Day 14 - Can't Believe It Took 2,550 Miles

Today was a driving day - Chicago to Sandusky, OH. As expected, Amanda did not make it out of the driveway of Marti & John's house before she started crying. And no, I am not exaggerating the time it took for the tears to flow. In the morning, she went looking for John because he had said that maybe they could do some more gardening before she left. John was in his office with the door closed, but as soon as Marti returned from her walk Amanda very quickly went to Marti and casually mentioned John's comment about the garden. Marti somehow got the incredibly obvious hint, and went to get John from his office. Then John, Amanda and Brian went out back to pick some basil leaves for John's pesto sauce he was going to make. Not really sure if John wanted to make pesto sauce, but I guess that was the one item that was ready to be picked. Amanda was so happy.




Once we left Glencoe, after a stop at Starbucks and the Post Office (for more stamps), we were on our way. The plan was to stop in South Bend, IN for lunch and to visit the College Football Hall of Fame. The trip was about 2 hours from Glencoe, but at some point during our crossing of Indiana we reverted back to Eastern Time, so we lost an hour, which threw the day off whack. Anyway, we got to South Bend a little after 2:00, and the person at the Hall suggested we go to a sandwich place around the corner called Jimmy John's. Excellent suggestion. Evidently, this is a chain with a ton of outlets in the Midwest, but only one in NYC. They have very funny signs on the walls, and (tada for Debbie) a reportedly delicious "unwich" which got Debbie back into The Land of Gluten Free.

The College Football Hall of Fame was more interesting to the whole gang than I thought it might be. There were a lot of interactive activities (kicking field goals, throwing passes, agility tests, etc.) that kept everyone entertained. There were also film clips of bloopers, memorable plays and a short film on the Heisman Trophy.






Side note. In both the "memorable plays" clip and Heisman film, they showed the Doug Flutie Hail Mary Pass. Very much like when man walked on the moon, many people remember where they were when Flutie completed the pass to Gerard Phelan to beat Miami. I am no different. However, the difference for me (and my father and brother) was that we did not actually SEE the pass. No Kimosabe, we were waiting in a lobby of some sort waiting to go into the Bat Mitzvah of my 22nd cousin, twice removed (although Derek I believe snuck out to the car and heard the play-by-play on the radio). Gun to my head, there is no way I will be able to come up with the name of the bat mitzvah girl.

At this point, I think I need to set the scene for the car (or as I now call it, our "Mobile Command Center") during our driving days. I am in the driver's seat. In my control are the GPS and the ipod gadget I bought before we left that allows us to play an ipod via our tape deck. The ipod just needs to be connected to a cassette tape and a wire. I also have my cell phone nearby.

To my right is "More Than Paper On The Go." A few years ago we had purchased a device that plugs into a car lighter outlet which allows us to plug in regular power cords into it. The original purpose was for a DVD player in the car before we had the minivan. But now it is the life-saver for More Than Paper. Debbie sits in the passenger seat with her laptop on her lap, with it plugged into the device, and the wifi card connected so she has (almost) constant Internet access. She also has her Blackberry and cell phone nearby, as she has her MTP phone forwarded to her cell during the trip. Due to all of the things that need charging, we are constantly plugging and unplugging chargers.

Many times someone will call the business line looking to place an order, and she will go through the whole thing with the customer as we cruise down the highway. She also checks and sends emails, deals with order issues, and on occasion invoices orders. On many days, she has taken an order in the morning, sent the order to the printer, gotten a proof from the printer, sent the proof to the customer, had the customer approve the proof, and OK'd the order for printing - all in one day on the road.

Behind me is Ethan. He is normally staring at a movie, totally oblivious to everything going on around him. We could encounter aliens on the highway, and he would miss it.

Next to Ethan is Amanda. She is either sleeping in her car seat, or talking to us. When she is talking, she usually tells us stories of things that happened in school or at camp, months ago. Either that or she is asking me how many miles we have gone. She is also my bathroom buddy. Whenever I go, she goes. It's our bonding activity for the trip. She gets car sick if she watches a movie with the headphones on, so she either glances at whatever movie Ethan is watching or just ignores it.

In the way back is Brian. He has his own little bedroom set up back there, with his pillow. He sets up his bed before we get going, and either lies down and takes a nap or watches the movie with Ethan.

Anyway, we left the Hall of Fame shortly before 5:00, but while we were in the Hall Debbie had a panic attack because all of a sudden she was getting a whole bunch of orders, and she knew we would not be to the hotel until about 8:30, and we would still need to have dinner before we could start processing orders. So today, the Mobile Command Center went where it had never gone before - we set up the printer in the back seat and Debbie was printing as we drove. It's too bad we didn't get a picture of this, because it was a sight.

After about 2 hours of the trip from South Bend to Sandusky, it happened. Since we left I have driven over 2,500 miles, on highways and byways (what exactly is a byway?), through tunnels and over bridges, on local roads and dirt roads. Most of the time I go about 10-15 miles per hour over the speed limit, and have seen a cop or two along the way. Today was the day my luck (almost) ran out. I was going about 80 in a 65 MPH area (in my defense, most of the highways since Missouri were 70 MPH roads), when I saw a cop to my left. I slowed down to 73-74 by the time I passed him but it was too late. I saw him pull out onto the highway and start to follow me. And then the lights went on and I pulled over.

The state trooper (who looked about 11 years old) asked if I knew why he pulled me over. Seriously, why do they ask this question? What I am I supposed to say to that? Yes, officer, you pulled me over because I have an overdue book at the Great Neck Library? He said he clocked me at 80, to which I said that I thought I was only going 74. Basically, I was willing to plead guilty to shoplifting when I was busted for grand theft auto. He asked for my license and registration (no clue where the registration was, so he took our insurance card instead) and I gave him a hang-dog look and explained that I had been driving all day with the kids. He asked when the last time I had a moving violation, and other than my dancing at one of the recent bar mitzvahs, I was able to tell him that it had been 25+ years. He went back to his car, and in a few minutes gave me an early Hanukkah present - a warning. He did say, though, that he had 30 days to submit the violation, so if I got caught again I would have to pay that one and his. So, for the next 47 miles I was on my best behavior. Although, I did feel almost neutered, as I topped out at 70 MPH, while cars (and cows) zoomed past me. But, we made it to Sandusky without another incident.

After grabbing a bite at the sports bar across the street (Manny's Sports Bar), we headed to the hotel room to process all of the orders Debbie printed on Highway 80, and so I could make an online donation to the Policeman's Benevolent Association of Northern Ohio.

Tomorrow, Cedar Point Amusement Park.