SDS@OSU Road Log: Day 1

[jesse_the_k]

I slowly packed all day Thursday with intermittent, frequent breaks on Twitter & DW.

Woke up, did my morning health work, then take Bella for a walk while MyGuy gasses car.

We’re out the driveway 943a on Friday

It’s delicious how much fun it can be to travel. I’ve been able to let go of the decades of anxiety/terror that I’d be doing nameless things wrong.This attitude was deeply planted by a youth spent traveling and moving. Yay DBT, again.

100% grey from horizon to horizon, no rain, good visibility

Passed three Amazon Prime trucks northbound in Wisconsin—watch out FedEx & UPS.

Nevin describes a wonderful machine I missed: a rubblizer, dragged by a large truck. It’s the road-construction analogue to a farmer’s disc plow. The rubblizer has five very heavy pistons within a steel frame that alternately pummel the pavement, breaking up the road surface into small chunks to be further ground up off-site and recycled. This makes quick work of what used to be a brutally hard job: swing sledgehammers or wrangling jackhammers out in traffic in the heat and snow.

Paused in Turtle Creek IL rest area. Almost empty. Roar of leaf blowers compete with roar of traffic. Evil gnomes turn out to be water fountains wrapped up in black tarps, to protect them from, what, the cold? Vandalism? These essential fixtures manage fine in the summer.

Passed a flatbed truck carrying a flatbed trailer. Also large sign white on black: HELL IS REAL. Taking a picture seemed superfluous.

We zip around and then through Chicago, touching Indiana at 1249.

Pause at 130 in Hobart, IN, apply lido patch and purchase almond joy for MyGuy

Winter wheat is first bright green at 417 (eastern time)

Sound barrier walls in Indiana are punctuated every five miles with “fire hydrant available” signs. These mark small doors that open from the roadway to the hydrant serving the residential areas presumably protected by the precast concrete panels set in iron I beams 10 to 20 feet high.

Land at our shabby older La Quinta at 518p. Good news is it’s free because we they gave us gift certificates for bad treatment earlier. Mmmm, maybe this isn’t a virtuous cycle after all?

Bella is twitchy thanks to doggy smells all over. We ruthlessly cage her (with treat) and hit up an Outback Steak House. Wow this place has zero to do with Australia, although that theme is heavily deployed in the decor and the menu names. Salmon, asparagus and a few shrimp all grilled were AOK. Jasmine succeeded in upselling us on a ridiculously tasty dessert of hot gf brownies with pecans, and vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. My gut will regret it tomorrow but live for the day.

Onward to Columbus tomorrow, where I get to meet forests_of_fire in person!