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June 5th-Ohio to Iowa

 


As I drove 576 miles from my Ohio hotel to the next hotel in Iowa, the rain cleared from my morning run in Ohio. I drove most the way with my driver’s side window rolled down. I looked forward to the Italian restaurant that resided across the way from the Iowa hotel. As well, the tree lined park that was a 1.3 mile run from the hotel too.

The tree lined park in Iowa had a path that was paved and meandered past softball, baseball and soccer fields. There was a brook that ran to its seemingly outskirts of the park where an occasional person fishing could be seen from the path. It’s a walking, biking, running path which rolls along gentle undulating inclines and declines on the outer portions of the park. Across the entrance to the park appears fields of green with trees. I’ve yet to investigate that on any of my runs from 2024. However, I may just do that on another drive across the country in the coming years.

I drove briefly from the OH-65 onto I-75 South toward Dayton; then onto the Ohio Turnpike going west on the I-80/I-90. Soon enough I was in Indiana on the Borman Expressway, yet still the same I-80/I-90 west route. After that short mileage the highway traversed to become the I-80-/I-94/Kingery Expressway. And before I knew it, it’d become the Tri-State Tollway I-80 west, as I was welcomed to Illinois.

Passing through the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway, I soon arrived onto the US-218N/IA-27 onto I-380N. Then onto Tama US-30W/US-151S/US-218N… Lincoln Freeway. After about 100 more miles I was on the I-35N toward Minneapolis. Which soon brought me to my Iowa hotel. After checking in, I got ready for my second run of the day and to scout out any new eateries open and one from last year—that Italian restaurant across the way. I ran to the park with the sun bearing down on me. Yet my legs felt quite well after such a long drive.

On my way back I stopped by the restaurant to take a look at their menu. They had a delightful salmon dish last year. However, this year I wanted to see what else they made. Unfortunately to my surprise, the Italian restaurant had closed permanently months before my arrival. So, I later settled for a wrap at a franchised sandwich place half a block away. I hadn’t had a sandwich, nor a wrap in years. The food was good quality though. I brought the wrap back to my room, after cleaning up I put the television on and watched “Good Fellas”. I knew the next day’s driving would be so much shorter and to another hotel area I was familiar with in Nebraska, having discovered it early last July.---Jody-Lynn Reicher

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