The East

 

  How should we travel? Car or plane? This April we went west to see Uncle Vern in Mesa, Arizona. We could have flown directly from Grand Forks to Mesa, but we also wanted to see Santa Fe, New Mexico so we drove. 

  

 This month we wanted to go to Massachusetts for our grandson's high school graduation. We could have driven to Minneapolis, flown to Boston and been there in one day. But we also wanted to go to Annapolis to visit Teresa's sister Cindy so we drove.

  

  Driving in the west is zero stress compared with driving in the east. The roads get emptier the further west you go until you hit Phoenix or Los Angeles. The east is far more congested, more convoluted, more interesting.

  

  We left home on a Thursday morning and spent the first night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The city may be delightful after further acquaintance, but no one was thinking of preserving an Old Town back in the Sixties when they gutted the downtown and put up parking lots.

 I had found a Country Inn and Suites by the airport: clean, quiet, and cheap. Teresa disliked the yellow tinge on the bottom of the shower curtain. The place needed an update, but clean, cheap, and quiet trumps all.

  

Friday morning dawned dark and ominous. There were tornado warnings. We joined the other brave souls on the interstate and waded east through the downpour which didn't quit till noon. We pulled off the interstate at St. Joseph, Illinois so I could visit St. Joseph's Catholic Church to get my three new-church wishes, but such a church doesn't exist. Good grief. 

There was a going-out-of-business antique shop in town. The owner didn't make eye contact. I hate that. We found a nice anvil for our son Matt but it was $1300. A smaller anvil was $200. Teresa could only haggle the owner down to $160. It's no wonder he's going out of business.

  

  The sun was out and we continued across beautiful Illinois, Indiana and into Ohio.  We decided to stop in Springfield, Ohio, a bit northeast of Dayton for the night. Teresa was determined to get a really nice place to make up for last night's outdated shower curtain. 

  

  Priceline has a buy-blind feature which I've always shied away from. They promise a three star motel in your desired location at a very good price. The name of the place is revealed after booking. No refunds.  I didn't relish the fact that there would be no free breakfast, but Teresa said with all the money we were saving, we could afford to buy breakfast. OK, book it Danno.

  

  It was at the Downtown Courtyard by Marriott.  Five stories. Nice. Nice landscaping, plush lobby. Too bad there was no one at the desk to check us in. There was a number to call on the wall. As soon as the desk phone started ringing, the manager scurried out from the back.

  

  The room looked good. Teresa showed me the bottom of the shower curtain. White as a bride's dress. During her shower she discovered the shower rod was drooping away from the wall.  It was hot outside so she turned on the a/c. It groaned as it struggled to cool off the room. Then it shut off. Every time it came back on it woke me up. I slept poorly. We wanted be on the road by eight but we both overslept. No time for breakfast. I never use those little in-room coffee machines, but this time I used all the packets available to fill our go cups. Nothing like motel coffee to go with your morning apple. 

  

  On Saturday, May 25, we drove from Springfield, Ohio to Cindy's daughter Abigail's home in Middletown, Delaware. This 500 mile jaunt involves cobbling together a route using several interstate highways. No backroads sightseeing today.

  

  The GPS in our vehicle is great as long as you stay on the straightaway. But if you go through a city or need to change roads, it panics. It's ambiguous about which way to go. It shows unhelpful names for the road you're on and the one you're looking for. Sometimes it just gives up completely and suggests a coin toss.

  

  Google or Apple maps are much better but they use data and if we leave them on day after day we'll use up our monthly data allotment. If we're thinking ahead we'll switch to Google maps to get us through the complicated places then switch back to the car GPS. We weren't fast enough on Saturday and ended up on a Pennsylvania two laner clogged with Memorial Day merry makers. 

  

  We passed the entry to Fort Necessity State Park of French and Indian War fame. British General Braddock met his end here. George Washington, a young officer at the time, escaped to later save our country. Normally I would have pulled in to pay my respects at Braddocks' grave. We passed a giant outdoor art fair, but kept going. We were not in a dallying mood today.

  

  Eventually we got back on the interstate, still following Braddock's Trail which Braddock had built west to the battle that sparked a world war and led indirectly to the American Revolution. Further east we passed in a matter of a few miles a network of American history; Antietam Creek, the road to Sharpsburg where the bloodiest one day battle in American history occurred, the Chambersburg Road up to Gettysburg, and the road to Harper's Ferry where the Civil War took fire.

  

  I knew in my head we would have to go through the Baltimore Harbor tunnel. The car's GPS seemed to be doing well so we stuck with it. I just had to follow the tunnel signs and stay on I-95. Suddenly we were in downtown Baltimore. Pilot error was to blame. I had always wanted to see the Camden Yards ball field, home of the Orioles. Now I had my chance. At the convention center there was a huge middle eastern festival with robed woman, turbaned men and roast lamb trucks.

  

  Teresa quickly switched us to Google maps and after dodging some colorful pilgrims we were back on 95. When we came out of the tunnel we could see the dead end of the  Francis Scott Key Bridge that had collapsed in March. It will take four years to rebuild the bridge.

  

  At last we dropped anchor at John and Abigail's, Max and Roman's in Middletown, Delaware. Abigail is Teresa's sister Cindy's daughter, John is her husband, and Max and Roman are their excellent children. 

Thank you Saint Joseph