30pm.

At 4:30 we switched to Central Time, so I guess we’ll be stopping @ 5:30! We have a little grocery shopping to do, and I need another notebook.

It’s 4:45 (CT) and we’re driving by Chicago downtown & David said he didn’t go this way on his road trip years ago, and wanted to go this way to see the city. Even though it is Saturday, the traffic is very heavy, but not totally stopped up. Must be a real pain on weekday rush hours. Oh, we just passed an “Accident Investigation Site: (a convenient place to pull over so you don’t block traffic) with activity, so we’re probably mostly in a rubberneck jam. It’s 4:50 and a sign says it’s 80 degrees.

25 minutes later…Still driving by Chicago but the outskirts now. Traffic was thick on and off, but we got to look around more that way. We’re pretty hungry since it’s after 6:00 “our” time.

Okay, now another hour has flitted by and have arrived at the KOA in Union IL (near Elgin). We set up a tent and an air mattress since we don’t have the trailer.  CONDENSED VERSION OF EVENING EVENTS: mosquitos, wind, soft dirt, rain, reading by flashlight, noisy campers past quiet time, David yelling, going to office, no action, no sleep, cute dogs hogging bed, up at 6:30am, David’s master plan, all packed up & leaving by 7:45am, flipping off noisy campers, taking license plate #s, on to I-90. Fun, fun, fun!

*Alex & Winston: Her dogs, a Yorkie and West Highland Terrier

End of Entry