Day Two in the Books

Several years ago, I was talking to somebody from the West Coast. I was saying how amazingly beautiful the mountains and coastline of California were, but he or she (I can't remember who it was) was telling me about how gorgeous the East Coast is. I suppose it's a well-worn lesson, but we often don't sufficiently appreciate what we have; the grass is always greener, and all that.

Well such is the case with the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Here I've been thinking that I've just got to get through the first three days, and then I'll start seeing some worthwhile stuff. I forgot how nice the drive from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh is. Verdant hardwood forests cover steep hillsides, and the highway clings to the edges of the ancient Appalachians and goes through four tunnels on its way westward. It may not be the most mind-blowing of experiences, but Rand McNally's "scenic drive" designation is well-deserved.

Driving through Ohio and Indiana, on the other hand, is a different story. Once the back end of the Appalachians flatten out shortly past the Ohio River, there isn't much worth talking about. There are plenty of corn fields divided by slow, brown streams and groves of trees. It is kind of nice to see storm clouds brewing forty or fifty miles away, I guess, but that's about the best I can say.

On a map, all cities kind of look the same--only the number of roads going into and around it and the amount of yellow ink used changes. The map gives no indication of how exciting or, in today's case, depressing a place is. Take Wheeling, West Virginia for example. To me Wheeling conjures up kind of a cool eastern version of the Old West, with a Main Street lined with 19th and early 20th century buildings. I pictured a nice little bustling tourist trade going. I was right on the buildings, kind of, but nothing else. Wheeling is a very dead looking and feeling city. The people walking around all seemed pretty down on their luck, the buildings were more often than not boarded up and empty. According to Wikipedia, the population of 28,000 is the lowest it's been since 1880 and less than half what it was in 1930. There are signs of past glories, including West Virginia's first statehouse and the Wheeling Suspension Bridge (not a really creative name, but there it is) built in 1849, but that only adds to the depressing feel of the place.

Anyway...today's numbers: 12 hours behind the wheel, 701.2 miles traveled, $63.06 spent on gas.
Total miles driven on the trip: 918.8