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.

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.

Testing, testing. I linked my phone to my blog so I can hopefully do quick updates and post pictures as I go on our upcoming trip!

What I'm reading

At the moment, I am reading Bill Bryson's latest bit of brilliance. At Home: A Short History of Private Life is in the same vein as his previous books. It is witty, clever, full of fun facts and anecdotes and well-written to boot.

I love Bryson's books, and I own most of them either in print, or as an audio book on iTunes. I especially love his books because many of them are all about traveling- which is why I mention them here!

When I was preparing to go to China, I downloaded three of his books and spent a good chunk of my travel time listening to them. My favorite thing about Bryson's audio books is that he frequently narrates them himself, and I love when audio books are read by the author.

Bryson has a very dry sense of humor, possibly developed by the years he spent living in England. That's another thing I love about Bryson- like me, he is an American who considers Great Britain to be a second home.

I would absolutely recommend any of his books, but my favorites so far have got to be A Walk in the Woods and A Short History of Nearly Everything.
I am thoroughly enjoying At Home so far, and it seems like it's going to be very much in line with what I've loved about his work so far.

In Local News...

One of my best friends is studying in England at Durham University at the moment, and she has a blog where she has been chronicling her exploits. I felt a little guilty that I have not been posting anything to this blog, even though I said I would, so I figured I ought to try and start the ball rolling again.
So, recent events would be:

I got married on October 23rd! That is Mole Day; for those of you wondering why, think back to high school chemistry.
I am once again working at a high school in south Jersey. I love my job.
I had considered going back to China this summer, but for our honeymoon, it seems like my husband and I are going to plan a cross-country trip to see friends, family and national monuments. That should be some interesting fodder for the blog. I hope.

In future posts: ancient history trips that I have taken previously!