Saturday 27 April 2002 - Friday 3 May 2002

A dramatic change in the countryside as we drove south-east through Illinois, Indiana and finally into Ohio; leaves and blossom appeared on the trees, crops grew in the fields and everything was suddenly warmer and springlike (despite the pouring rain). After hooking up on arrival at Winton Woods on the outskirts of Cincinnati, we and everything else couldn't get any more wet so we put on shorts, sandals and waterproofs and washed the trailer down. Gabrielle and Andy came out to get us, took us for a meal, confirmed that they'd look after selling the truck and trailer for us, lent us a mobile phone, and drove us back to the campground. What friends.

There were severe storms overnight, with plenty of lightning and high winds, but we survived ok. Every so often sirens would go off; we discovered next day that one blast meant something nasty was coming and three blasts meant all clear, but the siren seemed to bear no relation to what was going on outside.

The morning was sunny but still windy. We drove to G & A's house, with the truck transmission making increasingly nasty noises as we progressed. Can't really complain, as it got us most of the way across America before giving out; we would not have liked to have been stranded in Armpit, Nebraska with a broken transmission. Visited the famous Cincinnati Flower Show: lots of colourful exhibits ...

... although many of the marquees were closed and in a dangerous condition due to the winds so we didn't see everything. Drove round seeing the sights in the afternoon, tried and failed to find adverts for used transmissions, then went out for pizza followed by drinks in Hap's Irish Pub.

Gabrielle picked us up on Monday morning. We got Andy's friend Bernard, a retired Chevrolet mechanic to listen to the transmission but no great insights, so we took it into the garage to be repaired. At G's studio we picked up our emails, and looked for cheap flights to Boston. Andy took us into AAA to book the flights and a car in Boston, then we had drinks on the terrace followed by ribs and ice cream. Very civilised.

Top tip #20: If you're flying out of this part of the US, go from Dayton airport rather than Cincinnati. It is literally about 80% cheaper; don't know why, it just is. Also, check the prices of American Transair (carrier code TZ) as they're very reasonable and don't always come up on travel agents' lists of 'cheapest' flights unless you specifically ask them to look.

On Tuesday G took us for a tour of the city centre, including the fountain with a statue of a boy doing unspeakable things to a pair of geese ...

... and views of the city and the muddy Ohio river from the Carew Tower ...

Corned beef lunch at Izzy's, famous for its abusive owner who is now unfortunately dead (not sure if it was due to injuries from a client who took exception to his banter); book exhibition at the library; bought cakes; visited G's friend Katy and ate the cakes. Donated our computer printer to Gabrielle as a small recompense for all they'd done, and installed it. Dinner at the Claddagh Irish Pub, followed by Irish coffees at Hap's (Cincinnati is big on Irish pubs for some reason).

On Wednesday we had a day on our own sorting, throwing away, packing and cleaning. Found that my last new pair of sandals consisted of two left ones; didn't know if this was a mistake at the shop or if I still have two right ones at home, so decided to hang on to them (which turned out to be a good decision when we got home). More storms, tornado warnings and sirens, but we were ok; parts of Kentucky weren't so lucky though. Last episode of Pioneer Village on TV; we're sure that they must choose some of the participants on the basis of their potential to be offensive and abrasive to the others.

Next morning we walked round Winton Woods until Andy came and picked us up. Got the truck back - a mere $1,850 for the transmission rebuild but we can't complain as it's been brilliant, never leaving us stranded during its 55,000 miles of abuse over the last 18 months. Back to the campground to hook up for the last time, and towed the trailer round to Gabrielle and Andy's where I had to reverse it up a narrow driveway through some trees into their garden under the watchful eyes of all the neighbours ...

... fortunately without mishap. Andy's shepherd's pie and ice cream for dinner, followed inevitably by a visit to Hap's.

Back to Boston again tomorrow, for the last time.