(NOTE: View a larger picture by clicking on the photo(s) above.)
You like the pictures above? Yeah? OK, I’ll tell you more about these in a few minutes. But, first, let me catch you up to date. You know that we got to Chicago and were not able to do what we had planned. So, we cut our stay in the area short and got ready to head East and South.
We knew that we would have some traffic to contend with in such a large city, but we didn’t expect this. It seems that all the people within a hundred miles jumped on the Freeway in front of us. It was stop-and-go. You know how it is, move a car length then stop, then get up to five miles an hour, then stop again. Now this would not be so bad if it were only a few miles, but 40 miles? The thing that really rubs you the wrong way is that you have to pay for the privilege. Yep, it’s a toll road on I-90, not to mention the high cost of fuel.
The first toll sign indicated that the fee for a car is 80 cents. Now, did we pay 80 cents? Not on you life. We were privileged to pay $2.25. OK, if we can get through here for that amount, not too bad. However, we crept up on another toll booth. Another $2.25. We have to pay a higher toll because of the number of axles we have. We have four axles. Now, we are surely finished with the toll having paid $4.50. NOT!
Have you ever been lost in Chicago? The Interstate system through Chicago has a lot of twists and turns. Sometimes there is a ramp right, then sometimes its left. It is difficult to know before hand which way to go to remain on the same route. Naturally, if you are in the left lane, you need to go right, and if you are in the right lane, the next one is left.
We were in one of those “left” lanes when we needed to go right. We saw the turn too late and had to continue onto an exit. We were headed for the downtown streets of Chicago. We couldn’t backup. We couldn’t turn around. We had to continue on. Can you image what it would be like trying to negotiate city streets in rush hour with a 39 foot trailer on a 22 foot truck?
We needed a quick solution to find our way back onto the Interstate, going the right way. Wendy to the rescue! You remember “Wendy” our GPS voice. As we rolled down the exit ramp, Wendy recalculated a new route to get us back where we belonged. She told us to go to the corner, make a left turn, and then another immediate left which would lead us back. A piece of cake. “Now, Everett, pay attention what you are doing.” No, Wendy didn’t say that, it was the little voice in my head. We continued on.
We approached the bridge crossing the Ohio River to Indiana called Sky Way Bridge. Guess what? Another tool booth. We had to pay to not get our feet wet. Not $2.25, not $4.50. No, it cost us $10.10, just to cross the bridge. The other side is Indiana. Ok, that is the last of donations to the city of Chicago, or the State of Illinois, or whomever gets the money. Are you ready for the next surprise?
We knew that Indiana also had a toll road (also I-90) and we were reconciled to the fact that we had to pay more toll. Very soon after crossing the river, we found the toll booth. $3.25 this time. How far is this going to take us, you ask? In about a quarter mile we came upon a “Detour” sign, sending us off the toll road onto a local road. We paid for using the toll road, but were denied its use. For 15 miles we detoured until we hit I-65 going south. No more toll. Truly, no more tolls. Three cheers! We bounced our way to Indianapolis on very, very rough roads. Speaking of “shake, rattle and roll,” we did.
Due to my little back problem, considering that I could only walk with pain, we cut our time in Indianapolis short and headed on to Clarksville, Indiana, area where we used to live. We enjoyed visits with friends, but took no “walking tours, ” except in and out of restaurants. We spent three days there then headed for Tennessee.
Clarksville is just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. We crossed the bridge Saturday morning into Kentucky. We hadn’t gone far until we ran into stopped traffic on the Interstate. Three lanes of traffic setting still. We speculated as to what may be the cause when two ambulances went by going the opposite direction, toward the hospital. We assumed then that there had been an accident. We sat, then crept a few feet, and sat again. We were doing the 40 minute mile. It took us that long to get that far. Indeed, there had been what looked liked a horrific accident between two cars.
We are in Tennessee now. It is Sunday, May 18. I have an appointment with the doctor on Monday to see if we can figure out why I can only walk bent over with my nose level with my belt buckle. Funny thing, this back problem, I can sit and drive without pain, but I can’t walk ten feet without pain chewing up my hip and leg. Enough about this.
Oh, yes, the pictures. I had almost forgotten. We had a lot of time in Gila Bend, Arizona so I decided to get creative and produce some art work with fruits and vegetables. Not! I actually got these from the internet, or someone sent them to me, or some such. Someone was very creative. I’m sure you can tell what the art is suppose to represent. I thought I would just throw them at you to enjoy since I had not taken any photos on this leg of the trip.
An important note: Since our rig will be at the dealers being worked on (just old things that were not completed last Summer), we are going to be away without the RV for a couple weeks visiting family. So, I will not be writing the blog again until we re-unite with our fifth-wheel. We have reached full-circle. Twelve months on the road. I will give you more reflection in about two weeks. Keep checking. I will be back.
You like the pictures above? Yeah? OK, I’ll tell you more about these in a few minutes. But, first, let me catch you up to date. You know that we got to Chicago and were not able to do what we had planned. So, we cut our stay in the area short and got ready to head East and South.
We knew that we would have some traffic to contend with in such a large city, but we didn’t expect this. It seems that all the people within a hundred miles jumped on the Freeway in front of us. It was stop-and-go. You know how it is, move a car length then stop, then get up to five miles an hour, then stop again. Now this would not be so bad if it were only a few miles, but 40 miles? The thing that really rubs you the wrong way is that you have to pay for the privilege. Yep, it’s a toll road on I-90, not to mention the high cost of fuel.
The first toll sign indicated that the fee for a car is 80 cents. Now, did we pay 80 cents? Not on you life. We were privileged to pay $2.25. OK, if we can get through here for that amount, not too bad. However, we crept up on another toll booth. Another $2.25. We have to pay a higher toll because of the number of axles we have. We have four axles. Now, we are surely finished with the toll having paid $4.50. NOT!
Have you ever been lost in Chicago? The Interstate system through Chicago has a lot of twists and turns. Sometimes there is a ramp right, then sometimes its left. It is difficult to know before hand which way to go to remain on the same route. Naturally, if you are in the left lane, you need to go right, and if you are in the right lane, the next one is left.
We were in one of those “left” lanes when we needed to go right. We saw the turn too late and had to continue onto an exit. We were headed for the downtown streets of Chicago. We couldn’t backup. We couldn’t turn around. We had to continue on. Can you image what it would be like trying to negotiate city streets in rush hour with a 39 foot trailer on a 22 foot truck?
We needed a quick solution to find our way back onto the Interstate, going the right way. Wendy to the rescue! You remember “Wendy” our GPS voice. As we rolled down the exit ramp, Wendy recalculated a new route to get us back where we belonged. She told us to go to the corner, make a left turn, and then another immediate left which would lead us back. A piece of cake. “Now, Everett, pay attention what you are doing.” No, Wendy didn’t say that, it was the little voice in my head. We continued on.
We approached the bridge crossing the Ohio River to Indiana called Sky Way Bridge. Guess what? Another tool booth. We had to pay to not get our feet wet. Not $2.25, not $4.50. No, it cost us $10.10, just to cross the bridge. The other side is Indiana. Ok, that is the last of donations to the city of Chicago, or the State of Illinois, or whomever gets the money. Are you ready for the next surprise?
We knew that Indiana also had a toll road (also I-90) and we were reconciled to the fact that we had to pay more toll. Very soon after crossing the river, we found the toll booth. $3.25 this time. How far is this going to take us, you ask? In about a quarter mile we came upon a “Detour” sign, sending us off the toll road onto a local road. We paid for using the toll road, but were denied its use. For 15 miles we detoured until we hit I-65 going south. No more toll. Truly, no more tolls. Three cheers! We bounced our way to Indianapolis on very, very rough roads. Speaking of “shake, rattle and roll,” we did.
Due to my little back problem, considering that I could only walk with pain, we cut our time in Indianapolis short and headed on to Clarksville, Indiana, area where we used to live. We enjoyed visits with friends, but took no “walking tours, ” except in and out of restaurants. We spent three days there then headed for Tennessee.
Clarksville is just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. We crossed the bridge Saturday morning into Kentucky. We hadn’t gone far until we ran into stopped traffic on the Interstate. Three lanes of traffic setting still. We speculated as to what may be the cause when two ambulances went by going the opposite direction, toward the hospital. We assumed then that there had been an accident. We sat, then crept a few feet, and sat again. We were doing the 40 minute mile. It took us that long to get that far. Indeed, there had been what looked liked a horrific accident between two cars.
We are in Tennessee now. It is Sunday, May 18. I have an appointment with the doctor on Monday to see if we can figure out why I can only walk bent over with my nose level with my belt buckle. Funny thing, this back problem, I can sit and drive without pain, but I can’t walk ten feet without pain chewing up my hip and leg. Enough about this.
Oh, yes, the pictures. I had almost forgotten. We had a lot of time in Gila Bend, Arizona so I decided to get creative and produce some art work with fruits and vegetables. Not! I actually got these from the internet, or someone sent them to me, or some such. Someone was very creative. I’m sure you can tell what the art is suppose to represent. I thought I would just throw them at you to enjoy since I had not taken any photos on this leg of the trip.
An important note: Since our rig will be at the dealers being worked on (just old things that were not completed last Summer), we are going to be away without the RV for a couple weeks visiting family. So, I will not be writing the blog again until we re-unite with our fifth-wheel. We have reached full-circle. Twelve months on the road. I will give you more reflection in about two weeks. Keep checking. I will be back.
You're back???? Yeah!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've been catching up. Carolyn I hope your back is much better. Debbie Lowe