RCFM: The trip home

[vakkotaur]

I'd expected to start out later than I did, but after not getting back to sleep for a while, it was time to start the day. I had one minor scare when I got turned around in the hallway and looked for the car on the wrong side of the hotel. Oops. Annoying, but not disastrous. When the car was loaded up, I went back and said goodbye to kinkyturtle who was awake and starting his day by then.

Furp and Jim Groat were leaving about the same time I was. I think he mentioned something about a large number of tornadoes overnight, but hadn't heard of any highway closings. He suggested I listen in on CB traffic for road reports, but that's not an option for me. My transceiver doesn't cover that band.

The trip through Tennessee was uneventful and again I appreciated how well signed Nashville was. In Kentucky there was an obvious enforcement zone, though no sign proclaiming it this time. I didn't count the number of police cars or the few miles they were in, but it was saturation coverage. Fortunately I had the cruise set at about the speed limit and just sailed on by, save for the lane changes to keep out of their way. There was something similar, though not as big, in southern Illinois.

When I started out, my plan to get beyond the halfway point of Urbana and then see about a motel. I got past Urbana and it was still fairly early. I managed to get to Pickle Tree Farm again just before they closed and had a light supper. There were a couple more sets of Burma Shave style signs, but I missed most of them. Looking at the map, I figured I could probably at least make it to Iowa before having to stop for the night.

When I got to Iowa and was still awake, I decided I might as well just keep going. I did stop for gas and food a bit before I-380. Cedar Rapids passed quickly, and Waterloo would have but while the traffic lights on Hwy 218 were in night mode, there was just enough cross traffic to turn most red as I got close to them.

It was a partly cloudy night with a nearly full moon and made for pleasant drive, especially with so little traffic on the roads. Around 2:30 or so I finally got home and unloaded the car, bringing stuff just inside the house. Amazingly, I didn't wake Jay while I did that.

I think I'm not quite completely recovered from the trip yet. I probably need to get a bit more sleep, still. My sore throat is less sore than it was yesterday and I expect it'll be a non-issue tomorrow. Yay. This noon I should be picking up prints of most of the pictures I took at RCFM. I hope jugularjaguar gets the single-use camera developed soon.