Friday, April 5, 2013

I-80 Observations



 
--Ohio seems to have toned down the hyper-vigilant speed traps, leaving North Carolina as the state with the most speed traps, IMHO.

 

--I love the improvements to the Pennsylvania Turnpike—three lanes! No potholes!—but I kind of miss that adrenaline rush of trucks barreling by an inch from your car through rain and fog, lanes of opposing traffic separated by flimsy posts and steel rope.

 

--It’s worth stopping a Culver’s for a custard milkshake.

 

--They still make classic chef’s salads in the Midwest. I should have asked for French dressing or Thousand Island at the Big Boy in Maumee, Ohio.

 

--The World’s Largest Truckstop—in Iowa—is large but very disappointing. Shouldn’t such a mecca not have gas pumps that are broken and unable to pump without standing there, holding it? Plus, the bathroom was dirty.  Plus, while it was E-Z in, it definitely was NOT E-Z out. I do not recommend stopping there.

 

--I always wonder about that RV Hall of Fame (in Indiana). What must an RV driver do to be so honored with enshrinement in the Hall of Fame? There were a lot of cars—not RVs!—in the parking lot.

 

--Ohio’s roads are the flattest and straightest (and the most expensive).

 

--Illinois has the most peaceful roads—west of Chicago—and they really should be marked for 70, not 65.  The Chicago area is filled with maniacs…more adrenaline.

 

--My favorite green interstate sign comes after Pittsburgh:

“Ohio

And West”

 

--A squirrel ran across the interstate in front of my car in Indiana. I’ve never seen such a thing.  There were absolutely no trees around, by the way.

 

--I don’t care if it is just a Hampton Inn: don’t come to the breakfast bar in pajamas and bare feet.

Work-in-Progress

DC-area author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary.