We left "on time" at 9:50 on Monday - later than Dad's desired 9am departure, earlier than my anticipated 10am departure. Weather report was crappy so we did most of the car packing on Sunday night and we were glad for it - the rain followed us from Havertown through most of Ohio. Because Anj was in San Diego over the weekend, we didn't really get to say goodbye. He had to be out in Pittsburgh for work yesterday, though, so we managed to time our pit stops to coincide at Somerset Rest Stop and got to have lunch with the little fella! After having slowed our roll for him to catch up, though, we really committed to getting to Indianapolis before turning in for the night.
Dad took the initial leg of the journey but was ousted after a harrowing stretch in West Virginia. Mom and I were jamming to some John Denver when he started driving like... himself. So there was a lull in conversation for a while until he stopped for gas and was relegated to the back seat. Mom drives like an old lady, so between the driving rain on Dad's shift and her decision to hang out with a double-length FedEx truck for the better part of an hour, we weren't exactly clipping along. I was dying a slow death. But beer was in sight. We called a brewpub near our hotel to make sure they'd still feed us and thank goodness we did - we walked in 3 mins after the kitchen closed but they still fed us. If you ever find yourself just west of Indianapolis in Plainfield, IN, stop into Black Swan Brewpub. The beer was cold (also delicious), the fries and sandwiches were hot (and delicious), and the day was done. One down, 40-some to go.
Today was uneventful except for a delightful stopover in St. Louis! A dear friend of mine from college lives there, so we planned to get to town for an early lunch. We had to get up and out of our hotel bright and early to make sure we would be on time... and totally neglected the time zone change. So instead of rolling in EXACTLY on time, we were a solid hour early. Since Mom's never been to St. Louis before, we took the opportunity to hop down to the Gateway Arch to scope it out!
Lunch was at Winslow's Home near Forest Park in St. Louis. The neighborhood was all big, fancy houses near Wash U and it was so, so good to see Hannah and her Mom.
I drove first shift today, so after lunch I had some work to attend to. Since we essentially spent the entire day on I-70, Dad couldn't do too much to get us lost. He mostly succeeded at driving less like he wanted to and more like Mom and I wanted him to, but I was tired and hangry by the time we landed in Topeka. I headed immediately to bed for a nap, Mom swam laps at the hotel pool, and Dad addressed the gas sitch so we can sally forth whenever we get our acts together tomorrow. They've both been asleep for a few hours now, so I guess I should hit the hay, too. Otherwise I'll be a nightmare in the morning. Not a good look for Day 3.
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