From NE to IA to MN

I got up at 10 am. But I was still very tired. Checked out at 11 am and had breakfast at Perkins, which was just two doors down. The state of my windshield was probably illegal; I could barely see through the bug splats, but I couldn't find a car wash, so I got going.

It wasn't long before I started getting dangerously sleepy, so I took the first rest area outside Lincoln, NE and took a very deep 20 minute nap. I was beginning to feel exhausted, probably because it's the end of my vacation and this is the last leg of my trip. It was already past noon when I got back on the road.

I was thinking of just staying on I-80 E, but when I got to Omaha, the traffic started to get ornery, so I took I-680 like the AAA TripTik suggested. It was a quick, almost last-minute, decision, and it turned out to be a good one.

I-680 N is such a nice drive. There were only a few cars on the road and the scenery reminds me of rural California -- trees, rolling hills, grassy knolls, except that the grass in Omaha is green. The grass that's native to California is perpetually brown; unless it's on a lawn with a sprinkler system, of course. ;-)

I-680 N becomes I-680 E, which is unusual with freeways. Then it crosses the state border to Iowa. Then it joins I-80 E again. Except there are I-80 W markers which throw you for a loop. Apparently, it's a detour, so that if you're going west, you'll have to go east first, which makes you feel like Christopher Columbus. Then the detour leads to an exit and those of us going east now breathe easier when we see only I-80 E markers.

And then I see the signs for the rest areas. One said "REST AREA / PARKING ONLY" followed by "MODERN REST AREA, 20 MILES" but I didn't think anything of it. Then I saw the sign for the "modern" rest area. It said, "WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS." Whoa! When they say "modern," they _really_ mean modern. Wireless internet access at a rest area! What a concept!
I stopped at one of those rest areas a couple of hours later and saw a brochure that described how to connect to the wireless network. The first half hour is free. The building itself seems fairly new, the tiles at the entry create some design, and there are vending machines. The bathroom flush and sink faucet are sensor-triggered. Unfortunately (and this is becoming my pet peeve), there are still no seat covers! "Modern" my behind! (Pun intended.)

Apparently, Iowa drivers are even crazier than Denver drivers. And there were a lot of cars on the road today, probably on their way to start their last long weekend of the summer.

Well, I got home safe and sound. And, within a couple of hours of arriving home, I'm depressed again.