Via points and the usual suspects.

I have been in the car all day and am tired, so this will be a very lack-luster post.

Well, this was my first day of travel. It started out well (Jord was up and ready to go when I was!). Around Green Bay we heard a weird clicky noise and realized that the clip that secures the luggage rack on the front passenger side had come loose. I pulled over in a frenzy and made sure it was EXTRA secure, and then we started to move again. I had been told by a family friend from Iowa that I need to be sure to take the Milwaukee route and not Madison. WELL, I set Milwaukee as a "Via Point" on my GPS to make sure we were routed in that direction and the GPS actually took me through the heart of the city. The weirdest thing about it all was that there was virtually no traffic in downtown Milwaukee--this was right at lunch hour, too. Odd. Anyways, getting back on the highway was not much of a problem and we continued on our way.

In Illinois I follwed my GPS's directions TO A T and wound up skipping a toll both. Needless to say, I will be online paying that fee later. Apart from that, Illinois was extremely uneventful. I would like to say Iowa was uneventful as well, but that would not be the case.

Coming into Iowa, Jord and I were busy looking at the scenery. I think we are both a bit paranoid about running out of gas (and if you saw the route we were on, you would be too). Iowa is beautiful, but the majority of its beauty is in its rolling hills and virtually endless horizons; translation, FARMS, CATTLE, AND CROPS. A gas station sign would come up and as soon as I would ready myself to take the exit a semi would cut me off.

SIDEBAR: the semis out here are crazy. This is no overexaggerization when I say there are more semis than actual cars on the highway. So far, they've all driven well. Let's hope this holds true tomorrow. I've got a cartopper and a car chockFULL of things that would not do well to need immediate braking.

SO BACK TO IOWA. We were nervous about gas. 78 miles left to empty, and 68 to Council Bluffs, IA where we are staying. My GPS located a gas station in a town called... Anica? Maybe. Cue, "Via Point".  Anways, we drove the five miles out of the way to get gas there and could not find the station. After driving around we found someone on the road and asked them. She directed us and we thankfully found it; however, they did not have premium. Now, Houdini (my Benz) cannot digest anything BUT premium. Obviously, this was a problem. So, back on the road we go. 60 miles to empty, 68 miles to go. Driving down the highway some more, I type another gas station into my GPS; a BP (another Via Point set), they HAVE to have premium, right? Well, en route to this gas station, I see a not-so-well-lit sign on the right side of the road almost immediately off of the exit. I whip in and low-and-behold, PREMIUM GAS. I almost peed my pants I was so excited. It's a good thing we found it, too; the gas station I was headed to did not, in fact, have premium. Jordy called.

Despite a phantom moth that appeared in my car and ruthlessly attacked my face in the dark--this might be an overexaggeration (to which Jordy warned me with, "Oh, there's a moth in here by the way.")--after that it was smooth sailing to the hotel in Council Bluffs. It is 10:30 pm here, 90 degrees, and humid. We are safely in our room that smells like a horse stable, awaiting a pizza delivery. There's about eight hours left in the journey tomorrow, and it's starting to all feel real. I'll try to update again when we get to my apartment (if I can bum someone's internet, that is). Until then, keep it wet (Great Lakes) and wild (West). Too punny? I DON'T CARE. :)

Ps) The entire ride through Iowa I had that song from The Music Man stuck in my head. You know: "Dubuque, Des Moines, Davenport (don't stop there), Marshalltown, Mason City, Keokuke, Ames, Clear Lake. Ought to give Iowa a TRYYYYYYY!". And then all I could think about was Michelle Kudrow's nasally voice singing "Oh, the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin' down the street (inset snort laugh)" from Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. Sigh. I digress.