Bloomington IN to Solon IA
Day 2 Stats: 3 states, 2 tanks of gas, 422 miles, lost track of hours
First thing - I neglected to mention a key element of passing through Knoxville, TN, on Day 1, which was me chanting, "Knoxville! Knoxville! Knoxville!"
Let me explain:
Now, for day 2 highlights.
The rain that poured on us during the night held off long enough for us to pack up and hit the road early. After a quick stop for coffee (and the dogs first time getting Puppuccinos) we headed north to Indianapolis, home of the Colts, the Indy 500, and Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse Five and many other strange and wonderful science fiction novels.
Some of you may be familar with Vonnegut's work, many of you may not be. Aside from his fantastic imagination he also had quite a unique drawing style.
His best known book, Slaughterhouse Five, was first published in 1969 and evolves around the life of Billy Pilgrim. Like Vonnegut's real life experience, Pilgrim survives the bombing of Dresden in WWII. Vonnegut was awarded the Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medal for his service.
One of the interesting items in the museum was a letter his father sent to him while he serving was in the war. The letter was returned with a note stating he was presumed missing in action. When Vonnegut finally returned home he kept his father's letter, never opened it, and it now remains in the museum, still unopened.
Also on display is Billy Pilgrim's War Chest which depicts an Allied platoon entereing firebombed Dresden in the upper compartment and a drawer depticting a cemetery below. A hidden compartment contains Bill Pilgrim's dog tags, a dish from Dresden, spent shells, and a signed first edition of the novel.
After a fun shopping spree in the gift shop it was time to get back on the road. There's not much to report about passing through Illinois except this cool faucet at a truck stop along the highway. It has a soap dispenser on the left, water in the middle, and a hand dryer on the right, all motion sensored.
In Iowa we sought out our camping spot for the night. Upon entering the campground I realized I had made a reserevation for the previouos evening by mistake - yikes!
The campground attendant was adamant that he wouldn't recommend a "best" tent site so he encouraged us to roam through the grounds and check out open sites for ourselves.
Once we selected a site it was my job to drive back to the gate to pay for our site while Daniel set up the gear. In my haste to resolve the mistake I'd made about the date I backed out of parking spot and proceded to drive right over the pile of gear Daniel had unloaded. The worst casualty was our Colelman stove. Adventures and mishaps always seem to go hand in hand for me, and once our site was paid for and we had dinner I thought it a good time to open the bourbon I'd bought in Kentucky and look forward to the next day.
Day 3 will bring us to South Dakota and a short drive on Day 4 into Custer State Park. I hope you'll stay tuned for the adventure (and the inevitable misadventures)!
