A few years ago, I documented a solo drive on Interstate 80 from Des Moines to eastern Pennsylvania, on a road trip to Philadelphia. This week, I did the opposite, a solo drive from Philadelphia to Des Moines. I intentionally took a different route back via a few different interstate roads -- here's my summary:
* In Pennsylvania, Interstate 76 doubles as the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The eastern half is mundane until your reach Harrisburg, where the terrain takes on the Allegheny Mountain range to the border. You actually go through three fairly long tunnels carved out of those mountains.
* Who knew that as I-76 morphs into Interstate 70, you drive through just a few miles of West Virginia before entering Ohio? I didn't.
* I-70 through Ohio isn't memorable, not even going through Columbus -- it's not like you see their famous zoo, or any of Ohio State University. The closest thing to interesting is near Dayton, where you come quite close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which you can't see, either.
* The interstate through Indiana is equally boring, except for Indianapolis. It turns out the quickest way to get from I-70 to Interstate 74 is by taking the road that goes through Speedway, Indiana, right by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As you might expect, seemingly every business around it uses the word 'Speedway' in it.
* Once in Illinois and back on Central Time, the super-flat drive quickly goes through a bunch of college towns: Champaign (University of Illinois), Normal (Illinois State), and Peoria (Bradley). Seems like a bunch of places not to stop right now, as college kids become potential COVID-19 super-spreaders.
* Just west of the Quad Cities, it's time to make a final stop at the I-80 Truck Stop near Walcott, the largest truck stop in the country. It's a tourist attraction. It even has a trucking museum....I'm just saying.
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