gotta run

gotta run out so pictures are to come!!

At sit 'n' chat in Monroe before we left for Buffalo

First couple days... =)

Hi everyone! Jo pretty much said it all but I figured I would put a couple pictures up too. Erie was awesome... a big thank you to Gina for having us after moving in 3 days prior. She bought a house!! Can't wait to see it all finished. They were great hosts. Wilmington, as she said, really is a great town. Everyone here has such pride in where they are from and it was amazing to see first hand. I feel like I've been in a NYC bubble too long and that there is so much more out there...even though us arrogant new yorkers (or maybe just this arrogant new yorker) think we've seen it all. Everyone was very welcoming and had open arms to us throughout the evening. The best was when an older man called me a hippie. Never in my life would I consider myself a hippy but back in his day... this is what hippies did. (aka my parents haha) Anyway, I feel like I'm really learning a lot and it has been very eye opening to talk to locals all about their lives. My judgements of things that I know nothing about are being lifted and my mind is open. It's a pretty cool feeling. I didn't realize how much of a brat I was haha. So here are a couple pics, from buffalo and ohio. Didn't get our camera out once in Erie for no particular reason other than we just aren't used to having to take pictures all the time and forgot lol

Erie and Ohio

I think Rachel and I brought the wrong kind of zyrtec for our travels. I remember last year, taking the little allergy pill in the morning and receiving a nice little jump to my step and a remedy for my embarrassing, over exaggerated sneezes. Unfortunately,for this season and this bottle of Zyrtec, this is not the case. First of all I've spent over 15 minutes popping all the pills out of their child/joanna proof casings in order to save room and consolidate them into one bottle. Now every time we take them (which we have now made the joint decision to stop doing) we are absolutely useless to the world and cannot keep our eyes open. Where I'm going with this is... our last day in Buffalo and the ride to Erie, PA I sadly missed because I was asleep in the front seat. Rachel had to drive due to my Zyrtec- induced fatigue. In my head all this months I pictured this first drive away from parents and familiar faces to be full of fist-pumping excitement, woo-hooing and an uncontrolable state of euphoria that one would expect when embarking on such an adventure. Well I was just sleeping within then minutes and my woo-hooing was sinfully replaced with figuring out how to fold my sweatshirt comfortably under my head so that my head didn't bump up and down on top of the protruding door lock. Speaking of that door lock my friends... it has happened already. And as everyone would expect, it was completely my fault. Rachel and I both have keys to our car. I locked them both inside with one non chalant, I can't wait for breakfast movement. Both of them. Inside the car. All doors locked. In the parking lot of Tim Hortens In Erie, PA. After a very lovely evening with Gina and Dustin and a very fun dinner with this wonderful couple, we relaxed in front of the TV (one of my favorites) watching Bizzare Foods ( my other favorite!) and playing with cute small animals (must I say it?) All was going well on adventure so far and we were ready for anything! And then I locked the keys in the car. AAA (thanks mama and daddy popson) was there in half an hour and all was well. We got time to charge our phones and have a yummy breakfast. No harm done I say, and now this tiny hassle has taught us (and by us I mean me) a lesson and it shant happen again. We arrived in Wilmington Ohio at five in the evenening on Tuesday. It was so great to see Joni. She took us around her adorable town full of hopeful people and lots of individuals dedicated to service. The people here are fantastic and it was the perfect town and we had the perfect host to show us our first point of discovery; Wilmington, Ohio. I give the place two thumbs up for sure. In about an hour we will be heading for Grosse Pointe, Michigan to visit Emily and discover Detroit and Ann Arbor. My keys are now attached to my pants at all times with a Carabiner. -lj