There’s Something About Iowa

LA/XC-2 DAYS TWO AND THREE:  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AND GRINNELL, IOWA

Friday’s mileage:  560

Saturday’s mileage: 322

Total LA/XC-2 mileage: 1,173

Road Music Friday:  XM “regulars” (Fox, CNN, ESPN); XM The Highway (worst song heard: American Beauty by the Lost Trailers; best song heard: American Saturday Night by Brad Paisley); XM ’70s on 7 (how ’bout My Sharona by the Knack?!); iPod singles list (Something About a Truck, Mark Gradt: great song!); individual albums on iPod:  Sixto Rodriguez (Cold Fact); Lucinda Williams (Little Honey)

Road Music Saturday:  USC football; Lady Gaga (Born This Way album)

Weather leaving Penn State:  84, bright and sunny

Weather leaving Chicago:  70, brilliant sunshine

Weather arriving State College:  84 and muggy

2-day state tally: 5 (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa)

New states today for Beagle Man: 0

Gas money to date:  $196.80 (this is a brand-new feature I’ll include with every post, if I remember)

Fun fact:  Had dinner with a different blond Maddy (both spelled the same way) on two consecutive nights

It was surreal.  Ricky woke me up at 4:30 this morning (and again at 6:20, but we won’t go into that), and out we went.  In the morning darkness, at the edge of the Comfort Inn & Suites parking lot, were . . . cornfields. And I

had a remarkable deja vu; I could swear I’d experienced this same eerie scene before.  Then I realized I had — last year during LA/XC-1 at the Oak Tree Inn in Missouri Valley, Iowa.

I’ve always been fascinated by Iowa.  It’s the first state, as I drive toward Cali, where I feel like I’m not “back east.”  But it’s still not totally “foreign,” like those stretches of New Mexico, or Montana, where you can drive a whole day without seeing

another human being.  You think of Iowa and you think of small towns and cornfields.  And meanwhile, the place has a ridiculously disproportionate impact on presidential elections.  Cool.

But the water . . . not good.  I’ve heard of soft water — but this morning’s shower was almost soapy water.  Could not get it off.  I came out of the shower glistening.

Overslept again this morning.  Second day in a row.  Why does this keep happening to me lately?  (And by lately, I mean my whole life.)  Yesterday my alarm didn’t go off because I had it set for PM instead of AM.  This morning I used not only my alarm, but a wake-up call.  They both went off as scheduled — and then I fell back to sleep.  I don’t get it:  How can I be so good at sleeping, and so bad at getting up?  Need to make up for lost time.  Maybe will try writing in incomplete sentences.

Say what you will about low-budget American

motel chains (where Ricky and I tend to stay on the road:  Pet owner can’t be choosers), Comfort Inns saved the day this morning.  When I finally got up (not counting my 4:30 and 6:20 sojourns with Ricky), I snuck out of the room while Ricky snored, and came back from the breakfast room with a cup of hot coffee and two hard-boiled eggs.  One meal accomplished in just a matter of minutes.

So you last saw Ricky and Beagle Man in the Days Inn at Penn State.  (See what I mean about our luxe lodgings?)  We got up and were in the car Friday morning, pointed toward Chicago, bright and early at 11:58.  (See what I mean about our get-away times?)  Enacted one of my new-and-improved routines for our lunch stop:  Ate  cold-cuts out of my cooler at a pleasant rest area instead of a cheeseburger at a truck stop.  Ricky and I both hit the head; he had his pills; I had my lunch, we went for a little exercise walk, and all of it only cost us 35 minutes.  Not bad.

Both on Thurday, on the way to Penn State, and Friday, en route to Chicago, we hit torrential rain storms,

and it occurred to me what a good move it was that I didn’t take the Jeep Wrangler, as I was sorely tempted to do.  How smart was that??!! Every once in a while I make a good decision.

Friday was basically a mileage day.  Zoomed through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and into Illinois.  Indiana — who knew?  I’ve so surrendered my soul to Garmin that I seldom look at my maps, and sometimes don’t even know what states I’ll be passing through.  I think it’s worth noting that Ohio has the most beautiful, spacious, modern, and best-designed rest stops in the U.S. of A. — and each and every one has a Starbucks.

Made it to Chi-Town a little after 9 Friday night — later than planned, but what else is new?  Had dinner with Greg’s friend Maddy (not to be confused with Robby’s friend Maddy at Penn State the night before).  Had an absolutely delish meal at Greek Islands in Chicago’s Greektown:  started with Melitzanosalat — freshly roasted eggplant with garlic, potatoes, and olive oil.  Followed with an amazing Shrimp Tourkolimano — shrimp, crumbled feta and tomato sauce baked in a sizzle plate, served with baked vegetables.  (No, I haven’t become a foodie; I just copied off their menu.)  Good choice, Maddy!  Not so sure that the famous Beagle Man Cross-Country Road Trip diet (lost 7 pounds last year) will be quite as effective at this rate.

Left downtown Chicago for the burbs to visit my friends Irene and Rich (and their daughters Carol and Allie).  Was on the road to Kenilworth at 11:27 — only an hour-and-a-half behind schedule.  Note to self:  I really, really ought to forget about my so-called schedule — since I’m never, ever on it.  Great to see Irene and Rich; hadn’t seen them in quite some time — and had never seen their beautiful house with a mind-boggling view of Lake Michigan.  Had a great bagels-and-lox-style lunch.  Ricky tried very, very, very hard to have same.  Will eat less one of these days.

Timing was perfect for my drive to Grinnell Saturday afternoon:  Caught all of USC’s 42-29 victory over Syracuse.  (Son Matt and his girlfriend Lauren were at that game.)  And speaking of football — a shout-out to son Greg, who played in the Penn Sprint Football alumni-vs.-2012 team game yesterday in Philly.  Alums embarrassed the young studs, 20-0 (!), and not only did Greg not break any bones; he had 4 receptions, including one for a two-point conversion.  Way to go, Greggy!  And should be good timing again today:  If I ever get myself out of this motel, will be able to listen to Jets vs. Bills most of the way to Nebraska.

Continued with the Friends-of-Robby part of my tour last night, meeting Luke and his roommate Hayes at the Grinnell Steakhouse last night.  (Part of diet plan, of course.)  This was my second time visiting Luke at Grinnell in 2 years; it’s just possible I’ve been here more than his parents.

About ready to hit the road for North Platte Nebraska.  J-E-T-S  JETS!  JETS!  JETS!

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