The Beltway, West Virginia and Ohio

Yesterday was a good day. It ended with me collapsing into bed exhausted with sunburns and a sore ass but despite that it was still a great day. It started off with me getting up at about 4:30 AM and heading out before it was even light out. I knew I had a long way to go so I wanted to get an early start (and beat the rush hour traffic in Washington D.C.). Sadly, there was still a lot of traffic as I went around the beltway but I guess it could have been worse. Once I got past D.C. things opened up a bit. I took I270 out of DC and into western Maryland where I hooked up with I70/68 before cutting up into Pennsylvania just south of Pittsburg and then into W Virginia.

My goal for the day was more about making distance and less about things to see along the way so I stuck to the interstates. It's not that there is nothing to see between Maryland and Ohio, far from it, but those are all things I can see on a weekend trip. When I get a little further west (about to St. Louis I think) I'll start sticking the the back roads and state highways more.

I was lucky enough to meet up with some of the Paddens of West Virginia and Ohio. Just outside of Wheeling, WV I had lunch with Amy, Beth, Matt and Michael (Amy's son) at a really good Mexican place called El Paso. It was a really nice time. I think I've only meet those people one other time before so it was good to hear about what they're all up too.





I continued west past Wheeling and into Cambridge, OH where I met Bill Padden and his wife at their house. Jim Padden (Bill's brother...maybe cousin, I'm not sure) came by for a little bit too. Jim is the county prosecutor and told a story about a family of local guys named Dingus. One guy was in court for stealing copper wire off power lines. Another Dingus (can't remember the what he was in court for) came to court wearing a shirt that said "You can't fix stupid". This guy also has a pair of eyes tattooed to the back of his head. Nice, eh?

I didn't stay in the area for too long. Like I said, I was trying to make some good distance so I continued west along I70 into Columbus OH. I was actually hoping to make it a bit further, maybe to Dayton, but by the time I got to Columbus I was getting pretty tired and the sun was starting to go down so I grabbed a hotel for the night. It was there that I looked in a mirror and saw the sunburns that covered my entire face except where my sunglasses were. I also have burns on my wrists between where my gloves end and sleeves start. I'll be stopping somewhere before I leave Columbus and getting some sunscreen.








Right now I'm sitting in the Daybreak Diner in Columbus having just finished an amazing breakfast. I had a breakfast bowl that had a little bit of all your favorite breakfast foods in it. Crazy good.



Now it's time to jump on the road and head to St. Louis. I'll be taking I70 pretty much the whole way.

See you then.

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Location:E Weber Rd,Columbus,United States