Monday – Day #6:

Oh, Ohio sky!

Goodbye Nashville, I hardly knew yah. Upon the suggestion of several people who make the journey back to New York more than I do, I decided to return via a different route. I would be traveling north to Ohio, then across Pennsylvania towards home. First stop was for lunch in Louisville, Kentucky. Another large yet seemingly empty city. It was easy getting around, unlike New York I was free to move without being elbow to shoulder with folk. It will be hard leaving this sense of space behind. I walked to the Ohio River and enjoyed its peace and gentle quiet before searching for a place to get lunch. Back on the road I drove through Cincinnati and towards Columbus.

Virginia takes the ground for beauty but Ohio owns the Sky. It’s clouds so heavy, they collapse against the horizon like my unmade hotel bed. I stopped off at a gas station for coffee and water but took some time out to view the rolling cornfields that stopped just feet from the gas pumps. Big sky and cornfields is how I’ll remember Ohio. I listened to the double CD that I bought upon Pete’s suggestion at the Country Music Hall of Fame on repeat as it provided the perfect soundtrack on what would be some long uneventful driving with spectacular skyscapes.

I pushed hard to get as many miles under my belt as I could and finally settled on Washington, Pennsylvania as my stopover point. My cell phone wouldn’t work (goodbye faithful Priceline app) so I drove to a random motel and booked a room. It was rough, very far from the cheap Hilton deal I had found days earlier. It had a piercing odor that hung in the air as if the building was haunted by ghosts made of stale cheese. In addition to that, along with some heavy drinking by teenagers on my floor, made for a difficult sleep. I’m used to it though, the sporadic sleeping thing. I can function on three hours, six is optimal though. I’ve gone without on occasion and none was ever the wiser. When I did find some I had a bizarre/terrifying/the usual type of dream.

I pulled into an old country house down south for the night. They were full but told me they had room in a smaller cabin down the end of their property on the river. It was far from the road and main residence so I’d find some peaceful quiet sleep. It was an old, rustic place built sometime in the late 18th century. As I drifted off to sleep I suddenly became a witness to myself. I stood frozen in the corner, unable to move, watching myself sleep. I watched the candles burn down until the room was lit only by the moon reflecting off the river outside. A person I never seen before silently crept up to the side of my bed and watched me as I slept. So intense was their gaze that they began to bleed from their eyes. As an overwhelming sense of doom grew, I knew this person would hurt me. Then a loud, deafening banging began and grew until I woke up.

The banging remained, just as loud as in my dream. Once I gathered my senses I made for the door, the source of the thumping. The garbage chute was right outside my door and the cleaning lady was making good use of it.

I checked out and set off on the last leg of my road trip, tired and a little unsettled due to last nights dream.

Click HERE for Day #7.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.