Moving to Erie, PA

We spent Sunday on the road again. It was not a very good day to travel with rain most of the day. We knew the forecast called for rain Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was pretty messy, but mostly just a drizzle or light sprinkle which lasted all day. But at least we could dash to the truck and then into the diner without getting soaked. Saturday night it began to rain in earnest and did not let up. Anticipating a wet hitch up, Gene did all he could outside on Saturday afternoon. We did not actually put the Montana on the truck, however, because our campsite was on a pretty good slope and we didn’t want to spend the night trying not to slide out of bed.

A few showers on Friday, then the all day drizzle Saturday, and hard rain during Saturday night had left a saturated ground and standing water all around where we needed to be to hitch up. We were both soaked by the time we were ready to pull away. We changed into dry cloths and threw all the wet stuff in a heap in the shower. Not a very good start to a 260 mile day. The silver lining was the traffic. I guess everybody decided it was too nasty to get out. We had the road almost to ourselves until we got to within shouting distance of Erie.

The washboard they call US Route 15 detour.

We decided to go back to I-86 in southern New York to make the trip west. We are comfortable with that decision and, considering all the rain that had fallen, feel it was the best route. We saw several flooded areas and might have been in high water if we had taken Route 6. We only had one short half-mile stretch which was a hazard. Route 15 is under construction just north of the New York state line. I swear the detour went through a corn field. It was the worst dirt path we have ever traveled over and that includes all the roads in Alaska!

We plan to be here (just south of Erie) for a week. Things on our agenda are Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie, Meadville on Route 6, Edinboro also on Route 6, and a couple diners.

Today was my day to relax. Gene is busy with work today. It was still overcast most of the day so a perfect time to stay inside and vegetate. We both are pretty worn out from so much activity lately. Ever since we left the Adirondacks we have been on the go with sightseeing and traveling. We are craving some down time.

So, I am sitting in the easy chair planning the rest of the week. Wonder where we’ll go tomorrow?