New Jersey. Pennsylvania. Ohio. Indiana. Illinois. Wisconsin. Minnesota. Iowa. Missouri. Arkansas. Louisiana. Mississippi. Alabama. Tennessee. Virginia. For the next two weeks, The Open Road Ahead will be criss-crossing the eastern half of the United States of America. In the span of two weeks, our plan is to drive nearly 4,000 miles, visiting with friends and family, exploring new states and cities, eating great meals, taking lots of photos, and making countless memories.
Over the next few weeks, I will be publishing write-ups of our adventures. Given the length of this trip, it will be posted in segments. This is the first: an overview of our itinerary, a run-through of our planning process, and then the first leg of our journey.
Let’s begin!
The Great American Road Trip
The Route
It’s an ambitious plan, but I have faith in our road trip abilities! Google Map’s estimate puts us at 57 hours in the car, traveling 3,735 miles. That calculation, of course, assumes that we don’t sightsee, detour, or explore the backroads… which wouldn’t be our style!
The Vehicle
Contender 1:
The first option: my wife’s Jeep Grand Cherokee. On the plus side, it’s a supremely comfortable cruiser, it has all-wheel drive, and it can pack anything you could possibly want. The drawback is fuel… at 21 miles per gallon, gas stations would eat up a significant chunk of our travel budget.
Contender 2:
The second option: my 2012 Honda Accord coupe. It handles like it’s on rails. At highway speeds, it will get close to 32 miles per gallon. It’s surprisingly spacious for a coupe. However, living out of a two-door car for two weeks presents some challenges, especially as it relates to accessing items in the back seat.
The Winner
A few weeks before our trip, my Mom called and offered us the use of Betty, her 2021 Honda HR-V. At 36 miles per gallon, it’s fuel efficient. It has all-wheel drive to tackle any gentle off-roading we might throw at it. For such a small vehicle, it is plenty spacious, especially with the Magic Seat feature (more on that in a future post!). We gratefully accepted. Mom will be using my Accord while we raise the number on her car’s odometer. In my Mom’s words: “Put some miles on it!” Thanks, Mom!!
Packing
Clothes toiletries, food, water… all that stuff is important, I guess. But my packing began with making sure I was ready to document our adventures. Lenses polished and batteries charged, my camera gear and drone are ready to go! Knowing of our love of national parks, a friend also recently gifted us a National Park Passport. Each national park visitor center offers a stamp that you can add to your passport. What a cool way to add to our road trip memories!My wife picked up this T-shirt for me in honor of our trip. Brilliant!Luggage, backpacks, plug-in cooler, food, water, first aid kit… the HR-V easily swallowed all of the stuff required for two weeks on the road.Betty (pronounced “Bet-tee,” after a character in a British murder mystery TV series that my Mom enjoys) had just over a thousand miles at the start of our trip. It’s time to add to that number… let’s go!
Day 1: New Jersey to Ohio
Departing New Jersey bright and early, our first day involved over 500 miles of driving, ending our day in northern Ohio.After an hour of driving, we crossed into Pennsylvania on I-80. One state down!Wanting to reach Ohio before sunset, we avoided any temptations to explore the Keystone State, instead plowing through all of I-80 with only a few stops to get out of the car and stretch.I quickly fell in love with the functionality of Apple CarPlay in the HR-V. CarPlay integrates the functionality of an iPhone into the car’s stereo system. With my iPhone plugged in, we were able to play music, make phone calls, listen to podcasts and audio books, and receive turn-by-turn directions. When the day comes to eventually replace my Accord, CarPlay will be a “must have” feature.After several hours of driving, we crossed into The Buckeye State. Two states down!Nearing dinner time, we arrived in Port Clinton, Ohio and chose to eat at Dock’s Beach House, a cool bar and restaurant along the shore of Lake Erie.After dinner, we drove a half mile to Waterworks Park, site of Port Clinton Light. The first Port Clinton lighthouse was constructed along the banks of Lake Erie in 1828. This structure was built in 1896 and operated for over thirty years (via Port Clinton Lighthouse).For centuries, the Great Lakes have been critical for maritime shipping. However, sailing a ship here has been a hazardous occupation: over 6,000 shipwrecks rest at the bottom of the Great Lakes. Nearly 2,000 of those happened on Lake Erie alone, the highest concentration of sunken vessels on any body of water in the world (via The Monroe News). Given the severe weather that can crop up on the Great Lakes, lighthouses played a critical role in helping to make maritime navigation safer for sailors and their cargoes.After a long day of driving, we settled into an early night at a Home2Suites hotel in Maumee, Ohio. We set our alarms early for another day of traveling!
Day 2: Ohio to Wisconsin
Our second day of travels would take us from Ohio to Wisconsin, with an unexpected, fun stop in Indiana. Another four hundred miles in the books on this road trip adventure!Nothing like starting your day with make-it-yourself waffles! Fueled up on a free hotel breakfast, we were ready to set off for our first destination.A little more than an hour after departing Ohio, we entered Indiana – another state crossed off our list! As we passed through the city of Gary, Indiana, a sign for Indiana Dunes National Park caught our eye. Checking the clock and doing some quick mental math, we estimated that we were far enough ahead of schedule that we could take a detour. Admission is $25 per vehicle, but when we were in Shenandoah National Park in May, we purchased a yearly National Park pass that covered our entrance. Money well spent!After speaking to Rudy, one of the rangers at the visitor center, we headed to the West Beach section of Indiana Dunes, where we could enjoy a picnic lunch and then hike to the top of the dunes.Spread out over 15,000 acres along the southeastern shores of Lake Michigan, Indiana Dunes was first established as a state park in the early 20th century. It was established in 2019 as the 61st National Park in the United States (via Wikipedia).The sand at the dunes was found to be ideal for glass manufacturing, and so for much of its history in the 19th century, dune sand was removed for glassmaking. Indiana residents, concerned for the loss of unique plants and trees among the dunes, led the push to make the area a state (and then later, national) park.After a hot (and sweaty) hike through a sandy path and then up a large wooden staircase, we arrived at the top of one of the dunes. We had a clear view of Lake Michigan, and could even see the skyline of Chicago in the distance. We enjoyed our time at the park, but we had more destinations on our itinerary.Before setting off for Wisconsin, we did make a quick stop for a mandatory “car selfie” with the HR-V.Apparently, there is no “Welcome to Illinois” sign on I-80… I guess when you’re a city as big as Chicago, you get top billing to welcome visitors.After fighting through miserable Chicago traffic, we encountered clear sailing as we crossed into Wisconsin!Previously, I had only passed through the city of Madison, so my wife decided that we should spend a little time exploring the Wisconsin state capital. Our first stop was to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Established in 1952, Olbrich is a 16 acre botanical garden on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison.The entrance to the Rose Garden was inspired by the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose “Prairie-style architecture” is considered the first truly American architectural design philosophy.Although we didn’t have enough time to explore the entirety of the gardens, we did enjoy our walk through the Rose Garden, examining all the plants in bloom, such as these chives.The gardens were established in the 1950s by Michael Olbrich, a politician and conservationist from Madison. The gardens are now jointly managed by the city of Madison and a non-profit organization (via Wikipedia).Olbrich Gardens seek to preserve and display the trees, plants, and flowers native to the Midwest, and to do so in an ecologically-friendly way, avoiding excess use of water or pesticides.While there is a minimal fee for visiting the indoor conservatory ($6 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-12), admission to the outdoor botanical gardens is completely free. I’d love to return when we have more time… but after an hour wandering the gardens, it was time to head to our next destination!On our way to Olbrich, my wife spotted a seafood restaurant in a strip mall. Doing a little research, she discovered that it had rave reviews, and so we decided to try Lake Edge Seafood, located along the shore of Lake Monona.Lake Edge is a seafood market that also offers some amazing in-house (or takeout) dining options. We started with an order of calamari and a Caesar salad (both delicious!). For our dinners, I devoured a Southwest Smoked Salmon Wrap (salmon, petite greens, bacon, and avocado, on a sun-dried tomato wrap). As good as my sandwich was, my wife had the best meal of the night: seared scallops with green beans and coleslaw (pictured). I am admittedly a Jersey Shore seafood snob, but Lake Edge was as good as anything I’ve eaten along the Atlantic coast.Our next stop was downtown Madison and a visit to the Wisconsin State House.We then ambled down State Street, a shopping, dining, and commercial district within the city. Filled with independent shops and plenty of good restaurants, it caters to locals, University of Wisconsin students, and tourists alike. My wife and I grabbed some dessert at Kilwen’s, a local chocolatier, before heading back to our hotel. I would definitely be interested in returning to Madison and exploring more in the future!
Day 3: The House on the Rock
The third day of our trip would represent the least amount of driving so far – less than three hundred miles to our next major stopover. Along the way, however, we would stop at the greatest/strangest/coolest/weirdest tourist attraction I have ever visited.Country road, take me home… we departed our hotel in Madison and headed westward to our big stop for the day: The House on the Rock.After an hour drive, we arrived in Spring Green, Wisconsin, to explore one of the oddest attractions I have ever visited.Built in 1959, The House on the Rock was the sole vision of Alex Jordan Jr, a wealthy local man who spent much of his adult life creating a complex that’s part museum, part amusement park, and part nature center. After showing our tickets in the Visitor Center, we began our tour.The tour begins with the story of Alex Jordan Jr’s life, along with how The House on the Rock came into existence. Mr. Jordan was a deeply private man, which is even reflected in the exhibits about the history of the complex. For instance, Gladys Walsh, business manager for The House on the Rock, has a larger display (pictured) than exists for Mr. Jordan’s life story.Alex Jordan was fascinated by Asian art and architecture. For instance, the beginning of your tour takes you through a Japanese-style garden.After climbing a wooden covered bridge, you enter the House, a Japanese architecture-inspired house built atop a 200-foot tall chimney rock. The house was designed as Jordan’s private retreat, a place for him to study, learn, and develop his art. The House exists as it did during his lifetime.One of the most noteworthy features of the House is the Infinity Room, a cantilevered room that extends over 200 from the house, jutting out high above the forest below.I was doing fine until I reached the glass panel in the floor and could see how far below the trees looked. Fear of heights, activate!After we had walked back into the house, my wife pointed out a display that included a photo of the Infinity Room. I was very happy she waited to show me what the room looks like until after we had exited it. Gulp.After several years of existence, a clamor grew from people who wished to visit the house and were willing to pay money for admission. Reluctantly, Jordan allowed visitors, and the money collected was used to create a complex of buildings to display his growing collection of memorabilia, tools of various trades, and mementos of US and world history.We wound our way through seemingly countless rooms, all filled with various objects, and arranged in ways that I can only describe as whimsical. Several rooms, such as this one, contain instruments that play on their own. For a small fee, visitors can purchase tokens which, when inserted into a slot, will cause instruments, figurines, and models to come to life. Inserting a token in this room causes you to receive a concert from the self-playing instruments. In “Streets of Yesterday,” visitors walk through a simulated Main Street of a turn of the 20th century American town. Each storefront displays the objects and tools of the trade for varying professions.Need a haircut? The barbershop in the Streets of Yesterday looked ready for business.This steam-powered tractor was one of several steam engine vehicles on display.The museum had steam engines of all sizes… including this fully functional, hand-made, steam-powered model locomotive!The centerpiece of “Heritage of the Sea” is an enormous diorama of a Giant Squid and a whale fighting one another.The sheer scale of the exhibits is astounding. The four-story tall whale is the same length as the Statue of Liberty. For a sense of scale, if you look closely, you can see people along the far wall.A 20-foot long model of the RMS Titanic was also in the gallery, captured as it collided with an iceberg.The Tribute to Nostalgia allows visitors to step into a three-story tall gallery of life in the first half of the 20th century. Of course, the centerpiece for me was this 1930s Packard coupe.The Tribute to Nostalgia also had a small camera shop, filled with classic and antique cameras – absolutely fascinating!The tour takes you through the cafe… although the bratwurst smelled delicious, I resisted the temptation to have one (or a slice of pizza, which smelled equally divine), as we were passing through around 10:00 in the morning!As the tour progressed, the rooms became increasingly more surreal… like something from a dream. Or a nightmare.The House on the Rock has captured the imagination of many, including author Neil Gaiman, whose 2001 fantasy novel American Gods features The House as a place of mystical power.Fanciful, ominous, eerie, whimsical, foreboding… I started to run out of adjectives to describe what my eyes were seeing.Two stories of the museum were devoted to a miniature circus.A life-size diorama of knights fighting in battle? Sure, the museum had that too.The Organ Room features 11 pipe organs and five antique whiskey stills. Plus, an enormous chandelier.The museum was a great test of my camera’s low-light performance and color accuracy. Nearly a year-and-a-half since I purchased it, my Canon EOS 5d Mark IV continues to impress.Aside from the House itself, the centerpiece is the carousel, one of the largest in the world. It features 269 animals, 20,000 lightbulbs, and 182 chandeliers (via Wikipedia). Interestingly, there are no horses on the carousel – it is filled with tigers, mermaids, fawns, and countless other creatures.In the fantasy novel American Gods, the carousel in The House on the Rock was a secret gateway to another dimension. I believe it.The guide suggests allowing yourself 2-4 hours for a thorough tour. We did it in about two-and-a-half. One note – while there are very few steps, the tour does involve a lot of walking, so dress comfortably.Exiting the museum, we made our way through the Japanese Garden and headed to the parking lot. Onto our next destination!Our final stop was to visit with relatives near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. The drive mostly uneventful, although I did learn that there are two seasons in the Midwest: winter and road construction.After several hours of driving, we stopped at the Black River Valley Rest Stop along I-94. Spotting signs for a scenic view, we thought we’d check it out.Most roadside scenic views are visible from the car. Expecting something similar, we began following the trail. We walked. And walked. And walked……and walked some more. The paved path continued to snake upwards, eventually turning into a wooden footbridge. The trail was almost a half mile uphill climb – talk about an unexpected workout!Fortunately, the view from the top was beautiful – absolutely worth the exercise (and sweat) it took to get there. Legs properly stretched, we set off for our last destination of the day.Arrived! We pulled into our relative’s driveway with the little HR-V now at 2,442 miles – over 1,300 since our departure. The HR-V will get a bit of a break over the next few days, as we will mostly be around the Twin Cities area before the next leg of our journey.
Wrapping Up
States Visited: NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI
Miles: 1,367
Average fuel economy: 31.4 mpg
Average speed: 57 mph
What a fantastic start to our summer road trip adventure! Our drive westward was filled with great food, unexpected adventures, (highly!) memorable tourist attractions, and lots of great memories. The next leg of our journey will see us heading south, following the Mississippi River, so stay tuned!
Thanks, as always, for coming along on another adventure down the open road ahead.
Wow-The House on the Rock was so fascinating! I think your adjectives described it well. And your camera did a great job photographing it. Looking forward to hearing more about the Magic Seat feature!
The Open Road Ahead 
Why is it called the House on the Rock?
Safe travels!
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That’s a great question – the house is built atop a 200-foot tall chimney rock. Thanks for stopping by to check out the post!!
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Came here just to tell you, I will only be communicating with you through the blog. And memes, through text but not actual texts! 😉
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Excellent! Blog comments and memes are excellent forms of communication – I approve!!
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The House on the Rock looks incredible! Hard to tell the vastness of the museum from pictures. I want to go see it.
Have a safe and enjoyable trip!
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So glad you enjoyed it – and definitely add The House on the Rock to your future road trip plans… maybe with the 2017 coupe??
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Wow-The House on the Rock was so fascinating! I think your adjectives described it well. And your camera did a great job photographing it. Looking forward to hearing more about the Magic Seat feature!
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Thanks for checking out the post! The Rock was cool, but I don’t feel like words captured it well – you’ll have to make a trip to tour it in person!
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The house on the rock was really neat. The trip looks amazing. Take good care!
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Glad you enjoyed it – The House on the Rock was fascinating and bizarre!!
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