DAY 2: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Fort Wayne, Indiana #fiveexplore #travellingduringcovid19

Saturday 18th July 2020

Saturday was a roasting hot day – temperatures would soar into the late nineties. We emerged from our cocoon (and microwave warmed breakfast baps). Today was about Ohio. We cut west after admiring Pittsburgh one more time and emerged into a flatter landscape.

Ohio was a state we should not really stop in due to increasing COVID cases. However, the sign said, ‘So much to discover'. The first service station was mostly full of masks, but you sensed there was a more laissez faire attitude to the whole thing. This was confirmed as we arrived at Elyria – where we found a park with waterfalls (Cascade Falls). Many individuals were on the playground, in close proximity, without masks (adults and children). Most people walked around the forest without masks. We eventually found a nice waterfall but decided not to go down given the close proximity of unmasked fun seekers. We returned to the car and drove straight to Nickel Beach on Lake Erie. This was the only taste we would have of a ‘beach’ this road trip, so we were keen to take a quick look.

It was quite a sight – packed full of revelers bathing on baking hot sand and in the lake. We were reluctant to go on the beach, but for the first time an activity had actually peaked Lyra’s interest. Despite our best judgement, we decided to continue. The girls went in and Lyra swam around in the lake like a pig in mud. There was also the strangest smell in the air. It was a combination of sun cream, urine, barbecues, sweat and burnt skin. This was hardly a Caribbean retreat, but the locals seemed happy to escape their Corona enforced lockdown. We eventually dragged Lyra out, de-sanded the family and returned to the car.

For some reason the girls seemed happy to be in the car (for once), so we pushed on to Indiana (-the crossroads of America and birthplace of Lincoln). We realized that even though we had driven nearly six hundred miles west, we were still on the same Eastern time zone. This meant the sun set later at night than it did in London; well after nine in the evening. The land flattened out even more and the warm evening air gave the scenery a decidedly different feel to where we started. As we got towards the hotel, Lyra shared some words of reassurance: “Don’t worry Dad, we’ll be at the hotel soon and you will be able to rest your aching bones.” Thanks Lyra.

You could also hear the difference in the accents now (something similar to Chicago but harder to comprehend). The friendly receptionist told me something about my room which I didn’t understand. When we got upstairs, I realised I accepted a room with the wrong layout. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do anything about it. You get into that strange endless dance where the hotel blames the online booking site and the booking site blames the hotel – both hoping you give up in a fit of despair. Instead, we ordered our first beers of the trip and hoped our dulling senses would somehow lead to the children putting themselves to bed.

Ultimately this led to disappointment.

In addition to this daily blog, you can check out our Instagram feed for more photos and short posts documenting our 2020 road trip @fiveexplore