Cleveland to Chicago

Hello again!  We went to a few museums yesterday and then on to a show with the Parrans before heading out the following morning for Chicago.  Once we got to Chicago we weren't sure where to go so we went to Millennium Park and parked in their parking garage.  Little did we know it was $23 for 0-3 hours!  I tried to turn around immediately but the ticket taker machine still demanded $23.  I walked up to this woman who was watching over the stations and saw a used ticket hanging out of the machine so I grabbed it.  She didn't notice because she was trying to avoid me by pretending to be asleep (she had just had a customer--no one falls asleep that quickly..).  I knocked on her window and asked if I could validate my ticket somewhere to make it cheaper or if I could drive out for free since I'd only been there for five minutes.  She shook her head both times so we left and had some lunch at Panera and walked around the park.  When we got back I tried the used ticket and it worked!  BOOM free parking.  :)

One other somewhat funny anecdote:

We plugged in Millennium Park's address into the GPS as we were leaving South Bend, IN.  After a while we noticed that the GPS said we should arrive at 2pm but it was 1:40pm.  There was no way we could drive 80 miles in 20 minutes.  I stared at it for a few minutes before it dawned on me: we're in the central time zone!  This is officially the farthest west my car has been (since my family has owned it, at least)!

I really liked the Cleveland Museum of Art.  It's free to go to and is in a really nice building(s).

Some impressionism.  My favorite to see is usually the Renaissance art (which they also had).

They had a little bit of everything--including armor!

The natural history museum was pretty cool.  We went to a Planetarium show and also saw their live animal show where we learned that Owl's talons can exert up to 300 psi (ten times that of human hands).

Krista's family took us to the Blossom Pavilion where the Cleveland Orchestra Band played some fourth of July songs followed by fireworks.

The whole pavilion

We left Cleveland the next morning (July 4th) and saw a whole lot of this on our way to Chicago.

Mile 790: South Bend, IN

We stopped in South Bend, IN to see Notre Dame University where my pal Tierney went.  The campus was really big and really nice although there's not much else out there :)

We found Tierney's dorm, Pangborn Hall!

Mile 900: Chicago, IL

The Bean in Millennium Park

Millennium Park was pretty cool.  This is the Pavilion in it where they were going to have a free orchestra that night with fireworks much like the one we saw in Cleveland.

Sam has been working outside Chicago so he drove in to hang out with us.  We met up at this bar by DePaul University called Marquee Lounge (1973 N. Halsted).  Then we walked over to Pequod's Pizza for a Chicago deep dish pizza.  All the college students around recommended it.  Then we trekked down to the beach from there.

We saw this view on our way to the beach.

Fireworks on the beach/lakefront

These pictures were on my Mom's phone so I didn't have them for the last post.  Me, Hannah, and Mom outside my house.  Fingers crossed this isn't the last time my Mom sees the Volvo!

Thanks for reading!

DC to Cleveland

Mile 0: Chevy Chase, MD

On Sunday, July 1st, Hannah (friend from RPI) and I left Chevy Chase, MD in my 1995 Volvo for LA.

Hannah and I left for Cleveland on Sunday where we plan to spend a few days with the Parran family.  Below are some photos from the trip thus far.  I don't have many stories thus far but I'll tell one funny one for my nerdy friends :)

I was passing through the kitchen when I saw a textbook on the table.  It was titled "Multi-state Law II"  I thought to myself, "Hm, must be a book about the laws of elements or materials that can exist in multiple states (solids, liquids, gas, plasma).  Then Krista's brother, Ted, walked out and I realized it must be his book since he is studying for the bar exam!  Haha.

We also saw two guys pushing a Prius down one of the busier streets in Cleveland haha.

That's all for now!

Saying good bye to my pup!

Mile 235: Pittsburgh, PA

We stopped in Pittsburgh literally just to drive through it and see it.  It seems like a pretty nice place down by the river.  There was a baseball game going on but the downtown area was really pretty.

As soon as we left Pittsburgh we hit a torrential down pour but it cleaned all the bugs off my car :)

Pennsylvania and Ohio have a lot of farmland.

Woohoo!  The only time my car has been this far west was during my summer in Savannah (Atlanta was the farthest I'd gone).

We stopped by Youngstown, OH to have lunch with Uncle Bob and Aunt Denise (Brendan McMahon's uncle and aunt, that is!).  Uncle Bob helped me put air in my tires too.  On to Cleveland!

Mile 364: Cleveland, OH

We stayed with Krista Parran's family in Cleveland which was an absolute delight.  They're a fun bunch and their house is so nice!

Feeding Krista's chickens!

We didn't get to go into the Science Museum but it looked really cool!  Maybe next time.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

There were a lot of guitars at the Rock Hall but this is the only prototype I recalled seeing.

The entrance on the lower level.  There were about 20 rooms/exhibits with a special exhibition for the Rolling Stones.

Elvis, naturally.

Hannah and The Beatles' wall.

Jimmi Hendrix liked to draw and play football apparently.

U2!  Your first record has to have been out for 25 years before you can make it in.  Next time I go back, I hope Coldplay is in it too :)

Janice Joplin's Porche

John Lennon Acoustic Guitar

Old recording studio

Boom.  "The Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll: Coldplay's Yellow"

Johnny Cash's signature in the actual hall of fame itself.  There were a lot of people and they're all listed alphabetically.

We've driven past a lot of stadiums since leaving DC.  This is the Indian's Stadium (baseball).

Krista's doggies, Frank and Commodore!

We've done a lot of reading here too.  I'm addicted to Game of Thrones.

Mile 434: Cedar Point

We took a day to drive out to Cedar Point from Cleveland.  It was pretty cool there, it's right on the lake.  But we only had time to ride two rides.

The lines were so long that we had to wait about 2 hours per ride (this is only half of the line!).

We road Raptor and Maverick (Maverick is pictured above).  They were pretty good!  I would go to Cedar Point if there weren't going to be many people but if you find yourself in Cleveland, there are plenty of other things to do :)

West Side Market is pretty awesome!  The foods there look delicious.  Gave me a lot of ideas for dishes I should try to learn to cook.

West Side Market in downtown Cleveland

Hannah and I plan to go to some museums around here and then go to an orchestra/fire works thing tonight before heading out to Chicago tomorrow so there should be more to come!  Thanks for reading.