The Road to Chicago!

Vermilion, OH on Lake Erie :) 

Lake Erie! Private Beach

The Railroad tracks that run all along the Lake.

After Leaving the Days Inn, full of raisin Bran and cheese danish, I drove up to Lake Erie through Vermilion, OH.  Although most of the state is flat farm land, the lakeside was really nice. There were bike paths, no point for poor old bikeless me:(, cute shops and cafes too.  Swimming and boating all over, but I decided to head out on the 5 hour drive to Chicago rather than take a dip - I figured swimming in Lake Michagan would feel the same:)

 Only 223 miles to go!!

Crossing the Thomas Edison Bridge in Sandusky, OH

   Aaa the Beautiful, Flat, Corn filled, Flat, smells like cow poop, fields of Indiana and Ohio!

Well with only an hours time change I arrived in Chicago! Phew!

Pictures of Gettysburg

The Honda Fit at Gettysburg


Where Lincoln Gave the Gettysburg Address

Known Graves-I believe Pennsylvania soliders
Unknown graves
Unknown
Battlefield
Battle field (and a beautiful farm in the background)

On the road again

Aaaa the 80's are back!!
So after a day and two nights in Philly i must press on.  Thank you to Laura and Brian for having me, and a special thanks to Milo and Simon for the cuddling, 'kissing', and serenading:)Meow!

Here's a 'day in the life' of Milo and Simon (or just the most important time SNACK TIME!):  

that is one BIG kitty!!

After grabbing a muffin and chai from Mugshots I packed up and set the GPS for Harrisburg to visit.....

Yup walmart:) I had to get my prescriptions and some snacks...you have to stretch that $30/day! 

So as I set the GPS for Lorain Ohio (I chose it b/c its half way to Chicago and on Lake Erie) I realized I would be going right by Gettysburg. Having taught US History for two years I figured I had to go see a part of history I had liked so much.  So a detour was made.  A quick 45 minutes and I was driving through historic Gettysburg.  I found the National cemetery and parked.  It was just misting out, which made it great for walking.  I visited the site of the Gettysburg Address and stood where Lincoln stood! It was great, made me wish I had had a field trip here.  I walked through the cemetery, then across the street to the battlegrounds (one of many).  I finished with a driving tour around the whole area.  It was a great detour and wonderful chance to experience some history too.  Gettysburg Pictures to come...

Setting my GPS to Lorain, Ohio I set off on Highway 30 and drove through the mountains of western Pennsylvania. It was a much more beautiful drive than some big, faster highway:) I saw some great signs and had some amazing views, not to mention drove through a small mountain (probably a hill really:) so here are some more pictures:

          I love this sign!       

I stopped for gas a few times and just couldnt resist prices like this...

                   

I know its crazy! 

So another ThAnK yOu!!! to Rebecca for chatting with me tonight and helping me find a hotel to crash in.  So I am writing you from a Days Inn in Amherst, Ohio.  Tomorrow i am looking forward to my continental breakfast (included of course:) and then a quick trip north to see Lake Erie before i continue out to Chicago to see Jill, just another fabulous MHC improver:) 5 hour drive here i come! 

Goodbye New York

Well its been over a week and for the most part i really loved it. Maybe ill come back, get a nannying job (make mad $$) and start a masters...who knows:) 

   

 I packed up my bags and as Rachel and I walked to my car I realized my bike was STOLEN last night.  Fuck. I had had it locked with two locks to the car and it had been there perfectly fine ALL WEEK!.

     So now I have no bike.  I spent time and money getting it all ready to go and got to use it twice.  So if you are in NYC look for a yellow and black Trek with front shocks and a Mount Holyoke College ID sticker.  :( 

 This is how i should have had my biked locked i guess...

    So after a large order of frozen yogurt at Pinkberry (the place of gods! Go there you HAVE to!) I head out of the city to Philedelphia to visit Laura and i guess start a "Nikki needs a bike" fund.  I probably wont bother to find one until Colorado, just to play it safe.  And even then I'll be buying a giant bike chain. 

   Sorry to say that one experience soured me to the city, its hard to live in a place where you cant trust the people around you. I knew there would be something that would happen to help me keep going on this journey and not stop before I really started.  

temple and shopping

   So I hung out with Rachel all day Friday met her cousin and went to work with her.  I got to see the door to Jimmy Fallon's penthouse!! Grabbed some food, did a quick errand run and then I had to run home and change for Temple.  

   The service was really good and it was nice to go, since I haven't been in so long. Thanks Melissa for answering my random religion questions!  I think I could live off of challah bread by the way:) Afterwards we all grabbed dinner and drinks at The Heights in the upper westside where I got 'drunk' off limeade:)   The spicy tortilla chips were crazy hot!

   

 Saturday Molly and I went shopping.  After a late breakfast (yeah challah french toast!), we went around town buying some essentials. Then off to china town! We stopped at Starbucks for a 200 calorie beverage (yeah, its now law in the state of New York to post calories for everything!! I quickly became a little obsessed) then off to find the perfect purse!! We wandered for a while but with no luck. We stopped so I could eat $1 dumplings! Then we tried again...found something we liked and asked for a different color....then hit the gold mine.  We were taken to a back room where we found the most amazing collection i have ever seen! Prada to Fendi we were in heaven!  And with just a little bargining we went home champions!! I love New York! 

   Got home to have dinner with Rachel and Gina and then had a great tarot reading too! Thanks Gina :) 

     Going to hang our with my friend Chris tonight, he is going pre-med, crazy kid! so ill be catching him between midterms and finals:) So its off to alphabet city! 

nyc

I have decided to stay till the weekend! I am going to go to temple with Molly and Melissa on Friday so why not enjoy the rest of the week! 

  I went to Union Sq. and walked through the farmers market, didn't buy much, hard too with no refrigerator in the car:) I hung out in Barnes and Noble to write and eat, yeah B&N gifts cards!!!  I am livin the high life on $30/day:) 

  Went and saw Step Brothers in the theatre-i love Will Ferrell but dont think it was his best.  Then went and saw Wolf Parade another, more well known, Indie Band and had a blast! 

 

PICTURES: 1) The band, 2)  the floor afterwards..kinda shaped like a heart I think, 3+4) me and Rachel, 5) Rachel, Eva (getting an Education masters with Rachel and making mad $$ as a nanny) and Ben at the concert

   

 I love being able to not have to drive anywhere! The subway is fine, a little hot, but walking helps me exercise!

upper west side

So made it from yonkers back to the city.  Im staying with Rachel from college-go improv!!! I also got to hang out with Molly and Melissa too!!! Yeah MHC!! I am so glad I have friends who are well connected, not to mention able to take me in! The first pic is of Rachel in the kitchen (after i cleaned it :) :) 

   I went biking through Central Park today.  It was really nice and easy to get to from Rachel's apartment.  I went into the park to get tickets to shakespeare in the park.  Silly me I didnt get there at 8 am, they dont start 

handing them out till 1.  I got there at 1:20 and proceeded to bike to the end of the line, then realized it wasnt worth it, not to mention they run out of tickets!! So i hung out in sheeps pasture and read a book instead.  Biked back on Central Park west along the path.  It was a lot of fun, I felt like a local:) 

   We went to a Indie Rock concert to see a friend's band- Ravens and Chimes- too, I love all the things to do in the city!