Road Trip - Day 4 (and Last)

The last leg of my Road Trip was ...dry. Well, there was a token spritz of rain in Indiana, but it lasted only a minute, then there was no rain for the rest of the day! Woo-hoo! The sky was mostly overcast, but it was sunny at the same time, so I actually got to wear my sun glasses! Here is a pretty typical sky shot that I took at one of the Ohio rest stops along the turnpike:

It turns out the remnants of Ike caused major flooding in Northwestern Indiana and the Chicago area. Most schools were closed on Monday, and the expressways were flooded and closed in spots so that it really snarled Chicago-bound traffic. Fortunately for me, I was headed the other way. I only went through one water-logged on-ramp and the rest of the trip was dry, dry, dry!

My decision to take the Toll Road/Turnpike was a good one, as I made it home in 12 hours. My only complaint is that 10 of those 12 hours were spent on the same, boring road. And the real bummer was my boom box CD player failed me, so I did not get to listen to all my books on CD, which usually makes the trip fly by. Fortunately the scan button on the radio works and there are some decent stations in the Midwest.

Also in the Midwest, people know how to merge. It is so refreshing! As soon as I put on my directional (turn signal, blinker, that flashy arrow thing), someone would wave me over. I definitely miss this part of living in the Midwest.

I knew I was home when I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. For those of you who were not listening that day in History class, the Mason-Dixon Line is what divides the North and the South, so technically I live in the South, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell that around the DC area. I think you need to go about an hour into VA to see signs of Southern-ness. I remember one year my Dad and I drove to FL together, and instead of the typical "Shirt and Shoes Required" sign on the restaurant door, we saw "Shirt and Shoes Preferred". Yep - we were in the South.

So how did I know I was home? Once I passed this point:

(that's the brown Mason-Dixon Line sign on the left, and the Welcome to Maryland sign on the right), I started to scream at stupid drivers.

When I got home, kitty immediately attached herself to my right leg, and all was well with the world. I called my Dad in Ohio to let him know I was home safely (it's a rule - we have to call when we get home), and he told me that Ike left their whole area without power. He's thinking dry ice to save the stuff in the chest freezer. Ugh. Fortunately I had no surprises awaiting me.

So today is my catch-up day. Lotsa stuff to do, and hopefully it will include some stampin'! I'll post later if I actually get any done.