Day 1:
NYC to Austintown, OH: 400 miles
I departed NYC/the Bronx, with Erin, on Saturday, August 1, 2009, around 10:30 am. Erin was driving and we were on our way to Austintown, OH where we would be staying in the house she grew up in with her parents.
I would say all went fairly smoothly; Erin was a little stressed about getting out of the city safely with a 22 foot, 20,000 pound truck, but she was great and we were fine. We got into Austintown around 7:30pm, which was a pretty good haul for day one.
I departed NYC/the Bronx, with Erin, on Saturday, August 1, 2009, around 10:30 am. Erin was driving and we were on our way to Austintown, OH where we would be staying in the house she grew up in with her parents.
I would say all went fairly smoothly; Erin was a little stressed about getting out of the city safely with a 22 foot, 20,000 pound truck, but she was great and we were fine. We got into Austintown around 7:30pm, which was a pretty good haul for day one.
Leaving the city...
Out on the open road.
There are lots of farmhouses along the way... LOTS.
My feet... chilling out.
What's in the center?
Farmhouse.
Her parents had already arranged for us to all go eat at a local place called Trax. I ordered a fish sandwich, with the intention that it was healthy and better for me than a burger or other options on the menu. What I didn’t know about Ohio is that everything is fried in the state, so my fish sandwich was a fried fish sandwich. It was ok, but having fried food on this day was not what my tummy wanted, as it was in upheaval from leaving NYC, being out of whack the whole week just preparing to leave, then being on the road, and quite sedentary for the whole day. I took a probiotic digestive and was pretty happy a bit later.
OH OH but, the BEST part of eating on this night was eating ice cream from Handels. I tried both the butterscotch toffee and this other chocolate flavor. The butterscotch was totally my favorite. Apparently, Bill Cosby thinks Handels is so great, he has the stuff shipped to his home in MA.
OH OH but, the BEST part of eating on this night was eating ice cream from Handels. I tried both the butterscotch toffee and this other chocolate flavor. The butterscotch was totally my favorite. Apparently, Bill Cosby thinks Handels is so great, he has the stuff shipped to his home in MA.
Day 2:
Austintown, OH to Ottawa, IL: 453 miles
Erin had basically planned for us to get just a little further past Chicago before we stopped for the day. We left OH, fairly early (given that we ate breakfast at her parents – her mom made lovely baked French toast) and arrived into Ottawa around 5:30pm or so.
I went for a 2 mile run alongside fields of corn and spent the rest of the evening, vegging with Erin. I think we both just needed an evening to watch a lot of HGTV (a tradition between the two of us), being on the computer, and not driving. We also hit up a nearby Kroeger grocery store, which allowed us to stock up on some good foods to eat along the way, so that neither of us broke the bank on nasty, gross foods at trucker stops along the way.
We agreed to get another early start the following morning, but nothing terribly early.
Day 3:
Ottawa, IL to Wahoo, NE: 437 miles
We were slated to arrive into Wahoo, Nebraska today at the house of Cyndi and Chad, lovely friends of Erin’s. They introduced us to Gus, their awesome dog and red beer (beer with tomato juice and olives), native to Nebraska from what I understand. When in Nebraska, do as Nebraskans. It was to my honest surprise, fairly tasty. I shall try to bring this back to the city. Oh the red beer was consumed at the local VFW just fyi and a frosty mug of it only cost $1.25. WAHOO for Wahoo.
We also walked by David Letterman’s “home office”, which I don’t think I actually ever knew about…but was definitely amused by.
Cyndi and Chad grilled up some grub on the “Q”, we played Cranium while drinking banana milkshakes a la Chad, and went to bed. The two of them had left before we woke up the next morning but, they were such lovely hosts and I had a really good time with them.
(p.s. Cyndi – I let Gus out one more time before we hit the road; he seemed like he really needed to go).
Austintown, OH to Ottawa, IL: 453 miles
Erin had basically planned for us to get just a little further past Chicago before we stopped for the day. We left OH, fairly early (given that we ate breakfast at her parents – her mom made lovely baked French toast) and arrived into Ottawa around 5:30pm or so.
I went for a 2 mile run alongside fields of corn and spent the rest of the evening, vegging with Erin. I think we both just needed an evening to watch a lot of HGTV (a tradition between the two of us), being on the computer, and not driving. We also hit up a nearby Kroeger grocery store, which allowed us to stock up on some good foods to eat along the way, so that neither of us broke the bank on nasty, gross foods at trucker stops along the way.
We agreed to get another early start the following morning, but nothing terribly early.
Day 3:
Ottawa, IL to Wahoo, NE: 437 miles
We were slated to arrive into Wahoo, Nebraska today at the house of Cyndi and Chad, lovely friends of Erin’s. They introduced us to Gus, their awesome dog and red beer (beer with tomato juice and olives), native to Nebraska from what I understand. When in Nebraska, do as Nebraskans. It was to my honest surprise, fairly tasty. I shall try to bring this back to the city. Oh the red beer was consumed at the local VFW just fyi and a frosty mug of it only cost $1.25. WAHOO for Wahoo.
We also walked by David Letterman’s “home office”, which I don’t think I actually ever knew about…but was definitely amused by.
Cyndi and Chad grilled up some grub on the “Q”, we played Cranium while drinking banana milkshakes a la Chad, and went to bed. The two of them had left before we woke up the next morning but, they were such lovely hosts and I had a really good time with them.
(p.s. Cyndi – I let Gus out one more time before we hit the road; he seemed like he really needed to go).
Red Beer, mmm.
This is for the community to have a little betting fun.
This is their board. I believe it's done by score; you pick your square based on what you think the score will be and if your name is in the square with the correct score, you win.
Gus is loyal to those who give him treats!!
Lots of cornfields - but they look so nice against the sky.
The next two shots are what I call "Through My Sunglasses".
This one is a little abstract but, it's looking out onto the road, over the hood of the Penske.
Erin.
I like this shot of Erin driving.
The power of windmills.
We saw this thing towards the early part of our trip and kept coming across them along I-80. From far away, we thought it looked kind of like a missile or something crazy but, I realized that they were actually the wings of the windmills we had been passing. Up close, they are HUGE. I can't imagine driving that truck.
Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain - ok, so there's no grain but, skies like this are what I'm sure inspired the song.
Through the bug cemetary of the front windshield.
Somewhere along I-80.
I think this coyote was in Wyoming upon entering the state.
Man, how quickly memory goes when it's one long stretch of I-80 but, I think this is Wyoming as well.
The rain storms are amazing to see from far away.
Look how dark it is to one side and how clear/blue it is on the other. Ominous.
Moo, cows.
Home, home on the range...
Day 4:
Wahoo, NE to Fort Collins, CO: 514 miles
The reason we were detouring slightly to Fort Collins is because we had a great place to stay there. Erin’s friend Jeff, who is in the same program as Erin, graciously let us stay there, even though he had just arrived, barely unpacked, but offered what he had. That is what hospitality is all about and he gets my complete approval. He was also great in taking us to a yummy local Mexican place and then gave us a tour of the main drag in Fort Collins.
I actually really liked the town. It was clearly energetic, bike friendly, laid back, and nestled in the middle of some beautiful nature; plus only an hour or so from Denver. They have a bike library as well, where I think it works how libraries work, but you borrow bikes instead. From what we all understood, it was free too.
We visited a local art gallery, where I fell in love with one of the photographers on display, Tony Stromberg and the main photographer David Clack. Although, while David has some great shots, I still favor Peter Lik and his incredible work. But Tony (yes, I am on first names basis’ with all of them) takes photos of the equine breed (whereas David and Peter are nature, landscapes, etc.). I love Tony’s “Fierce Grace” (so if anyone wants to shell out a few grand and get me a print – I’ll pitch in for a frame – bday & xmas are in a few months, 4 days apart, I take combo gifts folks ^__^), #28/30 was up for grabs at the shop in Ft. Collins.
We eventually went back home to sleep as Erin and I planned to get up the earliest we had gotten up so far the next morning.
Wahoo, NE to Fort Collins, CO: 514 miles
The reason we were detouring slightly to Fort Collins is because we had a great place to stay there. Erin’s friend Jeff, who is in the same program as Erin, graciously let us stay there, even though he had just arrived, barely unpacked, but offered what he had. That is what hospitality is all about and he gets my complete approval. He was also great in taking us to a yummy local Mexican place and then gave us a tour of the main drag in Fort Collins.
I actually really liked the town. It was clearly energetic, bike friendly, laid back, and nestled in the middle of some beautiful nature; plus only an hour or so from Denver. They have a bike library as well, where I think it works how libraries work, but you borrow bikes instead. From what we all understood, it was free too.
We visited a local art gallery, where I fell in love with one of the photographers on display, Tony Stromberg and the main photographer David Clack. Although, while David has some great shots, I still favor Peter Lik and his incredible work. But Tony (yes, I am on first names basis’ with all of them) takes photos of the equine breed (whereas David and Peter are nature, landscapes, etc.). I love Tony’s “Fierce Grace” (so if anyone wants to shell out a few grand and get me a print – I’ll pitch in for a frame – bday & xmas are in a few months, 4 days apart, I take combo gifts folks ^__^), #28/30 was up for grabs at the shop in Ft. Collins.
We eventually went back home to sleep as Erin and I planned to get up the earliest we had gotten up so far the next morning.
I believe this is Colorado.
Wire coiled up over size style.
On our way out of Colorado.
Oh, this might be the amber waves of grain part.
Day 5:
Fort Collins, CO to Battle Mountain, NV: 754 miles
Erin and I both had settled that this would be our “long haul” day, where we would put in a few extra hours above and beyond our normal days thus far. We were in the truck driving by 7:30 am.
(just fyi: we saw a camel on our way out of Ft. Collins and as an extra note, the Anheuser-Busch brewery is just north of the city AND the Clydesdales are available for viewing!)
Our lofty goal was to get to Winnemucca, NV (which would put us at like 370 miles to Richmond for the next day) but, the more realistic goal was getting to Carlin, NV. Which we did, around 8:30pm at night or so. We had taken a little time in Utah to observe the beautiful salt flats and play in them for a little while.
When we got to Carlin and to the only hotel that exists in Carlin (we opted for Carlin instead of Elko, NV where there were I think, a couple more options, because it put us ‘that’ much closer to home) – we did our usual top off on gas and prepared to go inside routine. As I was getting things from the back of the truck, Erin went ahead to go secure a room; she came promptly back out to notify me that they were full, to not close up shop, and that we had to head to the next town, Battle Mountain, about an hour away.
Yes, we were tired, especially since it was our long haul day, but we did not have a choice really, and I prefer to look at it like, well, it put us an hour closer to home. So in the end, we really almost did make it to Winnemucca, just another hour from Battle Mountain. The hotel was fine, although it did also look like the only hotel in town, so when Erin went in, I was praying she didn’t come out to tell me ironically that we had to get to Winnemucca anyways. Thankfully, we could put up our feet for the night.
Fort Collins, CO to Battle Mountain, NV: 754 miles
Erin and I both had settled that this would be our “long haul” day, where we would put in a few extra hours above and beyond our normal days thus far. We were in the truck driving by 7:30 am.
(just fyi: we saw a camel on our way out of Ft. Collins and as an extra note, the Anheuser-Busch brewery is just north of the city AND the Clydesdales are available for viewing!)
Our lofty goal was to get to Winnemucca, NV (which would put us at like 370 miles to Richmond for the next day) but, the more realistic goal was getting to Carlin, NV. Which we did, around 8:30pm at night or so. We had taken a little time in Utah to observe the beautiful salt flats and play in them for a little while.
When we got to Carlin and to the only hotel that exists in Carlin (we opted for Carlin instead of Elko, NV where there were I think, a couple more options, because it put us ‘that’ much closer to home) – we did our usual top off on gas and prepared to go inside routine. As I was getting things from the back of the truck, Erin went ahead to go secure a room; she came promptly back out to notify me that they were full, to not close up shop, and that we had to head to the next town, Battle Mountain, about an hour away.
Yes, we were tired, especially since it was our long haul day, but we did not have a choice really, and I prefer to look at it like, well, it put us an hour closer to home. So in the end, we really almost did make it to Winnemucca, just another hour from Battle Mountain. The hotel was fine, although it did also look like the only hotel in town, so when Erin went in, I was praying she didn’t come out to tell me ironically that we had to get to Winnemucca anyways. Thankfully, we could put up our feet for the night.
This is Salt Lake, Utah.
Salt flats.
I was sitting down in the salt to take this photo.
As we were going through Nevada, a sideview of the life of trucking.
Just as an extra note, there were a couple of times, as we made our way through Nevada on this day, where I saw signs that said, "Prison Area. Do not pick up hitchhikers". I saw one as we entered Carlin (the town where there was only one hotel that was completely full, and perhaps it was a good thing we had to move onto Battle Mountain.)
Day 6: **
Battle Mountain, NV to Pt. Richmond, CA: 423 miles
There really isn’t much to say about Battle Mountain (what a name right?), except for our chance encounter with two young girls this morning at breakfast. We both got up early (Erin wanted to be driving by 7:15 am – and we were driving by 7:13) but, Erin headed out to breakfast before me. I followed shortly and was surprised to see Erin sitting at a table with a young girl.
I quickly discovered that her name was Olivia, although she hates that name and states as much as she informs you of it, and follows up with what she would rather be called Fu-Li. That’s “F-U” dash, capital “L-I”. Fu-Li is 12 and we were soon joined by her younger sister, Mia who’s 9. Fu-Li, we found out, has Aspergers. Fu-Li seemed ok with this (except for the part where no one knows what Aspergers is and she has to go into a long explanation; she was relieved when Erin mentioned she knew about Aspergers and was like, FINALLY, people are being made aware), but Mia got a little uncomfortable when this was brought up; she clearly is the one to “watch out” for her older sister when she gets into “trouble”, like talking to strangers or in general, covering for her.
They were both lovely young girls, Fu-Li just seemed like a precocious 12 year old and Mia her all too mature younger sister. Fu-Li has a lot to say and ask, and Mia was just making sure, she didn’t get into too much trouble. I was sad to walk away from them as I was having a delightful time conversing with them. They were on their way from Minnesota to San Francisco on a summer road trip. I hope they had a great time.
Erin and I were on target for most of our final trek out to her new home in Point Richmond until we hit the border of California and Nevada, and basically Truckee, CA. We had to pull over to be inspected by the Agriculture police (because we had come from East of the Mississippi) where they proceeded to confiscate an orange (mine) from our cooler so that it could be studied microscopically. The officer said he was going to cut it open and look at it under, well, a microscope.
After the imprisonment of my produce ☺, we hopped back into the truck and went merrily along, until we realized, we were very stuck in traffic. I don’t know why or how or what, but, I decided that if we were going to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, we might as well pull off in Truckee, pee, and get some lunch. It seemed more productive than sitting around getting antsy on the road.
I gave a quick call to my cousin out in Sonoma (as one of her good friends lives in Truckee) for some quick directions for the area. We exited and found ourselves at the Wild Cherries Café where the bathroom and lunch were successful ventures.
Back out on I-80, still with loads of traffic, we had to re-strategize our entry into the Bay area in order to manage getting the keys for the rental in time. We pulled off in Sac-town to get to a bank for Erin; this was one of our wiser moves so far. We just made it in time to her agent’s office, got the keys, and drove to her rental. I had NO idea that Erin’s new home was on a most serious hill - try biking or running up that! Man. At one point in the truck, I remember turning to Erin on the downhill side and saying, “Um…this hill is kind of freaky…”
Erin had ideally wanted to stay in her pad that night but, hauling her huge mattress… a REALLY far distance (we had to park kind of far away due to the size of the truck, restrictions of the streets, and well, the insane hill was out of the question lest we wanted to wake up only to find the 20,000 pound truck had backwards mauled all the other innocent by-standing cars) was not going to happen. Thankfully, Team Napa (this is another blog in and of itself) pulled through; Rebecca, who also lives in Point Richmond, graciously let us stay with her in her very charming house.
WE MADE IT!! Alive…. Well there was a minor mishap the following day (after the movers unloaded the truck) when we were returning the massive beast but, it was resolved without injury and the point….Erin had successfully moved across the country, gotten her keys, and had started to unpack into her new life.
I have since, visited my cousin, coerced my best friend to come get me and drive me back down to Fresno (don’t laugh), where I am currently awaiting my high school reunion.
** I don't really have photos of this last leg of our trip because I was driving from about an hour outside of Reno until Sacramento, CA.
Battle Mountain, NV to Pt. Richmond, CA: 423 miles
There really isn’t much to say about Battle Mountain (what a name right?), except for our chance encounter with two young girls this morning at breakfast. We both got up early (Erin wanted to be driving by 7:15 am – and we were driving by 7:13) but, Erin headed out to breakfast before me. I followed shortly and was surprised to see Erin sitting at a table with a young girl.
I quickly discovered that her name was Olivia, although she hates that name and states as much as she informs you of it, and follows up with what she would rather be called Fu-Li. That’s “F-U” dash, capital “L-I”. Fu-Li is 12 and we were soon joined by her younger sister, Mia who’s 9. Fu-Li, we found out, has Aspergers. Fu-Li seemed ok with this (except for the part where no one knows what Aspergers is and she has to go into a long explanation; she was relieved when Erin mentioned she knew about Aspergers and was like, FINALLY, people are being made aware), but Mia got a little uncomfortable when this was brought up; she clearly is the one to “watch out” for her older sister when she gets into “trouble”, like talking to strangers or in general, covering for her.
They were both lovely young girls, Fu-Li just seemed like a precocious 12 year old and Mia her all too mature younger sister. Fu-Li has a lot to say and ask, and Mia was just making sure, she didn’t get into too much trouble. I was sad to walk away from them as I was having a delightful time conversing with them. They were on their way from Minnesota to San Francisco on a summer road trip. I hope they had a great time.
Erin and I were on target for most of our final trek out to her new home in Point Richmond until we hit the border of California and Nevada, and basically Truckee, CA. We had to pull over to be inspected by the Agriculture police (because we had come from East of the Mississippi) where they proceeded to confiscate an orange (mine) from our cooler so that it could be studied microscopically. The officer said he was going to cut it open and look at it under, well, a microscope.
After the imprisonment of my produce ☺, we hopped back into the truck and went merrily along, until we realized, we were very stuck in traffic. I don’t know why or how or what, but, I decided that if we were going to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, we might as well pull off in Truckee, pee, and get some lunch. It seemed more productive than sitting around getting antsy on the road.
I gave a quick call to my cousin out in Sonoma (as one of her good friends lives in Truckee) for some quick directions for the area. We exited and found ourselves at the Wild Cherries Café where the bathroom and lunch were successful ventures.
Back out on I-80, still with loads of traffic, we had to re-strategize our entry into the Bay area in order to manage getting the keys for the rental in time. We pulled off in Sac-town to get to a bank for Erin; this was one of our wiser moves so far. We just made it in time to her agent’s office, got the keys, and drove to her rental. I had NO idea that Erin’s new home was on a most serious hill - try biking or running up that! Man. At one point in the truck, I remember turning to Erin on the downhill side and saying, “Um…this hill is kind of freaky…”
Erin had ideally wanted to stay in her pad that night but, hauling her huge mattress… a REALLY far distance (we had to park kind of far away due to the size of the truck, restrictions of the streets, and well, the insane hill was out of the question lest we wanted to wake up only to find the 20,000 pound truck had backwards mauled all the other innocent by-standing cars) was not going to happen. Thankfully, Team Napa (this is another blog in and of itself) pulled through; Rebecca, who also lives in Point Richmond, graciously let us stay with her in her very charming house.
WE MADE IT!! Alive…. Well there was a minor mishap the following day (after the movers unloaded the truck) when we were returning the massive beast but, it was resolved without injury and the point….Erin had successfully moved across the country, gotten her keys, and had started to unpack into her new life.
I have since, visited my cousin, coerced my best friend to come get me and drive me back down to Fresno (don’t laugh), where I am currently awaiting my high school reunion.
** I don't really have photos of this last leg of our trip because I was driving from about an hour outside of Reno until Sacramento, CA.
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