Rest stops

As an addendum to my previous post regarding rest stops. This is a picture of my favorite one. It is on 90 between Cleveland and Toledo and has a TCBY, Panera and a Starbucks. Everything a weary driver needs to refuel. Plus, it is in the shape of a circle and for some reason that makes me happy.

Cleveland Rocks!

In my old age I am finding it harder to drive for long distances. I used to be able to make it all the way from West Lafayette to Boston in one go but now I find it difficult to make the shorter trip from Ann Arbor without stopping. On my way back this weekend I had to stop for the night in Cleveland. I have driven through Cleveland many times but I've never stopped so it was fun to see what the city had to offer. I took a little extra time getting going in the morning so that I could go over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Some of the highlights were the incredible beadazzling on one of Elvis' jump suits, Jim Morrison's cub scout uniform and John Lennon's yellow jacket from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Unfortunately they don't let you take pictures inside. I also went past the Brown's stadium and saw some interesting public art installations. The "free" stamp was my favorite though I don't really get it. There's probably a social commentary I missing. Apparently it is "controversial".

Palmyra, NY

On my way back to A2 I stopped in Palmyra to check out the sights and grab some lunch. I haven't been there for about 7 years and was surprised at how much of the town's layout I remembered. I really shouldn't have been surprised, I have a gift for internalizing maps and for some reason they stick with me. The one possible exception being the town my parents live in. I don't usually get lost but I know where very few things are. I think that is because my family takes "back roads" to get everywhere and I haven't been able to figure out how everything links up. Anyway. Back to Palmyra. I stopped briefly at the Hill Cumorah visitors center and then went to Grandin Print Shop where the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. The sister missionaries there took me on very informative tour that was made only slightly awkward by the fact that there was only one of me and three of them. 

After the print shop I headed over to Nima's for lunch. I got a philly cheese steak which was delicious. The bread was amazing and the beef was nice and peppery. If you find yourself in Palmyra I highly recommend a visit.

My Parents' Dogs

These are my parents' dogs. Shadow is the Gray one and Pippen is the white one. Nearly a week of my winter break was spent hanging out in my parents' house alone taking care of these dogs. 

They are cute and can provide hours of entertainment but by the end of the week I was tired of having them follow me around constantly. They are rescue dogs and therefore have some interesting personality quirks. Shadow seems to be unsure that he will ever eat again and therefore takes advantage of every opportunity to steal food. While I was there he managed to eat an entire container of dried apricots, 1/3 of the Christmas ham, and nearly got a pan full of s'mores cookie bars off the counter. Shadow is also the ultimate cuddler. He's not happy unless he is in contact with someone. Pippen really likes his squeaky toys. He also likes to play catch. So much so that sometimes he plays catch with himself by grabbing a toy, throwing it across the room and then running after it to grab it, shake it, and throw it back to the other side of the room. He also likes to pose for pictures. The moment he heard my camera turn on he would sit very still and look straight at me. I love his ears and his hair. So adorably scruffy. I've uploaded some videos of them playing for your enjoyment. 

Death and Dying in Canada

Last weekend I took a little road trip to visit my family in Boston and because google maps says it takes less time if you go through Canada that is exactly what I did. Aside from a very confusing border crossing in Detroit it was a very pleasant drive. I quickly got used to having the speed limit be in kilometers (can I just say that having the speed limit be '100' felt great even if I really was only going about 60). That part of Canada is very flat and the sunrise was very pretty. Apparently they enforce the speed limit from the air. I guessing that it is more efficient than using the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Canadians are also very preoccupied with the dangers of driving. They have several very helpful roadsigns to help you avoid dying. These are my favorites.

See what I mean. Very helpful. 

Before crossing back over into the US I stopped at Niagara Falls for a couple of hours to take in the sights and buy a patch for my backpack. The falls were great. I hadn't been in about eight years and I had only ever been in the summer. In the winter the spray from the falls freezes and coats everything in ice. The day I was there is was very cold so I didn't get to do as much walking around as I would have liked.

I took a look at the falls.

Wandered around a bit.

Took a ride in the big enclosed Ferris wheel.

And got some nice aerial shots of the falls. 

After that I crossed back into the US, got asked several awkward questions by the border patrol guy and continued on my way to Boston. As a side note, I stopped at a rest stop somewhere in NY that has a Fuddruckers. It was pretty much amazing though not amazing enough to replace that special rest stop in OH at the top of my list of favorite rest stops. Yes people, there's a list.