$2.159

Today, we began The Big Drive, with the goal of hitting Richmond, VA, tomorrow sometime. We’re in pretty good shape to do that.

Given that it was vacation, we didn’t exactly rush to get out of the house. So after packing last night, packing this morning, and loading up, we finally got out the door around 10am….. the first time. About two miles down the road, I remembered that my “No Problem Mon” necklace from Jamaica was not in the truck, nor on my neck. I travel with that on, and it’s to remind me to simmer down, take it easy, and not to sweat the little stuff. Since I couldn’t leave without it, we doubled back, grabbed the necklace (and the spare one from a previous Jamaican excursion), and hit the road.

And travelled just about five miles.

Uncle Bill’s Pancake House was beckoning to us, so we stopped in, and had a nice breakfast. Today was the first day of their non-smoking Saturday mornings, which only made the meal that much better. Good for them.

One trip back to the house, a gruling five miles of travel, a big breakfast, and we finally got on the road around noon or so. Woo-hoo!

Illinois was uneventful, with nothing too remarkable. Once we got to Indiana, though, we stopped at a rest area, and started getting our bearings, maps, and flyers. Beck remembered a place called Santa Claus IN, and the kind civil servant behind the desk told us where to get information on the small burg, and what might be found there. To Santa Claus we went!

If you’ve never been to Santa Claus, Indiana, you’ve missed very little! 🙂 It’s a little place that is waaaaay hung up on their name. Kinda reminded me of Roswell in that regard — way too taken with itself. So there was Kringle-this, Santa-that, Frosty-whatever, Rudolph-blah…… Lots of stuff like this. However, the best thing of all for us was the Santa Claus Cemetary. Presumably, this is where old Clauses are taken to their final rest. We had a good laugh, and took some photos of the entrance. Very cool.

Why, by the way, are houses in little towns near Santa Claus all slightly askew on their property? That was weird, and most of ’em looked crooked as we drove down the main street — I thought the car was travelling sideways!

After a hour’s diversion, and never seeing the Big Guy, we headed back to I-64 to continue our eastward trek.

Kentucky was next, and we stopped at another rest area just east of Louisville. It was sunset, and was setting up to be beautiful. We quickly grabbed maps and brochures, and took some photos of the flora and fauna, as well as some of the sky. It was pretty, but the location wasn’t the best. Oh well!

So our travel tonight ends in Lexington, at a Best Western, with high speed connection and a free breakfast in the morning — all this and a coupon to lower the nightly rate. Who could ask for more! 😉

The good news is that Becky slept through much of Illinois, and part of Indiana, and is feeling as good as can be expected. She’s not coughing nearly as much, or nearly as hard, so that’s great news. I’ll be keeping my eye on her.

Tomorrow, off to Richmond, and visiting Morgan and crew…