The final leg to Ohio
This is the last day of my cross-country trip which took me from California to Columbus, Ohio in August of 2004.
The final leg of our trip took us through three states, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and was a mere 400 miles or so. Compare this to the average 640 miles we had managed the first three days and you'll see why I thought this was an easy day. So we did 632 miles the first day, 649 the second, 650 the third and 405 on the last day for a grand total of 2336 miles. And all in four days time.
All of the states I passed through had their own intrinsic beauty and if I gave them short shrift here it was not intentional. I just needed to make it over to the east coast quickly as I needed to make sure that I had a safety cushion in case anything happened on the road like the car breaking down. One day I'd like to drive across America again but with someone who could share driving duties so I could recline that bloody seat. Then we could take our time and not feel as if we were on a deadline. My triumphant entrance into Columbus was made on the 17th of August at around noontime. Traffic was heavy but getting to the house was relatively easy. I pulled up in front of the place for the first time and met my realtor who gave me the quick tour. I then let Jackson out and told him that our long national nightmare was over, he was home and nobody would be able to take it away from him. This yard is his.
Music
It's funny, but I don't listen to alot of music when I'm on the road. I prefer to listen to NPR or AM talk stations. They come and go in the night, the crackling and snapping noises of the radio making their own kind of cosmic noise. Sometimes two stations will fight over the frequency with a winner enjoying a brief audition period until a stronger station came to the fore. Mostly it was National Public Radio but alot of Bible thumpers, Mexican pop stations and right wing talk shows would pop up and I'd listen to them all, wondering what kind of lives these people led and realizing that these fading voices made up the patchwork quilt of America...somewhere out there in that deep dark night.
The Benz
I can't say enough good things about my 1987 Mercedes Benz 300E. It got me and Jackson across this great land of ours with no mishaps. It ran smoothly which belied it's age and even ended up getting me 28 miles to the gallon. Not bad for a car with 192K miles on the clock. Mercedes made some great cars until their quality control suffered in the late 1990's. Until they get that under control again I think I'll stick with this old reliable steed. After all we've been through I'd say she's a keeper.
The final leg of our trip took us through three states, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and was a mere 400 miles or so. Compare this to the average 640 miles we had managed the first three days and you'll see why I thought this was an easy day. So we did 632 miles the first day, 649 the second, 650 the third and 405 on the last day for a grand total of 2336 miles. And all in four days time.
All of the states I passed through had their own intrinsic beauty and if I gave them short shrift here it was not intentional. I just needed to make it over to the east coast quickly as I needed to make sure that I had a safety cushion in case anything happened on the road like the car breaking down. One day I'd like to drive across America again but with someone who could share driving duties so I could recline that bloody seat. Then we could take our time and not feel as if we were on a deadline. My triumphant entrance into Columbus was made on the 17th of August at around noontime. Traffic was heavy but getting to the house was relatively easy. I pulled up in front of the place for the first time and met my realtor who gave me the quick tour. I then let Jackson out and told him that our long national nightmare was over, he was home and nobody would be able to take it away from him. This yard is his.
Music
It's funny, but I don't listen to alot of music when I'm on the road. I prefer to listen to NPR or AM talk stations. They come and go in the night, the crackling and snapping noises of the radio making their own kind of cosmic noise. Sometimes two stations will fight over the frequency with a winner enjoying a brief audition period until a stronger station came to the fore. Mostly it was National Public Radio but alot of Bible thumpers, Mexican pop stations and right wing talk shows would pop up and I'd listen to them all, wondering what kind of lives these people led and realizing that these fading voices made up the patchwork quilt of America...somewhere out there in that deep dark night.
The Benz
I can't say enough good things about my 1987 Mercedes Benz 300E. It got me and Jackson across this great land of ours with no mishaps. It ran smoothly which belied it's age and even ended up getting me 28 miles to the gallon. Not bad for a car with 192K miles on the clock. Mercedes made some great cars until their quality control suffered in the late 1990's. Until they get that under control again I think I'll stick with this old reliable steed. After all we've been through I'd say she's a keeper.
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