Welcome to Ohio
[Note: In the spirit and style of Brian Hughes, one of our generation's finest bloggers, you may find quite a few Editorial Comments added to this blog as a humorous effect. Cheers, ye Editor]
Since my last trip to Columbus was cut short, I decided to return again. This time, I thought it would be great to drive the ten hours there, and really see this vast nation of mine. (@#$%! airline fares...)
Time seems to slow down the further you drive. Sure, the first two hours seem okay, but the clock slows, and the miles stretch, until the pain in your backside can no longer be described. But let's go back to the beginning, shall we?
Indian Country, Pa.
First thing, I woke up late (of course), and then, while packing, heard what I thought was thunder. Looking out the window I saw... snow. In April. And though it stopped for a while, it managed to follow through the first half of Pennsylvania. (of course). While looking at the snow which shouldn't have been there, I noticed that there was quite a bit of traffic in my neighborhood. Turns out that they decided to tear up half the road around the corner... the way I was going, of course.
The construction didn't end there. There was construction nearly every twenty minutes of the ten hour trip, meaning that I probably could have gotten here in 9 hours, considering how long I sat or crawled past orange traffic cones.
So 2 McDonalds and three rest stops and twenty construction sites later, I arrived in Ohio, where it was bright until 8:30, which was a plus for the drive, considering it gets dark about 7:30 in NJ. Of course, it was well after dark by the time I arrived.
Falling Rock Zone in the Mountains of PA.
Driving did give me a better perspective of the land, and a bigger appreciation for air travel! Ohio still looks pretty flat to me... definitely big sky country... especially after driving through PA, which was all beautiful mountains, including one spot which had a sign which I think claimed the spot was the highest elevation east of the Mississippi, but it was hard to read a long sign while zooming past it. Driving, though, did give me a better appreciation for Ohio. I finally got to see stretches of farmland, vast panoramas, and signs for places like Grandpa's Cheese Barn.
Big Sky Country
And speaking of difficulty reading signs, here's a travel tip. Try to avoid driving East, as you'll have the sun in your eyes most of the way, and when you finally get to the unfamiliar places, all of the road signs will be black silhouttes. It's a round planet, so I suggest you make life easier and only travel westward from now on.
Cheers, JOHN :0)
6 comments:
John,
I don't edit my own posts for humorous effect. The staff at Blogger edit them without my permission because I tend to waffle on too (Editor: That's enough of that!)
HaHa. Just keep up with the great work, Sensei!
JOHN :0)
Nice pictures John! Is this the first time you have driven so long? Maaan.. I used to love that drive from Cincinnati to NJ. I think I have done it 15+ times - straight 12 hrs drive at 60 mph. :-) I remember the first time - back in June 1994 when I started from Cincinnati at 3:00 PM and ended up lost in the concrete jungle that was NJ in the wee hours of the morning. Had to flag down a cop on the other end of town to get to Maplewood. LOL!
Nice pictures John! Is this the first time you have driven so long? Maaan.. I used to love that drive from Cincinnati to NJ. I think I have done it 15+ times - straight 12 hrs drive at 60 mph. :-) I remember the first time - back in June 1994 when I started from Cincinnati at 3:00 PM and ended up lost in the concrete jungle that was NJ in the wee hours of the morning. Had to flag down a cop on the other end of town to get to Maplewood. LOL!
Hey Kishore,
You know, you don't have to say tings twice to get my attention.:0)
Seriously, I've done the drive before, and have driven farther, but this one was tough. First thing I did wrong was to trust online mapping, and it's 8 hour estimate for arrival. Man, was THAT wrong.
There was also a lot of construction, and of course I needed gas in the middle of the night, while driving through dark, endless mountains.
And if you think NJ is concrete jungle, you should see Columbus! man, has that place been buried under shopping complexes! It's impossible to follow directions in a place where there are shopping centers side by side for 20 miles!
Cheers, JOHN :0)
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