road trip

I can’t believe this is my 100th MIMM post! Thanks Katie for the link up.

It’s also officially less than a week until Christmas. Wow!! It has been cold but at least we will have a white Christmas this year which is perfect before I head off to Australia for summer.

So this post is a recap of my road trip so far as I am on my way to Chicago. Last Tuesday we finished packing up the apartment and officially moved out. Thursday I began my multi city journey home (to Chicago).

Thursday Dec 15

I’m taking my time getting to Chicago and finally had the chance to stop by Pittsburgh. I left Binghamton, NY around 7:30am for a long day of driving. What is mapped to be a 5.5 hour trip took me 7 hours. Though with stops, I did figure 6.5 hours would be about right. I left early to avoid the snow that was coming and also hoping I wasn’t driving into it. I think I ended up going far enough south that I didn’t hit too much.

Driving down 81 south was pretty much a breeze compared to the rest of the trip. It was pretty clear skies, roads were plowed, just some wind blown snow and the sun was even out for most of the drive. I was happy.

Then I turned west and was greeted by many signs warning of changing weather and possible white out conditions. Though I was reading the signs and looking at blue skies, it wasn’t long before I hit a bit of a white out heading west. Luckily it was quite short and I was able to breathe again as the snow cleared. Really it was hardly snowing. If anything, there were flurries, but the 20+ mph winds were blowing snow onto the roads again. I then hit a spot so clear, even the brown grass was showing. It became so sunny and my guess is either that area didn’t get much snow or the sun melted it away in combination with the wind carrying it away. I took advantage and drove 70+ mph when I could. When I was sure the roads were fairly dry and I was safe.

I did take multiple stops along the way, twice for bathroom stops and my one stop at a Panera was about 5 miles from the highway and added quite a bit of time to stop and get back on in the snowy conditions. I also got gas twice. In normal conditions, I could have made it on my one tank but as I was on US 22 and trying to go uphill with a quarter tank, my car was not sounding smooth and I decided to fill up. Afterwards, uphills went better. I know uphills drain the gas more too so I was glad I stopped. Luckily there were plenty of downhills to compensate, though I was not so much a fan of the hills.

About 7 hours of driving, since I arrived at 2:30 into Shadyside Pittsburgh and met Erin (The Almond Eater) at a cute coffee place. Though at one point I was hungry, I forgot as I sat down and Erin and I talked for an hour. Then she had to go and I checked into my AirBnB around the corner.

I was happy I decided on a cute mansion stay. Just over $100 with all the fees, still cheaper than many hotels in the Pittsburgh area and I get a beautifully decorated room that makes you feel way more at home than any hotel. The plus to it being Christmas season was having a little tree in my room and seeing the décor around the house as well.

I checked in and brought my bags up then headed back out to grab an early dinner. I checked out Shady Grove per Erin’s suggestion and got a wrap with fries. The fries were quite fried and I wasn’t a huge fan so I only ate some. Somehow I wasn’t starving despite skipping lunch, but when you are sitting and driving, you don’t burn too many calories, though I do feel as though I burn more due to anxiety.

After eating, I knew there were a couple bakeries on the street and decided to check one out and get a fudge cupcake. I brought it back with me and went inside for the evening to stay warm. My legs needed another layer as it was like 10 degrees, feels like -2 outside.

After inhaling my cupcake, I remembered I was behind on my yoga challenge and took a few photos around the room. Then I curled up and got warm, watching Fuller House on Netflix and then spending some time writing.

I love quiet evenings especially with it being so cold, but I was glad it wasn’t snowing in Pittsburgh. I would have walked around more, but the weather made it difficult and I knew I would walk around in the morning. At least I got 6,000 steps when I drove for most of the day.

Friday Dec 16

Friday morning I was awake by 7am. I enjoyed staying in bed for a while and then had a granola bar and got ready for the day. I stopped to get some tea which was super hot. Meanwhile it was super cold outside. Can’t win. I burned my tongue on the hot tea as usual. Then I took my tea for a walk to cool off and drank it before the barre class.

I had a good workout at The Barre Code and then walked back to my Airbnb. I packed up and headed to a breakfast place, Deluca’s in the strip district. I thought I would walk around a bit but it was cold and I don’t need to buy anything. So I ate at the counter at the diner, getting some pancakes and sausage. Then it was off to Ohio.

The 2 hour drive was fast and the roads were dry for most of the way. I arrived at 2:30 just as my aunt was picking up my cousin from school. I worked on a little project for her and then watched Netflix for a bit until I was picked up around 6 for dinner.

Since I haven’t had many big meals lately, I went all out. Salad, bread, bruschetta, chicken and even some chocolate cake for dessert. Wow it was the BIGGEST slice of chocolate cake I have ever seen!! We split it 3 ways and still brought some home.

By the time we got home, it was nearly 8. I took a shower and then relaxed on the couch watching tv and headed to bed around 10.

Saturday Dec 17

Based on the weather everywhere on Saturday, I would have been driving into the snow/ice/winter mix and that didn’t sound fun for a 6 hour plus drive. So I opted to stay another day at my aunt’s. Sunday was a better day for me to go to my friend’s anyway.

I brought my oatmeal and fixings for breakfast. I always come with breakfast. Then I taught some basic yoga moves to my aunt and challenged my cousin to a 60 second plank and he didn’t last.

Most of the day was spent hanging out at my aunt’s while she worked. I finished Fuller House, read and cuddled with the cats and did some yoga.

Sunday I made it to my friend’s house in Michigan around 3:30 and the drive overall was not that bad. I did hit some snow towards the end and passed my friend’s street because it wasn’t plowed so I didn’t recognize it as a street. Luckily I have my snow tires and they work so much better for this weather.

One more day in Michigan and then Chicago tomorrow.

Any snow by you?

Do you like road trips?

A couple weeks ago I went on a road trip with Brian. In this first recap, I am covering the places we went in New York State. Here’s where we went:

From Binghamton, NY –> Clayton –> Alexandria Bay –> Ogdensburg –> Tupper Lake –>Lake Placid, NY

I drove from Philadelphia to Binghamton and worked remotely for a day before we headed on our road trip. Our first stop on Tuesday July 19 was Clayton, NY. We arrived at noon which was perfect to find a place for lunch where I had a delicious burger. Then we headed to the Antique Boat Museum for a couple hours through the afternoon. I think the most interesting thing to me was the speed boats and how fast the records are. I can’t imagine riding on a boat traveling over 100 mph, let alone 200 mph.

Our next stop was Alexandria Bay. We walked around a bit but we decided we liked Clayton more. When I realized how close we were to Ogdensburg though, I decided to call my friend to see if she could meet for dinner. Luckily she was able to meet so we had a last minute dinner with my friend and her almost 3 year old son. I actually realized I have been able to see her once a year since graduation in 2012. In 2013, I made a trip to Buffalo for her baby shower, 2014 I was in town for a wedding and met up with her, 2015 I had a work trip in Buffalo and she was in town and since she has moved closer to Ogdensburg and I was able to see her there this year.

wheel pose yoga — a little yoga at a scenic view after Alexandria Bay

After dinner, we made our way to our final stop for the night, Tupper Lake. It took us nearly 12 hours to arrive to Tupper, which would have been a 5 hour drive without all our stops, but that was the fun of the road trip and planning as we went. It made the driving not seem so long as our longest part was 2.5 hours. This moon made the drive worth it too!

full moon — Full moon view on the way to Tupper Lake

The first night we headed right to bed and then we had a full day ahead around Tupper.

Wednesday morning was spent on Saranac Lake, getting a bit of the history of the camps (houses) on the lake by a family friend and then taking their boat out ourselves for a couple hours. We couldn’t believe how fast the morning went. We then went to find some lunch and ate at the park before heading to the Wild Center for a couple hours. The last time I had been to Tupper was back in 2010 and the Wild Center added a cool giant Tree House walk.

Thursday we spent the day in Lake Placid. We grabbed some lunch at the Green Goddess market which had delicious salads. There happened to be a cupcake place in the same plaza so that was a must to stop there. Their cupcakes were delicious but I think I loved the cookie dough cake pop the best.

We then did the Olympic tour as the winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid in 1932 and 1980. We started at the Ski jumps riding up to the top for the beautiful views.

Then we drove to the lunge track. We took a tour up to the top of the combined track which is known as the most dangerous lunge track so people from all over the world come to train on it for the winter Olympics. Obviously if you can conquer the most dangerous track, you are more prepared for the Olympics. Since the track isn’t in use until September/October, we were able to walk down the track which was pretty neat.

Of course I stopped to do some yoga on the track.

Next step was little Whiteface used for skiing in the winter. We took a gondola ride up there and it was quite a long ride, but great views up at the top. We waved over to the big Whiteface mountain where we were headed next.

Back down the gondola and we headed to drive up to Whiteface. Whiteface mountain is neat because you have the option to hike or drive up the mountain and then hike 1/5^th of a mile or take an elevator. Even though we were pretty tired, I wanted to do the 1/5^th of a mile hike. We had visited Whiteface 6 years ago and I was not in great shape back then so I remember the tiny hike seeming like forever. This time was much different as I was running ahead of Brian. Now, if the hike was longer, like over a mile, I probably would not have been leaping ahead, but when you see the top, you get excited!!

It was beautiful up there. Since it was like 90 degrees at ground level. It was around 60 degrees at the top of the mountain and it felt great.

whiteface mountain — A little flashback to 2010 and now, Whiteface even changed their sign lol

Side note: If you are a newer follower to my blog, I named it after starting to do wheel (what I called bridge) pose everywhere in 2011, hence all the wheel pictures.

After all the tours and fun, we headed to meet Brian’s parents at an event in Lake Placid. But before we arrived there, as we were driving down the mountain, there were 2 girls trying to get a ride. Brian decided to stop and ask how far they were headed and they parked at the bottom of the mountain and realized the climb was a bit too much for them so they needed a ride back down. It was quite the adventure, picking up 2 girls from Montreal and chatting about Canada and travel and languages as we were discussing French.

I love how much we just planned as we went through vacation. Thursday evening we decided to drive to Canada Friday instead of Saturday. We had a late dinner Thursday night with Brian’s parents and then headed back to Tupper to sleep.

Friday morning it was time to cross the border to Canada which will come in my next vacation recap post.

Have you ever been to upstate NY?

Do you like to plan vacations as you go?

To Pittsburgh and Beyond MIMM#100

July 2016 Roadtrip: New York State

From Binghamton, NY –> Clayton –> Alexandria Bay –> Ogdensburg –> Tupper Lake –>Lake Placid, NY