NY: 11 hours and 3 states later...

Monday, July 25 2011

Ok, so we’re back on the road after a pleasantly uneventful stay at the Country Inn (which is part of a family of hotels; Country being the family-oriented sibling; Country describes the décor, more than anything else more genuine). Crossed the Mississippi into Illinois, Land of Lincoln. Forever on the horizon looms midwestern farm land, most of it evidently owned by corporate farms, judging by the monoculture of miles and miles of corn fields. Miles and miles, forever miles. Not much evidence of any other crop, aside from the very occasional soybean field. No orchards, grains, tomatoes, blueberries, nothing else. If you think the gun lobbyists are scary, then you don’t know enough about corn.

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio. The Missouri, Mississippi, the Susquehanna, and a dozen less reputable rivers inbetween. Once in a while, a picturesque farm – barns, silos, outbuildings , many pristine and tidy - contrasts with the occasional abandoned farm, its house and barns crumbling slowly. How sad that must’ve been, to be happily entrenched in your family farm life, likely for generations, only to gradually face the fact that your home is too close to the highway, although it wasn’t too close 10, 20, 50 years ago.

So last night, we decided we were going to stay half way between St Charles and New Jersey, and Expedia’d a hotel for about the price we Named Our Own Price for the bland-in-a-good-way Country Inn. Turns out not to be a good method – if you take the bidding process out of it, you take what you get: A room that was a smoking room for decades, in a one-level motel which is kind of quaint, except you can’t open your blinds or step outside except onto the parking lot. Nice people, cleanish room, dripping sink, rumbling white noise air-conditioning unit that’s either off or blasting frigid air, smelling of very old cigarettes.

But you know what? After 11 hours in a car and 3 states, you’re really tired, and you sleep really well. They did have lots of pillows. And good water pressure. And free wireless in the room. And what the heck, turns out that weak coffee, non-dairy creamer, stale pastries and relentless smoke smell are good motivation to get up early and hit the road.