Cleveland, OH to Richmond, VT

Day 42: Mon 1 Sep: Home.

I wake up to Labor Day morning rest area zoo. The fact that I slept until 10:30am means I'm in the thick of it. The place I'd parked was not off to the edge of the rest area, either, but close to the center. But it really was the darkest spot last night.

This is only my third rest area sleep of the trip. The first one was in Kansas near the Colorado line, the second was in Montana, west of Billings. I like the independent-ness of crashing at rest areas, and some of them (not this one) are set up so that it's easy to get away from the lights. Also, if you crash early (I didn't) you can get up at dawn and just continue driving (like I did in Kansas).

The driving continues. Through Erie, PA, and onto the New York State Thruway, past Buffalo (which was where traffic picked up, and then once I got to the other side, disappeared), Rochester, and Syracuse. And then I trusted the GPS again. I had glanced at the route and noticed it was taking me off the Thruway to hit the Northway. That's fine; there's a shortcut near Schenectedy that we sometimes take, since diving south into Albany isn't necessary.

Alas, I didn't look closely enough. It took me off the Thruway long before Schenectedy and on state roads to eventually get on the Northway at Saratoga Springs. That was 40 miles of slow, wasted, driving. Another data point for Garmin's customer support center, I guess.

I entered Vermont, and took Rte 30 to Middlebury, during which there was another incredible sunset. They even happen here. Thinking about that, and about all the rain folks have said they've gotten, made me realize that I have been gone for 42 days and beautiful weather has followed me for all but perhaps three of them.

I pulled into the driveway with my new car, and parked it in the garage. Home.

The GPS reads 11,656 miles, of which 7.346 were done in this car. That's a lot of bug splat.

St. Paul, MN to Cleveland, OH

Day 41: Sun 31 Aug: The Voyage Home.

I said goodbye to David and Josh and headed on the road. It's going to be Interstate all the way home (until I get close to Vermont), woohoo! I stopped at a rest area on the Wisconsin-Illinois line for a couple hours to eat, write blog entries, and generally relax. Based on Google Maps, the halfway point home would be I-90 in Ohio somewhere, so my goal for tonight is Ohio.

The GPS wants to take me through Canada (cross at Windsor and then come down from Montreal)! I know this can be done, but I don't think it's much faster. When I add a waypoint of Erie, PA to the route, it gets me home via the route I'd expect, and even though the GPS is set to find the fastest route, in less time (according to the GPS!). I've had a number of these experiences and plan on writing them all up and sending a letter to Garmin. It seems to draw a straight line from where you are to where you want to be, and never chooses a route that deviates too far from that line. Thus, to get from Rapid City, SD to Fargo, ND, it wants you to leave the I-90 in central South Dakota and take state roads north, eventually picking up I-94 to head east again. When I added an intermediate destination of Sioux City, SD, it said, fine, Interstate all the way, and look, you arrive significantly sooner too!

The drive was uneventful, aside from another GPS snafu (told me to take an exit off the I-90 toll road in IL, and then to get back on I-90). I stopped outside Toledo, and then decided I could go further.

I-90 in Cleveland: wow! It makes right angle turns. There are lots of warning signs: rumble strips, flashing lights, signs, more signs, and bigger signs, but it's pretty amazing that it happens at all. I mean, you're going 65mph, and then there's a sign about a severe 30mph curve ahead. I was awake, really!

I made it to a rest area east of Cleveland where I maneuvered the car so that street lights weren't shining in my eyes, pulled a baseball cap down over my face, and fell asleep.