Hastening toward Wisconsin. Can it be a true road trip if you only drive one road? On the other hand, it’s a massive road, Interstate 80. And it’s the glorious Fourth.We begin at the GW bridge.
Oliver has already finessed the jump from the cargo hold to the back seat, next to Maud.
Gil is principal road man.
John Lennon’s Dig a Pony plays repeatedly on the console.
Well, you can celebrate anything you want
Yes, you can celebrate anything you want
The land rolls by.
The trucks roll by.
I do a road hog
Well, you can penetrate any place you go
Yes, you can penetrate any place you go
I told you so
Rain hits as I drive. Maud sweet talks her beau long distance.
Well, you can radiate everything you are
Yes, you can radiate everything you are
Eyes drift over my book as the sun sets, superlative driver Maud in the driver’s seat.
I feel the wind blow
Well, you can indicate everything you see
Yes, you can indicate anything you see
Lennon later said he thought the song was garbage. Can you imagine?
On to the Chicago Skyway at Dusk.
And then, all up the corridor through the great city of Chicago, starting at nine o’clock, splashes of fireworks go up from all the little communities along the way, on every side, red, pink, green, blue and silvery-white, some cascading right over our heads on the highway. Pop! Pop!
All I want is you
Everything has got to be just like you want it to
Because
Fifteen hours, forty minutes, over 1,000 miles. I’d do this again, says Gil. Maud says, Me too.
Jean Zimmerman 
I liked The Painted Girls a lot! Something about the tone is perfect.
I’ve driven I-80 many times… but… AHA! Did you enjoy the story of Degas and Zola… and the Opera and the little ballerinas? (Page 302: THE PAINTED GIRLS by Cathy Marie Buchanon) It’s next on my list.)
Yesterday before the fireworks… I read PERFUME by Patrick Susskind (which you’d mentioned) … HORRORS! But as I shivered… I learned a lot about the era and the industry … and the geography too. TYVM.