Nook on the Road: Niagara/A Few Other Places

I'm so sorry I stopped posting daily!! I got mastitis in Indiana and had chills and fever and pain and general misery and blogging was the last thing on my mind for a couple of days. Here's a quick update:

- Indiana is as boring as I always imagined it to be. At least, Northern Indiana on I-90 is. I did hear that Indiana has a cave somewhere, though. Maybe if I went and saw the cave, I'd have a different opinion.

- Pennysylvania's Hershey bars are way cooler than yours. Also, the Cracker Barrel we ate at in Erie had a vintage sign for "Nichol Kola", which raised the state in my esteem considerably. We also stayed at a Wingate hotel that was probably the nicest we've stayed in this entire trip.

- Cleveland is AWESOME. I never gave a second thought to the city beyond a general awareness of its existence until I saw it with my own eyes. Who would have thought? There is loads to do there. Todd and I loved it so much that we want to go back for a vacation sometime. We were only passing through so we only had about an hour and a half to spend, but we stopped at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. They also had a huge science center/NASA museum/giant ship docked that you can tour right next to the Rock Hall that I was dying to go see, but we just didn't have time. Todd also saw the field for the Cleveland Indians, which excited him because he loves them even more than he loves the Red Sox. Anyway. Cleveland! Completely rad! Go figure.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

- Our bikes continued to not get stolen! All of the bike thieves in the world must be safely back at Alcatraz. I am amazed. And grateful. And hoping that I can figure out how to extract them from the mess of top-security cable locks, nylon straps, and zip ties that are holding them on there with such a theft-preventing death grip in the first place.

Left: Boston, MA. Top right: Rochester, NY. Bottom right: LaPorte, IN.

- There is at least one other "Silver Shadow Pearl" (yes, that is the official name of the color of our car) Toyota Sienna XLE running around out there on I-90 with bikes on the back. See photographic evidence below. Our setup is of course far cooler and more impressive because of the aforementioned mess of theft prevention devices. And the crapload of stuff on top. And the glow of awesomeness that follows our particular Swagger Wagon everywhere it goes.

- Niagara Falls was exceptionally cool. We were there for four hours and even then didn't get to see and  do everything that we wanted to. This is another vacation spot we're going to have to hit again. The falls themselves are, of course, amazing, and unlike anything else. But there are cool boat tours, base climbing tours, observation towers, imax movies, trolley rides, and an entire state park island to explore. Not to mention the Canadian side, which I'm dying to see sometime. Go watch the video I made! (I shot and edited it 100% on my iPhone, by the way. iPhones rock.)

- We spent a day in Boston visiting old friends, which was awesome, though driving was a nightmare. (When we lived in Boston before, we didn't own a car, so the whole driving in the city thing was new to us.) Ran into a random street festival in Harvard Square while we were walking around looking for a Boloco at which to eat:

We did find the Cambridge Boloco, and it was every bit as delicious as I remembered. I had the teriyaki with chicken, as always. Yum. Brings the ol' "college days" right back, that's for sure! So did passing by and briefly stepping foot into Harvard Book Store, where I spent many, many, many hours and dollars in my Boston days.

Boston, you will always be my city. Way to go, being awesomer than all other cities. Heart.

- I-95 passes through all of 17 miles of New Hampshire. So, not much to report there. Besides the fact that New Hampshire is part of New England and thus, of course, rad.

Yay New England ^_^

- We made it to Maine! Cars and sanities and bikes entirely intact! Car interiors, boobs, and bank accounts slightly worse for the wear! 3,057 miles! DID YOU HEAR THAT, PEOPLE? 3,057 MILES! With babies and toddlers and assorted illnesses and semi trucks and music and Finding Nemo, and diapers and caves and bathroom breaks and hotel pools, and circus museums, and waterfalls. And peanut M&Ms. Many, many peanut M&Ms. And oh, it so, so good to be here. New England. In the fall. A clean slate, an empty notebook, a brand new start. SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS! WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!! WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maine: Open For Business