There's no CRYING in Baseball!!

I’m in the middle of day two, and so far so good. I decided to take a break from driving, and had the nice British lady in my GPS system find me a park to explore. So I’m writing this from the middle of a riverside park in South Bend, Indiana (Dad- the Verizon internet thing works GREAT!—clearly). Ever since I saw the first sign for South Bend, I can’t stop thinking about A League of Their Own (that and I spotted Racine on the map in too). I think I’ll be humming the All-American Girls Baseball League song all the way to Chicago. (You know it… “We’re the members of the all American League! We come from cities near and far. We’ve got Canadians…etc etc”)

Anyway, the weather has been fantastic so far! It was sunny all day yesterday and today (not a cloud in the sky), and a perfect 73 degrees. The drive from New Jersey to Ohio was not a problem. Pennsylvania was pretty, albeit kind of boring. The mix CDs my friends made me are saving me from boredom (seriously Sam and Megan—they are awesome). I stayed in a Travelodge Motel last night in Girard, Ohio—moderately sketchy. There was no remote for the TV, the toilet was clogged, and I’m preeeetty sure the sheets on the bed hadn’t actually been cleaned… but I guess that is what I get for $37/night. Other than that, the trip has been uneventful (Henry the Honda is doing an excellent job).

It wasn’t until the end of Ohio and into Indiana that I really felt like I was driving someplace different or far away. The entirety of Pennsylvania just seemed like an extension of the NY Thruway, but now there are more and more restaurant chains and brands of food I don’t recognize, and the scenery is just flat, flat, flat… with more and more farms a cropland.

Tonight I’m staying with the Edmondson contingent of the Sommi clan in Wilmette, IL (just north of Chicago), and tomorrow is the first of the longer drives (7 ½ hours from Chicago to Omaha). I’m looking for a pit stop someplace along the way, but the most exciting thing I can find is a smiley face water tower, or the “Worlds Smallest Jail.” We’ll see how that goes….

That’s it for now!

-Kathleen

P.S. To Sam, Megan, and Jenna (and whoever else knows and loves our dear Steven) Here he is enjoying the drive through Ohio this morning........