Time: 9:34am - 7:10pm
Route: Chicago, IL to Omaha, NE
Distance from Home: 1,351 Miles
We left Chicago. We drove for a long time. Know what comes after Illinois? Yeah - Iowa. You know how you always heard that Iowa sucks? Well, that's not a lie. Iowa is a big, flat, boring, corn-filled state. Okay, there was one highlight: I got to experience my first "World's Largest..." extravaganza. Oh, the anticipation...
It was The World's Largest Truckstop. Iowa 80. And there were quite a lot of trucks there. I was excited to see other people. Granted, they were truckers, but man, they were great truckers. All these big, burly, unshaven men with beer bellies, Harley Davidson shirts and flannel, and those silly hats - you know, the ones from Little League. Yeah. We had lunch there. With the truckers. Lovely. Then it was back to the corn-laden fields. I have never hated a vegetable so much in my life. I'm not kidding. Brussel sprouts just moved up a notch. Corn was everywhere. I got excited when I saw a tree, because it broke up the corn monotony. Corn, billboards for Antiques (apparently, they really like their antiques out here), more corn, barn, corn, tree, corn, corn, cow, corn, soybeans, crop circle, corn... Yeah, you get the idea. Oh, and there apparently was some sort of Danish immigrant museum, complete with Danish windmill. The billboards touted that about 36 exits before it happened. The anticipation built up. Then I just wanted to get out of the state, so we didn't stop. I don't regret it. I had sort of felt bad for the midwest, cause it always got this bum wrap... Well, totally deserved. The midwest sucks. Sorry, midwest - but you do. We saw a few trucks full of hogs, turkeys, horses and cows. Not all on the same truck. That was fun. I cheered with glee at the Iowa border. Of course, Nebraska came next, but it couldn't be as lame as Iowa. Actually, Omaha has kicked ass so far. Granted, we're only about 8 miles into Nebraska, but so far, no corn. And more traffic. The thousands of little red lights sort of made me feel at home. Except in Nebraska. Yep. I'm sure tomorrow will be a ton of fun, as we still have another state or so to cross. I'll let you know how that goes. Oh, on the bright side, I did get to listen (and sing-along) to "Omaha" in Omaha. That's something I'll be proud of for years to come. Omaha: Making dreams come true... |
