This is the first in a series of posts that follow me as I drive to Chicago and Louisville for a series of interviews that will be used in my book. Also, I’ll try to have fun without being jailed. Hilarity will ensue. Check back here daily.
With the sun smothered by gray clouds, I departed. As the sky spit droplets of rain at the old red Volvo, I departed. Out the back exit, this time, across Eisenhower Parkway to Interstate-80 West. The theme of today’s drive was similarities and differences between Day 1, 2006 versus Day 1, 2005.
The Pennsylvania Wilds, for example, was a stretch of red clay highway cutting through skeletons of trees on this cold April morning. For a moment I felt myself losing touch with my surroundings as I was transported back to the Black Hills in South Dakota, where a stretch of red clay highway cut a a path through skeletons of trees on a cold August morning. The early portion of today’s drive was marked by flashbacks and daydreams. I continually became distracted by various scenarios playing out in my head, none of which I really want to address in this public forum.
As I crossed through Pennsylvania, the rain grew more severe. During one lull in the precipitation, I stopped at a rest area and tossed out my breakfast refuse. The lot was filled with a line of trucks whose drivers must have been sleeping off their late-night drives.
Pennsylvania is still the most boring state to drive through. My path along I-80 took me past Snow Shoe (where I stopped for gas on the final day of my last trip), Punxsutawney, Pine, and Beaver. I stopped in Emlenton to fill up gas before I crossed into Ohio. There was nothing of interest to photograph in Pennsylvania. There was only road:
Once I passed into Ohio, the rain ceased and the sun began to peek through the clouds. The temperature began to rise and soon enough I had to turn on the A/C as the outside temp. registered 75 degrees. The sun shining through the windshield was hot. I called Lindsey and Sam as I passed over Youngstown, where they were born and raised. I thought about stopping at Purple Frog records but declined to do so because I didn’t know the address and was on a tight schedule.
Like Pennsylvania, the drive through most of Ohio is redundant. Farms and barren land.
Before I knew it, I was seeing signs for Toledo. My sister used a work connection to reserve me a room at a nice hotel in Toledo, Ohio for $49, so I happily obliged and decided to stop after about eight or nine hours of driving. After check-in I relaxed for a few minutes and then drove into the city to explore. By now it was dusk, only the last few rays of light were visible as the sun set behind the horizon.
I stopped at a liquor store called Bailey’s Beverage Center to stock up on booze for the week. A nice employee showed me around and gave some suggestions about brews I probably wouldn’t be able to find back home or in Chicago. I ended up only spending $25.05 and walked out with more than enough beer to last the next seven nights.
The drive back home was short, and the sky darkened quick. It soon began to rain.
I’m in my hotel room now, enjoying a drink and relaxing in my king-sized bed. Tomorrow morning I have to wake up early and head across Indiana to Chicago. I have a brief stop to make near South Bend, and I should be in Chicago by one or two o’clock in the afternoon. Thanks to all of you who called to keep me company today, which was none of you.
Car Music:
1 Mile North – Minor Shadows
American Analog Set – Set Free
Ash – Live at the Wireless
Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan
Calexico – Garden Ruin
Destroyer – A Seduction
Gastr del Sol – Camoufleur
Hum – You’d Prefer an Astronaut
Leonard Cohen – The Songs of Leonard Cohen
