Post Mills, Vermont to Cincinnati, Ohio in Two Days

August 19, 2013 5:45 PM Room 136 Comfort Inn Cincinnati, Ohio Saturday night was a restless night for me--Bill was asleep at his normal 8:15 but I stayed up until the nighttime sports and then woke up every two hours until I finally got up at 5 am. Gathered some food for snacks along the way, had breakfast and decided to take my jewelry since I'm not traveling as such but rather changing my nest for awhile. So had to bring those things I'd use while at home. Bill had wanted to be on the road by 7 but we were off by 6:30. Betsy was barely awake as she hugged and kissed us goodbye before returning to bed. She locked Attila out of her room--he woke her up at 3 am. Should be interesting to see how she'll break him of that habit--lol Misty just wanted out so she could check her dish and what that youngster was doing. Glad I'm not going to be there for a lot of the kitten training! It was quite foggy as we made our way to the Interstate and I worried that it wouldn't lift before Killington. Rte 4 is treacherous when you can see what's coming at you and the deer on the Interstate are pretty dumb that early in the morning. Said a prayer to St Anthony, one to St Jude and a short plea to Mary. One or all of them answered since the fog was gone by Norwich. Made our way the normal route to Malta--could drive it in my sleep. On to Ballston to Amsterdam and the Thruway to Buffalo. We don't often go this way--it seems interminable to Lake Ontario and there is a 15 dollar toll to the Pennsylvania line. On the other hand, we avoid the mountains and that terrible Wilkes Barre-Scranton corridor. The traffic was light and hardly any trucks which is always nice. The grape vines along the Ontario-Erie border were so lush--actually all the vegetation was thick and green. All the rains have created jungle-like conditions--impenetrable to light and view. By the time we had covered 517 miles at 4 pm Bill was tired and so we stayed in Erie, Pa last night.We usually go to eat before checking in and then we are in for the night. This was no different and we headed over to Applebees where Bill had short ribs and I had blackened tilapia. Delicious! I wanted to watch Masterpiece at 9 pm but at 8:20 I dozed off and woke with a jerk. Okay, said I, I'm not going to make it, so I bedded down and got up at 8 am this morning! Continued this morning on I 90 West and then around Cleveland we picked up I 270 a connector to I71 which passes through Columbus and Cincinnati. We had heavy rain between Erie and Cleveland and quite a bit of construction but again the traffic was manageable and the driving not very stressful. The cloud formations were breath-taking. It was a real relief, however, when we drove out of the rain into a beautiful sunny day. We didn't start as early, getting on the road at 9;30. The gas is much cheaper out here. We saw it at $3.38 but paid $3.44 for regular when we filled up in Erie. Still about 20 cents cheaper than home. It was terrific to have an express lane on 270 --no exits and few entrances as we passed through the congested urban area. Wish more city areas had this arrangement--really cuts down on the hassle of city traffic. Once we passed through Columbus I looked on the map ( a new OHIO map! ) for a smallish place that might have a local restaurant for lunch. Picked W. Salem--it is small okay. Only eatery was Subway which I don't really like so we went to the IGA where they have a sign saying fresh sandwiches. Well, they probably were made this morning but they don't make them fresh for you AND they have to go into the cooler to see what they have--LOL Ah, small town America! It was edible though--roast beef and lots of veggies. What I hate about Subway is too much bread---this wasn't much better. They did have terrific chewy ginger cookies and nice lemonade so all was not lost. Plus, I found pepper jack sticks which are no longer available in NH. As we left town I noticed the town hall and had to have some pictures of the historical structure. Nice to get off the Interstate and see where people live. Too soon it was back to homogenized landscape of Highway World. We continued to Cincinnati where Bill decided he'd driven far enough. We covered 340 miles and stopped at 330. Bill went off to Applebees, brought me back chicken wings and I caught up on the newspapers. Now to eat and check up on tonight's TV offerings. Tomorrow we cross into Kentucky and on to Tennessee. More Interstate driving but maybe since we are so close and not due to Becky's until the 21st I'll be able to convince Bill to do some back road touring. Wish me luck. Until tomorrow night--hugs to all. Kathy and Bill