'Gas Challenge': Follow the Pletcher family

Family log: From Cleveland to New York City (Day 7)
People at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened it up early for us, and it was very cool. We stayed for about an hour and a half and barely scratched the surface. There were five floors but we only saw one floor. Our favorite exhibit was the area that focused solely on The Who's "Tommy" album.

We kind of got off-course and ended up in a different part of Pennsylvania than we had planned on being in. I had taken the wrong highway and didn't realize it for a couple of hours.  We were close but a little off and it started to look a little rural. We asked the locals where the Amish live and they told us how to get there, so we went to Spartansburg to see them. It's known as the Gateway to Amish Country.

They all drive buggies and wear similar clothing. All the men have beards, everyone was so friendly and nice. My husband Brian decided he wanted to eat Amish food, so we went to an Amish diner. One of the things on the menu was traditional Amish Wedding Cake — it was like a date pudding with bananas and whipped cream on top inside a parfait glass.

The whole family is worried that we will become Amish because I'm so fascinated and interested by the culture.

We only had to stop once for gas today and ended up spending less than 200 dollars on gas for the whole trip. We are pretty excited about that.  —Andy Pletcher

Most expensive gas between Los Angeles and New York
Ludlow, Calif.: $2.96/gallon

Cheapest gas between Los Angeles and New York
Howe, Ind.: $1.91/gallon

Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $459.27
Fowlers (Midsize): $277.98
Pletchers (Hybrid): $172.67

Gas Mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpg  (estimate was 15 mpg)
Fowler Family (Midsize):  26 mpg  (estimate was 25 mpg)
Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 42 mpg  (estimate was 40 mpg)

Family log: From Chicago to Cleveland (Day 6)
We got to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Chicago around midnight after making a reservation, and the front desk guy said we could get an upgrade to a suite with an extra table and couch and two extra rollaway beds for the kids. We got into the suite and there were no beds in the room. By the time we went back to try to get one of the regular rooms, they were already sold out, so we had to leave and go get a room at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Because of all that we got only 4 hours sleep before getting up for Wednesday morning's live shot.

FREE VIDEO 'Gas Challenge' in Cleveland May 19: The Riley, Fowler and Pletcher families, who are driving across the country in three different vehicles as part of the "Great American Gas Challenge," talk with "Today" show hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer from Cleveland. Today show

The live shot was a lot of fun; we went down to Lake Shore Drive during the live shot, and Matt and Katie started asking me questions about the Honda Civic Hybrid. I thought I did outstanding on the air. I mentioned the fact that a bus was driving by so people knew I was actually in the car.

We didn't get to see much of Chicago at all because we wanted to get going and see some family in the South Bend area in Indiana.

We stopped at an art display at the Indiana Visitor Center called Trashed Treasure — art made from landfill materials — and did a whirlwind tour to match our eco-friendly theme.

We stopped at my parents' house in Stevensville, Mich., and got interviewed by the South Bend television station. We got a very good home-cooked meal from my parents — chicken and fruit salad and shrimp and a homemade no-fat lemon pie. It was just great to eat home-cooked food again after six days on the road. It was one of those meals where it was intoxicatingly pleasurable, especially after escaping from the big city and getting out to home in the woods.

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