One year ago today I married the perfect guy for me. Today, we also began our first trip to parts unknown.
Just after 8 am we set out for day one of our trip to Minnesota – I took first shift of driving (to South Bend) so Scott could sleep a bit more in the car. We weren’t even through Lorain County when what should I spy with my little eye driving down the opposing lanes of the Turnpike? THE FRIGGING OSCAR MEYER WEINERMOBILE. What a great way to start off the day! I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old, my mother drove us down to Monroeville one afternoon because the Weinermobile was supposed to make an appearance at some restaurant down there. Anyway, that gave me lots of fond memories of road trips past to smile about while Scott slept.
First stop on the journey was an excursion into South Bend, Indiana to visit the Notre Dame campus. This was like Scott’s version of a pilgrimage – somewhere he’s always dreamed of going. It was a gorgeous day for it too – beautiful weather to walk around campus, no big crowds, and we got easy access to every major landmark Scott wanted to see. He looked like a little kid on Christmas walking around down there.
Back on the road, our next stop was supposed to be Chicago. We spent a lot more time there than we had intended-and never got out of the car. It was ridiculous. Between the Chicago metro traffic, the (I am being literal here) 62-mile road destruction zone of I-90 after we finally got out of Chicago, and the sheer idiocy of their turnpike system, we are not big fans of Illinois. Word for the travel wise: EZ Pass transponders are an excellent investment if you travel a lot anyway, but if you plan on doing anything in Ill-Annoy, they are an absolute necessity. Factor this in. They’ll save you time, they’ll save you cash, and they’ll save you from having to back track to find which toll kiosk you missed because they don’t put up signs until you’re driving past it.
Also, Ill-Annoy is only state of the Union either of us have visited that did not have a welcome sign when we drove in, although Indiana stepped up its awesomeness by having an Exit 0 just as we were leaving their state:
By the time we got to the Wisconsin border, Scott was cheering too.
Staying tonight in the Holiday Inn Express Madison, then on to Minnesota in the morning.
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