This was the second half of the marathon drive. Originally we were going to stop at Omaha, and did... only long enough to realize how much of a drive was remaining to Chicago. After visiting a mall to find Doug a power supply for his phone, we drove that night to Des Moines. I’ll spare you all of the jokes about seeing Iowa at night.
In the morning we had a buffet breakfast at something called the Farm Machine Shed Restaurant if I recall correctly. Think of a Cracker Barrel, but serving a buffet. There was an older local fellow offering tractor rides outside of the door. It seemed to be a tough sell, even to Iowa kids.
We eventually made it to the suburbs of Chicago and to Todd & Marguerite’s house. (Actually, we accidentally drove past the house, and Todd had to chase us down on his motorcycle.) They threw a cookout in our honor and invited the local Elise community. We had about ten or so cars show up. It was great to meet people in person that we’ve gotten to know over the past couple of years of chatting on Elisetalk. Everyone had a wonderful time. That evening, a thunderstorm brewed up, and I played around with attempting to capture lightning.
The following morning Todd and Doug went on a drive thru downtown Chicago after rush hour traffic. As for me, I decided to get an early start on the day. So after 7000 miles of driving together on this journey, Doug and I parted ways: He was bound for Akron and I would eventually wind up in Cambridge, OH. It was a great journey Doug; safe passage on your way home!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
