Day Three Progress Report

The Land of Lincoln, Illinois, is "home' for tonight. I know the new wave politicos claim it as the Obamaland, but I try to keep my focus where I think it should be. Some say "It Takes a Village." I say it takes "a track record"! And if we all wind up on the same page, all's well and good. Meanwhile, there's not a whole lot of turmoil swirling around Lincoln, so I think I'm good for now.

Signs all along every road here in Illinois ( I don't know exactly who placed them, but they are regular road signs, not cardboard afterthoughts) are promoting corn and soy ethanol for fuel, and guns for self defense. Seems to be an anti Middle East promotion of sorts- directed at foreign oil and thugs in general and NOT foreigners, thank goodness. Protectionism of all sorts seems to flourish in tough times and these have been some tough times, I think we can all admit.

We've received some requests to post fuel prices at various points along the route to Alaska for those who are bringing up the rear, so to speak. Pennsylvania was higher. Illinois is higher. Indiana was mid range and Ohio and West Virginia boasted the best fuel prices with regular gasoline around two bucks and two pennies a gallon and diesel about the same, maybe 3 cents higher or lower. Not enough of a difference anywhere to be a game changer although a few places on the PA Turnpike (my least favorite road in America) were charging 2.45, which really stinks up the joint as they also hit us up for 40 smackers in tolls to travel across the state. Most of the roads of America are free to travel. Only the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Florida Turnpike and the Tappanzee Bridge to New York have the audacity to bilk their patrons with such lack of regard for reason. Each of the three entities is also among the lousiest sections of road systems in the country which begs the question "Where has all the money gone, Long time passing...." I know the answer to this rhetorical question, but my own politics think it best to guard my opinion. There is one equally crummy section of east-west highway around Chicago but maybe, hopefully, mercifully, magically, it is better now than when I did that stretch two years ago (not likely!) but I don't want to use old info to put anyone or anything down).

Change of topic: Travel TIP: This is totally common sense but if you're an RVer it just may not have "DAWNED" on you to make this adjustment. We've crossed the country East to West and West to East- several times already. We like doing it. But it (long day after day of hard driving) can be hard on the eyes unless you observe these simple rules, especially on highway legs of the trip that run due east and/or west. When you travel to the west, get an early start. The sun will be to your back in the morning and you can get a long run in if you wish before the sun catches up to you and starts to shine in your front windshield and therefore into your eyes. Similarly, if you are traveling to the east, get a later start in the morning. Give the sun a chance to jump up off the horizon and soften it's angle of attack on your retinas! An hour or two adjustment to your intended travel times can make all the difference in the world, leaving you much sharper and less "eye weary" at the end of a day of driving. In reality, the only thing that needs to change is the assignment of the hour or so you spend checking email on the old laptop. No laptop? How about another cup of coffee? Don't like a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning? You'll figure something out!