Midwest Road Ramblings in Indy and Peoria - Part 2

It usually doesn't take me this long to get a second part to a ride on the blogspace, but I can explain...

So I left my friend's place in Peoria and headed up toward Downer's Grove, IL, a suburb near Chicago. I almost made it in an entire tank but chickened out on the attempt, stopping for fuel in Channahon. I'm glad I did, because with a 6.6 gallon gas tank on Eleanor, filling up with this much gas was a very nice OMG-get-ready-to-slightly-panic moment.

After that little adventure, I found myself at one of the several locations of Total Hockey, a budding chain of hockey stores that actually have a comprehensive selection of gear. Sadly enough, I had to travel this far just to get a pair of hockey referee shorts. I wish there was a store like this in Columbus, OH, but when you have the Columbus Blue Jackets for a minor league team, nobody really takes the sport that seriously.

A hockey store that actually has hockey equipment in stock? It's a rare concept where I live.

After that shopping adventure, I traveled about seven more miles to another retail reminder of home, Fry's Electronics. For the non-West Coast people reading this blog, it's a giant electronics store that is pretty much what you get if Best Buy, Radio Shack, Starbucks, Costco, Newegg.com, and HH Gregg had an orgy. It's the place to go where you get out with a food processor, a motherboard, and a freeze-dried ice cream sandwich all at once. For those familiar with the store, this location doesn't have one of those hokey themes like the older places do - they've gone refined and neutral, which takes some of the fun out of things but does offer a cleaner appearance for the customer.

Living 360 miles from the nearest Fry's makes it a bit challenging to make this a normal shopping destination.

Fry's was also my lunch spot! Hot pastrami on sourdough, anyone? Computer parts, toys, DVDs, and all things that go beep with a side of food? You betcha.

After walking the store and having lunch, it was a six-hour ride home. I decided to take mostly US-30 back to Columbus as I wasn't in a hurry and didn't feel like taking the Interstate; I-290 near Chicago was pretty annoying to sit through already. My little vacation did get interrupted right after I got home with a sudden change in career plans, but it was all for the better. I'll explain in the next post.

While you wait, here's my three-day tour.

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