Off to the races... really

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  Chicago, Illinois, United States
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

So.... yeah.... day 1 of Carrie's ultimate adventure. I'd been kind of freaking out the past few days- thinking to myself: what the HECK have I DONE? This contrasted sharply with the days leading up to the "what the heck" days where I just wanted to throw everything into the car and GO. But then came reality check and the freak out. But, obviously, I've gotten over it.

I meant to start driving earlier today. I would've made Wisconsin if I had. But instead, I went to bed late (12:30), slept poorly on the floor, and then hit my snooze button until 6:30. Oops. I crammed the remainder of my not so meager belongings into my rocketbox, the back seat, the front seat, and generally anywhere they would fit. Jenn and I had spent some time tying down my bike rack to make it less wobbly- so I wasn't about to open the trunk and try to cram anything else in there. Besides- it was already loaded down and almost low-riding anyway. Fortunately, I got everything into the car. It's a tight fit, but I can still see out all the windows (mostly). Good thing Eva didn't want to travel with me... After saying goodbye to Jenn, I set off for the nearest Starbuck's. Damn... 6:30 is early. After grabbing my venti coffee and jacking it up with some half and half and sugar, I headed for the glorious road that is Route 28 north... at Rush Hour. Needless to say, I will not miss that road. I only had about 10 miles to run on it, but I spilled lots of coffee on my shirt. The empty west bound toll road was a welcome sight. The moment I hit the toll road, there was a second of exhilaration. Freedom. Everyone was cramming into rush hour to head to their jobs and I was free to drive the open road- and they were OPEN! Traffic free!

However, I have to tell you that the drive today was not particularly exciting and I even picked up my phone a few times to try to call numerous people and tell them how unexciting it was. I meandered through Maryland on I-70, picked up the Penn. Turnpike and rolled through those hills before 1PM. Then it was Ohio... Indiana... flat, lots of corn, farms, trucks, and wind that was blowing at my rocketbox and making me grab the steering wheel tight with both hands. My goal was to get past Chicago... I gained an hour heading west so I made Chicago by about 6:30 or so. I thought it would be easy to simply roll through the city and look for a hotel in the burbs, but it took forever to get through it. It was well worth the wait.

Chicago was definitely one place where I should have gotten out and taken a picture. Too bad the road was busy and bumpy and I didn't really see anywhere to turn off. The sunset was amazing- the sky was a blanket of orange clouds and old buildings stood out in front of them- cathedrals, churches, factories. The Sears Tower gleamed on my right side, reflecting the orange sunset. I was so impressed that I dug out my camera phone and (desperately trying to avoid having wrecks) snapped a few pictures. Once I figure out how to get them on my computer, I'll put them here. The only thing I should've done (and didn't) was search out Lake Michigan. Once I'm on the road, I don't want to stop.

I paid one last toll coming out of Chicago on I-90 and suddenly the sky was darker. There was a bit of lightning, it rained a little. And I realized it was time to get off the road. I drove for 30 more minutes before seeing a sign that indicated hotels. 60 more cents later, I was headed for the Hampton Inn where I handed over the good ole credit card and threw down for a decent place to crash. Pretty decent with the wireless access, heh? Yeah baby! And Cracker Barrel is right next door! That's what I'm talkin' bout!

And now I'm absolutely exhausted. The drive left me wobbly kneed (hello... 13 hours of driving...and almost 800 miles.. I feel like I'm swaying) Besides for the enormous stress zit that appeared in the middle of my forehead like a third eye (am I not too OLD for this???), the only problem I ran into today was the Rocketbox. I was paranoid that the screws on the Rocketbox needed to be tightened and you have to open the damn thing to tighten the interior screws. I had to have spent at least 30 or 45 minutes between 3 rest stops trying to get it open. I finally managed to push down the front end down and release the latch (after my hearty Cracker Barrel Dinner) Yup... took out that fluffy pillow that caused the jam.

Tomorrow will be Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. I'm hoping to camp tomorrow so there won't be Internet (more than likely). I'll write some notes and fill in the blanks later.

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