Mile 2,301

Madison, WI

The Mad City and The Farmland

Berty and Mattski on the Monona Terrace

Madison is such a nice town. I love college towns, and this one fits in with Bellingham, WA, and State College, PA very well. We stopped at a local coffee shop and spent a relaxing morning staring at the lake while sitting on the Monona Terrace, a community and convention center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

After some photo ops at Lake Monona, we made a pit stop at Wally World (Wal Mart) to get some more Mobil 1 10W-30. (My car likes to burn a quart of oil every thousand miles.) Then it was back on our old friend, Interstate 90. The drive through Southern WI and Northern IL was very pleasant. More trees, lakes, and farms made us feel comfortable. That is, until we hit Chicago. I had to brush up on my city driving skills to keep up with these lunatics. Also, there is some very confusing highway signage on the South side of town. Chicago looks like a cool town, perhaps I’ll visit again some day.

Northeastern Indiana was also very “farmy.” The scene was flat, but loaded with classic Americana. Loose stock, quintessential red-doored barns, and even a pumpkin covered silo. Ohio was similar…and it left me with a familiar comfort of Pennsylvania-like landscapes, which is what I grew up with. I am very much looking forward to our drive across PA tomorrow, and can’t wait to see my Alma Mater, Penn State, again!

Photos

More Photos

See 19 incredibly lame photos on the Day Five photo page. Because, as someone once commented about this site…“This guys is the lame…”

Route

To Ohio

539 Miles

Madison, WI, to Youngstown, OH

Map of route from Madison, WI, to Youngstown, OH
  • THE END. We arrive in Sterling at 4:33 pm. Total trip time: 5 days, 11 hours, 33 minutes, and 27 seconds.
  • Day Six – 4:08 pm, We enter Virginia.
  • Day Six – 3:21 pm, We enter Maryland.
  • Day Six – 2:00 pm, We cross the Susquehanna River. We plan on being done in 2 hours.
  • Day Six – 11:45 am, Lunch time at Baby's with Mattski's buddy Brandon.
  • Day Six – 10:34 am, We arrive at Mattski's alma mater: We Are…Penn State.
  • Day Six – 9:30 am, We cross the highest point on I-80 east of the Mississippi. Elevation: 2,250 feet. Big whoop.
  • Day Six – 9:26 am, We see signs: “Buckle Up Next Million Miles.”
  • Day Six – 9:20 am, Entering Chesapeake Bay Watershed in PA.
  • Day Six – 7:36 am, The early morning has impaired the judgment of the Geeks and they decide to play the best of Hall and Oates.
  • Day SIX! – 7:20 am, We get an early start on the day and are off on the final leg of our trip.
  • Day Five – 7:58 pm, The Geeks call it a night and stop in Youngstown, OH.
  • Day Five – 4:15 pm, We enter the fourth state for the day, Ohio. We are now on EDT.
  • Day Five – 12:20 pm, We enter Indiana with very little fanfare. Interesting smell…can't quite place it.
  • Day Five – 12:05 pm, We drive through Chicago on I-90. Traffic not that bad. Mattski's upset with the signage.

To see all of the Status Reports from the trip, head on over to the Two Geeks Twitter page.