The Start

          Mike and I loaded the RV, kissed the critters good-bye and drove away for the start of our eighteen-day adventure.

          Some parts of the Pennsylvania highways are boring.

          "Peg, I never thought I'd hear you say that," you say.

          I know, right! Most times I can find things to look at while Mike's driving but along some big long stretches of our highways there is nothing to see but trees. Trees, trees, and more trees. Now don't get me wrong, I love the trees, but other than looking for hawks, there isn't much else to see. As a result, there wasn't a lot of picture taking going on.

          Coming down off the mountain is a different story and I took a few road pictures for you.

          Toilet decor. You either love it or you hate it. Most people I know hate it and personally, I have no desire to have a toilet anywhere in my landscaping. These people, however, have their throne on a pedestal and decorate it for the seasons and holidays.

          And this is what happens to the color red over the years when you leave it out in sun.

          And a dozer abandoned at the edge of a field.

  

          Going to work Amish style.

          "That's dangerous on these roads," Mike commented.

          This is the Lewis Lumber Products company in Picture Rocks. They do hardwood and softwood mouldings as well as custom architectural millwork, flooring, paneling, and decking. They try to use only sustainable forest resources that cause negligible disturbance to the environment — just ask them; that's what their website says. I love the murals of Louis, John, Dwight, and Amos painted over some old window openings. If you are even remotely interested in learning about these men or the history of the company, here's the link to their page. http://www.lewislp.com/our-history/

           Some of the highways we were on were constructed way above the valleys. This shot is a tiny little piece of a much more scenic shot...

           ...but you wouldn't see the barn if I show you this, especially for those of you who I print this letter for.

          This beautiful farm is close enough to the highway that I can show you the whole shot.

          Leaving one highway to get on another, I spot a semi on his side. They don't usually leave them there for too long so it may have just happened the night before.

          "Heck of a way to park your truck," Mike jokes whenever he sees something like this.

          All throughout our travels, there was tons and tons of bridge and overpass construction going on.

          "It needed to be done," Mike says. "Our infrastructure is getting old."

          And no matter where we went there were two other things that were unavoidable; bugs on the windshield and reflections — both of which will turn up in my photographs from time to time. Those things happen in your travels too but your eye can ignore them and focus on the scenery, my camera cannot. Sometimes I can and do fix it, sometimes I don't.

          We saw old cars. "Must have been a car show someplace," one of us says.

          And remember those bug splats I talked about? This photo of the Ohio border has two bug splats on it.  

   

          I tried to take pictures of all the state borders as we crossed and the GPS in the RV helped with that.

          "Crossing state border into Ohio," she announces. None of our other GPS's ever did that. I don't know if it's a setting or if it's just something the Rand McNally guidance systems do. This is the first time we ever used the GPS in the RV and that's because we have a Garmin that Mike really likes.

          "Why didn't you use your Garmin then?" you ask.

          Well, somebody might have forgotten to pack it. I won't say who, but it wasn't me!

          This is the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio. It's huge!

          Occasionally you'll see something like this as you're driving down the road. I saw a story once about a passenger being much more seriously hurt because of riding this way than they would have been had they been sitting properly in the seat. Remember that. Heaven forbid you should ever be in a wreck but if it should happen, you don't want to be caught riding this way.

          All day long, as we passed other drivers, one or the other of us will note what's going on in the other vehicle. Sometimes people are eating but more and more we see so many people who are holding phones.

          "She's texting!" Mike will say.

          "Maybe not," I'll defend. "Maybe she's dialing the phone number." It can look the same in the few seconds it takes to pass.

          Sometimes the phones are stuck to their ears, then we know they are, "On the phone!"

          Everywhere you go, every place you look, people are glued to their phones, even while pumping gas. Who can't live without their phone for the few minutes it takes to fill the tank? It's kinda spooky if you ask me.

          Sometimes I get a kick out of the things they post on signs, like this one. CAMP IN OHIO STATE PARKS, it reads, NOT THE LEFT LANE. There are lots of left-laners out there, that's for sure, but I'm going to tell you something. They're wasting their time posting this. Although I think it's cute, left-laners will think this is for everyone else — not them.

          Mike and I left a day early to beat the rain that was coming. The clouds were beautiful as the sun started its westward descent and we began looking for a place to spend the night.

          "Peg, get the map and find us a Wal*Mart," Mike said.

          I reached around behind my seat and pulled the map from the pocket where it lives. The nice thing about a getting a map from Wal*Mart is they list all the Wal*Marts in any given state. And they even tell you which ones are within two miles of a major highway.

          "We have one coming up at exit 38," I told Mike.

          We get off at the exit. "Which way," Mike asks.

          "If we can't see it then I don't know. We'll have to put it in the GPS.

          Mike pulled over and started fooling with the GPS. And believe me, that was a challenge! We had a hard time trying to find the right screen to type in Wal*Mart. Eventually, we got it and headed on up the ramp and the GPS wants us to get back on the highway.

          "Now what?" Mike asked like I had all the answers.

          "I don't know." We went past the on-ramp and there are a bunch of stores ahead of us. "There's a big parking lot, maybe we can stay there."

          Mike pulled in the Rural King and I ran in to ask if we could spend the night. No. She said no! "Do you know where the Wal*Mart is?" I asked.

          "Sure, just go right out here and up the road until you see the Dairymen's Association. Take a left and it's right there."

           I thanked her for her time and got back in the RV. "She says go right up here and we'll see it on the left." Yeah, I totally didn't get the turn left part.

          "Are you sure, Peg, cause I don't want to be driving around all night." Mike was tired from having driven ten hours. Even though we made lots of stops for gas and dog walking and just to stretch our legs, it still takes a lot out of him.

          "Yeah. I think so."

          We get to the Dairymen's Association and the GPS tells us to turn left. "What are we doing, Peg?"

          "Turn left, I guess, cause I don't see no Wal*Mart!"

          We made the turn and there before us was the highway and just on our right Wal*Mart.

          "It was probably exit 36 and you read it wrong," Mike said.

          "It appears so," I agreed.

          Wal*Mart generally allows RVers to camp in their lot at night but sometimes the towns have ordinances against it.

          "The only signs I see are NO OVERNIGHT SEMI PARKING," I told Mike. We get out of the RV and an employee is rounding up carts.

          "Can we stay in the parking lot overnight?" Mike asked.

          "You're not a semi so I don't see why not," he answered.

          Wanting to be sure, we went in and talked to the manager.

          "Yeah, it's okay with me but you do so at your own risk," she said.

          Well, that sounded ominous but it was getting dark and starting to rain — and neither one of us wanted to find another place to stay, so we didn't ask any questions.

          Mike found a pretty level spot in a mostly deserted side of the parking lot and we made camp. There was a church just on the other side of the grass from us...

          ...and a stand of trees and bushes ahead of us. 

         There was a semi parked not too far away, he didn't think that sign meant him, but I didn't see any other RVers. Sometimes they pull off the road in the night and there'd probably be a few when I woke up in the morning. I walked the dogs while Mike unwound in front of the TV. It was only a light sprinkle so I thought I'd walk them around the lot a little but as I got close to the stand of trees and bushes I start to hear some screaming. I stopped and looked around. There were people going into and out of Wal*Mart, surely they heard it too, but no one seemed alarmed. There was even a guy in the parking lot of the church but he didn't seem to care either. The screaming turned to yelling.

          "You're a ****ing retard!" the disembodied voice screamed over and over again but with different emphases on the last two words each time.

          I figured since no one else was worried about it, I wouldn't worry about it either. I went back to the RV and locked the door behind me — which I would've done anyway.

          "I don't think this is the best part of town," I told Mike.

          "I know it's not."

          I'll tell you what! It took me a long time to relax enough to go to sleep that night!

         

          Tomorrow, new adventures and new pictures. Let's call this one done!