Day 12
I had set an alarm and 8:00am never came so quick. We both got up, showered, packed, and said our goodbyes to Alyssa. We were quickly back on Highway 20 and working our way through Newton, a much easier trip in the daylight. We cruised towards Boston’s center. It was pretty easy finding the end of Highway 20, getting a place to park, and making our way for the “Newport, OR, 3365 Miles” sign for a selfie. The scenic outskirts of commercial Boston University stretched around us as we were walking back to the car. We remembered we had put an hour of quarters into the parking meter, so we stopped at a bagel shop for some breakfast.
For those of you keeping score, from Coquille, OR, to the End of Highway 20 in Boston, MA: 3,616 Miles
We had already decided and booked our spot in Brooklyn, Connecticut using AirBnB, which was two hours away. After 12 days of road tripping we needed a day of rest, an oil change, and some laundry done. So we got on I-95 and zoomed away from Boston. Rhode Island passed quickly and we left the interstate for Highway 6. It felt peculiar not seeing “East 20” signs anymore. Danielson was just outside of our destination of Brooklyn, CT, and we stopped at the small town laundromat. They had a little bathroom, so we were able to wash our accumulated laundry, as well as the clothes we were wearing. Shar found a Valvoline shop nearby, and we handed over Alfie for a checkup, oil change, and tire rotation. It seemed that we had just settled into our seats at the nearby Maury’s Pub when they called saying the car was ready. We had ordered a pizza for delivery, the pub didn’t serve food only popcorn, so Shar went to get her car while I chatted with the owner, Maegan, and one of the patrons named Dave. We finished the pizza, a couple cold ones, and made our way the 15 minutes to our AirBnB. Laurie, one of the owners, met us and quickly showed us around. Both her and her husband Ken were almost nonexistent the entire time we there, but their brother-in-law, Micheal, and another resident of the farm, Jennifer, were available for chats. We relaxed in the warm pool, enjoying both not traveling, as well as being in one of the most beautiful settings I’ve seen. The house was huge, with an old farm feel and constructed to have an assortment of interesting nooks and crannies. The whole area reminded me of Bilbo’s description of Rivendale found in The Hobbit Chapter 3.
“His house was perfect whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, nor a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.”
We rested the day away and Shar fell asleep in the big four poster bed, two large fans cooling her off from two different directions. I sat in a nearby nook, feet up, reading late into the night. It had been a much needed day.
Miles Driven: 90
Roads Travelled: I-95, Highway 6
Temperature at 10:00am: 86
Day 13
We slept as long as we needed, and we were on our way via Highway 6 by 10:00. After a pitstop to throw away some veggies that had long since passed the edible state we started looking for somewhere for lunch, and the nearby town of Willamantic was the closest, best option. We had to look at three different places before we found a place that was open. We were quick to ask about the giant frogs on the bridge that lead into town, and seem to dominate the decorations around town. Our waitress handed us our menus, briefly described the story, and pointed to a better description on the menu’s back. Turns out a nearby pond had dried up back around the Revolutionary War and the bullfrogs that had survived were making a terrible racket migrating to a better home. The local residence at the time thought it was a Native American attack approaching and ran out armed to protect the town, only founding frogs. It was dubbed The Battle of the Frogs and has become a part of the town mystic.
We stuffed ourselves on biscuits, gravy, kielbasa, bacon, potatoes, and eggs, and watched it pour outside. A passing thunderstorm whipped the trees around and dumped buckets of water, but had started after we were safe inside, and ended before we left. By noon we were walking back through the steam that wafted up from the drying streets and heading towards I-84 via Highway 32. Going 70 MPH really ate up the miles and we were on I-81 before we could blink. This interstate led us to I-80 and we really started zooming west.
Its funny how little there is to write about for Day 13. We took turns driving, looking at the scenery, and stopped for gas and food. I’ve nicknamed this “The Lost Day”, because when I was writing up the blog entries there seemed to be gaps in my notes. I spent nearly thirty minutes, and a bit of team remembering with Shar, to figure out what was wrong with my timeline.
It was nearing 7:00pm and we started thinking place to sleep for the night. No really good AirBnB deals manifested, so we turned off of the interstate to investigate Bald Eagle Campground near Howard, PA. It was full, but a sign indicated a “Rustic Campground” about 5 miles down the road. We followed the signs through the small town of Howard, and found a camp very empty and perfect for our needs. It was nice setting up the tent in the light, and we drove the 5 minutes back into town to see about dinner. We found a bank that had been converted into a pizza parlor/restaurant, and ordered. We shared some garlic knots, a savory roll with garlic and parmesan and a cousin to the cinnamon roll, some honey mustard chicken wings, and a grilled chicken salad. We also chatted up the waitresses about Howard. We found a willing instructor and learned about the county vs township vs town ideal, solving the mystery that had plagued us since New York. We also learned about Howard, a town around the same size of Coquille. We had time to finish the good meal, and a game of cribbage before heading to bed to watch the fireflies dance.
Miles Driven:
Roads Travelled: Highway 6, Highway 32, I-84, I-81, I-80
Temperature at 10:00am: 63
Day 14
Our 7:00am alarm woke us up and our well practiced morning routine had us on the road by 8:30am. Interstate 80 bumped under our tires and Pennsylvania became a memory in our rearview mirror. Ohio and Indiana quickly swept by as we took turns driving. Shar was still in low data mode, so I started searching for a place to sleep. We knew roughing it was still out of the question, no where near enough wild spaces this far east, so it was either a campground or AirBnB.
AirBnB had become our initial go to for finding a place to sleep here in the populated east. You can really find some deals if you dig a little and are willing to give up some amenities. We started by asking for more information about place in Lake Station, IL, for $50, but decided we would go further than that by the end of the day. It also turned out to be someone basically subletting their one bedroom apartment to people passing through. We’re pretty low maintenance, but literally taking someone else bed while they sleep on the couch isn’t our style. A place in Joliet, IL, listed at $25, disappeared with no response from the host until the next day when we were informed it was a twin bed. Near the junction of I-80 and I-55 is a town called Shorewood, which had a listing for $62. I sent a request at around 6:30pm, and we were it was close to 8:30 when we hit that area. No response from that host had come, so we turned onto south I-55. Just then we got a message from Kelly, so we flipped around and headed to her place about 15 minutes away.
Kelly had a nice ranch style home in the suburbs of Shorewood. The basement, which was a family room originally, had a private bathroom and shower. Another door led to a crawl space, and the last door held an “unfinished laundry room”, though I didn’t get to see it. We had chosen the second of two options given to us for sleeping, so Kelly had put two twin mattresses side by side with sheets and pillows. A short flight of stairs led down to the area and was screened from the house by curtains. Neither of us felt a sense of less privacy because of that fact though. Kelly was a gracious host, but quickly left us alone once we had settled into the space. After I took a shower, Shar and I relaxed over a very close cribbage game, which I came back to win by three pegs. The road trip series is tied at 2, with one draw due to windy conditions.
Shar finished the night with a shower of her own, and we settled into the comfortable bed. We were awakened around 10:30pm with the arrival of the other set of guests and their dogs, but they quieted quickly.
Miles Driven:
Roads Travelled:
Temperature at 10:am: 79
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