This morning we left Pennsylvania and started along the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail. It was very pretty, winding through small like-side towns and periodically giving us tantalizing glimpses of the HUGE Lake Erie.
But soon after we entered Ohio, tragedy struck! We were driving through a teeny little town called Lakesville. I was driving and Tom was taking pictures as we went. His camera lens was out the window a bit and suddenly I heard him yelp. We had run smack into a bumblebee! The bee had tumbled into the car and landed in the little bay of the power window switch. He then proceeded to cower, traumatized, in the little cave beneath the window switch.
The poor thing had been loaded up with pollen, which went everywhere. We had clumps on the camera, on the window sill and on the switch bay. We were briefly flummoxed as to how to remove the bee from the window switch well, until I tore some paper from my notebook and Tom convinced it to cling to the end. We left the poor guy on the side of the road, but after being clothes-lined by a Nikon lens at 45 miles an hour, I don't know how well he's gonna do. =(
Thankfully, the rest of the drive was lovely, and there were no more animal mishaps.
We drove along the Coastal Trail, sometimes losing it and visited the Marblehead Lighthouse, which was nice. We almost ran out of gas right on the edge of Ohio. The light came on just as we drove past the last rest stop for 30 miles, so we left the highway and coasted down to a Shamrock station in town called Edon.
And then... Then we entered Indiana. Oh, Indiana. Who lives in Indiana, seriously? I mean, yes. We stayed on the highway the whole way through, which is never the best views. But we drove on the highway through a good chunk of PA as well, and I still like that state! At least they've got hills and views and things. Indiana was just... dull. Flat, boring drive through flat, boring country. The trees were nice looking, but there was no change in them at all.
So, we got through Indiana as fast as possible (5 hours or so, ugh) and headed into Chicago.
Hurray for Droids, by the way. I booked us a room at a Traveler's Inn as we were driving, so we headed straight here, dropped our stuff, showered... and then went to see Transformers 3. I know, I know. We're in a brand new city and we go see a movie?
But, hey, it was fun! Lots of explosions and robots fighting. And wow, did this one take a dark turn that the others really didn't have. I mean, the other movie had people dying, but they were mostly soldiers being stabbed or blown up or whatever.
This one had fleeing, screaming civilians being vaporized. And not just nice, suddenly-there-is-dust-not-a-body vaporized, either. Like, the liquid in their body was suddenly flash-boiled kind of vaporized so that their charred bones scatter and their clothing flutters to the ground like a surrender flag.
...
And on that note! Ha. Anyway, hello Chicago! Tomorrow we will be exploring you!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Pittsburgh, Day 2
This morning, Pierce, his girlfriend Katie, and Chris showed us around Pittsburgh. It's a beautiful city! Which came as a surprise to me, because the only thing I ever really knew as a coal mining and steel town, so I was expecting an ugly industrial city.
What I found was a city full of trees and wide clean streets and cute little shops!
Our first stop was S.W. Randall's, which is a super cute independent toy store that has been in business for 35 years. I found the game Pass the Pigs! But my favorite part was the hour long conversation I had with the shop keep about webcomics. Or, perhaps it was more that I talked at the poor shop keep for an hour about webcomics while he politely listened because he couldn't escape because he was at work... Er... I'm gonna go with the first one!
After the toy store, we walked down the block to a store called Kards Unlimited. We went there originally because I had said I wanted to find postcards from Pittsburgh and Katie had told me I could find some there. Did I find postcards? Yes. But, more importantly, I found a beautiful, beautiful haven.
This store had EVERYTHING I could ever want and every variety of nerdery that I love. It was wonderful; I could have stayed there all day!
All that geeking out got us hungry, so we took the advice of the book that Luke got Tom for his birthday and went to the Primanti Bros Restaurant for their giant, decadent (and totally delicious) sandwiches.
Afterwards we headed over to Essie's Famous Hot Dog Shop for their french fries known as the Big O. It's basically a giant sack of fries! So simple, yet so brilliant.
After lunch we rode the Monongehela Incline, which is this little railway that runs you up the mountain side to the Grandview City view road. Like I said before, Pittsburgh is a surprisingly beautiful city and we enjoyed a little stroll along the city skyline.
Dinner came from Lulu's Noodles- I got Bubble Tea! We took it to go and brought it back to Chris's apartment, where we rounded out the night by writing up the outline for the 48-hour film that Chris and Pierce are currently working on. They got their genre, character and line at 7:30 and in 2 hours we had a concept, and a working outline. Damn, we're good.
So, thanks for the good time, Pittsburgh! I might just come back and visit you again, someday. For now, I will say farewell. On to the next adventure!
What I found was a city full of trees and wide clean streets and cute little shops!
Our first stop was S.W. Randall's, which is a super cute independent toy store that has been in business for 35 years. I found the game Pass the Pigs! But my favorite part was the hour long conversation I had with the shop keep about webcomics. Or, perhaps it was more that I talked at the poor shop keep for an hour about webcomics while he politely listened because he couldn't escape because he was at work... Er... I'm gonna go with the first one!
After the toy store, we walked down the block to a store called Kards Unlimited. We went there originally because I had said I wanted to find postcards from Pittsburgh and Katie had told me I could find some there. Did I find postcards? Yes. But, more importantly, I found a beautiful, beautiful haven.
This store had EVERYTHING I could ever want and every variety of nerdery that I love. It was wonderful; I could have stayed there all day!
All that geeking out got us hungry, so we took the advice of the book that Luke got Tom for his birthday and went to the Primanti Bros Restaurant for their giant, decadent (and totally delicious) sandwiches.
Afterwards we headed over to Essie's Famous Hot Dog Shop for their french fries known as the Big O. It's basically a giant sack of fries! So simple, yet so brilliant.
After lunch we rode the Monongehela Incline, which is this little railway that runs you up the mountain side to the Grandview City view road. Like I said before, Pittsburgh is a surprisingly beautiful city and we enjoyed a little stroll along the city skyline.
Dinner came from Lulu's Noodles- I got Bubble Tea! We took it to go and brought it back to Chris's apartment, where we rounded out the night by writing up the outline for the 48-hour film that Chris and Pierce are currently working on. They got their genre, character and line at 7:30 and in 2 hours we had a concept, and a working outline. Damn, we're good.
So, thanks for the good time, Pittsburgh! I might just come back and visit you again, someday. For now, I will say farewell. On to the next adventure!
First stop: Pittsburgh!
Yesterday we left New Jersey and headed west bound on Route 80 through Pennsylvania, headed toward Pittsburgh and our friends Pierce and Chris.
The drive out was quite lovely, actually. We hit traffic early on, but that gave me a chance to hop out of the car and pick some of the thistles that were growing along the side of the highway.
What was surprising about the drive was how how well growing up in West Milford prepared me for driving through rural PA. Once we got off of 80 to head down to Pittsburgh, the roads were astoundingly windy and the hills were steep and continuous. Tom did get some really beautiful photos, though.
Once we arrived, we met up with Pierce and Chris, and they took us out to dinner and games at Dave and Buster's. Now, I know what you're thinking. Why on earth would you go to a Dave and Buster's? Why not sample local cuisine? I was thinking the same thing. But when they found out I hadn't been to a Dave and Buster's before, it was pretty much decided. That said, it was awfully fun! I felt like such a grownup playing skeeball, winning tickets and then trading them in for Fun Dip. Good times.
But! Today the plan is to see the sites of Pittsburgh and eat some of that local cuisine, so I feel like I will do the city justice.
The drive out was quite lovely, actually. We hit traffic early on, but that gave me a chance to hop out of the car and pick some of the thistles that were growing along the side of the highway.
What was surprising about the drive was how how well growing up in West Milford prepared me for driving through rural PA. Once we got off of 80 to head down to Pittsburgh, the roads were astoundingly windy and the hills were steep and continuous. Tom did get some really beautiful photos, though.
Once we arrived, we met up with Pierce and Chris, and they took us out to dinner and games at Dave and Buster's. Now, I know what you're thinking. Why on earth would you go to a Dave and Buster's? Why not sample local cuisine? I was thinking the same thing. But when they found out I hadn't been to a Dave and Buster's before, it was pretty much decided. That said, it was awfully fun! I felt like such a grownup playing skeeball, winning tickets and then trading them in for Fun Dip. Good times.
But! Today the plan is to see the sites of Pittsburgh and eat some of that local cuisine, so I feel like I will do the city justice.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Honeymoon, Finally
Greetings! In just 9 days, Tom and I will be heading off on our grand cross-country road trip. I am really looking forward to it, since I have been outside of the country on multiple occasions, but have never really explored my own.
We are starting on the east coast, of course. Leaving from New Jersey on the 7th and heading across mostly on Route 80. We are stopping to see friends and family and national landmarks as we go on the way to California.
In Cali, we will spend some time sight seeing and visiting with Dave and Jan, and perhaps more family and then heading back across along the southern route.
And this is the part that I'm really especially excited about. We are stopping and spending three or four days at the Grand Canyon.
In about a month, I'll be able to post a picture like this taken by my own camera.
And I definitely want to take a stroll out on this!
Then, it is a trek across the scary south and from there, a beautiful drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway with a slight detour to Virginia Beach to visit another friend. All told, a five-week journey.
This weekend, though, is a trip up to Lake George, and my very first tattoo!
Stay tuned.
We are starting on the east coast, of course. Leaving from New Jersey on the 7th and heading across mostly on Route 80. We are stopping to see friends and family and national landmarks as we go on the way to California.
In Cali, we will spend some time sight seeing and visiting with Dave and Jan, and perhaps more family and then heading back across along the southern route.
And this is the part that I'm really especially excited about. We are stopping and spending three or four days at the Grand Canyon.
In about a month, I'll be able to post a picture like this taken by my own camera.
And I definitely want to take a stroll out on this!
Then, it is a trek across the scary south and from there, a beautiful drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway with a slight detour to Virginia Beach to visit another friend. All told, a five-week journey.
This weekend, though, is a trip up to Lake George, and my very first tattoo!
Stay tuned.
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