Road Trip Day 5: North Platte, NE to Avoca, IA

I have no Internet access again.

Boy, am I beat. I'm weaving when I walk. (The others at the hotel must think I'm drunk.) I'm having problems typing too.

It rained the whole way. Sometimes it really came down hard too and visibility was bad.

I think the combination of the gloom and having to concentrate really wiped me out. When I stopped at a gas station, it was like Laurel and Hardy gas a car: first I forgot to open my gas tank, then I forgot to slide the switch for the gas upwards, etc.

I was planning to get to Des Moines. However, I was low on gas, so I stopped in a little town by the highway. Then I saw a restaurant, and I hadn't eaten much of anything for six hours, so I stopped and ate. Then I saw a Motel 6, and because I was really tired, I decided to stop there.

It's probably just as well I can't access the Internet because I really should go to sleep.

Road Trip Day 6: Avoca, IA to Davenport, IA

I have no Internet access again. I'm also listening to the presidential debates while I type -;) Yay, CNN!

I didn't quite make it out of Iowa today, but Davenport is on the Iowa-Illinois border. I'm looking forward to going over the Mississippi River and coming "home" to Illinois.

It drizzled most of the day, but the weather was better than the day before.

When I was in Newton, IA, a group of people wearing retro clothes came into a gas station to use the phone. The women were wearing long green dresses, and the men had beards. I wonder where they came from.

I'm in a EconoLodge. It's my least favorite motel that I've stayed at, but it'll do.

I'm planning on stopping for the day tomorrow somewhere in Illinois or Kalamazoo, MI. I should be at my mom's house the day after tomorrow.

I've been learning how to ask "dumb" questions, such as directions back onto the highway. Knowing that I'll never see these people again frees me to ask whatever I need. Usually I try to go it alone.

Road Trip Day 7: Davenport, IA to Kalamazoo, MI

I'm on Easy Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It wasn't so easy getting here. I've been relying on the highway signs that list hotels, restaurants, and gas stations to make a decision about where to get off the highway. However, Kalamazoo doesn't have those signs. I picked an exit and drove up and down the street looking for a hotel. I found one that had no vacancies. At that point, I was at the end of my rope.

I called my mom, and she didn't know where the hotels were in Kalamazoo. She suggested that I get back on the highway, and go to the first hotel I found. Otherwise, she told me where a hotel was in Battle Creek (about an hour away). I found a EconoLodge hotel a couple of exits along the freeway. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Now I'm typing to the music of CNN. I don't have Internet access again.

It was a thrill to see the Mississippi River earlier today. It was sparkling in the sunlight. I was also thrilled to be in my native state of Illinois. However, the actual landscape was pretty boring -;) I ran into stop-and-go traffic in Indiana. Otherwise the trip was smooth. By the way, Michigan City is in Indiana. That makes lots of sense -;)

I caught up on my state-a-day goal by going through Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan. (I'm not counting Indiana because I was there only for a short time.) I'm about three hours away from my mom's house! I should arrive there tomorrow.

Road Trip Day 8: Kalamazoo, MI to Southfield, MI

I'm at my mom's house!!!!!!!

I made it here without any problems except that several rest stops were closed (because of the economy??) I got here quickly too.

The kitties were a little dubious about me at first, but they warmed up. After a good petting session, they decided that I was okay. (However, they didn't like me bringing up my suitcases, so they hid under the bed again.)

I'm very glad that the trip is over! Now I need to settle in here....