Road Trip Days 6-7 (June 18-19): Pittsburgh and the drive to Chicago
States Traveled Through: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, & Illinois
Flickr Pictures: Pittsburgh and West Pictures
What's Playing in the Car:
Pittsburgh: Wiz Khalifa -- The Race
Cleveland: Kid Cudi -- Man on the Moon
Ah, as I was saying in my last post, home sweet home! I spent most of my day in Pittsburgh with my parents, cleaning out my car (I had brought home all my stuff from Philly), packing, and getting cleaned up (haircut and dentist). Oh and of course, had to see my grandma, whose '98 Toyota I am driving (thanks Grandma!) By the end of the day, I was all ready to embark on the midwestern leg of the trip! (-->)
Once you leave the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76 W), you can pretty much ride I-80 W all the way to California. Since I was coming from my home, I went up I-79 N towards Erie and crossed the Ohio border, where I picked up I-80 W. I'm going to be traveling along this historic road through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and into Colorado where, surprise!, I'll pick up I-76 W again. The great thing about driving through Ohio is that like Pennsylvania, it has rest stops all along its turnpike so you can fill gas, use the restroom, or grab a snack without having to exit the highway. For some reason, Ohio decided that this (-->)
is the ideal model for a rest stop, evidenced by the fact that every single one along the Ohio Turnpike (I-80 W) looks like this. I imagine a group of Ohioans building the first one, stepping back to admire their handiwork, and thinking, "Wow, now THIS is a rest stop." I stopped a couple times for bathroom breaks and was greeted with a "Go Steelers!" at each stop by random strangers because I was wearing a Steelers t-shirt. One thing that's amazing about Steeler nation is that anywhere in the US you go, you'll find a rabid cohort of Steeler fans, at this time of year, probably discussing the merits of Big Ben's offseason surgery ("Great to see Ben healthy. If Ben had been healthy last year, we woulda been on the Stairway to Seven. We beat Baltimore with Batch at QB, for cryin out loud! In my mind, we basically won the Super Bowl.") Why are there so many Steeler fans? It's probably a combination of the Steelers' success in the formative years of the NFL, the mass emigration from the Pittsburgh area when the steel industry waned, and the diehard nature of Steeler fans and their allegiance to the city of Pittsburgh. If you're not a Steeler fan, you're probably saying, "well, you're in Ohio, that's right next door." That's true, but believe me, you'll find Steeler fans in every nook and cranny of this country proudly sporting the Black and Gold.
is the ideal model for a rest stop, evidenced by the fact that every single one along the Ohio Turnpike (I-80 W) looks like this. I imagine a group of Ohioans building the first one, stepping back to admire their handiwork, and thinking, "Wow, now THIS is a rest stop." I stopped a couple times for bathroom breaks and was greeted with a "Go Steelers!" at each stop by random strangers because I was wearing a Steelers t-shirt. One thing that's amazing about Steeler nation is that anywhere in the US you go, you'll find a rabid cohort of Steeler fans, at this time of year, probably discussing the merits of Big Ben's offseason surgery ("Great to see Ben healthy. If Ben had been healthy last year, we woulda been on the Stairway to Seven. We beat Baltimore with Batch at QB, for cryin out loud! In my mind, we basically won the Super Bowl.") Why are there so many Steeler fans? It's probably a combination of the Steelers' success in the formative years of the NFL, the mass emigration from the Pittsburgh area when the steel industry waned, and the diehard nature of Steeler fans and their allegiance to the city of Pittsburgh. If you're not a Steeler fan, you're probably saying, "well, you're in Ohio, that's right next door." That's true, but believe me, you'll find Steeler fans in every nook and cranny of this country proudly sporting the Black and Gold.
After making my way out of Ohio (-->)
, Indiana was next. I've never had a great impression of Indiana and I don't really have a reason to change my opinion after driving through it this time. Granted, I've never spent any length of time here, but the scenery is mundane and Indianapolis is really the only place in the state that can be considered a reasonably-sized city. I decided to stop off in South Bend (-->) 
to take in the University of Notre Dame and I'm sorry Fighting Irish fans, but South Bend didn't do much to alter my perception of the state. Again, I didn't have time to see everything the town and this fine academic institution has to offer, but all in all, it was aesthetically underwhelming. Still, it was very cool to drive by Notre Dame Stadium and if you look closely, you can get a glimpse of Manti Te'o's girlfriend(-->) 
Finally, I crossed the Illinois state line and made it to Oak Brook, a suburb about 15 miles west of Chicago where my aunt and uncle live. I've got so many great memories of coming here as a kid and am glad it is part of my road trip!
PS -- If you're keeping track, I'm actually in Lincoln, Nebraska right now. I'm sorry that I'm behind on blogging -- next up will be posts about Chicago and Iowa (that state definitely deserves its own post, haha). I'm going to try to write those this evening from Denver! Seeya there!
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