Where To Now?

Today was relatively uneventful, and so there's not much to blog. I wrote a considerable amount about the differences between New York and Texas in my head on the way here. Maybe one day I'll actually write it all down and remember all of the things I thought of during my multi-state trek. Here's one for you, to whet your appetite: Texas: Pothole. New York: That's not a pothole. THIS is a pothole. Ohio: Lightweights.  I did remember one story I meant to tell yesterday. At one of our rest stops, I finished up walking the dogs and was preparing to put them back in the car so I could go do my business. As I reached for the keys in my jean pocket, I felt nothing. No stab in the leg, no pointy bulge. Do you know how disconcerting it is to realize you don't have your keys when you're hundreds of miles away from home, and hundreds of miles away from anyone who knows you? My head was spinning for half a second, until I remembered that Meg pooped. Non sequitu...

The title of today's post is, unfortunately, the most memorable thing about today. The roads in Ohio and the first part of Kentucky were atrocious. There were several times I fully anticipated a blow-out, and I passed several who had them. One time I think I even bottomed out! In my SUV! Our first stop of the day was at a rest stop just inside Kentucky, outside Cincinnati. It was kind of ghetto. As soon as we parked and got out of the car, a young woman came over to talk to Meg and Maya. She herself was quite talkative. In the end, the bottom line of her approaching us was to tell her story about how she and her mom had a blow-out after hitting a pothole in Cincinnati and spent all their money on the replacement tire. They only had three dollars left for gas to get them to their destination four hours away. Now, I realized as soon as she started telling her story that her sole interest in striking up a conversation with me (and the dogs) was to ask for money. She started to ask m...

When I agreed to go to Texas to help my Aunt Melinda through her back surgery, I really intended to fly. But as plans progressed and I began thinking about leaving my pups with Kef for two weeks, not knowing if she would have to go out of town at the last minute, I decided to drive it. Although it's three long days of driving, I weighed the benefits of having the girls with me, having my vehicle with me, etc. And so, I decided driving was the right way to go. This is the first time I've driven the route to Buffalo. (We came the southern route on our way up the first time.) I-90 tracks right alongside the Mohawk River and Erie Canal for about the first 100 miles from Albany to Utica. The river was engorged from the recent rains. What a beautiful sight! (No pictures, though, because... driving.) One of the great things about driving through this area is that every town is old, so there are always interesting old buildings and spires reaching up from the hills. You don't g...

If you've ever watched Flea Market Flip , you know from the title of this post exactly what kind of experience I'm here to chronicle. Some of you may cringe at the thought of gathering in the same place with hundreds of other people in a small town in Massachusetts to browse through stall after glorious stall of old stuff. Others, my people, will be envious. As I drove to Holland, MA Thursday evening to spend the evening with the Horn-Eldred family, my route took me right through the heart of the Brimfield Antique Show . Although it was closed at the time, this was my first glimpse of what was in store the next day. I was on the phone at the time, and stopped mid-sentence to say, emphatically, "O. M. G." I said it several times. Kef finally had to say, "Focus," to get me back on topic. I had only seen the TV show once or twice, and I don't know that it really gave me any idea of the scope of Brimfield. I'm not sure what I expected, but the seas o...