...is done. If I could be on the road 24/7/365, I would jump on that chance/opportunity in a heartbeat!
In the meantime, it is time to start planning my 2011 road trip, most-likely via US Route 66 and into the northwest United States (Oregon, Washington, the Dakotas, Minnesota, etc.).
I'm also considering a couple mini road trips yet in 2010, in mid September (place TBD) and in November, during Thanksgiving weekend, to TN.
As for my Nor'Easter Trek road trip, I had a GREAT time traveling through IL, IN, MI, OH, PA, NY, MA, NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, PA, OH, IN, and IL, from Wednesday, August 4 to Sunday, August 15, 2010, meeting up with wonderful people along the way. I took over 400 pics and have them all available, with captions, of course.
MANY THANKS to those with whom I stayed:
Paul/Sabrina (Monte Carlo groups) ... Warren (Detroit) MI
Keith (college) ... Smithville (Canton/Akron) OH
Jan (Adult Congenital Heart Association) ... Randolph (Boston) MA
Ron/Jen (MC groups) ... Spencer (Boston) MA
Jim/Karen (MC groups) ... Telford (Philadelphia) PA
Warren/Nancy (family) ... Falls Church (Alexandria/Washington DC) VA
Heather (best friend) ... Bridgewater (Harrisonburg) VA
Drew (Cheers&Gears) ... Forest Hills (Pittsburgh) PA
HIGHLIGHTS
* The picture captions have details of my trip (including routes driven)...during which I drove some 3,250 miles.
* I had an issue with my camera focusing. Frustratingly, several pics were way too out of focus to keep; however, I opted to keep some "out of focus" pictures.
* The start of my trip (Wednesday, August 4) was delayed by a couple hours due to a nail in the tire of my rental 2010 Dodge Charger SXT.
* My visit to the oldest Major League ballpark (Fenway Park, Boston MA) came on the night of the anniversary of the first night game (08/08/1988) at the second oldest ballbark, Chicago's Wrigley Field.
* Jan of the Adult Congenital Heart Association has a house in Randolph MA that is nearly identical to the house of a relative, Barb, in Hollsopple PA. When I entered Jan's house, I told her where rooms were, without even seeing the house! Yes, I took pictures of BOTH houses during this trip.
* I was able to travel some stretches of famous 2-lane roads along the way, including US Route 6, US Route 20, and US Route 30/The Lincoln Highway, and enjoyed those jaunts very much. My September 2009 trip along US Route 66 (Illinois to California) increased my appreciation for the "old 2 lanes" over the "superslabs". Even so, those "evil superslabs" offer some awesome sights/scenery and a quicker alternative if time is of the essence. For instance, several scenic pictures I took this trip were along "superslabs" and, had I taken portions of US Route 20 and US Route 6 west across Indiana en route home, I would not have made it home in time to drive all of my Monte Carlos that same evening (Sunday, August 15).
* Areas driven through/by:
IN ... Chesterton, Warsaw, Columbia City
MI ... Jackson, Ann Arbor, Warren/Detroit
OH ... Toledo, Sandusky, Medina, Smithville/Akron
PA ... Brookville, Ridgway, Mount Jewett, Mansfield, Sayre
NY ... Vestal, Binghamton, Afton, Cobleskill, Schenectady, Albany
MA ... Springfield, Sturbridge, Worcester/Spencer, Newton, Boston, Randolph