2007-05-02
Now that I am home...
I can now sift through all the pictures and video clips I took when on the journey. I am in the process of creating some montage videos; hopefully they will turn out good enough to share. I am totally new to doing video editing to a soundtrack, but I think I have enough Heineken for it to work. I will also be writing a final summary of the trip, including a list of stats that are fun and interesting.
Day 25: Chicago, IL to King of Prussia, PA
Today was the parting of Jared and I. It made sense for Jared to head down to North Carolina from Chicago, as I continued east towards Philadelphia. I wanted to visit Chicago first and Todd kindly took the morning off to take us around the city. Jared hadn't overcome his urban driving fear so after 25 days together we waved each other goodbye and he peeled off as Todd and I entered the city.
As we neared Chicago I was thinking about what I knew about the place, and realised everything I did know came from The Blues Brothers. This made me feel a little guilty as it's a city that I have always wanted to visit. Todd was a great tour guide though; we drove around for a while and then parked at the Planetarium, which sits over the lake and offers spectacular views of the city. I probably drove him mad though, as all my questions about Chicago were like 'are we near that bit in The Blues Brothers where...'. Sorry Todd!
Rey, who had been at the barbecue the day before, met us at the Planetarium. Todd had to head back to work (I vaguely remember work), but Rey and I continued driving around Chicago, one Ardent Red Elise substituting for the other. We did a quick tour of Chicago neighborhoods, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Pk, and then a quick lunch in Wrigleyville. Chicago has a large 'good' area it seems, extending all up the water front, rather than other cities where the nice areas are separated by unsavoury ones.
Another thing that stood out about Chicago was how civilised the drivers are. There is very little aggression on the road, but the main thing I noticed was how people stop immediately when traffic lights turn amber. In Philly amber means 'ok, only another 15 of you are allowed through'.
After lunch (thanks Rey!) I headed off solo through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. It was a fairly run of the mill drive, although both a car and a truck had a tyre blow out as I was going past. The truck one was particularly dramatic, and I had to swerve a few times to miss the principal debris pieces.
I arrived in Akron, Ohio by early evening and met my friend Robin and her friend Victor for dinner. Robin and I have known each other for a few years now but only now finally met in person. It was a very enjoyable meal with two great people.
Feeling invigorated I decided to push on back home to Philadelphia. In Akron we were right on I76, the road which I live off, and Pennsylvania is only and hour and a half or so from where we were. These all make it sound close...oh no. Pennsylvania is pretty big when driving west-east, and it was six or seven hours later when I finally got home. I was glad I did it then rather than staying in another hotel and doing another day of driving; the desire to get back is pretty overwhelming when within touching distance of home.
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
As we neared Chicago I was thinking about what I knew about the place, and realised everything I did know came from The Blues Brothers. This made me feel a little guilty as it's a city that I have always wanted to visit. Todd was a great tour guide though; we drove around for a while and then parked at the Planetarium, which sits over the lake and offers spectacular views of the city. I probably drove him mad though, as all my questions about Chicago were like 'are we near that bit in The Blues Brothers where...'. Sorry Todd!
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
Another thing that stood out about Chicago was how civilised the drivers are. There is very little aggression on the road, but the main thing I noticed was how people stop immediately when traffic lights turn amber. In Philly amber means 'ok, only another 15 of you are allowed through'.
After lunch (thanks Rey!) I headed off solo through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. It was a fairly run of the mill drive, although both a car and a truck had a tyre blow out as I was going past. The truck one was particularly dramatic, and I had to swerve a few times to miss the principal debris pieces.
I arrived in Akron, Ohio by early evening and met my friend Robin and her friend Victor for dinner. Robin and I have known each other for a few years now but only now finally met in person. It was a very enjoyable meal with two great people.
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
Feeling invigorated I decided to push on back home to Philadelphia. In Akron we were right on I76, the road which I live off, and Pennsylvania is only and hour and a half or so from where we were. These all make it sound close...oh no. Pennsylvania is pretty big when driving west-east, and it was six or seven hours later when I finally got home. I was glad I did it then rather than staying in another hotel and doing another day of driving; the desire to get back is pretty overwhelming when within touching distance of home.
Day 24: Des Moines, IA to Chicago, IL
A local country buffet place was recommended to us for breakfast. I am normally scared of buffet food for breakfast for two reasons, both being that I'll eat far too much and then want to go back to sleep afterwards. It was a great place, and the food was excellent. I ate too much and didn't care.
The place was like 'Farm Land' in a Disney park, with tractor rides, the staff dressed in farming attire, drinks served in jam jars and agricultural oddities and souvenirs everywhere. I wonder whether it's just what Iowa is like, or just catering to tourist's expectations.
We chatted with the tractor driver who was a really nice chap, but the English/American sarcasm gap reached new lows with the conversation. After I commented on John Deere stealing the green/yellow Lotus livery, Jared implied the contrary. I then quipped that surely the farming profession didn't predate Formula One, to which he began explaining that I must be wrong. I pictured a Greek farmer unable to try out his new Archimedes Screw due to his mates racing their cars around the field.
Iowa by day is a little less exciting as it is by night. We passed a place called What Cheer. Indeed. There was also another called North English. We call it topspin where I come from. Another was Keokuk, which I had to laugh at as it was on Krusty the Klown's list of amusing sounding places he taught at clown college "OK, memorize these funny place names: Walla Walla. Keokuk. Cucamonga. Seattle." We passed Cucamonga when entering Los Angeles. Not sure where Walla Walla is, and we went nowhere near Seattle, but two out of four isn't bad.
The trip to Todd's house an hour or so west of Chicago was actually a little shorter than we expected. The weather was pleasant, but very windy. We passed a place called Joliet, which I recognised from somewhere. After some thought realised I had misinterpreted a bit from The Blues Brothers all this time. When Jake says 'And I thought I had it bad in Joliet' I always assumed that Joliet was a slang word for Jail, not an actual place. Apparently the jail is all that is there, so maybe I wasn't too wrong.
We had a little trouble finding Todd's place, but thankfully he heard us in the area and like a sheepdog herded us back on his motorbike. We were about an hour earlier than planned, which gave us a little while to get settled before people arrived.
The barbecue was fantastic with really nice people. We had 11 Elises there and Mike, a former Elise owner, brought along his Vette Z06. One of Todd's neighbours also brought his yellow NSX over, so a good group of cars. It was a great afternoon. Thanks to Tracy for grilling!
Very special thanks though go to Todd and Margarite for putting us up for the day, hosting everyone so kindly and allowing us to crash there overnight. It turns out we were the perfect alibi to finally get Chicago Elise owners together, as they have not really had many meets outside of track events. It seems they may get together more often now, so everyone won. Here is the Elisetalk thread about the meet. The first few pages are preparing the event, but there a plenty of comments and pics afterwards.
The place was like 'Farm Land' in a Disney park, with tractor rides, the staff dressed in farming attire, drinks served in jam jars and agricultural oddities and souvenirs everywhere. I wonder whether it's just what Iowa is like, or just catering to tourist's expectations.
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
Iowa by day is a little less exciting as it is by night. We passed a place called What Cheer. Indeed. There was also another called North English. We call it topspin where I come from. Another was Keokuk, which I had to laugh at as it was on Krusty the Klown's list of amusing sounding places he taught at clown college "OK, memorize these funny place names: Walla Walla. Keokuk. Cucamonga. Seattle." We passed Cucamonga when entering Los Angeles. Not sure where Walla Walla is, and we went nowhere near Seattle, but two out of four isn't bad.
The trip to Todd's house an hour or so west of Chicago was actually a little shorter than we expected. The weather was pleasant, but very windy. We passed a place called Joliet, which I recognised from somewhere. After some thought realised I had misinterpreted a bit from The Blues Brothers all this time. When Jake says 'And I thought I had it bad in Joliet' I always assumed that Joliet was a slang word for Jail, not an actual place. Apparently the jail is all that is there, so maybe I wasn't too wrong.
We had a little trouble finding Todd's place, but thankfully he heard us in the area and like a sheepdog herded us back on his motorbike. We were about an hour earlier than planned, which gave us a little while to get settled before people arrived.
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
The barbecue was fantastic with really nice people. We had 11 Elises there and Mike, a former Elise owner, brought along his Vette Z06. One of Todd's neighbours also brought his yellow NSX over, so a good group of cars. It was a great afternoon. Thanks to Tracy for grilling!
Very special thanks though go to Todd and Margarite for putting us up for the day, hosting everyone so kindly and allowing us to crash there overnight. It turns out we were the perfect alibi to finally get Chicago Elise owners together, as they have not really had many meets outside of track events. It seems they may get together more often now, so everyone won. Here is the Elisetalk thread about the meet. The first few pages are preparing the event, but there a plenty of comments and pics afterwards.
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
 |
| From 2007 USA Elises |
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