Day One: Greetings from Columbus, Ohio

The worst part of any trip out of DC is the first 30 miles.  They should make “I Survived the Capital Beltway” t-shirts for people driving RVs, especially those towing vehicles behind them.  The DC Beltway is one of the biggest confluences of insane and/or bad drivers in the world.

Today was a long haul so we’d have a shorter drive to Cincinnati tomorrow morning.  Our first major Jeep towing drive – about 440 miles – went well.  The only near-emergency was when we pulled out of a Sheetz gas station and realized that no one shut the RV door in the middle of the vehicle.  Ruth got up to get the door, and I envisioned her flying out the door onto the side of the road.  She gets points for quickness, but in the end, I got the door as Jeff pulled over.  Crisis averted, and we took the opportunity to talk about things we need to make sure are done before we hit the road, like shutting the doors.  So many teachable moment opportunities…

Today, we passed through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia again, and then Ohio.  We stopped twice for either gas, drinks or to check on the Jeep, and all told, we spent about 9 hours on the road.  This will be one of our longest driving days, as well as one of the hilliest, and I know Jeff is glad it’s over.

I brought my Kindle with me, and finished "The Help" today.  I'm lucky - I can read in the car without getting sick.  I've started a new book called "Elizabeth Street" about a woman who comes to America in the early 1900's from Italy.  So far, so good.

Once we got to the campground, we unhooked the Jeep and connected the RV to the electric, sewer and water hook-ups.  Then it was off to visit Jeff’s friends Jay and Sherri, who live here in Columbus.  We went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, one of Jeff’s favorite places.  Jeff’s golf clubs will be vacationing with Jay while we’re on the road, until the guys go golfing when we pass through Columbus again at the end of our trip.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll hit the road early on the way to Cincinnati.  We have tickets to the Reds-Yankees game at 12:35p.m.  Jeff is a Reds fan, I’m a Yankees fan, and the kids are leaning towards the Yankees as well.  We’re hoping the rain they’re predicting won’t be too bad so we can see the game, or at least some of it.

One day down, many more to go.