WriteAway

Day 2, September 8, 2006
Odometer: 37490 101.9 start

The TraveLodge was basic and funky. Brand new lovely TV… which didn’t work. The phone didn’t work. It looked like the floor hadn’t been vacuumed… maybe ever! After I showered I had this brief thought of putting my sandals on before stepping on the bathmat! Soooo glad I brought my nice new sleeping bag and favorite pillow. It was too warm for a sleeping bag but in my mind, at any rate, pretty darn good protection from cooties I was positive were living in the bed! I managed to get a pretty good night’s sleep, thanks in part to the ‘bedding’ I brought with me, but mostly because I was terminally exhausted!

The problem arose when I tried to get all my stuff back in the car. Tim had everything packed in so tightly—and not very logically. My bags of road snacks and munchies were on the floor on the passenger side. The laptop computer was on top of the snacks. The camera bag was on top of the laptop bag. My purse was on top of the camera bag. The higher levels were hanging over onto the seat.

In the back of the car: well… it was stuffed to capacity. I could barely see out the back window. It was totally claustrophobia-inducing!

After breakfast at Bob Evens and then getting somewhat lost trying to find Celina and the UPS store, got there, unloaded nearly 150 lbs of boxes and junk and shipped to it all to Marlene’s house at a bargain rate of about $194.00!

It was kind of interesting: the UPS store in Celina is a little family-owned enterprise/franchise/whatever, run by a mother and daughter team. I mentioned that I would be paying by Traveler’s Checks. They told me that they could accept cash or a credit card, but they didn’t accept checks.

I explained that I would be using Traveler’s Checks, the equivalent of a fist full of cash. God bless ‘em, they had never heard of such a thing! At my request, they called their bank and verified that Traveler’s Checks are actually legal tender, the same as cash. They were thrilled to have learned about this modern miracle (and I was at least as thrilled to not have to use a credit card for a major expenditure so early in my trip).

I wound my way back to Route 30 West (actually SR 69 to 30). It was smooth sailing for a while… until Valparaiso. From there to just beyond bumper-to-bumper Chi Town traffic, my average speed was 3-5 mph! According to truck driver Larry, it would have taken 6 hours to get through Chicago if I’d gone I-75 N to I-80. Taking 69 and 30 got me to I-80… in only about 2-1/2 hours. Once I got on I-80, I kept driving almost until dark, approximately 9:00 p.m. Central Time… Oh, yeah… somewhere along the way, I stopped and got the car serviced. $93.00, including rotating the tires.

Later, cruising along the interstate at 60-65 mph, the phone rings. It’s Linda from the moving company. My stuff was 1,000 lbs over the estimate. Final price: approximately $4,100+, instead of the $3,200 or $3,300 I was expecting. I have to call her on Monday so I can get a bank check for the exact amount when I get to Fresno. I decided that if I could find a cliff, I’d drive over it.

I eventually changed my mind, having concluded that I might have to pinch pennies for a couple of weeks since Marlene probably wouldn’t let me panhandle in front of her store, but the world would not stop spinning because I didn’t get rid of enough books and junk and would have to pay for my sins!

I had the radio on, listening to The River—oldies… best songs of all time (their opinion). Good (mostly) familiar tunes ya’ can sing along with. Just after the good news from Linda and barely into my search for a cliff, they played, first… that corny old ‘sing sing a song…’ thing, then Sinatra’s New York, New York, including that part about saying good-bye to small town blues (I don’t care how big Columbus gets, it’s a small Midwestern college town!). I decided that I was very happy to be heading for the left coast. Very happy to have a support system there. Feeling very fortunate. Very thankful! And suddenly quite cheerful again.

I stopped at the Days Inn in Morris IL. Lovely CLEAN room, lovely people. It was late and there was no place to eat close by, so I ate cheese sticks, whole wheat crackers, and small, multi-colored tomatoes. Got coffee in lobby – complimentary. Relaxed, and got my stuff better organized.

I slept pretty well and was on the road by 09:00, determined not to stop until Iowa! Had more cheese and crackers for breakfast while I drove.

Posted in On The Road