The Journey Back Home
Here's the thing...people tell me all the time "You should eat here." We never do. Mostly, because I forget about it and by the time I remember, we've either just eaten or we are in a hurry. This time, the timing was perfect when we came up on it. However, there will be no review. Because we stood by the door waiting to be seated for 10 minutes while the waitstaff occasionally looked at us. I made us leave.
I think I've probably been living on the east coast too long. People (and the way they do things) vary regionally. For example, I noticed people in Chicago talk really loudly. East coast people operate very efficiently and fast. (I complain all the time about the speed of life around here. Just slow down, y'know? Life is not a race.) Turns out, I've grown impatient with slow. I guess there is probably some service nuance related to region I probably don't get and the whole Hen House experience annoyed me. Not to say I won't try it again, I just didn't have the patience for it on that day.
Indiana is one of those skinny states I'm glad for after/before driving all day through Ohio. We usually just drive through it. This time, took a detour to see a cave. I think it is maybe the only cave tour I've taken that required a boat. Although, it seems like I remember taking a boat through a cave in Branson nearly 30 years ago? Grandma Pat told me I didn't, though. :-)
The idea was to dip south of Indianapolis for 90 miles, cut across-ish to Cincinnati and go back through Ohio to get home. The map on the cave brochure was pretty clear about that. We just put "home" in the GPS and I assumed it would take us back through Ohio. Ummm....no. There was a moment when we were going south for 20 miles that I vaguely wondered "Hmm....going south for 20 miles just to go back north?"
I don't even know where this church/courthouse/whatever is...but I thought it was nice to look at. I do know I took this picture right before I realized we were not going home through Ohio. (Right before all Hell broke loose in my disgust the GPS wanted to take us along the scenic route...along a river through West Virginia where you just see unincorporated town after unincorporated town for hours and hours until you come out on the other side. Ummm...did that about 15 years ago. Once was enough. Made some adjustments and got that worked out before we were committed. Thank God.
Soo...We came home from Chicago to Maryland via Kentucky. :-) Honestly, even though it added a couple of hours to the trip, I'd go that way again. Because, truthfully, the drive across Ohio sucks. It's long. The land is flat. There is nothing to look at. And we've made that drive a zillion times. At least, Kentucky is pretty.
I didn't take any pictures in West Virginia. I should have taken one...the GPS told us to leave the highway. We did. We followed all the directions for the half dozen turns on side streets and were kind of wondering "What the heck?" Then we heard "You have arrived at your destination on the right." McDonald's. Ryan was annoyed. I was laughing and laughing. Mostly, because I complain about the uselessness of that contraption frequently.
I love the fact Maryland welcomes with huge displays of the state flower.
In general, I consider Maryland to be near the bottom of the list when it comes to places I've lived and geographic interest/beauty. However, I will admit it is pretty at the far west of the state. The rest, not so much...in terms of breathtaking.
