So im watching true blood while typing this. I havent watched television in two and a half weeks. So despite the low quality television in front of me, I am distracted. But I figured I needed to let you all know where I am and where I have been. After leaving Texas, we spent the night with one of Justine's friends that she met in Ireland. She lives in mid town Memphis, and we went out to a local BBQ pit that had all the sorts of pulled chicken, pork, and turkey that represents the local flavors. It was very delicious eating, followed by a trip to a local ice cream parlor, that has also adopted an ingenious method of serving: self serve. You get your own soft serve ice cream, put on whatever toppings you want, then you pay by the weight. I'm bringing this great idea back with me to the northeast. If an environmental job doesnt pan out for me in the future, well I've got a great idea for a self-serve ice cream shop. Memphis also has a great waterfront district, with bluffs overlooking the Mississippi. We enjoyed our stay there for one night.
Next up was St. Louis, where Justine also had another friend from Ireland living there, working at Washington University. The drive to St. Louis from Memphis was of course boring. It's the midwest. What do you expect. I'm sorry if I'm hurting anyone's feelings by saying that the midwest is boring and empty, but it really is. Besides the cities, there's just not much there to catch your eye. But St. Louis is a great city in my opinion, with a nice downtown buisness district, and the Gateway arch of course, but also a delightful college feel around Washington U, with forest parks and a nice college bar area. We were treated to a nice apartment to sleep at, and spent a night out at a local bar playing darts and having a few beers with some of the local students. It was a grand time.
Now, we're in Chicago, staying with another of Justine's friends from Ireland (this has really been more of an Ireland reunion trip for her as of late, and now I'm the one along for the ride). She lives in Palatine, a suburb about an hour from the downtown Chicago section. Of course the drive from St. Louis to Chicago was one of the most boring 5 hour drives I've ever embarked on. Only the drive back east from here to Pa will probably be worse. We stopped twice, once for gas, and another time to switch drivers, at which point I jumped into the gas station bathroom and shaved my joe dirt facial hair so that I looked handsome. But again, Chicago is nice, and I'm looking forward to going downtown tomorrow to see all the touristy things, like the bean, and, well, whatever else there is to see. Tomorrow is my last day of the trip before my final drive home to Pennsylvania. I will have a few more posts after this one, but I hope you have all been enjoying this blog, as I am now winding down. I will have a recap of the whole trip after its all over with, so don't just stop reading the blog right away! stay tuned for stuff like: the bird trip list, and the secrets to making a successful cross country trip!
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