Life is a highway

Because of the timing of the move, we had to make the drive separately.  I made my ride over 2 days after tying up loose ends in Virginia.  I left on Thursday at around noon, gave my tearful goodbye to Blacksburg after 8 years, and made the 7 hour drive to Indianapolis.  The first half of the ride was very scenic and was on a rural highway, so it was almost pleasant, despite the loaded down car.  I drove through the Appalachian Mountains to Charleston, WV (bye, mountains!) and on to Dayton, OH.  Once I got to Dayton, the rest of the trip was on interstate roads, so the pace and the traffic picked up significantly.  By the time I got to Indianapolis, I was ready for dinner and some rest at the hotel.  The next morning, I departed for my 6.5 hour drive heading northwest toward Chicago, and entered the Central Time Zone.  I had driven through Chicago maybe twice before, so I knew it was going to be a challenge.  The traffic was pretty heavy, and of course they don't accept EZ Pass (shout out, PA and NJ!), but rather the obscure I-Pass (an Illinois exclusive?).  So, every 10 miles or so, you have to literally exit the 5-lane highway to the right, and roll through the tollbooths to pay a real human being in cash.  Interestingly enough, each toll amount is different.  So you never know what you are going to be paying!  After the first two, I ended up just driving with my change purse on my lap and picking the longest line so I could fumble around for close to the right amount.  If I counted correctly, there were at least 5 tolls.  Made the time go by quickly though!

Needless to say, when I saw this...I was pretty relieved!

I stopped in at the welcome center and picked up some literature about Wisconsin and a road map to keep in the car.  The rest area was so nice I decided to take a break for a snack.  Then, onward for about 30 minutes to Milwaukee.  I had spent a week in MKE for a conference in October, of course not realizing that I would be moving a short distance away just a few months later.  From there, the highway narrowed down back to a 2-lane and I headed northbound through the quiet farmland along the western shore of Lake Michigan.  An hour and a half later, I passed the city limit sign for Green Bay!  Where is it...?

Eventually, I did enter the city after a few more miles of farms.  I crossed over the Bay itself and looked to the left and got my first glimpse of the Fox River and Lambeau Field!  Wish I could have taken more photos of the ride, but not too easy to do when driving by yourself.  More to come on the move and the new apartment in the next blog!