Hanging out cross country

Testing 1,2,3. This is the place to try out posting, uploading, adding a signature, and all that!
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LarsMac
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Hanging out cross country

Post by LarsMac »

Testing and such.
Getting ready for a cross-country trip to retrieve the daughter's belonging from Maine.
Then moving to a farmhouse in the Eastern Colorado Plains.

Nothing particularly relevant, but can do some testing across the country as we travel. Since most of the states are in questionable status I doubt we will have much activity other than stopping and spending the night.
O/S will be Windoze 10 most of the time, with occasional mobile phone access as time allows. will try different browsers, as well.
The home of the soul is the Open Road.
- DH Lawrence
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john
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Re: Hanging out cross country

Post by john »

They used to do that sort of trip with wagon trains but without the Windows. I hope you find it interesting.
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LarsMac
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Re: Hanging out cross country

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john wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 3:47 pm They used to do that sort of trip with wagon trains but without the Windows. I hope you find it interesting.
well, countdown is at about 32 hours. I planned a route that avoided population areas and any place where crowds might be found, and minimizes travel time.
Now, The son and his wife have petitioned for a stop at Niagara Falls, on the way out. And the daughter insists that we must go have a dockside Lobster dinner before we return. Oh, and maybe stop at the beaches for a day.

I would much prefer to sit on my porch and watch the Summer come in.
The home of the soul is the Open Road.
- DH Lawrence
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john
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Re: Hanging out cross country

Post by john »

If you were on Elon Musk's mailing list five years back you might have got to the ISS this month instead. Less exciting but you'd have had your photo in the papers.
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spot
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Re: Hanging out cross country

Post by spot »

Are you back yet? Was it worth the driving? Did you actually get to sit outdoors for a restaurant meal?

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LarsMac
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Re: Hanging out cross country

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Well!
That was an adventure. We made the trip back East in about 39 hours - 9 hours over the Google estimate.
Google does not account for work zone slow-downs, fuel stops or detours like the one we took to visit Niagara Falls.
The rental vehicle we used had fairly uncomfortable seats, so no one got much sleep. More like momentary loss of consciousness. The only seat comfy enough to allow an actual nap was the driver's station. Fortunately there was always someone uncomfortably conscious enough to see that the driver was not drifting off.

We arrived at Uncle David's home at about 5 AM, just as the morning was showing light. He got us all settled for a nap, and when I awoke at around 10, it was to the aroma of Coffee, Eggs and,...? Asparagus?
Uncle David is a vegetarian, So, no frying Bacon. But he had gathered Asparagus from his garden, and baked Blueberry Muffins. I had never had Asparagus for breakfast. It goes very well with Eggs, actually.
Uncle David and his partner live in his family's old post-revolution era home in the Maine woods. He proved to be a terrific host for the days we were preparing the vehicles we were taking back. I never knew there were so many ways to prepare Asparagus, which was sprouting daily during our stay.

We got all the work done and began packing the rental truck. I estimated it would take the four of us the better part of two days to pack the truck, another day to recover from the effort, and at least three days to drive home. However, the daughter called a friend on the local town council and asked if she knew some young fellows looking to make some relatively easy cash.
About a half hour into the job, a pick-up truck rolled up and the fellow climbs out. He was easily as large as three of us, about 6'4, and weighing in at 325-340 lbs
A very cheery guy, as well.
Short story, We had the truck loaded by four PM.

We celebrated the next day by taking a tour of the coastal lighthouses, courtesy of Uncle David.
The home of the soul is the Open Road.
- DH Lawrence
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LarsMac
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Re: Hanging out cross country

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Each state had their own rules, and in most, we found that no restaurants were open for dining in. Not really a problem for us, as we were not taking chances with exposure, since we would be staying with relatives when we got there, and then, of course, trying to make it back home without bringing it with us.
If you are ever driving cross country in the US, there are a few options. Interstate 80, or Interstate 70 are the principle East-West routes in the northern states.
There are a couple of other routes after you are west of Indiana, but Indiana is a bit of a bottleneck. All roads through Indiana force east-west traffic through the Indianapolis Metro area. Indianapolis is a Perpetual Constriction (er, ah, Construction) zone, in which nearly every Indiana Resident is apparently required to drive through to get to wherever they are going. We crossed into the Indianapolis region of the galaxy just before Dawn. It was 9:30 AM when we broke free of the gravity field around the City.

While looking for fuel, we came across a Cracker Barrel that had a sign saying they were open. So, after refuel the vehicle, we decided breakfast was in order.
The place was nearly empty. half the tables were blocked off, and one other party was inside at a table.
It was nice to be able to sit down to a real breakfast after being on the road for about 20 hours.
Fed, and refreshed, we hit the road, again.

Advice to interstate travelers: In the northern half of the Midwest, eastbound traffic is faced with two major options. I-80/I-90 runs through the northern Ohio-Illinois corridor, where you must negotiate a heavily populated, and industrialized area where traffic is always crowded with careless people in a hurry, who cause enormous traffic jams, and signage is difficult to keep up with. It is easy to get lost and have to find your way back to civilization as we know it.
But, this is highly preferable to driving through Indianapolis, who shares I-70 with the equally exasperating Columbus Ohio Metro area who is only slightly less confusing.
And there is no way to avoid Indianapolis, without venturing into the backwoods of Indiana on poorly maintained roads, interrupted by small towns and even more confusing signage.

I think for my next trip back to the North East, I will go by way of South Florida.
The home of the soul is the Open Road.
- DH Lawrence
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LarsMac
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Re: Hanging out cross country

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The one high point of the trip out was a stop at Niagara Falls, since Son and DiL had never been, and it was only a 70 mile detour.
This place is usually crowded, like Disney World crowded, or Eiffel Tower Crowded.
Not this time. All the park facilities were closed, except for some rest rooms (I reckon they didn't fancy having people peeing in the falls. )
We wandered about the park with little interference or contact with other people. It was actually very pleasant to not have to deal with crowds.
The shear massiveness of the falls is amazing. the ground literally vibrates from the water crashing on the rocks below.
It was a problem when we decided that we would like to get a hotel, and finish our drive the next day. To do so we had to backtrack to Erie PA, as all the hotels in New York were only open to "Essential Personnel", whatever that actually means.
The home of the soul is the Open Road.
- DH Lawrence
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