: I am in Harrison, OH now and head out in the morning for Madison, WI. I went to the Waffle House for dinner and then to Planet Fitness because I'd been in a car for seven hours. I met some really nice folks. That said, I can understand why more than a few people want to get out of Ohio.
@thedisasterautist Thanks Joe Biden for the infrastructure plan!
@AtomicSnarkasm: No, none of this has been new work, not by a mile. That said, two big interstate bridges in WV were getting a totes new upgrade. Also one goodly stretch of I-77 in VA was getting redone and exit added to connect small towns more conveniently to the interstate. (The feds are doing the same thing up I-77 in NC from Charlotte up to the VA border, started it all back in 2014.)
@thedisasterautist If you get a chance, I'd 100% recommend making a detour to Brodhead, WI. There's a cheese/dairy there called Decatur Dairy, and they have awesome (award-winning) baby swiss, fresh cheese curds, funky bleu cheese, etc. My fav is the Muenster - I slice it thick and make grilled cheese with it or the Butterkase. YUM.
Yes, I have driven 6 hours one way from St Louis to get $60 of cheese from them. Worth it.
@kismatt: I have a WI dairy I stop by on the road to Darwin, MN, and the place is a small store attached to a family dairy. I was curious back in 2013 and stopped in, and it changed my life. It's in DeForest, off of I-90.
My first visit I spent nearly $200. LOL
@thedisasterautist LOL. wow. Decatur is a co-op! I'found them back in....2006, I think. Back then, the store was a little room right off the working area, and the fresh curds were in plastic baggies with twist tie tops! Literally made the day before.
The gal there asked me if I had been to Monroe, and told me to go try Baumgardner's in the town square. I later found out it'd been on "The Best Of" on Food Network. I got a Havarti on pumpernickel, warmed. Best cheese sammich I'd ever had.
@thedisasterautist PS: Monroe is where The Swiss Colony is based. Remember the mail order catalogs for meat and cheese? That's them.
: That said, I drove much of the drive in OH once out of WV on US and state highways, and I gotta say that so far, the roads have been in excellent condition, especially given the sheer volume of semis I've passed and been passed by. So there's something they're doing right, at least.