Day 43: Middlesex, Vermont to Madison, Ohio. Day 44: on to Indianapolis. Day 45, 46: Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

On Thursday morning we  said "goodbye" to Vermont. 

The past peak foliage still managed to look stunning on a sunny day.  

                

Since the drive from Middlesex to Indianapolis is 14.5 hours, we allotted two days to get there. At this point, six weeks in, I-90 is familiar territory. We know that after nine or so hours one's eyes start to glaze over. We broke the journey, as usual, near the Pennsylvania/Ohio border, opting this time to push it that extra 30 minutes to get into Ohio to reach a slightly newer, nicer hotel than the one we'd stayed at in Erie on that first, very long trip to San Jose. We had a reasonably good Mexican take-out dinner and settled in to watch the dueling town hall events with Trump and Biden. I can't seem to stay away from obsessively following the news during this pivotal moment, even if it might be better for my blood pressure not to do so. The next morning we were up early and off -- back on the interstate and headed to Indianapolis. 

At this point, I feel qualified to rank states in terms of rest stops and freeway maintenance. Here's my completely subjective analysis of the states we traveled through on this trip.

1. Vermont -- nice, clean rest-stops, fairly well-maintained highways and, of course, great views with no billboards.

2. Ohio -- I give this state my #2 spot for its rest stops. In highway maintenance and sheer logic of road transitions, etc. it would fall to 4 or 5. 

3. New York -- Considering how many ginormous trucks beat up their roads on a daily basis, I think New York does a pretty good job. Rest stops are too infrequent, though, but mostly clean. Once on the thruway there are regular rest stops but food options are terrible. We make our own sandwiches these days.

4. Pennsylvania -- PA has a nice "Welcome Center," but other rest stops are inconveniently located, chaotic and not the cleanest.

5. Indiana -- Not sure if I'm being fair to Indiana to put it last in this group. The roads were a mess, but we weren't in the state too long and didn't use a rest stop here. Will perhaps revise my opinion after our next drive. 

On thing I can say is life on the road is definitely affected, for better or worse, by such things.

                                                Below: the long and waving road.

While I'm fairly well-traveled, this trip has been a real eye-opener for me for many reasons. One, of course, is the moment we're in -- in the middle of a pandemic, with the nation finally waking up to the reality of systemic racism and with a crucial presidential election two weeks away.  The very air in the cities we visit seems charged with the electricity of the moment. And, because we are in these cities for Greg to cover a football game, the hotels we are staying in each weekend are usually fancy high-rises located right downtown. Not where we'd be staying if we were paying the bill.

We pulled into Indianapolis late Friday afternoon. While Greg had a zoom call with the teams, I took a walk around our neighborhood. The first thing that struck me was the grace and beauty of the city. A cobblestone street and walkway connects the domed state capitol building to the Soldier and Sailor's Monument, set two blocks away in a circular plaza.

The Indiana State Capitol building

   The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

According to wikipedia, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument was the first to be dedicated to ordinary military personnel, not generals or admirals, etc. The obelisk structure is made of limestone and topped with a statue of "Victory."  The shot below (from the wikipedia page) was taken when the monument was being refurbished. It shows the eagle perched on Victory's head. We thought it was a real bird at first, since you can't see it well from below. The height of the structure is only 15 feet shorter than the statue of liberty. 

random shots from our neighborhood

                          

On my walks, I was sad to notice many homeless people on sidewalks and street corners or seeking shelter in the entryways of boarded up storefronts. I've lived in cities before, of course, in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and, for a short time, in Paris and London. But, this trip is showing me homelessness on a bigger scale. And, with the added effect of the pandemic, things look incredibly bleak. Consider this statistic from a recent study. 

The number of poor people has grown by eight million since May, according to researchers at Columbia University, after falling by four million at the pandemic's start as a result of a $2 trillion emergency package known as the Cares Act.

I hope our country can tackle this terrible problem soon. It is heartbreaking that so many of our fellow citizens are living this way. 

At least some folks in Indianapolis are trying to help. The church below, which is right on the monument circle, has installed port-a-potties. You can see them in the lower left corner of the picture. Between them is a clean and attractive sink. And, while I was taking my evening stroll yesterday, a man pulled over and hopped out. He walked up to folks and asked if they'd like a meal. In the block or so that my route overlapped with his, he'd given out probably 15 bagged dinners.

On the field: Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts. 38 year old Phillip Rivers finds the fountain of youth, throws for 371 yards. Final score: Bengals 27, Colts 31.

On the map:  Distance from last week -- Hoboken to home to Indianapolis: 1,209 miles. 

This leg of the trip in green and brown (I'm running out of colors). From here, we stay out on the road as it doesn't make sense to return to Vermont when Greg's next game is in New Orleans. We will try to make lemonade out of lemons, though, by fitting in some historical sites related to the civil rights movement on the drive from Indianapolis to New Orleans.