1,150 miles and 5 days later, I arrived in State College. I left a week ago last Friday and stopped for a few days in Chicago and Detroit each. Though each leg of the drive was managable, I'm glad its done.
I got the car loaded up a week ago last Thursday - it was riding pretty low with all the stuff I put in there. Even so, I was averaging over 40 mpg on the drive through Wisconsin. I made good time through WI all the way to Evan's place in Chicago. Somehow I managed to only get slightly lost and even nab a parking space near Evan's apparment. In Chicago, we ate at some cool little restaraunts, walked around downtown, visited the Modern Art Museum (a couple neat mini exhibits on modern materials and sustainable architechture), the Shed aquarium, and watched some football.
Michigan was a lot of fun too, despite the size of Detroit. People refer to Detroit as "Motor City," but only on this visit did I see how central cars are to the city. I felt as though there were several times as many auto dealerships there than any other city. While in Detroit, I stayed with Lynn and Zac on the north side of the city. Lynn and I took the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, ate dinner with our aunt and uncle, and then visited our grandparents. The factory tour was impressive - my favorite parts were the movie (it used a vibrating floor, hot air, and scents) and actually watching the trucks get assembled on the assembly line.
So I eventually got to my new place in State College. Sean and Marita, the couple whom I'm renting from, are very nice and outgoing. Its nice to walk into a house that is already functioning and live with people that are happy to lend the teaspoon full of sugar. I'm still waiting on some furniture from Ikea, but hopefully that will be here soon. Life is a bit quiet this weekend as I wait for the week to start and my advisor to return from Venezuela. I went for a run yesterday and got lost... what I intended to be a 15 minute run turned into a 40 minute excursion.
I posted some pictures of the house and my rooms as well as a few pics from the holidays with picassaweb. Enjoy.
