Day 93: Middlesex, Vermont to Cleveland, Ohio; Day 94: Cleveland to Chicago, Illinois; Day 95-96: Chicago

I'm not gonna to lie -- life on the road has become pretty stressful. As each day breaks the previous record for Covid deaths and the headlines scream about the high level of virus "out there" we find ourselves eyeing maskless strangers at gas stations or in rest-stop bathrooms. Are they positive? Am I far enough away? Will my mask and gloves protect me? 

As the weeks pass, more and more of Greg's colleagues have tested positive. We're thankful that most have recovered, although one recently required hospitalization. We hear stories of the spotty mask enforcement on airplanes and are grateful that we, at least, are in control of our own space.

A few roadside shots from our travel days . . . 

 

When we finally get to our hotel room, we begin our process -- spray and wipe the surfaces, the switches, the doorknobs. We strip the bedspread and substitute our own pillows and blankets. Then we can relax, maybe stream an old Columbo -- comfort food for the traveler.

Columbo (/kəˈlʌmboʊ/) is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. (from Wikipedia)

Despite patchy sunshine and brisk winds, Chicago looked beautiful in her Christmas finery.

    First sight of the windy city                  The view from our room

    Michigan Avenue                              Social distance bubbles for out-door dining

 

                                The Hard Rock Cafe

On the field: NFL Week 13: Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears. After trailing most of the game, Matthew Stafford's Lions pulled out a victory in the final seconds.

On the map: distance from last week Cincinnati to Middlesex to Chicago -- 1,730 miles.

Day 86: Middlesex, Vermont to Buffalo, New York. Day 87: Buffalo to Cincinnati, Ohio. Day 88-89: Cincinnati.

Unsurprisingly, our NFL road trip schedule does not fit neatly around major holidays -- the holidays need to fit around it. So, the Scoppettone family Thanksgiving celebration -- pandemic edition -- involved a time-shifted meal and virtual visiting. The Vermont contingent, Greg and I, along with Anna and her boyfriend, Adam, cooked and ate a lovely traditional meal (complete with two pies, apple and pumpkin) on Wednesday. After dinner, we packed leftovers for friends and neighbors who weren't able to cook or travel. Anna got to play Thanksgiving Santa Claus on the actual holiday, driving around to deliver food while Greg and I were driving to Buffalo, NY, our designated stay-over spot in the journey to Cincinnati.

 Thanksgiving leftovers in our hotel.

The next day we were up and out early. Near Erie, Pennsylvania we passed this dramatic roadside sign yet again. Below is a bit of context from Wikipedia.

Cattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation located partly in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 1,833 at the 2010 census.^[2]

The largest part of the reservation is in Erie County; smaller portions are located in Cattaraugus County and Chautauqua County. This is one of the reservations of the federally recognized Seneca Nation of Indians. The Seneca maintain most of their administrative and public service facilities for the Cattaraugus Reservation in the Erie County portion.

When Nadia was in 4th grade she made the Ohio State candy,  Buckeyes, for a class project. They are incredibly delicious.  Even though they are rather time-consuming to make, they became sort of a family tradition. So, when I discovered these giant-sized replicas at a rest stop near Cincinnati -- well, I just had to take a picture.

We pulled in to our Cincinnati hotel in the late afternoon. It was literally an art museum -- part of the 21c Museum Hotel group. The lobby was stunning. Here are pictures of some of the art.  They don't do it justice. Click on the images to see them better. The one below took up a good-sized wall. It is hard to see it here, but this is a textile piece -- it's quilted!

 

   

The view from the window in our room.

The view from inside our room, including an interesting light fixture (below, right).

  

Inspired by the art. Here's my attempt at a still life.

We passed this on the way home. Despite the special offer, we didn't stop.

On the field: NFL Week 12, 11/29/10: New York Giants @ Cincinnati Bengals. The battle of the backup quarterbacks. Injuries were a factor in this mess of a game. New York eked out a victory. Final score: Giants 19, Bengals 17. Giants are now 4 wins and 7 losses and somehow in first place in the division.

On the map: distance from last week's game at Charlotte to home to Cincinnati: 1,761 miles. 

Day 79: Middlesex, Vermont to Martinsburg, West Virginia; Day 80: West Virginia to Charlotte, North Carolina; Day 81-82 Charlotte, North Carolina

It's hard to say when we officially hit the wall on this crazy journey . . . this week? last week? three weeks ago? It certainly has been challenging. We've driven approximately 21,000 miles over 3 months during a pandemic and a crisis of leadership in our country. Like everyone, we've juggled those broad concerns along with the more immediate ones of how many miles do we need to make and which hotel should we stay at and do we have enough Lysol spray and disposable gloves on hand.

Week 11 of the NFL season found us headed back to Charlotte, North Carolina. Since it is 14+ driving hours, we spent the night in a hotel just over the border in West Virginia. As we neared our stopping point, we were treated to a fiery sunset. I took a gazillion pictures, but they don't capture how dramatic it was. 

Greg was able to find some roadside attractions to make our next day's journey more interesting. 

We visited Patsy Cline's grave, tucked into a nondescript graveyard on the side of a county highway in Virginia. Like others before us, we left a couple of pennies on her grave. As we were leaving, I noticed that the graveyard had a special section for pets. 

Pennies are left on graves, most of all, in remembrance of the deceased. Leaving a coin from your pocket is a way to leave a part of yourself at the burial site. The coin is a visual reminder that, even in death, the memory of the deceased lives on. It is also a sign of respect to the dead, as it shows that their memory has value to you and is something you want to commemorate. (from SouthUniversity.edu)

A few hours later we stopped for coffee -- literally. The building below used to be a restaurant. It seemed to be occupied as a home now. It was an abrupt pull-out but, if you ignored the constant road noise, a tranquil spot. Across the road, a meandering river looked lovely in the sunlight.  

Next stop -- a visit to Johnny Appleseed, whom we found just off the highway in front of a motel that had seen better days. 

We pulled into the Charlotte Metro area on Friday afternoon. I'm not sure how people who live in Charlotte deal with the congestion. An odd attitude, I know, since I spent so many years in Los Angeles. Perhaps living in Vermont has eroded my tolerance for bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

Otherwise, Charlotte seems to be a pretty nice city, clean and modern with lots of public art. Sadly, like many cities we've been in, there appears to be a significant homeless population. Also, like many places, the compliance with Covid protocols seems to be spotty -- hard to witness when we're constantly hearing heart-wrenching stories from front-line workers in hospitals. 

The bar above had a mask mandate, but not much compliance. The next pic is a party trolly. You can't see it because of the hedge but, unlike the party buses we saw in Nashville, this one was pedal-powered -- the drinkers sat on bicycle seats facing each other. So, I guess the proprietors get points for trying to be environmentally responsible while completely ignoring covid protocols.

Here are some more Charlotte pics.

         

Greg on game day.

On the field: NFL Week 11, 11/15/20. Detroit Lions @ Carolina Panthers. Matthew Stafford's injured thumb proved too much for the Lions quarterback to overcome. Stafford was sacked 5 times and threw many errant passes on the way to a shut-out. Final score: Lions 0, Panthers 20.

On the map: distance from last week's game in Hoboken to home to Charlotte: 1,266 miles. Here's the map. The route to Charlotte can be seen below. It is the third line stretching downward from the right. Our route this time is highlighted in blue and green.