Observations from a midwestern roadtrip

We left Erie on Sunday morning at 7:30. Ahead of us was a 14 hour trip that, with the one hour time change, would put us into Minneapolis at 8:30 central time. We decided that we only wanted to drive in the sunlight; not because we hate driving in the dark, but because we wanted to see everything along the way. The drive went well, although we did hit some July 4th weekend traffic woes in and around the Chicago area. The weather was near-perfect which made for smooth sailing for pretty much the entire journey. Here are some observations from the road:

1. Planning for light traffic on a Sunday in the country's third largest city is not good planning. Also, don't forget to factor in holiday traffic when, in fact, there has been a holiday on the preceding Friday.


2. I am not a city-lover. As my wife knows all-too-well, my idea of fun is tenting in the middle of a completely deserted wilderness with none of the modern conveniences of daily life to distract me. Still, Chicago looks like a fun city that I would like to explore sometime. But only once.

3. I always thought that St.Olaf was the town in Minnesota from where Rose Nylund hailed.
Well, this trip has proven me wrong. Assuming that Rose Nylund was not getting gas along the Illinois Turnpike, I am rather amused (and somewhat excited) that St.Olaf is indeed a real place.


5. Depictions of the Midwest in movies and TV shows are seemingly accurate. There are corn fields and different kinds of mills as far as the eye can see.


6. I'm convinced that most media does not know what they're talking about. While they are running story after story about how high gas prices are affecting everybody's vacation plans, it didn't much seem like it as we drove on Sunday. Traffic going east was absolutely insane. Thank goodness we were heading west. Traffic was backed up from near Rockford, Illinois to the middle of Wisconsin (about 200 miles).


7. Wisconsin's highway numbering system is wonky. Indeed, they're not even numbers. They're letters. Take, for instance Highway PP and Highway EW:


8. For America's Dairyland (as they proudly proclaim on their license plate), Wisconsin didn't have as much cheese as I thought it would. However, it did have it's fair share of tornado and flood damage from earlier this year.


9. We arrived the Twin Cities just as the sun was setting. It was really beautiful, actually. It was as if the Twin Cities' Chamber of Commerce knew we were arriving and arranged the most perfect of evenings to welcome us:



Overall, it was a really great drive. In retrospect, it doesn't seem like it took 14 hours...but roadtrips with Dave and Danielle are always so fun that you don't even notice how long the drive is. Even the gas prices weren't as bad as had been feared. The highest we saw was just outside Chicago with $4.49/gallon. As we approached the 14th hour, we both commented on how much we wanted to continue driving because we had had so much fun. Actually, that's a lie. I thought it...but I didn't say it. I love road trips with my wife. I love my wife! :-)



Today, we are heading to the Fogo De Chao Churrascaria for lunch. I haven't been to a churrascaria since I traveled to Brazil several years ago. It goes without saying that I am pretty darn excited!!