Road Trip: Days 1 and 2

Well, I’m headed to California! Although most of my posessions are on a moving truck, I’m spending about a week driving there. Here’s a recap of the first two days on the road.

Before I left town, I stopped by downtown Washington one last time to run a couple of errands. I also took some photos of Dupont Circle and the Metro, and a few other sights I saw on the way out. I walked past Kramerbooks, a bookstore and cafe, that was probably the first place I ever went out in Washington. A group of us went there for dessert one night during freshman orientation, nine years ago! Driving out of town, I drove past my old office building when I worked at Blackboard, and even Thurston Hall, the dorm where I lived as a freshman.

From Washington, I followed I-270 and I-70 through northern Maryland and into Pennsylvania. Once in Pennsylvania, I took the Pennsylvania Turnpike, or I-76, toward Pittsburgh. I drove through a lot of beautiful mountains, and eventually arrived at the Pittsburgh Crowne Plaza. I had scored a cheap reservation there on Priceline, and got well more than my money’s worth.

On Wednesday, I drove about 30 more miles in Pennsylvania, on I-76. In Ohio, I-76 merged with I-80, and I took I-80 west; I’ll be on I-80 the entire rest of the trip. After Ohio was Indiana. (Once you’re out of the mountains, the roads really all look the same!) I hit a little traffic along the Indiana-Illinois border, near Chicago, but eventually made it through that and drove through the rest of Illinois. I crossed the Mississippi River and made it to my parents’ house in Bettendorf, Iowa, where I grew up. I’m staying here for two days, and will continue the rest of the trip on Friday morning.

I’ll try to keep you all updated as I head on west!