Day 3.1: Katonah, NY to Kent, OH

After an extraordinarily productive yesterday during which we booked almost all our accommodations for this trip and our subsequent trip to Europe, we got up around 9am to pack up the last of our things. A relatively leisurely breakfast was followed by the swiftest, smoothest loading of the car that we’ve had yet. We can even see out the back window completely, which is really something, thanks to the absence of a large box, a third suitcase, a fourth duffel bag, and a third crate. Hopefully we have everything we need with us! We said goodbye to Abe’s parents and left their house around 12:30pm. Our first stop was at the local Goldberg’s Bagels, where we purchased a bialy with butter for Arielle to eat with a Pickle Guys sour pickle she had brought from home, a pumpernickel bagel with butter for Abe, and a half dozen everything bagels to bring to our hosts for the night.

We were already five hours ahead of the last time that we drove to Ohio on our first road trip last summer, which was a great start, and we mostly made good time en route. Unfortunately, we sat completely still for an hour on a single-lane stretch of 84 West in Pennsylvania due we think to an accident, and then finally started moving. We used the time well to watch some TV on Abe’s computer since the car was parked anyway!

The good news is that we managed to find a Wawa along our route, despite the fact that searches in Waze for Wawa pulled up locations of its far inferior Western PA competitor, Sheetz. Arielle got a 44-oz iced coffee, which she brilliantly split into two far more manageable 22-oz cups to store in the cupholders in the back seat, and Abe got a large Banana Cream Smoothie, once again available for only $3 thanks to the “Siptopia” promotion. We hit some very intense rain but also experienced some incredible skies full of clouds.

The fanciest restaurant we were able to find for over a hundred miles was a Ruby Tuesday located in Dubois, PA. Abe ordered an 8 oz. top sirloin with grilled zucchini and a baked potato on the side, and they even allowed us to add the unlimited garden bar for only $4, which Arielle had as her meal. It was a good find, and worthwhile to know that this chain is a decent option that’s not too pricey and has good vegetarian options, including two soups Arielle may try next time.

We got back on the road with over two and a half hours to go, and luckily didn’t hit any more traffic along the way, soon crossing into Ohio.

We weren’t too late to be greeted by Abe’s cousin, Aaron, who we had seen in Florida just three days earlier at the unveiling for their grandmother. He and his girlfriend, Liz, who had already gone to sleep due to an early morning the next day, have a lovely house in Kent, a nice college town. We brought our things in, socialized for a bit, and then went to bed after a long day of driving.

Approximate number of miles covered: 480