Road Trip to Iowa!

It may seem to everyone that I am constantly traveling, and that is usually the case, but lately I had been feeling very stationary. Without really realizing it, I really missed being on the road. When I found out I was going to Iowa for this job, I realized it would be my first road trip since the end of November last year, when Kate and I drove out to Utah for Sundance. And to me, that just seems unacceptable. I was itching to be on the road. And possibly the best part of this road trip? As with my last one, I was not alone! My friend Dave came with me this time, and I was reminded once again just how much more enjoyable travel is when you have a friend along with you. 

Zodiac art in Princeton

Since Dave has not spent much time in Princeton, we wandered around there a bit – walked campus (they have these new, slightly frightening, animal heads on spikes by the one fountain. Realized they are zodiac animals. Makes it fractionally less freaky, but only fractionally), got ice cream at Halo Pub cause well, that is a must, and then spent some time in record exchange. I could literally spend hours there. It is a problem. If I ever have a place of my own and have a record player it will be utterly hopeless. As it stands I always have to set myself a time limit on the car meter so that I don’t spend all day there. Dinner at Fedora in the hometown and then we went to a Florence and the Machine concert in Camden before leaving, which was lots of fun. She is such a wonderful singer; it is nice hearing someone that talented live. Plus, she played one of my favorite songs (the video is weird, but just listen to the lyrics and her voice :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGH-4jQZRcc). Stayed in Philly with another friend. I am so incredibly lucky to have such fantastic friends who are willing to let me crash at their place with next to no notice. :)

The first day was nice and easy. Just from Philly to Pittsburgh, so we didn’t have to rush out. Grabbed a late breakfast at Wawa, because I realized being from the Midwest, he did not know what Wawa was, and that is simply unacceptable. I don’t quite know why I have such pride in NJ/east coast things, but I just do. Like Wawa. I pretty much never go to them. I think people often really like their coffee and I don’t even drink coffee. But is just the concept of Wawa being an east-coast thing, that makes me feel like I need to bring outsiders there. Anyway, the drive went smoothly. Arrived in Pittsburgh and got to spend a lovely evening with my friend Jane. Had tasty Asian food and then Rita’s (another first for Dave that had to happen since as most of you will know, I am obsessed with Rita’s). It was like cosmic destiny… they had fudge brownie, which is one of my favorite flavors. So my last Rita’s of the season was fudge brownie. Perfect. :) 

 

Chicago skyline

The Bean, with the skyline reflected in it

Left Pittsburgh early in the morning (coincided well with when Jane left for work) and headed toward Chicago. This was a longer day, but still not bad at all. Especially with two drivers. :) This day of travel was more exciting for me, since I was on a road I had never driven before. Normally I drive across the middle of Ohio and Indiana, but this time I was going across the northern part of both states. Also made a quick jaunt into Wisconsin, since it was only about 10 minutes extra travel, and meant I would get to go to a state I’ve never been to before! :D Made it to Chicago by late afternoon, so we had a few hours to explore, which was wonderful, since I have been told for years that I need to see Chicago. Still would like to spend more time there to really get a feel for the place, but just from the few hours I spent there, I did like it quite a lot. Definitely like it more than NYC, although that isn’t hard to do lol. It just seemed much calmer, and there is pretty water around, and I actually really liked the architecture quite a lot. Had dinner at an awesome cafe that had about a million things that sounded delicious (so many vegetarian options! Yay!) and then headed back to his friends’ place for the night. 

cool Chicago building at night

I left Chicago early in the morning to try and beat traffic. This was only semi-successful. Apparently there is just traffic in Chicago pretty much all the time. Still, it wasn’t too bad. Only the first hour or so was a bit traffic-filled, and then after that the trip went smoothly. I was amused to see that Illinois does not seem to have rest stops. Rather, they have oases. Much more schnazzy sounding. :) This last stretch of the trip was quite rainy, but other than that it wasn’t too bad. Arrived in Hawkeye without any trouble. Worked straight away for a few hours, and then got to move my stuff into the house. More on the house and the area in a later blog. :)