Slackpacking Trip - Day 1

I woke up at 0530 and left the house by 0600. Filled up with gas on the way out of town. I took I-495, I-270, US-15 to I-81 and then I-84. It was raining almost all day (when it wasn't extremely foggy) but (fortunately) there was almost no traffic. However, the cars I did see behaved oddly, though: no lights on in the weather, close interval lane changes, lots of left lane slow-pokes. Saw a horrific accident in Pennsylvania (near Scranton) of a Ford Mustang that had wedged under a tractor trailer in the mountains. At 1100, I stopped for gas in Montgomery, New York - also got lunch at Burger King. Back on the road, crossed the Hudson and drove through Connecticut into Massachusetts. Drove on the Mass Pike until hitting I-495 and then drove around Boston to New Hampshire. Made really good time, arriving in West Gardiner, Maine, at 1700. Got some dinner at Quiznos at the rest area and then got on the road again. Met a toll booth operator who started off on a series of conspiracy theories. Drove north to Augusta and then started looking for a place to stay. No luck in Waterville but eventually located a cheap place in Pittsfield. Once I was settled, I watched some Notre Dame football and read more of "The Shipping News" before I went to sleep. Very excited about this trip - a great chance to get away from stress and get some time in the outdoors!