the EAST COAST travails...

The road trip begins!!!! …..or so we thought……

Somehow along the way we failed to think of how much still awaited us in Chicago to tie up or just how annoying and irritating it could be. Allow me to play out the scenario we had in our heads:

We wake up at 9:00, rested and ready to leave soon. We put the last of our small things in suitcases and call the building company to come over and inspect the place as Kris leisurely gets us Starbucks. In the meantime I would run the cable box back to Comcast and take a load to the storage unit, and come back to help finish cleaning the place before the management comes. After they give us the full approval, we set out at a quarter to noon, drop off the last couple things at storage and officially hit the road.

So, yeah, heres how it really played out:

Get up at 9, still pretty sleepy from an eventful but late night. We both shower and Kris grabs Starbucks as I start patching up the place. So far, ok. But somehow this takes us all the way to 11 and I haven’t even left for Comast yet, which is apparently almost in Iowa. Oh, and Saturday traffic REALLY sucks, Like seriously. And much to my chagrine when I arrive 40 minutes later, everyone else who ever signed up for Comcast was returning their stuff too. After calling Kris to inform her of the 5 mile line, I in turn am informed I do not have storage unit keys and therefore all the stuff I packed in the car in advance didn’t matter. By the time I got back it was already 12, the building had already stopped by and our stuff wasn’t even all packed up nor was the place that clean. Luckily the person they sent could have cared less and signed our papers anyhow. So you can see the rest of the picture: 2 hours later, after we cleaned a place far more then we probably needed to, after Kris had done mortal damage to a set of hangers and our car had nearly done mortal damage to my head and we threw the last of crap (which is what it felt like by then to be sure) in the insanely packed storage unit we set off at 2:30. Alas we were in one piece and more then ready to fly the coop.

Honestly the drive itself went off without much of a hitch. Gas was cheap (sweet!) and actually free for us because of gift cards from Kris’s wonderful boss and friend beth (even sweeter!) We more or less gave ourselves the constant guilty pleasure that is Christmas music from the Lite, Deliah and all. There is nothing like Bing Crosby to croon you through the vast nothingness of Northern Michigan, central Pennsylvania and particular strips of Canada. We actually saw some signs of habitats. Apparently these people didn’t get the memo….awkward….

To keep this thing only somewhat long I’ll break down the trip into people, places and food. Because of course, food is the one constant of a good road trip.

PEOPLE:
This category is all good. We had an amazing array of different friends and family all in different life stages. From our young hipster Brooklyn friends to the soon to be awesome moms and dads of Lewiston and D.C. to the recent awesome mom and dad of New Jersey and a little bit of everything else, they all treated us like royalty and fed us like such! ☺

PLACES:
GOOD: Niagra Falls (For an afternoon. Seriously why would anyone spend more then a day there?? Its water!), Segways in D.C., Central Park, Brooklyn and Manhattan, Christmas Spectaculars at Radio City, Letterman and Mr. Elways bust in Canton, Ohio (That one was for me)
NOT AS GOOD: Hmmmm, can anyone figure out the NYC bus system?? Why is the Football Hall of Fame still rocking a severely outdated building? Do Segways turn on their owners?? Does anyone enjoy driving through Indiana?

FOOD:
GOOD: Chili, Fajitas, Stroganoff, Chicken Parmesan, Middle Eastern food, killer bagels!!! These are all good. (Digestive track begs to differ)
BAD: $60 at Ruby Tuesdays in Time Square….WHAT?!?! No need to explain here. We got trapped, I swear!