Countdown to Launch: 55 Days

Day trips are practice for my epic driving trip. Yesterday, Mike and I went on a small excursion to Willoughby, Ohio, to scout a restaurant for a meeting we are having next week with the President of the Historic US Route 20 Association, Bryan Farr.   This is a wonderful grassroots organization dedicated to the preservation and awareness of the historical significance and the economic growth of US Route 20. We hope to do some collaborating. Please check out his website at www.historicUS20.com.

We had burgers and iced teas at Burgers-N-Beer (4027 Erie Street, Willoughby). It is a bar but with good food. There were couples, families, little league teams and other groups dining during the afternoon hours. It had a safe and happy atmosphere. Our waitperson, Katie, was awesome and helped me pick a gluten free option for lunch. It seemed like the kind of place you could just linger and catch up with old friends. I enjoyed myself very much.

We walk up and down the street, before the rain came, and did some window shopping at the many unique retail options. We also visited the park nearby.

Then it was off to do some trip business. Last week, Darlene and the staff at the Solon AAA Office completed an entire Trip Tik for my journey. They provided paper maps, Tour Books as well the Trip Tik itself. I was amazed at the comprehensive job they did and I just wanted to thank them here. It took a lot of work and I am extremely appreciative. In today’s world, paper maps may seem antiquated but I do not agree. Having them is providing me with piece of mind and an assurance of being able to find my way around this beautiful country.

Since some of my side trips are still in the works, I did not have Darlene plan for them. So we decided to get a GPS as a backup and for the side trips. We went to Best Buy in Mentor. We were assisted by Tyler who spend a lot of time showing us the different options and models until we were happy. He was a great help. We then turned the Garmin on and proceeded down US Rt. 20 to Perry using the GPS. It was my first experience with a GPS and I was very impressed. Now I feel confident that between all of Darlene’s work and the GPS I should be safe and on track.

I also need to send a shout out to my boss, Avery, who has so graciously let me borrow her camera. The pictures are going to be much better than what I was taking before and I appreciate having it as I believe the scenery on the trip is going to be epic!!

Even though this was just an afternoon jaunt, there were things I never saw before and places I had not been. It was an interesting way to spend a few hours.