April 27
We consulted the weather app in the evening. We discovered snow in the forecast for southern Illinois and all of Indiana. Touring around is much less pleasant when the white stuff is falling! A quick consult of Google Maps shows that we have another 14 hours of driving to go directly to Beth & Lenny's place in New Jersey. We could do it easily in two days. Another factor is that we were planning on staying a couple of days in Cleveland. However, we just learned that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is this weekend. Do we really want to be stuck in that kind of mess? A few moments weighing the pros and cons and we have a new plan! We could be there on Amy's Birthday.
The drive is unremarkable except for the snow, which starts, as forecast, as we near Chicago. We stop for a brief lunch at a travel plaza on I-80 in Indiana. We continue driving and successfully make it halfway to our New Jersey destination. We stop at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Youngstown, Ohio.
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Parking Lot at a Travel Plaza en Route |
The meal is decent and we return to the Inn for a good night's sleep.
April 28
We rise to grey skies. We patronize the "free" breakfast and get on the road. The ride through Pennsylvania is pleasant. There is green everywhere. But it is a little difficult to be spontaneous. Turnpikes are not made to allow easy access to the countryside; they are made to keep you driving and have you stop only at the travel plazas.
We have lunch at a Panera in one of the plazas, then continue on. We reach Amy's sister's place in the late afternoon. We join Beth and Lenny and also Mike & Beth, up from Florida. We are happy to have finished our drive East. And in time for dinner! Not only that, but the gang here realizes what today is and has obtained a lovely chocolate cake to celebrate Amy's Birthday!
This will be our home for the next 3+ months. We'll make a couple of short side-trips to some interesting places. I'll blog about those at a later date.
