Days Four, Five and Six "All Aboard"

      Allright, some of you did know I'd be driving thru West Virginia.  And yes,  I do have a map (or ten) for you skeptics. I just don't always look at them. Weather update...I seem to be little Mary sunshine on this trip, beautiful weather so far.
     I left St. Joseph MI in my dust on Sunday morning after attending local church and drove up the west coast of Lake Michigan. The highlight was a walk around the quaint little town of Saugatuck on the Kalamazoo River. It reminded me of a New England fishing village.  I chatted it up with a fellow fishing from the dock who had already caught three salmon that morning...and big ones!
     Spent an uneventful night in Ludington and then boarded the SS. Badger steamship for the 60 mile trip across Lake Michigan. This car ferry is so different than those to Marthas Vineyard. It has staterooms, movie theater, "boatique", televisions, two restaurants. I'm making it sound grander than it was. Built in 1953 to transport railroad freight cars, it is now the only coal fired steamship in North America. But the best part was the "camp director" who kept us amused with lame jokes and bingo. I think you had to be wearing a velour jogging suit or be from Michigan to win.  No sour grapes for me.  I bought my own souvenir coffee mug.
     The drive across Wisconsin thru major dairy farm country was lovely. Was going to snap a photo of one of the big farms but figured you all know what a cow looks like. I took one small detour and stopped at a local shop where I bought prize winning pepper jack. ...what prize you ask? Blue ribbon at the "international" cheese fair in Madison, WI. of course.
     Its nice to be able to relax and reenergize after all this driving with a few days with Al and Toni in Edina.  Next update probably Thursday from the Badlands.

 

Days Two and Three Sept. 24-25

    Lets begin todays blog with a geography quiz. Who knew that if you drove between Reading PA and Columbus OH you would drive thru West Virginia? Be honest. You didn't know. It was a beautiful drive thru western PA over mountains and thru tunnels...past Johnstown and Chambersburg. These towns jogged memories of stories my Dad would tell. He loved to drive and I think I got my love of driving from him. He took our family on the mother of all roadtrips in Dec. of 1959. Six of us, four kids, two parents from Syracuse to Dallas TX and back to see SU win the Cotton Bowl and become national champions. This was before interstate highways, no electronic devices. Lots of adventures and fun. Most of the time.
     Fortunately there are interstates now and I arrived in Powell OH around 5:30 to visit with my friend Joann Harvey who was my neighbor and buddy in Manlius NY in the early 80's. Her son Danny and his darling and athletic  2 yr. old sons stopped by for a visit. Lots of fun.

     Todays drive was a little dull but I did pull over on my was past  South Bend IN to visit Notre Dame. In my honor they'd scheduled a football game against Stanford. Lots of excitement and it felt good to stretch my legs with a lengthy walk around the campus.
     Tonight I'm in St. Joseph MI which is advertised as the "riviera" of the midwest. No comment.
     Now, to get those competitive juices flowing I'm posting my first contest. John Dudzik, are you listening? You must enter to win, no purchase necessary, one entry per person. Guess how many miles I will drive on this trip and win a prize. My odometer started at 52,200. The itinerary is there so you can try and figure it out. I unofficially thought about 10,000 miles.
     Good night.

Day One....Liftoff Sept. 23

     To paraphrase Neil Armstrong, today was one small step for man, one giant leap for Jane. After many months of planning I managed to pack the car, drop the dog and drive away from Greenwich only 20 minutes behind schedule. I would have left on time if I hadn't been looking for my ipod which I finally found in my back pocket. Good thing since I have spent hours making a "road trip" playlist. Todays song of the day is "road trippin" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
     Not a cloud in the sky, a perfect day to start with only a 3 1/2 hour drive.  I'm visiting with Dale and Dan Goodyear who live in Robesonia PA not far from Reading.  Dale and her roommate Kathie  Lien lived across the hall from me in Furness House my freshman year at Skidmore.  The last time we've been together was at her wedding in Buffalo in 1987 but obviously we've stayed in touch.  Our former dormitory is now a bed and breakfast in the very gentrified Saratoga Springs. Maybe I'll stay there on my next cross country trip. When we were in school  we occasionally hopped off the bus that took us between classes at the "old" and "new" campus for  a 15 cent draft at the No Name Bar in town. Nice that the school provided that service for us.
     The Goodyears have been here for about 23 years on fifty five beautiful acres of farmland. Dales mother, Connie Eddolls lives with them in her own apt. in the former barn. Its beautiful! Dale is retired from teaching 12th grade English and Dan from running a Pennsylvania steel foundry.  Until three years ago they raised lhamas and have an incredible setup of barns, paddocks, fields. At one point they had over 250 animals.  This started as a  hobby and got way out of control! The lhamas have been sold and the farm is for sale as Dale and Dan would like to try something new.
     The "snapper" soup" with dinner was delicious. Seven hour drive tomorrow. Dale and Dan have 2 labradoodles...Archie and Maggie.  Six months and 8 weeks. They won't stop barking.  I'm going to have to stop here at the end of the trip to see how the training is going.

So what is this all about....

     Beats me really! It started off as sort of a joke with the kids.....  I'd rent an RV and travel around the country to Maine, California and Georgia, visiting Pete at Bates, Betsy and Andy in Santa Monica and Meg in Atlanta.  I'd just keep rolling along with Riley by my side, never saying when I was coming or going.
     And one day it struck me what a great adventure this could actually be.  So, many months of planning later, I've ditched the RV idea and am traveling in my own Toyota Highlander. Sadly logistics dictate that Riley the Wheaten Terrier will be left at home for which he should be grateful.
     If the trip is half as much fun as the planning has been, I'm going to have quite an adventure.  My itinerary is to the side if you can read it.  The trip should take 8 weeks. There will also be links on the side to places and things I'm doing if you're interested in more info.  I'll post more links as I go along.
     So now you know as much as I do.  Fasten your seatbelts and join me on my Great American Roadtrip!