Cinci and My First Kill - Day 116

Today was another peaceful day of driving. I left Decatur, IL this morning and did a little zigzagging just to get on Historic Route 40, which bills itself as the "The Road that Built the Nation". I think it was the first interstate highway that connected the east coast to the west coast before the current major interstates were built. But again, not much to it, and I eventually just made a bee line for Cincinnati, OH. (I think I violated a family law by not having Skyline immediately upon my arrival...I hope to atone tomorrow with a 4-way.)

I've travelled almost 20,000 miles on this road trip so far. I had to slam on the breaks to avoid a deer; I had to slink past massive bison; one medium sized bird either flew under the car or just vanished for there was no other escape; I waited patiently for a wild turkey to cross the road; and, I used all my skills to dodge the crafty suicidal rabbits. But until today, the most damage I've done is the wholesale slaughter of flying insects that have left all of the forward facing parts of Pre perhaps permanently stained. The kill free zone ended when I skulled a groundhog who chose a very inopportune time to cross the road.

But first. Cinci started with youngAunt and continued with 4 of her 6 "kids", and two of her grandchildren. Relatives! Family! Familiar places and faces. What a relief. I think the monotony of driving had been finally getting to me, and I just need to relax and recharge. I am looking forward to the next couple of days here in Cinci (I might not even post for a couple days). It's great to be with loved ones.

And now for the kill (perhaps the below is PG-13, so you can stop reading now Maitlyn):

Shortly after reuniting with youngAunt, we headed out for CuzJohn's driving range and dinner with the relatives. While still catching up with youngAunt, we were heading down a hill and around a bend, when, about 10 feet ahead of me, a varmint took off from the wooded roadside. We had plenty of time to gasp and say "Oh no", but there was no time or room to swerve or stop.

If I had to hypothesize, here is what I think happened from the varmint point of view: "First I looked right and then left. I saw a steady stream of rush-hour cars travelling so fast they were a blur. Having a brain the size of a peanut, it looked safe to me. I lunged out into the traffic and took 3 powerful strides halfway across the first lane. Suddenly, there was a loud roar and a total eclipse of the sun. I also noted that there were 4 large rubber tires surrounding me. I thought, 'This is a very curious situation and deserves a little more attention.' Fatefully, I decided to stand up and my peanut brain was shelled."

Inside the car there was only a dull thud. Unfortunately, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the still twitching, scalped groundhog.

During my travels with Battlestar, I had discussed that I had no roadkill attributed to the trip, and had mentioned that I planned to take a picture of my first roadkill. I hadn't suspected I'd have an accomplice in youngAunt. I quickly explained the picture predicament as I made a rush hour u-turn across traffic, steering with one hand and fishing out the camera with the other. Driving back to the scene of the crime, I slowed a bit, aimed, focused, and snapped a photo - of the inside of the car. I then made another u-turn for a second pass. This time I got an excellent photo of the pavement next to the deceased. My well refined skills of high-speed photography had failed me at a crucial moment; I had no photo.


We arrived at cuzJohn's driving range (which is awesome; you hit into the lake where various islands, boats and even a mannequin have been arrayed for target practice) and regaled the assembled relatives of the kill and failed picture attempts. YoungAunt, being a full time supporter of the Road Trip (and quite a broad), determined that we would get the picture, even if we had to stop on the way back and get out of the car.

On the way back, it was past rush hour, and I was able to slow down enough to snap a fortunately blurry picture of the carcass. You can see this in the photo album for Day 116, but to not offend the young ones that may still be reading, here's a picture of
another untamed animal very much alive (cuzMike).