The Search for the Holy Grail and the Descent into Dante's Inferno

We crossed the border on July 2nd to head out cross the USA. Border crossing went well, we had a thorough but pleasant guard. Our first order of business was to find a Wal-Mart to get a US cell phone so that we could stay in contact with A & E out west. Everyone had told us that you couldn't swing a stick around in the US without hitting a Wal-Mart, well....the lied. We spent over an hour fighting with the GSP and the directions from one of the hotels, just circling around trying to find one. Extreme frustration!!!!! Finally we decided that we would just take off and find one later along the road, oh how naive we were. We drove through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin; only seeing one briefly as we passed on the highway in IL unable to exit. There was a definite wail of frustration as we passed, something along the lines of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Feeling at that time was when we see it we'' stop. The search for a Wal-Mart had indeed become our holy grail.

Reminder; when passing by a prison area; ask if they are a hitchhiker or an escaped convict. The signs remind you not to pick up any hitchhikers but it doesn't say anything about convicts.

Back on the road and approaching Chicago; beautiful view of the skyline as you enter the city limits. Unfortunately for us the sun was starting to set, which makes for beautiful pictures but lousy visibility for the driver. As the expressway brings you closer and closer into the city the amount of cars drastically increases, going from 2-4-6 lanes per side. I began to see signs the said we were getting close the the circle, which of course begged the question: "What circle are they talking about?" Response from the driver "We are in hell, the seven circles of hell!" With the sun in my eyes I could barely see the signs I was supposed to follow, and tried desperately to stay in the right lane that would eventually take us to Wisconsin. It was the kind of nail biting traffic you sometimes see around TO but worse due to the lousy visibilty with the sun coming off the lake. Finally past Chicago we stopped for dinner, partly because we were starving by this point but more importantly I just couldn't see at all due to the sun. We were trying to get as far as we could before we had to stop and eventually made it part way into Wisc. before we pulled over for the night. Tomorrow we continue our quest towards Mt Rushmore for the 4th of July.

So.... lessons learned today: Wal-Marts are never as close as they are meant to be, and never travel around Chicago and the lake at sunset if you value your sanity and eyesight.

Quotes: "The first thing I did in Ohio was take off my top.: R
"Set dang you, set!" C "I'm gonna kill it! I'm gonna kill it!" C

Fav plate: SWT RYD on a nice silver convertible.