Last Day, for now

We allowed for three days, and we did it in three days. We arrived in Easthampton, Massachusetts at 8:30 pm. We left Erie a little late because I had actual work to do. Something had been nagging at me for days, picking at my brain. Something was missing. I went over things in my head, looked at my list, but I could not figure it out. In the middle of the second day, it finally burst into my head in complete clarity: I had not finished the wiki site for the conference we were having on Wednesday. I felt horrible. I beat myself up. I cursed my inability to organize, multi-task, or remember things without writing them down. I wished for a wireless connection. The lunch stop did not have a connection. Or, it did not have a free connection; I could pay AT&T, but I have been avoiding paying AT&T for anything for fifteen years. It's why I don't have an iPhone. Grrrrr. I was not about to capitulate to their demands now, no matter how desperate.

So I had to begin the morning in the Erie Comfort Inn updating the site even as they were getting ready back in Minneapolis. Fortunately I got it all finished... I hope, but we got started a little later than I had planned.

The weather was lovely, and I got Colorado, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Florida, California, and Kentucky. I also worked on the lace shawl that I have been knitting since Christmas in Boston, two holidays ago. Sad. But I am making progress.

We packed food, so we can stop at rest areas and waysides to eat, play, and refresh. It saves us money and keeps us from eating crap, which is pretty much the only thing available on the Interstate. Had we more time, I would prefer to take smaller roads and actually experience life a little more; plus, then you get diners. Today, we did take one smaller road, across part of New York State. Highway 23, which borders the Catskills on the north. It was a nice break from 70 miles an hour. We got to see people mowing their lawns and sitting on their porches. It makes me feel a little more connected. Plus, when we do stop, we are spending our money in a small town that might not see as much travel money.

We had lunch at a nice little roadside park in Afton, New York, where I discovered that a damp hotel hand towel had gotten into the diaper bag. We are just breaking the law left and right.