What can I say about the Black Lick to Champaign stretch of the journey? This part of our route has been traveled before, in fact it has been traveled so many times before, we have lost count! Ok, just because we know this road off by heart, we will not loose heart. We know the exits. We know the clean bathrooms (most of which are in Cracker Barrel!), where to find the cheapest gas, where to find strong coffee, the locations of Walmarts, the GPS location of each and every Krispy Kreme and even where to find two Tim Hortons this far south of Canada! We also know how long it takes to get from any point to any other point along this stretch of 533 miles. When we actually see something new along this route, we rejoice... as a small child would when given candy or something. Hey, we're not kidding these are 533 miles of things we have seen too many times. But at the end of the rainbow known as I-70 and I-74, lies that little pot of gold known as Grandma's house. Riah is so glad we'll find Grandma frolicing in the glow of the rainbow's hues! We will also see her on the return through Champaign.

What else can we talk about.... hmmmm???? Cords... we have lots of cords. Cords here, cords there. We are well organized, but it kind of amused me when I realized all the tech stuff we needed to take this trip! Between computer stuff, cameras and cell phones, we have more than our fair share of cords! Wanna see?

It’s chilly, and Riah is shivering in his shorts! There was an awesome fog over the ridge near Blairsville, but the road has been clear of fog. Ten minutes in, and we have our official first stop. I forgot to take one of my new medicines. Pill number 7 downed the hatch at Clem’s! Ummm, Clem’s…. not a very good breakfast choice, so we head on down the boring road of Route 22.

It’s official… the first wildlife of the trip has been spotted (aside from good old Pennsylvania roadkills). A big tom turkey was right along the road on route 66. We were going too fast to try to photograph it. We saw a hot air balloon near Belle Vernon, Pa. We are making awesome time, but my hip hurts a bit.

Riah wanted McD’s for breakfast, and we stopped at a neat one near Belmont, Ohio with an old Sinclair gas pump and stoplights inside. He had 2 burritos, a hashbrown and Rootbeer. Ahhh, the joys of vacation, soda for breakfast! I am such a cool mom.

The drive has been pleasant, and the sky is a beautiful blue with wispy clouds. One thing I did enjoy about living in the Midwest was how the sky seems to go on and on forever.
Riah wanted a snack so we stopped at Petro in Richmond. He found a Toll House candy bar he had been wanting to try, and some Shrek Mini M&M’s.

Grandma was waiting inside the door when we arrived. We are going to have an early supper of rib eye steaks at home, and then head over to Uncle Eric & Aunt Kim’s Custard shop. Riah is looking forward to “Bears On The Beach” at Cozy’s. Wayne is going to help Kenny get his computer hooked up tonight. Check out the other pictures from today!

The Frontier Faulkners area of our website has been created with lots of intense effort and almost as much love ;) You can peak ahead to any given day, but there won't be content till late that evening, and bear in mind the time differences to all our EST friends! Each day I will ad to the webpage, as much witty commentary as my brain can generate, and as many photos as we can within reason. I take way too many pictures to post them all folks!

While we're on the subject of the website, please take a moment to sign the guestbook. It's a different one, reserved just for those of you who decide to follow along with us on our trip! And, be sure to play along with the games if you find one. Riah and I have a few goofy ones in mind.

Game number one... begins now!

What is the name of the tiny brown canine who's not only Riah's snuggle buddy, but also calls his cupholder a carseat?
Mini Marvin
Barker
Puppie Doggie
Furball