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.