Day Four

Day Three

From Eau Claire I drove over to my sister-in-law's parents' home in Minneapolis, home of Prince.

Day Two

Driving on the second day was better than the first, most likely because I had a full night's rest. Goal was to go through Iowa, but that was sidestepped for a trip to Minneapolis. Just short of that destination, Eau Claire was the second rest stop on the trip.

As the sun set prior to reaching Eau Claire, the view of the hilly farm fields was pretty spectacular -- different hues of green for the cornfields and other types of crops. It reminded me of the trip my mother took my brothers and me when I was six years old -- to Wisconsin on a visit to my mother's brother and his family. I remember the hills and winding roads.

And then I thought of that motorcycle trip in northern Vietnam on October 2007. The winding roads and the sun's angular rays creating shadows from the mountains and hilltops on the winding roads and fields. And also three years ago, of that bus trip back to Madrid from Pomplona, with the spectacular shades of orange, red and purple as the sun set on the farm fields.

Day One

So, driving solo isn't that bad. No backup driver on this transcontinental road trip, through mountain passes, flat farmland, Badlands, peaks and troughs and from ocean to another.

starting time was supposed to be 3:30 a.m. But with folks who take their time, that departure was actually 5 a.m.

I found myself on a familiar route, traveling along I-80, as I had done almost three months ago from the Big Apple with my backseat driver and navigator extraordinaire. Now she will speak her mind and she'll make sure you'll never forget it, like keeping the speed within the state's limit. (Pushing 80 mph on the speedometer will trigger that outburst.) And her navigation skills have been replaced by a GPS device.

But the trees look fuller with their leaves maturing at the peak of summer, and this time I can take my time traveling. I can hardly believe that just three months ago, we made it to Chicago in a day. Today, I just barely made it to (Holy) Toledo, Ohio from New York City.

Departure

So, we depart from NYC today, after a four-day delay.

First Step: Car Rental

So, I booked a Toyota Camry at Hertz for a month from July 21. The full-size vehicle gets about 32 miles per gallon on the highway (which we will be traveling most of the time), compared with 35 for the Corolla (which was my initial choice). With thousands of miles to cover, the Camry was the logical choice, and I will pick it up Wednesday from the JFK lot.

Now, for the next two days, I must prepare items to bring.