Richmond, IN, Hampton Inn, Wings And Rings

Thanks For The Great Time

It’s 7:20, and I am the only one in the Hampton Inn breakfast room. I suppose not many people travel on New Year’s Day the way we do. We hope to be back at the lake by midafternoon, and our plow guy has cleared the parking area, so we should be able to get into the house—inshallah. It’s now 7:30, and a few more people are starting to trickle in for breakfast.

We reluctantly said goodbye to Beth yesterday at 7:30 and were on the road by 7:45, heading east on Interstate 70. Traffic was light in the morning but picked up in the afternoon as we approached Indianapolis. I drove the first four hours, then Evie took over until we neared Indy, where I drove the rest of the way to Richmond, Indiana, just a few miles from the Ohio border.

Flat Lands Of The Midwest

The drive went smoothly until we hit the notoriously rough stretch of I-70 through much of Indiana. In some areas, it was so bad that there were signs directing trucks to use the left, passing lane. During the final hour, the sun came out unexpectedly, making that last stretch far more pleasant. All told, the drive took about eight and a half hours. Today should be closer to six hours, depending on the weather as we pass through Erie and into Chautauqua. So far, it looks like the snow has let up.

We arrived at our Hampton Inn just after 5:00—4:00 Kansas City time—and relaxed until 6:25, when we walked across the street to Wings and Rings, the same place we ate last Thanksgiving. The bar was packed, but eventually a couple of guys left, and we were able to sit down. We ordered beers, wings, and rings, of course, though neither of us was very hungry.

We were back in our room by 7:30 and watched some TV until about 9:30—really 8:30 KC time—before turning off the lights and, fortunately, falling asleep without trouble.

Zen Buddhism:
“Great doubt, great awakening. Little doubt, little awakening. No doubt, no awakening.”