New York to Colorado in Three Days

Well, I've relocated again, this time covering 1800 miles. It was a very long drive, but it was also a very enjoyable trip. Cruise control ROCKS. Some of the highlights:

1. Pennsylvania is GORGEOUS in the autumn with all the trees turning scarlet. The whole drive was up the hill, down the hill, and around the hill. Good times.

2. I stopped in Medina to visit my friend Brandon. His dogs didn't like me very much for some reason, but we chatted about this and that. Probably the only time I'll ever get to see him in person.

3. Stopped for the night in Dayton. Although downtown Dayton is a pit, there is a lot of construction going on in the surrounding areas. I had a couple of bad moments because some familiar places didn't look the same, there were so many new buildings. Adam took me out to the Mongolian grill and I got stuffed.

4. I was through Indiana practically before I realized it, although I did have fun driving through Indianapolis. I realize that I will be on I-70 for approx. 800 more miles. Yikes.

5. Illinois. It rained most of the time I was driving through this state. Not very interesting. I did have a brief interesting interlude when two cars with no license plates pulled out in front of me. It seemed odd, so I used my Onstar to contact the police. Not sure if that did any good, but at least I tried. I keep expecting the trees to go away and everything to flatten out, and it does for a little while, but I'm still going up and down some pretty major hills when I get to:

6. St. Louis! Mapquest told me to go *around* the city, but I went straight through so I could see the arch close up. It was a beautiful day and the metal glowed with a bluish tinge that made it look like Rearden Metal. Ahh, the nostalgia. I've actually been to the top of the arch previously when I was four or five. I remember standing precisely in the middle of the observation area because the floor tilted and I was afraid I would slip and roll down an elevator shaft. Still, the view was awesome, and that began a long tradition of going to the tops of Very Tall Structures, such as the Sears Tower, the Eifel Tower, the Space Needle, things like that.

7. Ah, finally the trees are going away. Oo, look at the Ozarks. Very pretty. I stopped for the night just short of Kansas City.

8. I did actually take the Mapquest Detour around Kansas City. Not sure if I'd do that again, because you wind up driving for more than an hour through the middle of NOWHERE. I'd rather face the traffic than squint endlessly at nothing in a driving rain. It was pretty miserable until the sun came out again, but the lightning was impressive.

9. I don't understand why people think the high plains are boring. I think it's pretty. You can see forever.

By the time I got to Colorado it was dark, so I didn't get to see very much. Mapquest had me drive through the back roads again to get to Kelly's place, so for the most part it was miserably pitch black. I was forcibly reminded of my first Dakota Sue post. It really is eerie being all alone in the dark when you can't see a single light anywhere. And it gets REALLY dark! I came across a guy in a Beetle going the same way I was. I hope I didn't freak him out too badly by following him.

Anyway, I arrived with no troubles. The countryside around here really is lovely, so if you get a chance to drive around it, go for it!