Day 5 Perrysburg, OH to Plainfield, IL

It was another warm morning, and we drove from our hotel to the starting point in Perrysburg, OH. It was a short jaunt up the road, and as we were driving, we drove through an outdoor shopping area called Levi Commons. The area was newly developed, and flanked by industrial businesses. They had an array of shops, and restaurants. The growth seemed to be on going.

After receiving our directions for the day, we headed toward South Bend, Indiana. We typically start the day on a Highway so we can calibrate our speedometers. They are specific to rallying, and we can hold each mile per hour exactly. We calibrate them each day because the rally master can change the speed and it would change our times on each leg.

We were heading toward South Bend to the Studebaker Museum for lunch. Again, we drove through fields with corn and soy, we also saw a few solar farms. The red barns with their silos covered in vines make you smile when you are city dwellers. There is just something so beautiful about the countryside and its manicured fields and pretty farm houses.

The red barns are symbolic or a tradition in modern times. The red barns were originally red because farms always had a lot of rust, and they could use the rust as protection from fungus and mosses that grew on the barns, it was like a sealant.

We went through more Amish country, and passed a man with his horse and buggy. It is always interesting to see them living in the 21st century in a 19th century lifestyle. Aside from the man in his buggy, we also saw a man farming his land with horse drawn farm implements.

We made it to the Studebaker Museum in South Bend for lunch. We rolled in grabbed a quick bite of local flavor. They served polish sausage and red cabbage. They were both delicious.

We sat at lunch with some friends and fellow racers. They told us the trials and tribulations of their morning. Fortunately, they were not hurt, but the front bumper of their 1932 Ford pickup truck looks more like a pretzel than a fender. They were making a turn and didn’t see the cross traffic. They whipped around to avoid hitting the other car and it caught the fender. It reminds us each day how lucky we are and why safety first is so important.

After lunch we headed back out into the country and rallied some more. We were driving toward Plainfield, Illinois as we circled around farms.

We finished the evening with rush hour traffic through the suburbs of Chicago. It is not fun being in an old car in traffic , but we try to bunch together so we are seen.

The car above is a chain driven car. It is by far the loudest and one of the most interesting cars in the race. We call it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, some call it Snap Crackle Pop. It throws smoke and oil, and back fires everywhere it goes.

We made it to Plainfield and the streets were full of on lookers. One of the onlookers said they don’t have a lot going on, so everyone comes out for events.

Thank you to McCollister’s we appreciate all of your support! We look forward to making you proud.

Thank you Mustang Country! We finished another day with no issues!!! The race prep couldn’t be better!!!

Thank you again to all of our family, friends and supporters your support is most appreciated. We are still in the top 10. Our raw scores have been better than we could hope for.