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
We started out in Ashland, Ohio this am... and now we are just outside of St. Louis, MO. My daughter did alot of the driving today... and I am very grateful. I am afraid that my Lupus and my injured back are currently getting the better of me.
However... I am trying to focus on the beautiful scenery laid out for us on this trip. We have seen some truly gorgeous land. Everything is springing to life around us... and it seems as if leaves and trees are growing and glowing right in front of our eyes. The colors are stunning. Lime greens... bright yellows... and purple! We have seen lots of spring wildflowers.... including May Apples! We have also seen lots of bright yellow mustard and dandelions coming up.
Tonight we are staying in a Red Roof Inn. Amazingly, it cost only $5 more than the hotel we stayed in last night... but it is SO much nicer.. it is unreal. I am not sure who declares the nightly cost of hotels... but you'd think there would be some consistency in price according to quality. We were fortunate in getting some wonderful Italian food delivered right to our room... and boy was it yummy.
I took a small ton of photos today. Most are not exactly stellar... but depict some of the trees as we drove by. I am hoping to clear up some of the reflections from the car window.. and then post them on my FlickR account. I just love taking photos... and I really hope to take more trips this year to do just that. But first... a wedding :)
so -- there as a major thunderstorm here last night, and I could not get a connection to the internet. Being in the middle of nowhere certainly has it's advantages.. but internet capabilities is NOT one of them.
My parents are ---shall we say--- very religious. They do not have cable, they only watch one religious tv station that they get via dish network. They do not listen to the radio. They do not watch movies made after 1960. So -- they do not, nor ever intend to get... a computer or internet. Sometimes I can get a connection on my laptop if I sit out near the bank of the river. I am sure I am sponging the signal off of someone.. I just don't know who. Anyway, I can usually only get one bar of connectivity... sometimes 2 bars if I am very lucky.
One of the advantages of being here is definitely the scenery. As I was traveling, it was very interesting to see how the topography changes from state to state. So much more rain and green. Of course, along with that comes humidity... but alas.
The photos are ones I took on my travel to PA.
I love the idea of taking sort of a photo journal of my travels... come ride along with me :)
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
