After 10 hours of sleep, we were ready to tackle the 450 km journey from Tinley Park Illinois (just out of Chicago) to Mason Ohio (just out of Cincinnati). We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the Sleep Inn before hitting the road around 10:30 am.
The first thing that hits you is the amount of traffic particularly big rigs on the freeways. Luckily they are only single trailers and not road trains like back in Australia.
Apart from roadworks which seemed to be all the time, we were making good pace looking to be in Mason around 4:30 pm. The first mistake was not allowing for the time zone change as we crossed into Indiana. There goes an hour.
The weather was overcast and warm with temperatures around 27C but the further we travelled south, the darker the clouds got and the more thunderheads were appearing.
At one point we were travelling along with the large amount of other traffic at 70 mph and could see some rain up ahead but no-one was prepared for the shear volume of rain.
As soon as the rain hit, visibility went to around 50 metres with the windscreen wipers making no headway on clearing the water. Brakes and hazard lights were coming on all around and it was a matter of waiting for a hit to the front or rear and was a tense few minutes. Luckily all around us didn’t make contact and a couple of kilometres down the road it was clear again and back up to 70 mph we continued.
One stop we made intentionally along the way was to the Albanese Confectionery Factory in Merrillville Indiana. This is where the Gummi Bears are made. There was opportunity to sample the different flavours as well as purchase them for home. Comparing this factory with the Jelly Belly tour we did last year, the Jelly Belly is the better option to see how lollies are made as you get a chance to go out in the factory whereas today you look through a few windows at the store into the factory.
We arrived a little later than expected in Mason but were welcomed by Billy and Teri as well as the new addition to the family, Cali. You could see a lot of the same puppy traits in Cali that we have with Charley back home. After a great BBQ rib meal, time for some chatting and off to bed.
As a side note, it could be an interesting night with thunderstorms, severe weather and possibly tornadoes expected so it may be a night in the basement.
