THE MOVE cont.

Act 2: The Midwest is Long and Boring
So I made it 750 miles on Friday, from Columbia, MO all the way to Lewisburg, West Virginia. It was a relatively uneventful trip with stops in Mt Vernon, IL; Winchester, KY; and Beckley WV. Mainly I saw a lot of trees – trees lining the interstate all across southern Illinois and Indiana and hills with trees across West Virginia. Basically it was like driving across Kansas and Nebraska only substituting endless prairie as far as the eye can see for trees lining both sides of the interstate. There were also a few car accidents, mainly rear ending but one spectacular looking rollover in Kentucky with lots of cop cars and flashing lights. Given how calm all the bystanders were and that several apparent passengers were sitting in the grass, I’m guessing there were no major injuries. Or maybe they just take roadside tragedy with a grain of salt in the Bluegrass State. Speaking of Bluegrass state, I didn’t realize how thick the accents are in Kentucky. At McDonalds I couldn’t tell whether she was asking me what kindof “sauce I needed for my nuggets” or if I was “lost and needed some huggin’s.”

In West Virginia, right around the time I started to feel fatigued I stopped at a major crossroads and quickly learned that ALL of the hotels were full. I had no choice but to go another 50 miles to the next town of consequence only to see a sign indicating that the State Fair was going on there. I had already decided to just park somewhere well lit and open in town and crash in the car for a few hours- but I tried the Super 8 just in case. They did have one room and I admitted to having 1 dog knowing that with 2 I had little to no chance of entry. The guy was nice and put me in a room in the back, but I realized that they have security cameras he was monitoring and since it was after midnight he was likely to make sure I got in alright. I actually tried to shove Tosca (my terrier) into a duffle bag thinking I could pass her off as luggage but those of you who know her, know that there was no chance in hell that would work. I decided to just quickly and brazenly walk down that hallway with both dogs and pray that I was left alone. If he came to my door, I was so exhausted that I would have had no problems manufacturing some convincing tears, but luckily my deceit was not detected … or it was and he just didn’t care.