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East to West - The Summary
- 12 days
- 4704 miles
- 14 States of the Union
- 204 gallons of gasoline
- 1 speeding ticket
- 4 National parks
- 3 movie shoot locations
- 1 bird casualty
- 100,000 insect casualties (estimated)
- 17 mosquito bites
- Lots and lots of pictures
Unfortunately, due to a lack of internet connectivity and probably more so, sheer laziness, days 7-12 have now been summarized in the above statistics. To be honest, while there was a lot to see between New York and Dyersville, Iowa, I think the best parts of the road trip took place during that second half of the drive. It was there that I drove the completely remote and deserted two-lane roads that you imagine a cross-country road trip to entail. It was there where you run across the natural beauties, and oddities, that exist between the man-made wonders of the US.
And while I'd like to say that the Grand Tetons or the Badlands were the best part of the trip, as cliche as it is, the destinations were really just stopping points and the journey itself was the part I enjoyed the most. If I were a slightly older and wiser man, I'm sure I would find the parallels with life. Alas, I'm closer to being old than wise so I'll just leave it that the road trip was awesome and that I would highly recommend anyone and everyone do at least part of this trip if not all of it. And of course, see and do what you can, but don't forget to enjoy the ride along the way. The end comes quicker than you think.
Day 6 - Field of Dreams
Crossing Home
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.Day 6 was a big driving day. Having made some fairly short drives to this point, I needed to make-up some miles. I did manage to stop at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa. Sure, it's a little ironic - going out of my way to see baseball field in the middle of nowhere which was built for a movie about a baseball field in the middle of nowhere which attracts people out of their way to go see. But hey, it broke up the 14 hour drive up a little.
Day 5 - Still in Chicago
Day 5 was spent meeting up with old friends. Unfortunately, having spent 2 nights here, Day 6 is shaping up to be a 14 hour haul across I-90. I think I need to make up some time since more than a third of my time has passed and I'm still only in Chicago.
On a related note,
Yahoo Maps Beta has been invaluable during this trip to figure out exactly how long I'll be driving each day including the side trips to see sights. Click on the map below to follow along up to the start of Day 6.
Day 4
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.It's true. People in mid-America are friendly...even the Ohio cop that pulled me over and gave me a speeding ticket. I guess it was bound to happen. The friendly officer did tell me that I shouldn't get a point on my record as California doesn't cooperate with Ohio in that regard. Joy. On the bright side, the fine for traveling 16 mph over the speed limit is cheaper than New York City parking tickets. A mere $105 covers the fine. Of course, we'll see what happens when I get to California and sign up for car insurance!
"Touchdown Jesus"
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.So for the past 3 days, I've had my iPod with nearly 20 gigabytes worth of music set to shuffle through all 2000+ songs. Just as I was pulling off the Notre Dame campus after stopping to see the stadium and "Touchdown Jesus", the Notre Dame fight song comes on (which I have from the Rudy soundtrack). Coincidence??
Chicago Skyline
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.Finally in Chicago. A nice break to mark the 1/3 point.
Fallingwater - Day 3
Fallingwater (from the walkway)
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.If you'd asked me anytime time in elementary school what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have told you that I was going to be an architect. Okay, sure, it's nerdy and I'm sure I was supposed to say something along the lines of fireman or astronaut but when I was a kid, the thought of carrying big tubes of blueprints and having a cool drafting table intrigued me.
I never did become an architect. However, on day 3 of this road trip, I did manage to stop by one of Frank Lloyd Wright's more well known designs - Fallingwater. While there, I met an architectural photographer that was in my tour group. We chatted a little about photography and pubs in New York City. I'll sum up our 30 minute coversation with these two points: (1) Randomly cropped photos are a telltale sign to pros that the shot was done by an amateur shooting on digital and (2) if you're ever at McSorley's in the East Village of NYC, look up at the wagon wheel light and see if you find chicken bones hanging from it. If you do, take a sip of your next beer in honor of the doughboys who never made it back from WWI to take that chicken bone down.
Day 2
Gettysburg
Originally uploaded by crazypete04.
After a few first day glitches, day 2 has gone much better. Due to some interesting pricing schemes, I saved $250 by returning my rental car in Philadelphia and then re-renting. Luckily, they just re-rented me the same car saving me the hassle of unloading all my stuff and reloading it to a new car. On the downside, I'm still driving the same, not fun, Ford Taurus.
I also managed to switch the now useless cassette adapter for an FM Transmitter at the Apple Store in King of Prussia, PA. Why there's a city called "King of Prussia" beats me. I guess maybe you eventually run out of -ville or -burg names that haven't been taken. Who knows, maybe there's an Emperor of Japan, Wyoming or Dictator of Cuba, Kentucky out there.
So with my travel accessories in order, I covered about 265 miles yesterday, stopping at Gettysburg along the way. Walking around the Gettysburg National Cemetary and following the driving tour signs which take you around the various battle sites is quite a somber experience. Within the cemetary are rows and rows of unknown soldiers marked with small grave markers with just numbers engraved on the top. And while there's no doubt that these soldiers, known or unknown, died for their country in a war which ultimately ended slavery in America, I wonder how many of these soldiers actually fought and died for the cause and how many enlisted because it was a job that provided food, clothing, a paycheck, and benefits for their families and may or may not have known what the war was about in the first place.
