Day 3 & 4 - Springfield, Illinois

Day 3 (28 Jun) - We left Dayton and drove through Ohio and Indiana with some threatening weather overhead. The weather only delivered some light rain and by the time we crossed into Illinois the skies were clear. The differences between the various states is becoming more obvious and we are enjoying looking at the landscapes, traffic, billboards and listening to the local radio. The agricultural influences combine with flat long roads so that some stretches verge on being pretty boring, though we understand the really boring drives are ahead of us. Yikes. The further west we travel the further apart are the rest areas, amenities and gas stations. We are now making sure the fuel gauge does not get too far below half-full. If there is ever a motor-cycle accident out here then I will bet that although the rider's head will resemble a dropped watermelon, the seat bar will be fine because that's where they secure the helmet. Each state has different rules, so if riders don't have to wear their helmets then they don't, however they keep it handy on the rear seat bar for when they cross the state line. The gun lobby is alive and well in these parts. There were a variety of mini-billboards with a series of rhyming slogans such as: first billboard - Here's a thought to Ponder; next billboard - An Armed Citizen as First Responder; next - Guns Save Life.com. We listened to 'Abe FM' as we drove into Springfield. I quite like this station because they played some INXS and the The Church's Under The Milky Way as we entered the town and drove around the beautiful Lake Springfield to the campground. We are mostly staying in KOA sites (Kampgrounds Of America) and they are proving to be a pretty good facilities and you know what you are going to get - I guess the Australian equivalent would be like the Big 4 chain.

Day 4 (29 Jun) - Another lovely day and the weather is being very kind. Springfield essentially exists for Lincoln and by hanging onto being a stop on the old Route 66. Springfield is Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home and where he grew and lived as an adult (pre-White House). A visit to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is compulsory. It is excellent. The 'Ghosts of Library' presentation is worth the price of admission alone and is simply outstanding. The use of holograms and special effects make it truly wonderful and informing. This is a must-see. The remainder of the Museum is very well developed and informative. What a life Lincoln experienced - he had more ups and downs than all the competitors in a national trampoline contest and he still emerged the champion. He is inspiring. We really enjoyed the visit so much that next stop was his Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery. For good luck, many visitors rub the nose of Lincoln's bronze bust which is in front of the Tomb. His nose really stands out now. There are plenty of Lincoln associated attractions in Springfield and most are done pretty well.

Route 66 stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles and has been endeared in songs and movies - you know, "I get my kicks on Route 66". Springfield was on that Route, which was de-numbered in the 1980's, and some businesses are really working that association. For lunch, we visited the Cosy Dog Drive In whose owner it appears invented the 'Corn Dog' - for Australian friends it is essentially the battered hot dog on a stick you get at your town show. It was full of old Route 66 signs and propaganda. It was not unexpectedly just another greasy diner, though their fries were pretty good. We stopped outside the Route 66 Gas Station Museum - a tribute to gas stations along the route, but couldn't bring myself to pay the small entrance fee to what looked like a junk yard.

Next stop - Omaha Nebraska

Day 1 & 2 - Dayton, Ohio

Day 1 - We weaved our way through Virginia and Maryland before the heavily laden Dodge Grand Caravan was slowly chugging up the mountains of West Virginia and flying down the other side. The hazy day took away from some of the commanding views, but the very comfortable 80°F weather was welcome. Three hours into the trip we were heading west and suddenly trapped on the highway in standstill traffic due to a car accident. The impromptu one hour break was earlier than we planned and the very long line of cars and trucks quickly cleared when released. We were stopped so long that a number of folk just went for a long walk to stretch their legs - it was funny driving around seemingly abandoned cars when we did move. Roadworks and detours through Pennsylvania and Ohio added more time to the trip and ten hours after we started we arrived at the home of some other Australians in Xenia (just outside Dayton) - whose water tower proclaims it as the 'Bicycle Capital of the Mid-West.'

Day 2 - Dayton Ohio is the home of aviation and where Orville and Wilbur Wright lived and operated a number of bicycle stores before their first flight at Kittyhawk in North Carolina. Dayton is where they trialled, perfected and later taught flying. Having just driven a day to get here, I'm pretty impressed that in the first few years of the 1900's they moved themselves and their aircraft to North Carolina - another five hours drive south of DC - for that first successful flight! That's would have been an effort.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force which is located within the rather large Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton is a great place to visit - certainly mid-Sunday morning when the locals are at Church - so visitors like us have the Museum to ourselves. It is an impressive facility with a great range of early aircraft through to space craft and a missile silo.

The Wright Bros had a series of bicycle stores in Dayton. The fourth of their five stores was open from 1895-1897 is a delightful visit and shows the different bicycle parts that they used on the Wright Flyer.

A lovely dinner in a Turkish Restaurant was followed by a brilliant lightening show as a huge thunder-storm passed overhead. The rolling clouds were enormous and reminded me of those sci-fi movies just before an alien spacecraft hovered over a city.

Next stop is Springfield Illinois - Home of Abraham Lincoln.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .......

The countdown has entered the final stages and we are about to step off. It has all rushed up fairly quickly and we are hoping that everything is in order. If it's not - so be it. Last weekend we had something resembling a small rehearsal. We travelled about two hours to a state park in scenic West Virginia with some American friends and boys from Matthew's travel soccer team. We kind of loaded the car with some of the camping gear and as we crossed the border into West Virginia we marveled at the beautiful mountains and noticeably ordinary roads compared to where we'd come from. We spent the afternoon at a lovely picnic area on a lake with a sandy beach. The grounds were lovely and after paying a few dollars to enter the fenced off beach we enjoyed a very nice swim. It was hot day and we shared the 'Redneck Riviera' with some fine local folk. I felt slightly out of place not having any tattoos and all my teeth. Though any apprehensions quickly disappeared when I thought about the trip we were about to start. This is exactly the sort of experience that we are seeking. We want to see the real America and we certainly are. Great day and really set our minds to the journey ahead. It starts tomorrow.

Countdown - less than two weeks to go

It just wouldn’t seem right to live in the USA for two years and not do something BIG! America is a big country in almost every possible way. It has a big history, big economy, big military, big industries and big ideals. “Only in America” three words that encapsulate the good and bad about this country – winners and losers; the extreme and the mainstream; and its beauty and ugliness. Travel is a great educator and to get a true sense and understanding of the place you really should see and feel it. BIG TRIP USA 2010 – Kings on Tour grew from a desire to see this unique and diverse country - from the small and forgotten, the boring and absurd, through to the grand and renowned.

With an adventurous spirit, and a hopefully reliable car, we are driving around 7,500 miles through 24 States in 43 days. Using a combination of friend’s homes, camping grounds, military temporary lodging and comfortable hotels we should see some of the good, bad and ugly of the good ol’ USA.

Travelling counter-clockwise we will drive west through the Appalachian Mountains. We will cross the agricultural expanses of the central and mid-West plains and track west-north-west over the great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to some hard headed Presidents, their neighbouring bears and blow-holes. Keeping the Great Basin of Nevada on our right we will head south to a bright-light city that set Elvis’ soul on fire. We will take a look at a great big crack in the ground and see where Bugs Bunny “shoulda toined left” before travelling under a Lone Star and stopping where three astronauts famously reported a problem. A dash east skirting around a hopefully not too oily, and hurricane-free, Gulf of Mexico will be followed by eight nights with Mickey Mouse and his mates. We will then head north with a slight easterly diversion to an Estate in the Smoky Mountains before getting home.

This blog is designed for family and friends to follow our journey. Some will be excited, some will probably say - what the hell were you thinking? Well we are thinking - why not! When we told our American neighbours and friends they inevitably cast their memories back a few decades and said that is how they used to travel on holidays - though not quite so far. They usually seemed content and melancholy - happy. Our Australian friends and work-mates are supportive and encouraging, but even the scale makes then go 'wow'. So how far into this will we ask - what were we thinking? We don't know, but we'II let you know.

What we do know is that this journey will be about Patience, Endurance and Teamwork - PET is now the theme of the trip. When we need to dip into the bag of patience, would like a hand or just some encouragement to keep going - we're sure to say "come here pet!" Hopefully it will, at least, generate a laugh.