Driving South-Day 1

We left around 1:30, much later than expected, but I had good reason to stay. I had a surprise visit from my guy and couldn’t leave when planned because of the fact that he’d driven all the way to surprise me before I left. How could I not stay a little longer? Thank you , Sevon. More about that later.

Once we got on the road, there were quite a few tears for all the things I’m leaving behind. All of my family, my friends who feel quite a bit like family, a new relationship, and even the camp itself will be missed. A huge thank you to absolutely everyone who has been there for me in the past two weeks especially. I appreciate all the extra effort you have all done to make my transition easier . In a way it makes it harder, because I see how much I have to lose if we don’t keep in touch. Okay, don’ t want to cry yet again, so I’m moving on!

Will and I are using walkie talkies to communicate, and it’s a great way to remind me of camp! It began right away with the shenanigans (that one’s for you, Emily) and continued all the way to Indiana, where we rested for the night.

Because we had breakfast before leaving, and because I drank two rather large iced teas with it, the road trip screeched to a halt no more than 40 miles in. And then again after another 100 or so. And then again…okay you get the point. Thirst and road trips don’t go together very well. Needless to say, we were a little behind schedule.

As we drove on, I recognized a few key landmarks from the trip that Emily and I had taken not long ago. First up was the pumpkin silo, which Will thought looked suspiciously like a bunny as well?? Any clarification on that one will need to come straight from him. And then we started hitting things like the Pilotways and Cracker Barrels and I knew I was right back in the game.

Illinois, and the tolls begin. And they keep going, and going and going…oh my the energizer bunny dropped a big bomb on Illinois if you ask me. There was one time that we had to pay a toll just to get off the exit from the gas station. A tolled entrance ramp? Really, Illinois? So a few toll booths later, we got to Chicago. We were under the impression that taking this route would be quicker. But toll booth hell hit, and I’m pretty sure we lost about a million dollars and a couple hours just based on talking to the good working people of Illinois about change and weather. Chicago seemed pretty long but we had to book it through. We had forgotten about the time difference and I knew we were going to get in late.

We finally made it to Indiana, and instantly, I could see the personality types change. One could see that there would be an accent. I was greeted in this fine state with a lottery machine that proudly boasted the Hoosier culture in a gas station. I would have taken a picture, but had left the phone in the car to charge, and was too tired by this point to bother with anything extra. Fortunately, I did later.

We rolled in to Franklin, Indiana around 2 am Eastern time. Surprisingly, Will was wide awake and wanted to hang out for a bit, but I don’t think I could stand to even try to keep my eyes open. Frankly, I don’t know if I wanted to be awake here. I was just a little afraid of the atmosphere, and unimpressed with the fact that the room smelled like smoke despite the “no smoking” sign posted on the wall directly outside the door jam. I had also been looking forward to a nice shower, but found that the tub had literally been spray painted with what looks to me like regular old paint…I’ll be posting a picture of that one soon enough. Let’s just hope my car is safe and sound by the time I get back out there.