Day 1: Ithaca, New York to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Pace: Steady to strenuous (8.5 hours)
Rations: Filling, because the friends we're staying with fed us pizza.
I feel like Jeremy and I are finally getting the hang of this whole traveling thing. We made it from Ithaca to Ann Arbor in about 8.5 hours of driving, with three stops. Our car snacks were great. We brought back the frozen chocolate milks that were such a hit on last year's cross-country road trip. We also had pepperoni, grapes, crackers, and a new idea, fruit by the foot - SUCH a treat in our family, plus it takes forever to eat. Bonus.
We hit a few snags when:
- I-90 told us there was a rest area in 38 miles, so we all held our business until then, anxiously counting down the miles, only to have the actual sign at the rest area inform us that there were NO FACILITIES. Guess what facilities means? Yeah, no bathrooms. Nice. Could have used that information oh, about 38 miles ago.
(We used the portapotties by the truck parking lot. You're welcome.)
- People in huge cars tailgated me anytime I happened to venture into the left lane. Yeesh. And it always seemed to happen right when I was trying to pass someone so it wasn't like I could get out of the tailgater's way immediately, like they obviously wanted me to. This happened with increasing frequency the farther west we got.
- Relatedly, fellow drivers, my safe following distance from the car in front of me ≠ a spot for you to sneak into.
- Rumble strips on the freeway before toll booths wake up my sleeping kids. Another reason to hate tolls, I guess.
Otherwise, it's great to be on the road again. I stopped crying more or less by the time we were out of Ithaca city limits, so that was nice. And I have to admit that last year, it kind of irritated me to be on the Oregon Trail, but going the wrong way. So I'm really enjoying going the right way this time.
I can't promise a Day 2 update because we might be camping tomorrow night. Then again, the rest areas around here have Wi-fi, so maybe the campgrounds do, too. We'll see.
We hit a few snags when:
- I-90 told us there was a rest area in 38 miles, so we all held our business until then, anxiously counting down the miles, only to have the actual sign at the rest area inform us that there were NO FACILITIES. Guess what facilities means? Yeah, no bathrooms. Nice. Could have used that information oh, about 38 miles ago.
(We used the portapotties by the truck parking lot. You're welcome.)
- People in huge cars tailgated me anytime I happened to venture into the left lane. Yeesh. And it always seemed to happen right when I was trying to pass someone so it wasn't like I could get out of the tailgater's way immediately, like they obviously wanted me to. This happened with increasing frequency the farther west we got.
- Relatedly, fellow drivers, my safe following distance from the car in front of me ≠ a spot for you to sneak into.
- Rumble strips on the freeway before toll booths wake up my sleeping kids. Another reason to hate tolls, I guess.
Otherwise, it's great to be on the road again. I stopped crying more or less by the time we were out of Ithaca city limits, so that was nice. And I have to admit that last year, it kind of irritated me to be on the Oregon Trail, but going the wrong way. So I'm really enjoying going the right way this time.
I can't promise a Day 2 update because we might be camping tomorrow night. Then again, the rest areas around here have Wi-fi, so maybe the campgrounds do, too. We'll see.