Another day in the car but nearing the end. It started with what we expected was just an hour-and-a-half route into New Jersey. Instead, we failed to follow the directions and went more than an hour out of our way. We still had time for a hotdog and gas at WAWA before settling in the Flemington, New Jersey city known for the Lindbergh kidnapping. We enjoyed some snacks with our Florida neighbor friends in their summer home, and then promptly headed for the Unionville Winery to continue our afternoon grazing with a multi-bottle tasting. The evening was then spent over a salmon dinner and a game of Code Names. I was first to bed after once again nursing a painful leg all day and trying to negotiate more stairs.
After a restless night, I tried to get the blood flowing on their basement exercise bike. They served us a traditional Jersey breakfast treat of John Taylor ham on a sesame seed bagel. We opted out of adding ketchup like they suggested. They then drove us to nearby Asbury Park, where we all explored the boardwalk, pinball hall of fame, and a Bruce Springsteen museum. Nearby, was the famous Stone Pony where he and other local musicians like Southside Johnny still perform on occasion. It’s also the sight of unique artwork and a decorative glass dome where the beachside carousel was once housed.
We sat down for slice of Manuca’s spiral pizza, also known as a Trenton Tomato Pie, and wrapped up the evening with an authentic Jersey Italian Dinner, including a dish that they called “Sunday Leftovers” at Marinelli’s Restaurant. They are a couple that likes to play card games so we ended our Flemington stay with Five Crowns -I won! Winner, winner Italian dinner!
We finished off our leftover pizza in the car the next morning while passing through Delaware, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. on our way to Fayetteville, North Carolina. The short stint in Delaware took my wife’s total state count to 47 – only three to go – Nebraska and the Dakotas, as previously mentioned. Fortunately, nothing eventful happened in route before we stopped at Cracker Barrel and went to bed early in preparation for our last day of driving, the longest of our trip.
An eleven-hour driving day, that was supposed to be only ten, wrapped up our round-trip to Maine. The odometer read 25,112 as we departed the Fayetteville Spring Hill Suites. We passed quickly into South Carolina with only two last states to traverse, Florida and Georgia, soon seeing signs for an out-of-the-way Buc-ees. We planned to pick up the dogs, unload, and return the Rogue rental first thing in the morning. Oops – wrong turn and we end up at Buc-ees for the third time this trip, costing us an extra hour on the road. Maybe the cheaper gas and brisket sandwiches made up for the delays.
The final odometer reading was 25,830, just about 4,100 miles, the longest we’ve ever traveled together by car. It probably is comparable my roundtrip excursion from Indiana to California as a teenager. Once again, I thank my lucky stars for another hassle-free, safe journey where little went wrong and most everything was right. Winner, winner, Italian Dinner!
A 9-hour drive took us from Atlanta to Indianapolis, followed by short jaunts to New Castle, North Vernon, Scipio, and Rochester over the next four days to sample as many breaded tenderloins as possible. The only delays so far had been heavy rainfall in mid-Kentucky and brief, mysterious computer glitches with the rear hatch. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner as we passed into the Hoosier state – “Back Home Again!”
My addiction to baseball cards was evident, as we rolled along, squandering $50 here and there on upcoming Topps Chrome breaks. Lady Luck was not on my side with the cards but kept us safe throughout this journey. I proceeded to devour breaded tenderloins at a Moose, an Elks, and two other casual restaurants with expectations of wings when we finally got to Buffalo and of course Lobster in Maine. I “wandered” the back roads of Indiana, while visiting local landmarks and the homes of two half-sisters. My wife took advantage of my absence and dined with her old pals. We next headed north to her big high school reunion at another small-town Elks Club, passing more cornfields along the way and spending the late night in Kokomo.
I expected to meet many familiar faces from our past while in the Hoosier state, greeting nearly 50 at the Mousetrap, with more to come at the HS reunion gathering. Along the way I had already amassed a collection of gifts including cookies, caramels, a numbered bottle of Field of Dreams bourbon, a glass sculpture made from my birth father’s ashes, and one of his controversial swastika-labeled golf balls. I never knew the man but enjoyed hearing stories about him. He liked to call himself, “Bad News Banister.” I’m glad I wasn’t raised by him. Four of his daughters and I gathered at the Brick House in North Vernon, once the local train finished going back and forth, blocking the way there. You can always expect to be delayed by trains in Indiana.
Six days in Indiana before the next long drive to Buffalo. Before we left, we got to meet our newest family member, as I became G.U.M (Great Uncle Mike) once again. We also lunched with friends from our Egypt trip at Dick’s Drive-In, my wife’s hometown favorite (another tenderloin and Spanish fries). She grew up not personally knowing these Rochester neighbors until we were in a foreign country under coincidental circumstances. 78 classmates then attended my wife’s reunion at the Country Club (in reality just another Elks), near where my Mother-In-Law once lived on Lake Manitou. I dutifully manned the bar and tried to stay out of the way. 25-years prior to the previous reunion, I proposed to my wife on a lake pier.
We bypassed another Tropical Storm with our travels. This was the third time since we moved to Florida three years ago, including Ian, Idalia, and now Debby. Chicken legs on the grill and the houseful of young, rambunctious boys (Cole, Carter, and baby Calvin) kept G.U.M. entertained on Sunday, along with more Olympics action. Our last full day in Indy included Torchy’s Tacos for breakfast and a fill-up of the tank at Costco on our way back from Kokomo. We spent the night there at the Courtyard after the RHS reunion, taking advantage of Marriott Rewards Points. It was time to “Shuffle off to Buffalo.”