Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Delivery to Amsterdam, New York

This is our 70th motor home delivery in 7 years! Our plans were to pick it up Thursday, pack it up at the Prairie on Friday and take off Sat AM early to deliver on Monday. Dealers do not like deliveries on Sat. The dealer called and wanted it Saturday if possible. So, in 2 hours we pulled everything together and were on the road, that long, gray ribbon of I-80/90, headed east on a cloudy, muggy, hot afternoon in a 35 foot Winnebago Sightseer

Iowa is still a pretty green with wildflowers blooming in the ditches and medians. A rainbow of yellow and pink cone-flowers, purple vervain and bee balm, and white Queen Anne Lace. The bean fields are a rich green, an occasional gold oat field and rows of tall green stalks of corn with yellow tassel crowns. We did see the area where high winds had flattened the crops leaving them tangled and crooked.

Across the Mississippi River into Illinois. The crops are showing the effects of a very wet spring with wet areas not planted and shorter beans. We made it to the Flying J in LaSalle for the night. A very hot night!

A very early start on a cloudy day with a goal of 500 miles. The AC feels so good. A glimpse of pink clouds as the sun rises. Through Chicago with only a slow down for some much needed road construction or more politically correct "infrastructure improvement" on I-80. Into Indiana, a time change and in and out of sprinkles of rain on this cloudy day which is keeping the temperature from rising so high.

Past exit sign to the Studebaker National Museum and the RV Museum in South Bend. Will add them to our want to see list. More fields of corn, beans, oats and wheat . Farms with large barns & silos. Small towns and cities. Large trees form outlines for everything and line the roads. Past a field of gladioulas in bloom in a rainbow of colors.

A $20 toll paid before entering Ohio. After a half hour wait in line we pulled out our ticket for this state.. ( A patrol car with lights flashing went past on the shoulder, but we don’t know why the toll booths were closed down.) Ohio gets the award for the best Travel Plazas on the toll road! Past a County Fair in progress.

The miles are rolling by. Past acres of orchards near Toledo. The coast line of Lake Erie is not too many miles to the north. Through Cleveland on I-480 and I-271. Easy and not a lot of traffic. Acres of grapes. Paid another $20+ toll.

Across the 46 miles of the neck of Pennsylvania. Very rolling landscape with acres and acres of grape vines growing. We can see the clouds that form over the Lake. Into New York and back on the toll road. Still acres of grapes up and down the hills between the trees. Another County Fair in progress. Very frustrating reading our Atlas because the exit numbers are not the same as the miles! The Travel Plaza at Angola is our stop for the night. We made 580 miles today! There is a cool breeze coming in the motor home windows. Interesting plaza because we have to walk a covered bridge across the highway to get to the McDonald's. It is shared by both sides of the road!

A quiet, cool night's sleep! Moved most of stuff to the Saturn to make it faster at the dealer. 5:45 heading east into a beautiful sunrise. Another $11.80 in tolls as we skirt the edge of the city of Buffalo. Images of buffalo are painted on murals and miniature statues in the grassy areas along the edge of the highway. Exit to Niagara Falls and sign telling us that we are driving in the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor. Fog is rising from the low areas. Deer are grazing. Farms are nestled in the hills surrounded by tree lined fields of crops which include vegetables.

Past the exit to Seneca Falls and Finger Lakes area, which we visited last year. Tall hardwood trees interspersed with low marshy areas. Tall mountains all around us. Huge white clouds forming above Lake Ontario are on the horizon. The flowers on the loosestrife plant form bright pools of purple in the grass. A processing and storage plant for onions and potatoes. Past Syracuse. Exit for the Salt Museum is on our "to see" list. Into the mountains with the Mohawk River/ Erie Canal beside us dotted with interesting old metal high span bridges. Garage sale signs and farmers markets remind us that it is Saturday. Last toll of $3.65 paid. (yes, all of these are reimbursed by the company and toll roads definitely make moving a large vehicle easier, safer and faster!)

Another motor home successfully and safely delivered! Fast check-in. Super 8 just down the road for us to check-in before spending the afternoon exploring!

Thanks for riding with us!

What did we find in the area? Watch for next blog!

Prairie Schooners


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