Friday 9/6/2002
Day Eight
(near) Davenport, IL to Butler, OHStarting mileage 90337 / Ending mileage 90827
Now it’s 12:01am and we’re still going! And going, and going…. (10 hours @ 500 miles)
Ah, dawn in Iowa (5:40am). Pulled over about 12:20am at a rest stop east of Davenport, near the Illinois border. Quick dog walk, then to bed between 2 roaring semis. Apparently in Iowa they allow truckers to sleep over in rest areas, because all were packed full in the wee hours. Snagged *@ 4 ½ hours sleep.
Ah, dawn in Illinois (6am). Beautiful wispy cotton candy clouds dance over the tropical punch horizon, with stars still bright overhead. It takes almost 20 minutes for the dawn to release its gift, even then shrouding the glowing orb in a mist of morning fog. Two silos stand sentry over a homestead and sea of corn, silhouetted in the pinkish-yellow sky.
7:10am: Hunger set in, so we patronize a McDonald's, and check the map while we eat. The plan:
Stay on I-80 through Illinois until near Chicago where we’ll switch to Hwy 30 and blaze into Indiana. We may hit Ohio tonight, but we’ll see how the day goes.
David got a kick out of seeing the JC Whitney main warehouse near Ottawa, IL – since he’s done mail order biz with them for years. We can’t believe how close we are to Chicago – it’s felt like we’re much further south.
Stopped for fuel, newspapers & juice in Morris, Illinois @ 8:30am. Making the switch from I-80 to Hwy 30 at 9:22am near New Lenox, IL. (90483) After ½ hour of slow going through stop lights & construction, we thought we’d advise the *Keils to delay getting on Hwy 30 until just before the IL/IN border, 394 or 83.
Entered Indiana at 10:14am (90508) which means it took almost an hour to go 25 miles… David’s a little steamed.
Things finally picked up & we’re now 63 miles west of Ft Wayne, after stopping to make sandwiches in Plymouth @ 11:45. We sprayed ourselves with “Off” and applied to the dogs, since I read in the Chicago Tribune that Illinois has had 214 WNV cases and 9 deaths.
David says his legs are sore & body tired from our late night/early morning excursion but nothing an old road pro like him can’t handle (I embellished his comments a little).
* 12:42pm: just saw a sign for a daycare or school “Child Evangelism Ministries”, and also the 2nd of two Christmas specialty stores. Sadly, another sign indicates we missed the Marshmellow Festival in Pierceton – darn!
It’s 2:38 Eastern Time (switched when we hit Indiana) and David has predicted arrival Mansfield @ 6:30 tonight! (Give or take, depending on breaks, photo opps, etc) We plan to call the [name omitted by author for privacy] "homeowners" later to see if we can visit them tomorrow, or wait until Monday. I have butterflies!
WE’RE IN OHIO! 2:55pm (90666) 8 hours, 320miles
4pm – Stopped for fuel in Beaverdam, OH near the I-75 interchange.
Really enjoyed our trip down 603, as the trees & landscape filled in, and the rolling hills reminded us that not all of Ohio is flat. Saw the old house as we went by, but decided to stop in at Pleasant Hill Lake campground first (looked at Charles Mill Lake campground but decided to go to PHL & look). We were totally confused by the system there, and left after tooling around a bit. Decided to head to Mohican State Park, but on the way saw a KOA sign & headed towards it. After @ 5 miles on Bunkerhill Rd, we arrived at the KOA at 6:50pm.
Although it didn’t look like much on paper in the KOA directory (being near Butler and all…) the drive out was beautiful, and the camp itself seems very nice.We landed their favorite site #77 (full hookups) and gave the dogs & cat the good news: marathon driving is on hold for a while. Had to charge up the cell phone awhile before calling the [homeowners]. [Mrs] answered & despite the bad connection we managed to agree to meet at 10am tomorrow morning. Tried to call my dad to give him our status, but he couldn’t hear me & thought we were close to Columbus.
After a dinner of Tuna Helper (and champagne) we rode our bikes down to the pay phone, and after several quarters talked to Dad and Lars. Quickly gave them our status, and told Lars we might see him on Sunday. Our meeting with the [homeowners] is the first priority, and I think we’re both eager to get the “the big question” answered.
It’s 8:50pm, and I’m out in the *“add-a-room” with Vince & Tessa. David decided to take a well-earned shower. It’s dark, totally devoid of any traffic noise, scant human noise, and the insects are in full symphony. When we came back from our bike ride to the phone, David beckoned me over to the truck, and guided my sight to the stars. There are so many more visible here! And we both agreed we can see the Milky Way. All in all, an excellent arrival to Ohio.
Ah, dawn in Iowa (5:40am). Pulled over about 12:20am at a rest stop east of Davenport, near the Illinois border. Quick dog walk, then to bed between 2 roaring semis. Apparently in Iowa they allow truckers to sleep over in rest areas, because all were packed full in the wee hours. Snagged *@ 4 ½ hours sleep.
Ah, dawn in Illinois (6am). Beautiful wispy cotton candy clouds dance over the tropical punch horizon, with stars still bright overhead. It takes almost 20 minutes for the dawn to release its gift, even then shrouding the glowing orb in a mist of morning fog. Two silos stand sentry over a homestead and sea of corn, silhouetted in the pinkish-yellow sky.
7:10am: Hunger set in, so we patronize a McDonald's, and check the map while we eat. The plan:
Stay on I-80 through Illinois until near Chicago where we’ll switch to Hwy 30 and blaze into Indiana. We may hit Ohio tonight, but we’ll see how the day goes.
David got a kick out of seeing the JC Whitney main warehouse near Ottawa, IL – since he’s done mail order biz with them for years. We can’t believe how close we are to Chicago – it’s felt like we’re much further south.
Entered Indiana at 10:14am (90508) which means it took almost an hour to go 25 miles… David’s a little steamed.
Things finally picked up & we’re now 63 miles west of Ft Wayne, after stopping to make sandwiches in Plymouth @ 11:45. We sprayed ourselves with “Off” and applied to the dogs, since I read in the Chicago Tribune that Illinois has had 214 WNV cases and 9 deaths.
David says his legs are sore & body tired from our late night/early morning excursion but nothing an old road pro like him can’t handle (I embellished his comments a little).
* 12:42pm: just saw a sign for a daycare or school “Child Evangelism Ministries”, and also the 2nd of two Christmas specialty stores. Sadly, another sign indicates we missed the Marshmellow Festival in Pierceton – darn!
It’s 2:38 Eastern Time (switched when we hit Indiana) and David has predicted arrival Mansfield @ 6:30 tonight! (Give or take, depending on breaks, photo opps, etc) We plan to call the [name omitted by author for privacy] "homeowners" later to see if we can visit them tomorrow, or wait until Monday. I have butterflies!
WE’RE IN OHIO! 2:55pm (90666) 8 hours, 320miles
4pm – Stopped for fuel in Beaverdam, OH near the I-75 interchange.
Really enjoyed our trip down 603, as the trees & landscape filled in, and the rolling hills reminded us that not all of Ohio is flat. Saw the old house as we went by, but decided to stop in at Pleasant Hill Lake campground first (looked at Charles Mill Lake campground but decided to go to PHL & look). We were totally confused by the system there, and left after tooling around a bit. Decided to head to Mohican State Park, but on the way saw a KOA sign & headed towards it. After @ 5 miles on Bunkerhill Rd, we arrived at the KOA at 6:50pm.
Although it didn’t look like much on paper in the KOA directory (being near Butler and all…) the drive out was beautiful, and the camp itself seems very nice.We landed their favorite site #77 (full hookups) and gave the dogs & cat the good news: marathon driving is on hold for a while. Had to charge up the cell phone awhile before calling the [homeowners]. [Mrs] answered & despite the bad connection we managed to agree to meet at 10am tomorrow morning. Tried to call my dad to give him our status, but he couldn’t hear me & thought we were close to Columbus.
After a dinner of Tuna Helper (and champagne) we rode our bikes down to the pay phone, and after several quarters talked to Dad and Lars. Quickly gave them our status, and told Lars we might see him on Sunday. Our meeting with the [homeowners] is the first priority, and I think we’re both eager to get the “the big question” answered.
(Side Bar) – David writing
Except for the fuel line problems, the trip has gone smoothly. No big wind problems; no other mechanical problems – not even an ounce of oil used. Pretty good for a 13 year old truck with 90K miles.
Trailer also holding up better than hoped – no damage due to vibration except to bike rack support I under-engineered.
Dogs & cat very cooperative. No illnesses (cat barf occasionally)
Tina is great traveling companion. Never complains; keeps occupied; always helpful & positive.
Still 5000+ miles to go for complete move, but a few deserved rest days first.
Fuel: Morris, IL / 21.5 gal / $33.61 / 255 miles
Fuel: Beaverdam, OH / 26.3 gal / $36.00 / 258 miles
*@ I used this symbol often to abbreviate "about", not just "at" like a web address. Hey, it was way back in 2002!
*Keils: A neighbor friend from Auburn and his dad; they would be driving our Honda Accord across the country when we were ready for the final move.
*add-a-room: screening material panels that attached to the awning and zipped onto each other to form an outside room
End of Entry
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