After a restful night's sleep in Indiana... I woke up early and headed out on the open road again. By late morning... I was sipping Starbuck's in Terre Haute~ it was awesome. Even Brina took a little siesta on the patio...
I really feel like I am running behind for some reason. I know that I am not "on a schedule"... but in the back of my mind... I am wanting to get home before my son and his wife have their precious baby. And I have had a sense of urgency... and underlying current of stress... this whole drive back.
I stopped at the Driftstone Pueblo... one of my fav places to look at stones, beads, feathers, jewelry... even flutes! This shop is in Illinois, and behind it is a wonderful lake area. I am told it is a good fishing area... but seeing as I didn't have my pole with me this trip (I know.. I know...)... I decided it was the perfect spot for some meditation.
And it was.... and it relieved me of alot of the urgency I had been feeling these past few days.
Tonight I am staying in a Holiday Inn Express in Springfield, Missouri(!!!)... and I am delighting in how wonderful it is. Brina enjoyed her portion of my KFC dinner... and is now happily sacked on the bed while I enjoy some great shows on the Food Network :)
I woke up at 6am... and anyone who knows me, knows that this is highly unusual. Perhaps I should have taken this as a sign to go back to bed... but instead I headed out around 8am. My first stop for the day was at an Ohio rest area. Which... I have to say... Ohio has some of the most beautiful rest areas of any of the states. This one was full of quite an assortment of trees... all in their fall colors. I would also say that Ohio had much better leaf color this season than PA did when I was there... and it was gorgeous as I drove down the highways this am. Ohio also can boast of some of the best radio stations... as I was able to cruise thru the whole state today listening to great songs from the 60's to now. It was awesome.
Unfortunately... I also got completely overwhelmed with fatigue just before lunchtime... and ended up taking a 3hr nap in the Jeep ... which I definitely could not have done in the SmartCar. I am not sure why I am so exhausted... but I am. Normally, I would have been much farther along on my way home on the 2nd day... but between leaving late yesterday, and my nap today... I am way behind.
Dinner was spent having a picnic alongside a fabulous cornfield. It was fabulous to be able to walk around the fields... and it was very peaceful in spite of it being near a highway. And now, I am in for the night, having driven to Indiana... and am looking forward to watching a little TV...
-----------------------------------------------photo by Elaine A. Russell
Today we woke up and left the hotel around 9:30. We drove until lunchtime... and stopped at a Waffle House in Indiana. Those of you who know me... know I love diners. I know the food isn't the best for you... I know the music is generally awful.... I know they are usually all sorts of tacky.... but I just love 'em. There was a park nearby, and Sabrina was so happy to see actual grass... she ran around and ran around and rolled in it; smiling and panting the whole time.
We made several short stops today... but basically concentrated on driving and getting as far as we could. Surprisingly, there is very little snow about. I remember it usually having tons of snow still in March... so it really surprised me.
We saw tons of police en force on the highways.... really. Not sure why. ... but things were pretty uneventful. Kristin did have a relatively close encounter with a groundhog... she even got a photo of him... which was pretty cool.
Had my last Starbucks around dinnertime... figured it was the last one I was going to be near for awhile. It was good ♥
Made it to the backwoods of PA... about 2hrs from our destination when I got a call from a friend of my parents to call my mom "immediately." So I pulled off and called. Turns out my dad has had a turn for the worse. This am; they had told my mom that he was going to be transferred tomorrow to our local nursing home for rehab... and that he would be leaving by ambulance tomorrow.. and that I would need to come and get her in Geisinger. Well. Apparently he is not doing well...and that is all on hold for now. I am anticipating driving the 3hrs to the hospital tomorrow sometime to be there.... but my mom told me to just stay put for now.
So... At this moment I am at my parent's house in PA... doing laundry... and unpacking.
I have a "1 bar" connection here.... so ... internet is sometimes fleeting...but I will post when I can.
Well.. ... we are having fun... but we are making lousy time. I am blaming it on all the weird weather. The wind is still pretty incredible. We are getting blown around a bit... and the driver's door is a little stiff since it got massively jerked once when I opened up my door just as a huge gust of wind caught it on Monday.
So. Last night we staying in Miami, OK. The town is just quaint. I was trying to think of another word... but quaint is appropriate. Alot of the buildings are brick, and look to be circa 1890's. Most of the styling of things seem to be leaning towards the Victorian end (or cater to the route66 theme). We stopped this am to get gas, and also found a Walgreens to get batteries for my camera. Whilst driving thru the main part of town... I decided to get a daytime shot of the fabulous Coleman Theatre in yesterday's post (the last pic that was panoramic). While there... this guy came out of the theater and asked me if I wanted to see the inside? Of course! So Kristin, Sabrina and I all got the deluxe extended tour of the place. WOW. I would go into great deal... but I think I will save it all for an exclusive post on the place. I will say, however, that if you are ever anywhere near Miami, OK... this is a DEFINITE... MUST SEE place.
(Skies in Missouri)
We got back on the road... and drove most all the day.... although we really didn't seem to get as far as we had intended. Along the way today.... we stopped at The Heartland Antique Mall in Lebanon, MO. This is the antique mall that I stop at every time I go back to PA. It is pretty big... has a huge selection of stuff... and it is connected to both a cheese factory outlet, and a Russell Stover Candy Outlet. Yah.. exactly. I got a few treasures... took some photos... ran into my friend Mike that I met last summer when I went to the mall. He has a booth there... and he is an awesome guy.
(Heartland Antique Mall, Missouri)
Driving through the rest of Missouri seemed to take forever. But... I must say... I do like Missouri. Years ago... I would have thought of this state as just being a typical humid... buggy... boring kind of place. I have since come to realize how diverse a state it actually is.... and it really is quite pretty. Caverns.... fields... farms.... interesting rock formations and walls where the road is simply cut through the middle of a mountain. Lots of trees... critters..... people are really friendly... It's a nice place. The weather throughout most all of Missouri today was overcast.
We made it in to Indiana tonight.... and have stopped just outside of Indianapolis. I am estimating that we have about 550 more miles to go... which doesn't seem like alot... until you realize that most of it will be on back country roads once we hit PA... .and those take longer.
( on the road in Indiana)
Our hotel room tonight is on the scanky side... but it was the first one we stopped at ... and the desk clerk said that very few hotels will take guests with animals here... so I opted to just get it. As I said to Kristin... well... it looked OK on the outside...
Talked with my mom on the phone... Dad seems to be in alot of pain... is very distended... but managed to get out of bed and walked about twice today (with much help) in his room. No word yet on a definate discharge date... no word on the possible transfer to a rehab place. So... we'll see.
Tomorrow will probably be a long day of driving... and it is already 1:30am ... as we lost 2hours to time changes. Will post as soon as I can tomorrow... connections permitting...
Today I woke up at at 9:30am.. still pretty tired... and stayed tired all day. I can only assume that I am just not used to all the driving. It has also been very humid.. and I have been driving in and out of storms.. which also adds to the feeling of fatigue. Right away, I was able to find a Walmart near the hotel, and was able to purchase a new cord to hook my camera to the laptop. However, the pics still won't load.. so I can only assume that there is something really wrong with my camera. This is not a surprise, as my camera is not so elegantly held together with duct tape and prayer.
Drove for a couple hours, then stopped for lunch at a Wendy's. I am constantly amazed at how many people come up to me to talk about the SmartCar. I have been averaging about 50-60 people every day during my travels, who ask about the details on the car. If I had a $1 for every one... . he he. I actually don't mind. It is great to see people so excited about it... and I understand their enthusiasm.
Later on, Brina and I stopped at a Speedway Gas station in Wadsworth, OH. I got to talk to a very nice young girl about life... young, tattooed, rebellious, and an artist... living in a really really small town. Ohio is full of well manicured lawns and the towns of nothing but 3 bedroom brick ranches. Large corporate buildings and factories. Heavy steel factories, lots of really big buildings composed of brick...reflecting the heyday of industry in the East.
Around dinner, we stopped at a little gas station/cafe/gift shop at the junction of I-80 and Rt66. We are in PA now. Now comes the part of the trip where the road winds up and down thru the top end of the Appalachian Mountains. Small little villages with no red lights and one country store. Areas that are only hosts to the seasonal campers and hunters with sporadic trailers and cabins strewn about. Luscious green fields, primitive forests, and quiet blue ponds. Dairy farms and small herds of sheep. Rusty old tractors gathering rust in the sun strewn fields. Barns echoing times gone by, now left to fall into the ground. It is my home state... and I had almost forgotten how loudly it speaks to my soul.
The last leg of the trip takes me thru Mt. Jewett, Kane, Smethport, Port Alleghany, Roulette, and finally to Coudersport. Along the way I took photos of fields, farms, and some vintage train cars that a gentleman is restoring into guest houses. I took pictures of lots of flowers. This is what I started taking photos of as a child, and I still love to take nature shots. I had actually considered studying Biology at one point... and at one time I knew the names of every plant or tree I saw.
As I arrived into Coudersport, it started to lightly rain.. and there was the most gorgeous HUGE rainbow. It was soooooooooooo bright. I did take some photos.... along with another guy in a small car that stopped alongside the road.
Picked up a salad for supper ... and drove to my parent's house. Brina has been happily sleeping in her bed since we arrived at 8pm.
Total expenses: $60 for gas, food and snacks. $20 for a camera cord at Walmart. Drove about 500 miles or so today.
*photos by Elaine A. Russell 
-----------------------------------------------photo by Elaine A. Russell
(Waylan's Restaurant.... Miami, OK)
(Skies in Missouri)
(Heartland Antique Mall, Missouri)
( on the road in Indiana)