2014: Rolling thru Amerika on 18 Wheels. Volume XV Pennsylvania to Ohio.

2014: Rolling thru Amerika on 18 Wheels. Volume XV Pennsylvania to Ohio. Pennsylvania- The Independence State All the commercial crops here are in perfect, linear order with nary a weed in sight. Everything looks logically spaced apart- even the houses. There is usually a barn at every house too. We are still following the Blue Ridge Mountains on I-81 North. Saturday morning somewhere in western Pennsylvania at a TA Truck Stop. It is raining! Well, drizzling... This is so sweet. Last night was super fresh listening to the sky gently weep. We settled into the truck stop early as mr. J.S. ran out of driving hours, so we started to watch, "Streets of Laredo" starring James Gardner, Sissy Spasick, George Carlin, Sonia Bragg, etc. It's an awesome 4-part series.  I managed to get through 2 DVDs. Love these tales of the Wild West - especially since we were just in Laredo. I'm ready to be off this truck... I am feeling the effects of dehydration - as if I drink water like I normally do, we would be stopping every hour for a pee break... At many stops, people think. A trucker- as I guess they see me get out of a truck, or come in to the truck stop at the 'fuel desk' entrance for truckers.  They are all so nice. It reminds me of back home in Hawaii when I was doing archaeology and I would be on my lunch break and have to run into town to the bank, etc. I would have my orange construction safety vest on (yes, even the archaeologists at construction sites had to wear these things), and people would just let me jump in st the front of hue he line as they all knew that I only had a 1/2 hour lunch break (standard construction lunch hour allocated). This always made me smile because 'blue collar' work (to the typical person, I looked like a construction worker with my construction vest on. They couldn't see with their naked eye that I actually spent thousands and thousands of dollars for my college education to become an archaeologist- who looks just like a construction worker! BTW, construction workers in Hawaii are HOT!) in Hawaii was looked upon as being more important- with the locals anyway :)  yes, I was considered to be higher up in the he pecking order than all the pencil pushers! Well deserved recognition I might add... So, that is the attitude here. People working at truck stops LOVE trucker folks. The woman this morning was so kind to me when I cruised up to her cash register with my coffee and 2 Pennsylvania postcards, as well as my toothbrush... I was tired still as it was early in the morning and she asked me, "How ya doing today?" I looked at her, most likely in a rather deadpan way, and we both just started laughing. My hair wasn't brushed yet, I had pajamas on, etc. When I left I said, "Have a great day." She said, " Thank you. Yes I surely will. You too." There was a super handsome Native American guy, a mechanic, behind the fuel desk counter working the graveyard shift so every time during the night when I had to go pee, we would look at each other in mutual admiration. This made my excessive pee episodes most interesting- finally :) Also observed was a hippy chick truck driver fueling up her 'rig' (colloquial for 'semi-truck') this morning. She had a long braid and donned a t-shirt that immediately identified her persuasion: a the-dye  t-shirt with a heart in the middle! Her truck was forester even with link detailing. What a cool chick. I admired her from afar. Rock on American hippy chick. Rock on. So now we are on the road heading west on I-80 and I am drinking my coffee. This historically means that I will need to pee within the hour... The landscape is more familiar here as we are in the 'North Woods',which extends to the UP (Upper a peninsula of Michigan) where my mother lives. It's a heavy overcast morning with steady drizzle and some light fog conditions. Of course there is roadwork (it is America and summer after all) throughout this mountainous corridor so transformed into a 1-lane highway. Serious rain is coming down now and it is a mighty beautiful sight for me. Living in the Middle East has some disadvantages for me and the absence of rainfall is one of the biggest. I love the rain. I guess I can say that confidently because I'm from Hawaii where rainfall is abundant and warm and filled with rainbows... We have been stopped for about a half hour. An accident just up ahead involving a motorcycle and 3 cars. Petty freaky being stopped near the bottom of a pass and in the rear view mirror you see semi trucks going full speed and then seeing all flashing lights and then they are trying to stop... Loads of emergency vehicles came through about 20 minutes ago. I was walking up and down through all the cars and trucks. Everybody was hanging out and walking around. Many dogs too! All vacationers here traveling with their animals. We are all asking each other what happened. Lots of impromptu talk-story with fellow travelers telling our stories about our lives. Another slice of life explored. Mr. J.S. was catching up on The Streets of Laredo parts he missed out on last night after he passed out. We have 70 miles to the border with Ohio. We are coming out of the Poconos Mountains (part of the Appalachian Mountain chain) and will come out in the Ohio River Valley. Perhaps a welcome relief after driving through these mountains in pouring rain after seeing a major accident... I'll just say that driving downhill in my semi-truck in the rain doesn't sit well with me. It is freaking me out... Take notice Middle East and Turkey: on highways where construction starts, there are ORANGE ROAD SIGNS announcing for 2.5 MILES IN ADVANCE that there is going to be a lane closure ahead... Same 'road closure ahead' will have orange cones GRADUALLY set out on lane that is going to be closed WELL IN ADVANCE of the actual lane closure/road work. As well, cars DON'T drive in the far right, emergency vehicle (which is ILLEGAL and rule is ENFORCED), lane FOR OBVIOUS REASONS... Nuff said... Here's a little rest area tidbit for my non-American readers, and Americans too i guess. First, a rest area is an area whee you can pull off the highway and use...restrooms. It is usually a picnic area as well and is manicured in terms of landscaping. Sometimes it is also a visitor information center and had tourism brochures, maps etc (this is usually the first rest area when entering the state). Anyway, it is a place to relax for a bit when you just need to get off the road and chill out or take a quick nap. They are generally really nice places. So, rest areas are good place to observe people I have decided. Inside the bathrooms, the stalls are open at the bottom portion, so you can see people's feet. I have been observing toe nail polish throughout the US. It is an interesting observation to say the least. In California and western states there is a lot of coral colored nail polish going on toes (very on-trend this season). In the South I saw a lot of red nail polish. Here I observe a lot of what is called "French Manicures" where nails are paints with a clear cost, but the tips are painted white. I'm not sure why it's been popular in the he past, and obviously in the present too, but people seem to like it. I also see a lot oft teal-colored nail polish throughout the US. what I don't see though is chipped off toe nail polish... Females, no matter which nail polish color preference, like their toe nails to look pretty. I can't say that I've seen any gross looking toe nails on this trip...