Evening, all. Just got back from dinner at the Celt Pub & Grill in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Had the Cottage Pie, which was fantastic. So was the gorgeous waitress, who had a balcony you could read Shakespeare from (obscure Firesign Theater reference, there). Got balsted on Nekkid Scotsman Amber ale, which is why I'm WAYYYYY too far gone to post anything else right now. More in the morning...

Perhaps when you are in Ohio you will be close enough to a Whits frozen custard.
https://www.whitscustard.com

 

Back from dinner, sated. If you ever find yourself marooned in the south end of Fargo, North Dakota, do try out the grub at Sickie's Garage. Good beer, good food, and the waitstaff provide plenty of eye candy.

 

Greetings from Fargo, North Dakota!


And that's where the fun stopped. ND abruptly flattened out into hundreds of miles of featureless prairie, a real drag to drive through.

And can you imagine cycling through it? I have no desire. I would like to do some of the north west but really don't want to cross the country by bike.

I do enjoy going through by train. When you can stare out at those vast fields and think about those who work it and how far they must come to go to work. But then you can take a break by reading a book, watching a video, getting something to eat or taking a mnap.

 

And can you imagine cycling through it? I have no desire. I would like to do some of the north west but really don't want to cross the country by bike.

I hear ya. Unfortunately, no matter what east-west route you take, you end up having to go through at least a thousand miles of sparsely-populated flatland in the middle to get from one coast to the other. In my opinion, I-80 through Nebraska is about as bad as it gets. Egads!

 

Could you stop at DigiKey and pick up a resistor?

The desolation of that area really hit me when I flew over it the first time off the traveled path of an Interstate. You will see homes that are several miles apart.

 

Could you stop at DigiKey and pick up a resistor?

The desolation of that area really hit me when I flew over it the first time off the traveled path of an Interstate. You will see homes that are several miles apart.

I did not realize they were way out in the middle of nowhere. You wonder where they get their employees. Who is going to move to Thief River Falls, MN just to pick parts?

 

Good evening from South Beloit, Illinois. Just got back from dinner and beers with @wayneh at a riverfront brewpub down in Rockford. As hard as it may be to believe, the waitresses there were even hotter than the ones at the place I ate back in Idaho Falls. I didn't think that could be possible. Yowza!

G'nite...

 

Hallelujah, I survived Cleveland rush-hour traffic and am now safely at my hotel. Heavens, what a mess: multi-lane mergers and MUST EXITs, construction galore complete with cattle chutes and trucks out the gazuchpah. A regular spaghetti nightmare!

Speaking of spaghetti, @Reloadron should be swinging by shortly to pick me up to go out to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant-- something I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying so far on this trip. The food, of course, will be excellent; I just hope the waitresses are as friendly as the ones I've been served by recently.

Today's drive was a mixd bag: I-39 south from where I stayed last night was through torrential rain, so it was a bit of a challenge. I-80 heading East past Chicago was frustrating and annoying, with VERY heavy traffic on top of the rain. Once I got into Indiana, though, the traffic became light and well-behaved, and the rain ceased, so most of this afternoon was easy going. That is, until I got to Cleveland. Jeepers!!!

I'm hungry. Time for dinner.

 

Well, in the run up to an election, you have to expect lots of road construction. If you don't understand that connection, just ask.

As for traffic at rush hour, I have survived St. Louis, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and LA. Cleveland is nothing compared to those. If you aren't out of Ohio yet, go buy some of Great Lakes Brewing offerings. It has a porter (Edmond Fitzgerald), an IPA (Commodore Perry), and a regular lager (Elliot Ness) that I recommend. Not sure you can get those in NJ.

As for Indiana, it is a one cigar state. I would light up at Eastgate and by the time I cleared the Great Lakes station I was done. I then untied the steering wheel and started driving myself.

 

Darn, but that was a good dinner. And good beer. It was great meeting @Reloadron and @wayneh this trip; I'm real glad I got the chance to do that. Good food, good beer, good company.

Tomorrow I'll get an early start, and I should be home by 2:00 pm as it's only a 6.5 hour drive from here.

Right now, I am BEAT.

As for Indiana, it is a one cigar state. I would light up at Eastgate and by the time I cleared the Great Lakes station I was done. I then untied the steering wheel and started driving myself.

You're not kidding. I didn't miss Indiana, on account of I didn't blink.

 

It was really enjoyable meeting you. I had a real nice time. Now the last leg and you are home. We had rain showers start moving through about 9:00 AM so hopefully you are ahead of it. While a good road trip is always fun it's nice to get home.

Ron

 

I did it! 7,044 miles after leaving home, I'm right back where I started from. Great trip. @wayneh and @Reloadron, it was great meeting the two of you! Thanks for the grub and for the chitchat, both were enjoyed and much appreciated.

Ron, I'm still in awe over your orienteering skills!

 

There’s a couple of us in the Boston area. Anyone traveling up here, let me know.

 

Glad you are back where you started from and more importantly that you had a good trip, you enjoyed family and I know how much I enjoy that sort of time. Pretty cool how the entire trip was documented also.

Ron, I'm still in awe over your orienteering skills!

OK, I have to share this. OBW0549 ended up a few miles from me at his hotel which is marvelous considering the Cleveland, Ohio massive suburbs. We left his motel and I drove south to the restaurant we ate in. That went well. Left the restaurant and I drove north right past the exit as I chatted rather than think about where I was. Turned around right where I got on the Interstate to see Dave began. Then still running my mouth I drove south right past the exit for Dave's motel. Turned around right where we just ate and drove north to the right exit. Keep in mind, all of this in basically my own back yard. Yes, I really did manage to do that and not just screw it up once.

Dave, glad you are home safe and sound and again, over 7,000 mies later had a good & safe trip.

Ron

 

OK, I have to share this. OBW0549 ended up a few miles from me at his hotel which is marvelous considering the Cleveland, Ohio massive suburbs. We left his motel and I drove south to the restaurant we ate in. That went well. Left the restaurant and I drove north right past the exit as I chatted rather than think about where I was. Turned around right where I got on the Interstate to see Dave began. Then still running my mouth I drove south right past the exit for Dave's motel. Turned around right where we just ate and drove north to the right exit. Keep in mind, all of this in basically my own back yard. Yes, I really did manage to do that and not just screw it up once.

LOL!!! That was quite an adventure; I was wondering if there was going to be a third drive-past, but you nailed it on the second attempt.

Dave, glad you are home safe and sound and again, over 7,000 mies later had a good & safe trip.

Thanks. So am I.

Actually, I found this trip a LOT less tiring than the one I made a couple of years ago (out I-70 to Indie, then I-74 up to Davenport, then I-80 the rest of the way to Cali; then right back home along the same route). Quite likely, the abundance of new scenery on this trip made it a lot more pleasant than the last one; also, back then I was still only partially recovered from the side effects of the cancer treatments I'd had only a few years prior to that. I'm much less affected now, hence a lot more comfortable doing long-distance driving.

Either way, this trip was WAYYYY more enjoyable than the last one!

 

LOL!!! That was quite an adventure; I was wondering if there was going to be a third drive-past, but you nailed it on the second attempt.

Did you figure it out once you got his Uber bill?

 

Either way, this trip was WAYYYY more enjoyable than the last one!

Glad you had a good time. I am not so sure all of that driving is for me but to each his own. I would love to do a similar trip by train sometime. Maybe stopping in several interesting places and renting a car for a while.

While the vacation is usually fun, it sure is nice getting back home no? Though for me, getting home means back to work. I start getting a sick feeling about a day or two before the vacation is over.

The part I hate about vacation is the packing and the flying to get there. While I dislike driving, flying is way worse. It does help driving when you have someone to share the driving.

 

LOL!!! That was quite an adventure; I was wondering if there was going to be a third drive-past, but you nailed it on the second attempt.

I almost made the same mistake Ron did. I was going on instinct but at about the last mile it occurred to me that I couldn't quite recall where I was, despite being so near home. It worked fine in the end and if I hadn't bothered to think about it, muscle memory would have done the job. It was the thinking that almost screwed me up.

I'm really glad the weather allowed us to sit outside by the river after dinner. It was a longer drive than I wanted but it sure was pleasant in the end.

 

I almost made the same mistake Ron did. I was going on instinct but at about the last mile it occurred to me that I couldn't quite recall where I was, despite being so near home. It worked fine in the end and if I hadn't bothered to think about it, muscle memory would have done the job. It was the thinking that almost screwed me up.

Well, you can be sure I didn't have any idea where we were! LOL!!!

I'm really glad the weather allowed us to sit outside by the river after dinner. It was a longer drive than I wanted but it sure was pleasant in the end.

Yes, that was a nice evening. Right now we're having heavy rains here, probably will on and off all night. Tomorrow's going to be a hot one, 85F and humidity to match.

 

I also missed going on road trips. My husband and I have been so busy lately so we don't have much time to go on trips with our children. Kind of saddens me. I remembered out first time going out with our firstborn. It was a disaster. We didn't have any idea what to do or what to bring. We ended up buying a lot of stuff. Good thing - when out second kid came, I already read an article about the essentials when travelling with babies. It was really useful. Now, I'd like to go on a vacation with my family. I really missed it! Have fun with your trip!

Thanks, the trip was a lot of fun. It's too bad you haven't had time to do much exploring; there's a lot to see going across this country. Hopefully you'll be able someday soon to do your own wandering and see the sights!