'Cross The Wide Missouri
I left Philadelphia around 8 am on July 24th and was seen off by sticky, senseless Philly traffic! Good riddance to that!
The morning was beautiful for driving; clear with a snappy breeze. Don't ask me why, but I love the tunnels on the PA turnpike! I ate my packed lunch on a triangle of grass at a rest stop. There is so much of Pennsylvania that seems like another state to me!
I crossed into Ohio just before 3 and landed at my destination, Buck Creek State Park on the other side of Columbus, around 6. My campsite couldn't have been more perfect (I took a picture of it, but my battery was low and something went afoul. I haven't quite gotten the hang of that little bugger!). I took a swim in the lake, and as I floated on my back and gazed up at the crisp, bright clouds over head and the sinking sun I felt lucky and free and blissful! Later, swinging on the swingset by the wash house after brushing my teeth, I thought "This is where I live and this is what I do!" It is hard to avoid living in the moment on this journey and who would want to!
I took another swim in the morning and set out late at 10am. I was feeling very optimistic about my drive until I entered Illinois, which I had forgotten about and which put over 2 hours of driving ahead of me that I had not expected. Luckily I had also forgotten that I crossed a time zone line, so I was back on track for a more timely arrival. Blasted by the wind from my open windows (in an effort to save gas), and scorched by the unrelenting heat of the prairie sun, I passed over the Mississippi, and then the Missouri rivers, which I marked inwardly as an event. I was, however, a little disappointed that there were not fireworks or at least a big sign saying "Welcome to the Rest of the Country!"
I arrived at my Auntie Anne's house (no she did not invent the pretzel) in the university town of Columbia, Missouri, after a little confusion over local directions, sweaty and ravenous! Neither she nor my grandmother, who welcomed me at the door, seem to have aged a day since I was born. Dinner was ready to go on the table, a delicious rice and chicken concoction with Parmesan cheese and a bean salad, tiny dinner rolls, coffee and frozen yogurt with a few enormous fresh raspberries for dessert. Just the sort of menu you'd expect to find in a home magazine!
It was a joy to sleep on a real bed and I awoke refreshed at 7:30 to take a walk around the neighborhood. I met the garbage man as I sat in the driveway, which is so clean you could eat off of it, and laced up my sneakers. We had a leisurely morning (me and my aunt, not me and the garbage man), then ran some errands and went out to lunch. Afterwards we went to check out a new antique market which so depressed my grandmother that she needed to take a nap (it was quite forlorn). She has just emerged from the bedroom and the smell of brownies is wafting from the oven! I must go make sure they're fit to eat!
The morning was beautiful for driving; clear with a snappy breeze. Don't ask me why, but I love the tunnels on the PA turnpike! I ate my packed lunch on a triangle of grass at a rest stop. There is so much of Pennsylvania that seems like another state to me!
I crossed into Ohio just before 3 and landed at my destination, Buck Creek State Park on the other side of Columbus, around 6. My campsite couldn't have been more perfect (I took a picture of it, but my battery was low and something went afoul. I haven't quite gotten the hang of that little bugger!). I took a swim in the lake, and as I floated on my back and gazed up at the crisp, bright clouds over head and the sinking sun I felt lucky and free and blissful! Later, swinging on the swingset by the wash house after brushing my teeth, I thought "This is where I live and this is what I do!" It is hard to avoid living in the moment on this journey and who would want to!
I took another swim in the morning and set out late at 10am. I was feeling very optimistic about my drive until I entered Illinois, which I had forgotten about and which put over 2 hours of driving ahead of me that I had not expected. Luckily I had also forgotten that I crossed a time zone line, so I was back on track for a more timely arrival. Blasted by the wind from my open windows (in an effort to save gas), and scorched by the unrelenting heat of the prairie sun, I passed over the Mississippi, and then the Missouri rivers, which I marked inwardly as an event. I was, however, a little disappointed that there were not fireworks or at least a big sign saying "Welcome to the Rest of the Country!"
I arrived at my Auntie Anne's house (no she did not invent the pretzel) in the university town of Columbia, Missouri, after a little confusion over local directions, sweaty and ravenous! Neither she nor my grandmother, who welcomed me at the door, seem to have aged a day since I was born. Dinner was ready to go on the table, a delicious rice and chicken concoction with Parmesan cheese and a bean salad, tiny dinner rolls, coffee and frozen yogurt with a few enormous fresh raspberries for dessert. Just the sort of menu you'd expect to find in a home magazine!
It was a joy to sleep on a real bed and I awoke refreshed at 7:30 to take a walk around the neighborhood. I met the garbage man as I sat in the driveway, which is so clean you could eat off of it, and laced up my sneakers. We had a leisurely morning (me and my aunt, not me and the garbage man), then ran some errands and went out to lunch. Afterwards we went to check out a new antique market which so depressed my grandmother that she needed to take a nap (it was quite forlorn). She has just emerged from the bedroom and the smell of brownies is wafting from the oven! I must go make sure they're fit to eat!
posted by Eiren at 12:13 PM
1 Comments:
I love to picture all the datails of your trip, thanks for writing them out so well, keep 'em comming! You might want to call car talk to confirm, but Scott says that open windows make for a much less aerodynamic ride, thus cancelling out the gas saved by having them open... a grain of salt might be needed here.
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