Rainy Day People is a great Gordon Lightfoot song and it was suitable for our drive today. Another suitable song was Driving my Life Away by Eddy Rabbit.
Connie and I were listening to songs we used to listen to when we were dating. Eddie Rabbit and Don Williams brought back great memories. Old soggy eyes had trouble holding back his tears at times. It’s the way I’m made, I wear my emotions on my sleeves and I’m no longer ashamed of it. Music is a powerful tool to bring back memories from one’s past. After listening to a few bars, it takes little time for me to recite the lines of songs from my youth. I’ve forgotten a lot of things from the past but I do remember the lyrics!
Last night I set an alarm for 545am. We anticipated a 6.5 hour drive today and wanted to get on the road by 7am. Due to my sore ribs, I woke at 130am and after taking a pain killer, it took me at least an hour to get back to sleep. My mind was racing thinking about stuff that really didn’t need to be thought of. That seems to happen to me now and again. When my mind wanders, I try to shift my thoughts to my sons, daughter in laws and grandson, which helps me fall back asleep.
When the alarm went off this morning, I wasn’t feeling overly perky. After knocking my iPhone and Apple Watch to the floor, I got up to shave and shower, leaving Connie to slumber for a few more precious moments.
After a quick breakfast, we were out of the RV park before 7am. I decided to top up the fuel tank before hitting the road, and drove into Wolcott to fill up at the Marathon gas station. Factoring in the exchange rate, gas is still much cheaper here than in Canada. Today we paid about $1.14 CDN per litre.
When we pulled into the station, there were two pumps in each lane. The first was gas (regular, premium and recreational vehicle – aka marked gas) and the second pump was diesel and kerosene. This was a first for me and I think it is kind of handy.
When I began filling the truck I started chatting with a younger guy who was filling up his diesel pickup truck. He was a logger and on his way to work. He said they hadn’t had much precipiation recently and the farmers were begging for rain. He didn’t mind the dry weather because when it rains, he can’t work in the woods. Before leaving, he commented on how far we’d been driving and wished us both safe travels home. So far, everyone we’ve encountered in the US is friendly and kind.
As we pulled out of the gas station, Connie noticed the sign below. At first I thought it read God Bless America but then noticed the subtle difference.
As we drove through Wolcott NY, toward highway 104 we were surprised to find acres upon acres of apple farms. The trees were loaded and looked ready for picking. These farms made the ones in the Chelan, WA area look tiny.
After driving through Rochester (a pretty big city but not as big as Cleveland!), we connected with highway 490 and then the I 90, which was our route most of the day today. At about 10am it began to rain and it didn’t stop until the entire way through New York and Pennsylvania.
Shortly after we entered Ohio it eased up and by mid afternoon the skies were bright and clear. As I write this blog from our campsite just south of Toledo, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Our neighbours tonight are from northern California (Redding). They are older than us as are many of the couples in the KOA campground. He’d been to BC years ago when he was young and in the US Navy stationed at Whidbey Island, Washington.
Tomorrow we head to northern Michigan, to the Mackinac City KOA (just south of Sault Ste Marie). We will stay two nights as we plan to explore Mackinac Island. Our daughter in law Carissa discovered it for us and it should be interesting and fun!
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Mal and Connie's Cross Canada Adventure 2.0 