OKRoads.com -- Delaware Trip -- Trip Summaries (Days 1-4)

DELAWARE TRIP
Trip Summary - Days 1-4
(Oklahoma City to Delaware)

DAY ONE SUMMARY
Thursday, March 13, 2003

I started out the day by attending my Magazine Feature Writing and Microeconomics classes. My Microeconomics class ended 50 minutes earlier than normal (11:30 instead of 12:20), so I had a little extra time to prepare. I headed out of Oklahoma City at 1 and arrived in Joplin just after 4:30. I only made one stop, and that was at the World's Largest McDonald's (a required stop if I'm driving east on Interstate 44!) and the Phillips 66 station along the Will Rogers Turnpike. Two hundred twenty-five miles later, I arrived in Joplin, and was greeted with cloudy skies and cool weather. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol was out in full force on both the Turner and the Will Rogers Turnpikes, but thankfully, they didn't get me for anything. Hopefully that trend will continue for the rest of the trip. (All 3500+ miles of it!)

Day One Trip Log:
Departed Oklahoma City, OK: 1:00 PM; mile 94,046
McDonald's/Phillips 66, (Vinita, OK - along Will Rogers Turnpike) (Gas/Break): 3:41 PM; mile 94,220
Arrived Motel 6 (Joplin, MO) - 4:38 PM; mile 94,271

DAY TWO SUMMARY
Friday, March 14, 2003

The day began with an unexpected expense, but a minor one: my watch battery ran out, so I had to get it fixed before I left. (Hey, I only have three other clocks with me: 2 in the car and 1 on the cell phone, but the watch is the only one that I can see overnight!) Besides that, it wasn't a very eventful day, just a long, long day of driving that seemed to never end. It seemed like forever before I left Missouri and the cloudy skies behind. It was cloudy from Joplin all the way to St. Louis. Finally, about 30 miles east of St. Louis, the clouds went away, and it was sunny the rest of the day. By this time, I just had about 130 miles left to go out of the 456 I drove on this day. Gas prices continued to climb, as I paid $1.59/gallon west of St. Louis, yet on the other side of the river, the cheapest price seen so far has been $1.65/gallon. It's only going to get higher and higher!

Day Two Trip Log:
Departed Motel 6 (Joplin, MO): 8:38 AM; mile 94,272
Wal-Mart (Joplin, MO) - Watch Battery Repair: 8:43 AM; mile 94,274
McDonald's (Joplin, MO) - Breakfast: 9:04 AM-9:18 AM; mile 94,276
Hardee's (Rolla, MO) - Lunch: 11:54 AM-12:23 PM; mile 94.453
Shell (Kirkwood, MO) - Gas - 1:56 PM; mile 94,547
BP/Amoco (Effingham, IL) - Break - 3:49 PM; mile 94,660
Arrived Motel 6 (Terre Haute, IN) - 5:58 PM (EST); mile 94,728

DAY THREE SUMMARY
Saturday, March 15, 2003

Fog was the story of the first few miles of this day's journey. However, once I got out of the Wabash Valley of western Indiana, it was sunny skies from there. I drove through Indianapolis and Columbus on this day, and was awed at the old button copy signs in downtown Columbus. After leaving Columbus, I entered the hills of eastern Ohio, far northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania, and ended my day at the Motel 6 of Washington, PA. Also paid the highest price for gas I've paid in my life as I paid $1.72/gallon at the Love's of Richmond, IN. I drove 416 miles on this day, and it was a great ride.

Day Three Trip Log:
Departed Motel 6 (Terre Haute, IN): 9:03 AM; mile 94,729
Hardee's (Terre Haute, IN) - Breakfast: 9:05 AM-9:26 AM; mile 94,729
Love's (Richmond, IN) - Gas; 11:41 AM; mile 94,872
Long John Silvers (Springfield, OH) - Lunch: 12:55 PM-1:19 PM; mile 94,935
Arrived Motel 6 (Washington, PA): 4:33 PM; mile 95,141

DAY FOUR SUMMARY
Sunday, March 16, 2003

This was the day that I had been waiting for for several months - the day I would arrive in Delaware. And at about 3:37 PM, I finally was in Delaware! I still had a few miles left before I reached my destination, but I made it safely! It began raining just a few minutes after I got in Delaware, and didn't stop raining until that night. I took a side trip to see the eastern terminus of Interstate 70, which is at a Park & Ride in Baltimore. Then I also drove the shortest 2-digit interstate in the country, Interstate 97, then hit U.S. 50 East to MD 404, then took that through Maryland and Delaware to U.S. 13, then took U.S. 13 South to DE 54, which is where my destination is.

Day Four Trip Log:
Departed Motel 6 (Washington, PA): 8:39 AM; mile 95,142
McDonald's (Washington, PA) - Breakfast: 8:45 AM-8:59 AM; mile 95,143
Pennsylvania Turnpike Service Area (Somerset, PA) - Gas: 10:22 AM; mile 95,221
Taco Bell (Hagerstown, MD) - Lunch: 12:18 PM-12:39 PM; mile 95,326
Arrived Delmar, DE: 3:58 PM; mile 95,520

Roadtrip pages:

Side trip pages:
Washington, DC Interstates
Maryland Highway Guides
Delaware Highway Guides
Delaware State Highway Terminus Gallery & Guides
Philadelphia Interstates

Miscellaneous Pictures

Trip Summary Pages:
Days 1-4 (Oklahoma City to Delaware)
Days 5-7 (Side Trips while in Delaware)
Days 8-10 (Delaware to Oklahoma City)

OKRoads.com Home --> Delaware Trip Home

Last updated July 08, 2003 12:10 AM