Day 3 Cross Ohio and Indiana

Today was one of our longer jumps, from Youngstown, Ohio, to Merrillville, Indiana just south of Chicago.  After a very brief stint on interstate 80 outside of Youngstown, we opted once again for the secondary roads, 303, 20, 24 in Ohio and 24 and 30 in Indiana.  For the most part they are good roads, with posted speeds of 55mph outside of the little hamlets of which there are many.  I noticed may small town centers with beautifully restored Victorian era homes, especially along route 303 in Ohio which was a nice drive and worth repeating at a slower pace with more stops. 

We were surprised to find that even off the beaten path the big chain stores seem to have taken over the country.  The fast food giants, the mid range restaurants, the big box lumberyards and variety stores that we have at home are everywhere out here.  Mom & Pop stores were few even along these routes.

My resolve to record some colorful dialog and listen more carefully for regionalisms came to nothing.  Service persons sound like they are all reading the same script, from CT to IN.  We briefly picked up some accents, but near the cities everyone talks like a NYC TV personality.

We were momentarily lost four times on this trip.  The good folks at RoadTripAmerica.com warned me to use GPS devices with care, likewise with maps, observed signs, and the advice of locals.  Sometimes it takes all four to find a destination. Today Magellan decided we were in the middle of a cornfield because the road we were on was so new it wasn’t in the mapping program. We resisted the instruction to drive in the direction of Kansas. In the process of correcting we became lost again because the Rand-McNally road atlas is missing a section of route 24 on the Ohio-Indiana border, so once again we found ourselves on a road that did not exist.  I’ll take the blame for missing a turn off rt 469 around Fort Wayne, but we did get a good look at this little city (and a much needed stretch break). I saw Carolyn Rose’s post about getting lost in Chicago.  If I can, I will.

The picture is something we saw a lot of along the rural roads of Indiana, farm houses.  We also saw crop dusting for the first time IRL and lots of fields in the process of becoming corn.

I may skip my work out tonight and start reading Carolyn Rose’s An Uncertain Refuge, which I purchased for the kindle just before leaving.  I enjoyed Hemlock Lake quite a bit and look forward to her newest.

Tomah Wisconsin is the target for tomorrow and we are debating on using the highways this time to allow us to arrive earlier and look around before collapsing.

Comments seem to work properly now, so post.  I have set it up so you can post anonymously without setting up an account if you are shy. Shawn, that means you .  Since posting pictures of our trip was your idea give us a shout. 

Wish you were here, but I would need a bigger car, so enjoy through this.

David