Page 91 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000

TRAVEL DAY – Ft. Frederick in Maryland and Chesapeake and Ohio

Canal, Williamsport, MD

Thursday - We had to wait again this morning for some of the fog

to lift. No Way was I going to get onto the Pa. Turnpike in pea soup
fog! Later in the morning, the fog was replaced by a high haze and

in the late afternoon by heavy rain and light hail.

There was construction on the Turnpike that produced miles and
miles of concrete barriers lining both sides of our two eastbound

lanes. The trucks are required to run in the left lane. This had the

effect of having me sandwiched between several 18-wheelers on
my left and concrete walls on my right as we made our way

around curves and over blind hills.

This traffic, combined with the weather conditions, prevented me
from being as enthusiastic about the western Pennsylvania

scenery as Lois. I was too busy white knuckling it.

Speaking of knuckles, those of my thumbs have stopped hurting
after having done so for the past year. I noted that with the colder

weather and our hiking, I was drinking more and more water and

less and less diet coke. Could it be the Nutrasweet, Equal? I loaded
up on diet coke for two days and the pain returned. I switched

back to drinks without artificial sweeteners and the pain
disappeared again. Very interesting.

Throughout the day, Lois was reading a book that gives a

fascinating account of the Hurricane that devastated Galveston,
Texas, in September 1900. It helped to keep my mind off some of

the rigors of the road.

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