Pleasant Prairie, WI

This morning we were up and were pulling away from Pete's house at 7:10 Eastern Time. It was a very long day of driving; 14 hours spent in the car. We drove through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. It wasn't until the last 45 minutes or so that I really couldn't wait to get out of the car. We arrived at my Aunt Michelle and Uncle Joe's house around 8pm Central Time where Uncle Joe had pizza and salad waiting for us. Boy did that taste good!

My Pepere (my grandfather) was doing well tonight. He reached into his pocket and handed me a little money and said, "Here, either for putting gas in the car or in your belly." I thought it was really funny. We got to do a little laundry tonight; that was nice! Uncle Joe and Ilona were comparing mini cars, because he has a Mazda Miata. I guess he's really been wanting to get a Mini Cooper, so I took both my aunt and uncle for a short ride around the block.

Anyway, we saw a lot of funny things in the car and the time went by fairly quickly. Here are some highlights from today's journey:

- We started listening to the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The story takes place in Savannah, and it's one of our last stops of the trip.
- We've been waiving to other Mini Cooper drivers to see how many wave back. So far we're up to 2 or 3.
- In Ohio we passed a car full of Amish people. Are they really allowed to drive?
- The Grateful Dead song Truckin' came on, and I thought it was very appropriate since we were making the longest leg of our journey.
- In Indiana we passed the RV and Motor Home Hall of Fame.
- We also passed a license plate with the following plate, "GoBoSox." We stalked that car like we did the one yesterday to take a picture. I think he noticed us because he changed lanes a few times, slowed down all of a sudden, and then drove off quickly. It was worth it for the picture.
_ Trying to take pictures of the Chicago skyline with Eastie (our mascot) as we drove past.

Driving with the GPS system reminds me of using cardio equipment at the gym. You look over and can see exactly how many miles you have left to travel and how long it's going to take you. It's really kind of strange. I'm also getting used to driving the Mini, and it was much more comfortable for me today.

Ilona's brother emailed us and Ilona forgot her sneakers in Ithaca and I forgot my head lamp. We were both so excited about these things and spent awhile talking about them....and then we both forgot our respective items. Soon we're going to have an empty car if we keep forgetting things! We already have a Target list started, and now it looks like we have a few more items to add to the list. Hopefully we won't forget anything else along the way!

I'm starting to lose track of time completely. I only know what day it is based on where I'm heading. I can only imagine what it's going to be like by the end of my trip.