On The Road To Ohio (And My Sister)

Aug. 25, 2013

Spent a good part of Saturday packing. We're not taking our car but driving one of the Lundberg's two autos -- that's part of the reason for our inclusion: they need to get their cars out to Poulsbo (pronounced Pauls-bow, I'm told).

Ethan checks out the Toyota
which has been pack to the gills with stuff needed
at their new house in Washington state.

We left New York early Sunday morning. Not as early as we expected though. Ethan had been up during the night with an upset stomach so we let him sleep a little later and left Brooklyn at 8:30 instead of our planned departure of seven. With two cars packed up with four adults, three dogs, two kids and lots of 'stuff', we headed west through the Holland Tunnel and toward the route we'd be following for a long while: Interstate 80. Our destination: my sister's lake house in Sherrodsville, Ohio - about 465 miles door-to-door. I wanted to stop on the way for the night, given the fact that we're travelling with two small kids, our 3-½  and 6-year old grandsons. But Stacey said that would throw our schedule off (and add to the cost) - we have to meet Dani and Erik outside of Chicago which they will have been exploring while we're at my sister's.

Our first day's route from Brooklyn NY to Sherrodsvile, OH - 465 miles!

So we drove on.And on and on. The kids were amazing: wonderful travelers both and both very easy. We stopped several times - for gas and snacks. But lunch we ate on the go. And we reached Duba's house at 6:30 pm. I was exhausted, having driven the lion's share. And I may have picked up a bit of Ethan's stomach upset as I felt "out of it" for the entire day.

I-80 is a spectacular drive. It cuts through vast areas of the Pennsylvania Wilds - state forests and mountains that are sparsely settled and offer wonderful vistas as you ride along. It also has much less traffic than our usual route on I-78 and 76 (Penna Turnpike). Google says it's about seven hours if you drive straight through without stopping. It took us ten! Why?

Through the windshield --
I-80 -- beautiful views as it cuts through the Pennsylvania Wilds.

Truth be told, we did get a little lost at the end as my phone lost its connection and Google Maps faded into obscurity in the middle of nowhere Ohio. We switched to the car's built-in GPS and it guided us the last hour of the way to Duba's house, albeit through some very back road routes - an adventure that we all enjoyed. My sister prepared a wonderful pasta dinner which everyone devoured and then a story for each kid and bed -
a great first day!
.

Sammy enjoying a pasta dinner at Aunt Duba's.

Oh, and by the way, Ethan agreed to "write" his own blog and you can find it here. He already (almost) knows the list of thirteen states that we'll be travelling through. If Dani and Erik prod him to keep at it and have him dictate for five minutes at night, reviewing the day's odyssey this will be a great keepsake for him, not to mention adding a little variety and focus to his trip. Sammy, at 3-½, probably won't even remember this trip except from photos he'll see sometime in the future.

My parents, who took my brother, sister and me on many car trips as kids, inspired in me a life-long love of travel and exploration. Here's to the same inspiration for Ethan and Sam as they travel through life!

¡Hasta mañana amigos!

Disclaimer: Ethan's blog is in his very own words and include his very own photos taken with his very own camera (except for the first picture of him). But, yes, an adult's typing and minimal editing.