{"id":251,"date":"2008-08-13T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2008-08-13T10:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/missouri-trip\/2008-missouri-trip-day-three-from-dayton-to-columbia\/"},"modified":"2008-08-13T08:47:55","modified_gmt":"2008-08-13T12:47:55","slug":"2008-missouri-trip-day-three-from-dayton-to-columbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/missouri-trip\/2008-missouri-trip-day-three-from-dayton-to-columbia\/","title":{"rendered":"2008 Missouri Trip: Day Three: From Dayton to Columbia"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the third post in a series of our trip to Columbia Missouri.\u00c2\u00a0 To read what Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat were up to in our absence, check out the Furry Bambinos blog<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

We got an early start on Wednesday, July 30.\u00c2\u00a0 Patty took Bruiser for a short walkie around the parking lot.<\/p>\n

\"20-patty-walks-bruiser\"<\/p>\n

We packed the vehicles with everything we had brought in on Tuesday night … except for Rainbow, one of Patty’s cats.\u00c2\u00a0 Rainbow refused to get out of the boxed spring of one of the beds in Patty and Chris’s room.\u00c2\u00a0 Chris somehow managed to get her out, and then we were on our way.<\/p>\n

We got breakfast at a nearby Tim Horton’s (sort of like a Dunkin Donuts), ate in the cars to keep an eye on our furry friends, then hit the road.\u00c2\u00a0 With the muffler pipe problem the first day, Chris had found a “speed sweet spot” of 65 to 70 miles per hour at which the noise was more bearable.\u00c2\u00a0 Our minivan easily cruised along at 75 mph (or more), so Chris and Patty pulled out and started driving about 9:30 am to get a head start.\u00c2\u00a0 David and I followed at 9:54 am, after taking a phone call from Mom and Dad.\u00c2\u00a0 I drove the first leg on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

With David in the passenger seat, I warned him that the Navigator’s job was much harder than the Driver’s job.\u00c2\u00a0 In about five minutes, David understood why!\u00c2\u00a0 As Navigator, you have to keep track of the maps, beverages, note-taking for blogging, as well as manage the whereabouts of Cinnamon and Toast!\u00c2\u00a0 You know the expression, “It’s like herding cats”?<\/p>\n

\"21-kitties-exploring\"<\/p>\n

On Day Two, Cinnamon and Toast were no less vocal<\/strong> , but much more interested in exploring the van from front to back.\u00c2\u00a0 At one point, both Cinnamon and Toast decided to sit on David’s lap at the same time.<\/p>\n

\"22-both-cats-on-david\"<\/p>\n

Dayton is in Western Ohio, but we still had about an hour to go before crossing into Indiana.\u00c2\u00a0 We crossed at 10:25 am.<\/p>\n

\"23-exiting-ohio\"<\/p>\n

\"24-entering-indiana\"<\/p>\n

Toast got friendly with David on Wednesday:<\/p>\n

\"25-toast-on-davids-lap\"<\/p>\n

With all the activity going on INSIDE the van, we almost forgot about the scenery!\u00c2\u00a0 Indiana was largely farmland and cornfields.<\/p>\n

\"26-corn-rows\"<\/p>\n

\"27-farm\"<\/p>\n

Weather alternated between overcast and light rain.<\/p>\n

\"28-on-road\"<\/p>\n

Cinnamon was really worked up that morning.\u00c2\u00a0 Cinnamon wanted to be absolutely certain that we knew he disapproved of being catnapped and transported across state lines against his will.\u00c2\u00a0 So he told us, repeatedly.\u00c2\u00a0 Over and over again.\u00c2\u00a0 Then he would summarize his points, and then start over at the beginning.<\/p>\n

Every time Cinnamon meowed, he got Toast going too.\u00c2\u00a0 Toast sounded like she was yodeling.\u00c2\u00a0 Cinnamon complained LOUDLY<\/strong> AND OFTEN<\/strong> about being catnapped by strangers.\u00c2\u00a0 We tried to explain that we were not strangers, that we were Uncle David and Aunt Sue, but Cinnamon would hear nothing of it.<\/p>\n

Between David’s play-by-play as to which cat was where, Cinnamon meowing, Toast yodeling, cell phone calls from Patty, trying to pay attention to driving, and listening to “The Best of Queen”, I REALLY NEEDED A STIFF DRINK by the time we got to our first rest stop.<\/p>\n

We stopped for lunch at 11:54 am at a rest stop off exit 59 in Indiana, at a TA (134 miles from our starting point north of Dayton).\u00c2\u00a0 It was raining lightly, so we sat near the vehicles under an overhang.\u00c2\u00a0 David and I had pizza, Chris got a burger, and Patty had French Toast with syrup.\u00c2\u00a0 Bruiser’s food was in a bowl under Patty’s Winnie the Pooh umbrella.<\/p>\n

\"29-at-rest-stop\"<\/p>\n

\"30-bruiser\"<\/p>\n

Chris gave Cinnamon some “Kitty Calmer” medication during the rest stop.\u00c2\u00a0 We switched drivers after lunch, with David at the wheel and Sue as Madame Navigator.<\/p>\n

Bought gas at the Citgo gas station at the TA stop.\u00c2\u00a0 6.9 gallons @ $4.00 per gallon = $27.56. \u00c2\u00a0Hit the road at 12:58 pm EDT.<\/p>\n

We entered Illinois at about 1:48 pm EDT (12:48 pm CDT) at 609.0 on the mileage counter.\u00c2\u00a0 This meant we also entered the Central Time Zone.\u00c2\u00a0 During this leg of the trip, Cinnamon’s kitty valium kicked in, and he napped on my lap.\u00c2\u00a0 When Cinnamon calmed down, Toast calmed down as well.\u00c2\u00a0 She mostly slept under whichever chair I was sitting in.<\/p>\n

\"32-sue-with-sedated-cinnamon\"<\/p>\n

We stopped again for a break near Effingham, Illinois, about an hour inside the eastern border.\u00c2\u00a0 2:37 pm EDT (1:37 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0 Mileage 667.1 on the trip counter.\u00c2\u00a0 Cinnamon was an entirely different cat!\u00c2\u00a0 Very mellow, dudes!<\/p>\n

Muse was peeking out of her carrier in Chris and Patty’s vehicle during the rest stop:<\/p>\n

\"33-muse-in-carrier\"<\/p>\n

We changed drivers again, and with Sue at the wheel and David as Navigator, we hit the road at 3:09 pm EDT (2:09 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0 We saw this cross along the highway<\/a>, just outside of Effingham, Illinois:<\/p>\n

\"35-big-cross\"<\/p>\n

Cinnamon and Toast rested, double-decker style, much of the way across Illinois:<\/p>\n

\"36-cats-sleeping-double-decker\"<\/p>\n

Cinnamon also attempted to sleep on my lap while I was driving.\u00c2\u00a0 He would try to climb up into the driver’s seat along the driver’s side window.\u00c2\u00a0 There was one time where I had to drive with my right arm, and hang onto Cinnamon with my left arm.\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, he settled down on some bags between the driver and passenger seats up front.<\/p>\n

\"37-cinnamon-from-above\"<\/p>\n

When we crossed the Mississippi River in heavy rain, we left Illinois and entered Missouri at\u00c2\u00a04:37 pm EDT (3:37 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0 763.3 on the trip counter (599 miles out from Pittsburgh).<\/p>\n

\"39-crossing-the-mississippi\"<\/p>\n

\"40-crossing-into-missouri-in-the-rain\"<\/p>\n

We hit rush hour traffic and heavy rain on the highway north of St. Louis Missouri.\u00c2\u00a0 Patty radioed us on the walkie-talkie, “Welcome to Missouri, the Monsoon State”!<\/p>\n

We got off the highway because of traffic backups, and made a gas pit stop at a 7-11 in the St. Louis area at 4:56 EDT (3:56 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a010.28 gallons @ $3.68 per gallon = $37.83.\u00c2\u00a0 Trip counter at 774.6.<\/p>\n

We got back on the road to cross the Missouri River at 5:22 pm EDT (4:22 pm CDT), trip counter at 782.4.\u00c2\u00a0 We stopped for a rest at a McDonald’s at the first exit over the Missouri River in St. Charles, MO, at 5:25 pm EDT (4:25 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0 Cinnamon and Toast had been exploring the van again, and were napping in the far back with the luggage.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0That’s Cinnamon way back there.<\/p>\n

\"41-cinnimon-in-back\"<\/p>\n

We got back on the road at 6:02 pm EDT (5:02 pm CDT), and got stuck in very heavy traffic, in very heavy rain outside of St. Charles.<\/p>\n

\"42-st-louis-traffic\"<\/p>\n

It seemed to take forever to get through St. Charles and the Northern suburbs of St. Louis.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, it took us 45 minutes to go 11 miles!\u00c2\u00a0 We heard on the radio that there was an accident in the area.\u00c2\u00a0 Once we finally got to the outskirts of St. Louis, traffic thinned out a bit, the rain got lighter, but the skies were still ominous.<\/p>\n

\"43-less-traffic\"<\/p>\n

\"44-cloudy-skies\"<\/p>\n

About two hours later, nearing the outskirts of Columbia, the skies brightened, and THE SUN CAME OUT!\u00c2\u00a0 It was as if the skies were parting for Patty and Chris to welcome them to their new home!<\/p>\n

\"45-sun\"<\/p>\n

We made it to the outskirts of Columbia, Missouri, by 8:12 pm EDT (7:12 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0 David and I checked into a Hampton Inn (free high-speed internet!), then drove over to Patty and Chris’s house.\u00c2\u00a0 Mileage at the Hampton was 884.2 on the trip counter. \u00c2\u00a0(720 miles out from Pittsburgh)<\/p>\n

Approximately 10 hours and 15 minutes of total travel time on Day 3. \u00c2\u00a0This includes approximately 2 hours 15 minutes of “rest” for lunch, gas, potty breaks, etc., and about one hour of slow traffic north of St. Louis.\u00c2\u00a0 So, total time of “forward progress” was really about 7 hours.<\/p>\n

Total mileage Day 3:<\/strong> 469.5 miles from Northern Dayton to the Hampton Inn in Columbia, Missouri.<\/p>\n

\"46-at-the-house\"<\/p>\n

We took turns unloading our luggage from the van and freshening up at the Hampton so as not to leave the cats unattended, and then drove the short distance to Patty & Chris’s house. They live less than 3 miles from the hotel. Arrived at Patty & Chris’s house at 8:55 pm EDT (7:55 pm CDT).\u00c2\u00a0 We brought Cinnamon and Toast inside the house, unloaded the rest of the van, got the tour of their house, and then went out to dinner at a local Macaroni Grill.<\/p>\n

Everyone was tired, so we headed back to the hotel, and Patty and Chris to their house, for the first night in Columbia.<\/p>\n

Arrived at the hotel at 10:57 pm CDT, 899.7 on the trip counter. To us, it felt like 11:57 pm (which it WAS in the Eastern time zone).\u00c2\u00a0 A long day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the third post in a series of our trip to Columbia Missouri.\u00c2\u00a0 To read what Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat were up to in our absence, check out the Furry Bambinos blog.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We got an early start on Wednesday, July 30.\u00c2\u00a0 Patty took Bruiser for a short walkie around the parking lot. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missouri-trip"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cabanonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}