U. P. Trip - Fall 2010 - Day #1

After an erratic night with us all sleeping, waking, and sleeping at different times we made a reasonable start and had the van fully loaded and ready to go at 8:45 EDT (7:45 local).  These pictures fully illustrate the Priddis expression "traveling heavy":

The first "leg" went smoothly and after almost exactly an hour we pulled in to the Pilot just after turning north on US 41 from I-64.  We topped up (1/2 tank) with gas, bought surprisingly tasty Subway omelet flatbread sandwiches and large cups of Pilot coffee.  Then with John still driving we headed north, and north, and...north!  Zoe was surprisingly good and mostly just lay in her bed between us, but once in a while she liked to get the cobwebs blown away:

The picture really doesn't do justice to the way her fur was blowing in the wind.  Later, with Marissa driving a leg north of Terre Haute she had another chance & using the outside mirror John got a more or less front view:

Apart perhaps from driving across Kansas there can be few less interesting drives than Hwys 41/63 from the bottom tip of Indiana to a little south of Chicago.  It was also very windy, but at least it was sunny.  We knew the upper part of the state had some wind-power activity, but we were completely unprepared for the massive extent of them - horizon to horizon, north-south and east-west:

Eventually "Portia" told us to kick right and over to I-64 and on to I-94 and eventually to I-196, so the latter stages were slightly higher in speed but much denser in traffic.  Throughout the day we made periodic stops for all the normal reasons and eventually Portia guided us into our motel for the next two nights at around 5:30 PM.  The room is very nice & convenient and we had a bonus, not only do we get a free breakfast but late afternoon/early evening we get free pizza, which with a little supplement from our road food took care of tonight's need for food.  Afterwards, we took Zoe for an extensive walk around this large complex with lots of grassy areas & finally settled down for the evening.

Since John pulled out of his driveway with the trip odometer set to zero the van has racked up 693 miles so far, so a "local" day tomorrow will be welcome.

U. P. Trip - Fall 2010 - Day #0

All went slickly in Columbus and serious driving commenced just after 10:00AM following a meeting. Apart from a 15-mile stretch of construction on I-64 (the usual 14 miles of nothing at all and 1 mile of actual activity, but all at reduced speed) traffic and road conditions were excellent; the roughly 210 miles were completed in just over three hours. After communications were established we met at the library where Marissa showed off all the summer improvements – impressive, then John took her to lunch. We then separated for the afternoon. Zoe was ecstatic to have unexpected company, but soon resumed guard-dog position, watching the veritable dust storm created by the farmer laying lime on to dry as dust fields just across the meadow! She still doesn’t know what is in her future as Marissa has yet to dig out suitcases, etc.

During the afternoon John had an appointment for a haircut, Marissa completed the preparations to leave the library for 2 ½ weeks and then had an appointment with her chiropractor.  Since there is no readily available food in the house we popped out for a sandwich.  Subsequently the primary activity was Marissa packing & miscellaneous joint preparations, including a toenail cutting for Zoe (strictly a 2-person operation) and the baking of cookies for the lady next door who will keep an eye on the house.  Slowly but surely we are approaching full readiness & the van isn’t groaning under the load – yet!

U. P. Trip - Fall 2010 - Preamble

Following the success of last year’s trip we decided to do it again in 2010. After Marissa was accepted as a delegate to the ACS Relay For Life convention in Grand Rapids we debated the before or after aspects but decided to get the convention behind us before embarking on the vacation proper.

Since Zoe would again be with us we needed to make hard reservations well ahead to ensure getting “pet-friendly” rooms, especially as it would be what was anticipated as peak fall color season.

Less than a week before departure we got word that Peggy Livermore, or Mum-Mum, our matriarch had passed away in her sleep. John had spoken to her four days before and had seen her (and effectively said the good-byes) in February, so after many phone calls and messages it was generally agreed that the presence of a extra body in England at this time served no useful purpose and that the vacation should go ahead as planned.

Perishable foods & cold drinks excepted all is packed in the van except for overnight essentials and the first activity will be for John to go down to Mount Vernon for a night before we head north tomorrow. As usual, Priddises “travel heavy” when going by road!