Burkifornia – Day 1 – SemDIVE!

Burkifornia ’16 – Day 1


Sendoff

Semper DIVE!®’s trip to San Diego began this morning at 10:43 AM as we departed Burke, VA for the West Coast! If I didn’t mention it before, we’re taking historic Route 66. We decided not to drive all the way to Chicago (where it begins), but to pick it up in Springfield, IL. So, today we set out on the most direct route our navigator could plot for Indianapolis, IN. It took us 11.5 hours to get here – that included meal breaks – but we’re here and ready to sleep. However, I promised I’d blog about the trip and here I am. Tomorrow morning we’ll have a 3 hour drive to Springfield. We plan to have a leisurely lunch, then pick up Route 66 and start enjoying our drive!

WVIf you’re like me, you drive around your local area and take short trips every now and then but never really pay attention or see anything new. As we drove through western Maryland, West Virginia, and the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, I couldn’t help but notice how much quiet beauty this land holds. Much of our time was spent on I-68, up and down hills at altitudes over 2,500 feet. The views of farms and forests were spectacular; the roads were windy and long with very little traffic. We stopped for lunch in the friendly town of Grantsville, PA, and dinner in Dayton, OH. By the time we reached Indiana, we noticed the highway and surrounding streets were no longer winding, but straight and neatly gridded, as is much of the heartland of America! Those of us that live in/or near major metropolitan centers and dream of days on the beach often forget about the incredible scenery that is hundreds of miles from the water we love!PA

Of course, just before leaving Maryland, we got caught in a torrential downpour and I think we hit and squashed every mosquito between Burke and Indianapolis. It was a long, but memorable day; a day that begins a trip and memories that my teenage daughter (co-pilot) and I will cherish for years!

We’re looking forward to getting to Route 66 and will enjoy every moment of this trip. And, where it ends… we plan to go make some bubbles!

OH IN

SemDIVE!

SemDIVE!