Driving on a highway in detroit. Every car in every lane goes from 70 to 10 mph to watch someone getting arrested on side of road. Welcome back to america!

toronto

Tonight was a peculiar night. Toronto has been a very...interesting and intense experience. It has been nice being here, but there are some things that I can't change that break my heart.

Judging by all of the tim horton and niagara falls signs i think i'm getting close to canada. Won't have my phone on this weekend.

Good timez

Today was super!

Ate homemade bread w/ homemade apple butter for breakfast.
Found waterfall down the street.
Went to park, found more nature and waterfalls and hiking with Sarah.
Beer tasting at local brew-pub.
Explored downtown.
Played pool with the Beebs.
Helped to brew homemade beer!
Helped to bottle homemade beer! (scary)
Ate a delicious meal that was prepared by Beebs.
Conversation with Kevin about robot farmers.
Played poker.
Had dance party.


Weirded out how only some of the pictures that I post from my cell phone have that long message about how it was sent with Verizon. Some of them are regular. With no Verizon advertisement. Stupid.

Bottling beer tonight. Like a boss.

Epic waterfall!

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Ithacandoitattitude

Oh hey,
Here I am in Ithaca, NY. Drove through a blizzard today. Not impressed. This city is quite lovely though- looking forward to more exploring tomorrow. Waterfalls & downtown-area are on the agenda for the morning. Tonight we played games, ate Mexican food, and drank beverages. My CS host is very kind, and gave me her room. She is sleeping at her boyfriend's apartment. I am fairly sure that her cat will kill me when I fall asleep. In addition to being a cat, he is also a bear.

Scranton, pennsylvania :O

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Lots of snow on my drive to ithaca. Ew :(

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Chicago seems so small compared to nyc.

It took me a little while to notice that there are 5 people living in this apartment i'm staying in (including me). That is a large amount. One bathroom.

Fruit and coconut juice for snack time. The coconut juice tastes weird.

Spice girls video playing on the walls of mcdonalds in times square. unfortunately for me no free wireless internet here. but there are free bathrooms. redeemed... for now.

Finds way to central park. People are speaking to their dogs in forgein languages.

Couch new york style.

So many delicious pastries. It's a good thing that the girl i'm staying with is a pro at knowing the best coffee shops. I am working on plumping up for the summer. Also, just had dinner and drinks with my best friend from elementary school. It was pretty incredible. Haven't seen her in about 10 years... Mind is blown!

Leah ventures to manhattan via train! Excitement! Also- met many nice people in Queens today. And had tasty soup :D

Well i made it to new york. Driving is intense... Challenge accepted.

Update

It's officially Spring, yay :D

Much has happened in the last few days! On St. Patty's day I met my 1st CS host. She was super lovely, and the weather in Greenville was spectacular while I was there. We did lots-o-fun things while I was there. I ended up staying 2 nights. Played some ultimate frisbee with her friends on Saturday afternoon. I have been incredibly sore ever since. Starting to think it may be permanent...yikes! Some pics to share:

 brie/tomato melt w/ homemade bean salad. so so good.

bunk bed hammocks and chocolate wine!

we dance and point after ultimate, it's what people do.

outside lookin good.

Leah makes people pose! 

Bubble chairs at the tipsy teapot.

Bah - I am have so many pictures from my adventures! Will share more of them soon. Hung out with Reed last night/today. It was nice :) Tonight was super uneventful, however. I drove, was tired, now am in a somewhat shady hotel between Baltimore & Philadelphia. I was going to drive out to Atlantic City tonight, but at some point I changed my mind. Too hard to stay awake. Only about a 3 hour drive from here to NYC - I am psyched! Gotta sleep now, checkout is in 7 hours. Yoiks!

I forgot that maryland is a state. Now i'm driving thru it... Sorry tiny state.

FWD:

Tonight i am sleeping the futon i had in college that now lives in my brother's apartment. It's a little bit amazing/super uncomfortable. Ah the circle of life.

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At a college party with my brother. Fucking amazing. And i feel a little old.

Hat

I got a new hat. I enjoy it. Like a hipster narcissist I have taken 2 pictures of myself (on my mac) wearing it in a used book store. Haha.

It is useful for covering up my unwashed mane. I feel that it helps me to blend in with the locals. Like, "Hey - it's just me Leah. Hanging out as usual. With ma hat on. No biggie, just doing the stuff I usually do in town."

Awesome night. I'm pretty damn lucky. Except for the fact that it's 5 am and i'm just going to sleep. But that's ok too.

In a cutest little bookstore cafe <3

On my way to meet my 1st couch surfing host! Excited/nervous! :D

Driving through n carolina on I-40 is so ridiculously beautiful.

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I think i'm exactly where i'm meant to be at this point in my life. I can't remember the last time i've been this happy for such an extended period of time.

Street

This is the street around the corner from my hostel. It's pretty cute. In real life you can see the mountains in the background better. I bought a hat and a ring today. Good decisions. Also hung out with a guy for  a few hours who showed me around. He had great hair, and his name is Bert.

Bert gives the saxophone man a dollar. He was playing The Beatles. And he was amazing.

Occurrence

While driving to Asheville, NC from Atlanta I found myself to be a little bit fatigued. Like a responsible driver, I pulled into a rest area where I snuggled up with my blanket for a nap. I had turned off my car/locked the doors, but forgot one little detail: to turn off my headlights.

I had only planned to nap for about 30-40 minutes, but it turned into an hour and a half ordeal. When I finally decided it was time to pee & leave, my friggin car would not start. You know why? The battery was dead! Yup, good ol' me leaving the headlights on to shine in on the picnic area while I'm enjoying snoozefest 2011.

After I finally realized what had happened (it took longer than you might think - I was newly awake and easily confused), I looked around for someone to ask for help. Unfortunately there was slim pickins. But I walked up to the nearest car which contained a middle aged man reclined in his seat. He opened the window when I waved, and I asked if he had jumper cables. To my DELIGHT he said, "As a matter of fact, I do!" He pointed to a duffle bag on his passenger seat and drove over to my car. He said he'd just cleaned out his garage and found them, so he decided to put them in his car. PERFECT TIMING! We both decided that it was meant to be. Fate if you will.

Unfortunately for both of us it took a long ass time to charge my battery. For a while I thought it was dead forever. Then my windshield wipers started to twitch and I knew things were on their way. Paul (as he later introduced himself to me), showed me how to use the jumper cables - this is maybe the 4th time I've learned how to do it in my life. I seem to forget every single time.

Once my car was started I thanked him a lot, and he said I might need a new car battery because mine took so long to charge. Then he gave me his jumper cables! I know! He noticed I was from out of state, and said since I was on such a long trip I should have them in case of an emergency. What a nice fellow :) Thank you Paul.

In other news I am currently snuggled up in my bed at a hostel in Asheville. It wasn't my first choice, but I think I like it now. It's the fanciest hostel I've ever stayed in I think! It's called Sweet Peas Hostel and it's right in the downtown area which I like. I'll probably be staying here tonight and tomorrow. One of the things I like about staying in a hostel vs. a hotel or motel is that I get to meet fun/interesting traveling folks. Plus, it's relatively cheap. I didn't go on this road trip to hang out alone in a hotel room - duh.

Here is my bed! It's called a "pod". I don't know why. The light is burnt out in my pod. I don't like that.

This place is so much neater/cleaner than the hostels I stayed at in Australia. But they had their charm.

Anyway, even thought I didn't get to Asheville til like 8:30 tonight I love it already. I checked in to the hostel, chatted with some girls from Massachusetts, then ventured off to see what was going on around here. Everything is so cute - the bars, the restaurants, the streets, the shops, the cafes, everything! I can't wait to see it during the day. I had the most delicious salad of my life tonight: It had "mixed greens", grapefruit slices, avocado, and some ridiculously tasty vinaigrette. Holy crap it was incredible.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some walking around downtown Asheville, maybe go hiking, and find some cute stores/restaurants/cafes to go into. Of course I'll take some pictures as well.

It's getting close to 4 a.m. Yikes! Time for bed. Glad they gave me some ear plugs to wear because I have a feeling that this curtain isn't going to block much/any noise from people getting up early in the morning. Maybe someone will make me coffee.

I am so content right now :) In the last week I think I've really become a better version of myself. I'm diggin it.

The worst song/music video of all time

Workin 9 to 5

My cousin's girlfriend Stacy didn't go to work yesterday. But she was bragging about all of the things she was doing at home. (Unloading the dishwasher, giving the dogs water, taking out the trash, making tea/coffee, and making lunch). She thought she was pretty hot shit. So I made this video to send to my cousin while she was at work. Both Stacy and I are very proud of it:
It's very important to have the sound on while viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy9AOyWzg14

Holy cow this is delicious. And it's 100% juice. That seems like a lot. *post sent via mobile device.

Music

Joss Stone you just went up a couple of pegs in my book. Here's the link to her quick interview about music piracy:

http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/joss_stone_on_music_piracy

I've been trying really hard to remember what her 1st single in the U.S. was...but I just can't seem to. Meh - off to pack my stuff up & hit the road :D

Phone pics

I occasionally do a photo dump of all the pictures on my phone. Because when I have 500 pics on there it is so damn slow that I can't do anything.  So now I transfer many of them to my computer where I can look at them in a regular size and they aren't gettin busy with my phone anymore. Came across a few pics from my trip that I thought I should post! Yay!

1: this book is awesome. had a lot to do with me wanting to take my trip.

2: these windmills off of highway 65 between chicago and indy freak the shit out of me. there are a billion of them for as far as you can see for several miles downs the road. wtf. they are also scary at night.

3: got a chip in my windshield between cincinnati and nashville :( totally bummed because i just got a new windshield 2 months ago! the good news is that i got it fixed, and insurance covered it. when the rock hit the windshield i was about 99% sure i was getting shot at...in louisville kentucky lol.

4: this is my bed(room) in atlanta. it's awesome! i have a feeling that once i leave here my sleeping arrangements won't be quite this nice and i won't have people paying for all my food anymore...oh well - it's fun while it's lasting!

5: meet peyton. she is one of my cousin's 2 dogs. and she's friggin adorable - but a little emo.

6: this is my cousin's mini cooper that we drove to destin, fl in. drove most of the way there with the top up, but once we got to florida we took it off and were cruisin...with hats on. haha on our way back from destin to florida we had the top down for the whole 5 and a half hours. i proceeded to get good and sun burned :P

7: doofusy lookin picture of me in the coop

What a nice trip down memory lane!

Places I've been to on my trip:

Cincinnati, Ohio

Nashville, Tennessee

Atlanta, Georgia

Destin, Florida

Places left to go to:

Asheville, North Carolina

Greenville, North Carolina

Charlottesville, Virginia

Atlantic City, New Jersey

New York, New York

Ithaca, New York

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tomorrow I leave for Asheville! I am excited and nervous. Every place I've visited to so far I have been to already & know people there. Now starts the portion of my journey where I kind of play everything by ear and start making new friends...wish me luck!

Hotlanta

It has been so long since I've been in a place where the weather is warm. It is the best. Seriously, it's so much harder to be sad when it's not fucking frigid like it has been in Chicago! I love when the sun's up, it's 75+ degrees, and the ocean is right in MY FACE. Moving somewhere warm is in my near future. I will possibly go to Nashville if I can get a job with Lauren. My cousin in Tampa, FL offered me a job, but....Tampa kind of sucks. It's fine to visit, but would be lame to live there. Destin is okay, a little bit more laid back, but some places are just way too touristy to enjoy living there.

Anyway - tonight I'm staying in Atlanta with my cousins. They are super healthy. So I keep eating piles of vegetables with them. It's kind of nice...I feel less like crap than usual. After our late dinner at 9:30 tonight we got in the jacuzzi outside and drank a beer. I loved it.

This past weekend was so much fun. Some drinking, some bonding, dancing, meeting new people, nicknames, inside jokes, the beach, walking, sunshine, games, cigarettes, convertibles, mini sunburns.

:]
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Sleepin in a cute lil fold up bed tonight at my cousins house in destin, florida. Had an awesome night and fantastic birthday days :)

I think my passenger seat is getting a little out of control...

And the gigantic spider... *post sent via mobile device.

Couch numero uno
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The new map

With a few recent revisions, I think this is going to be my new route. Added a spot in northern Florida where I'll go with my cousin, took out Myrtle Beach, added Philadelphia PA, and Syracuse NY. Whoop whoop!

I love trail mix

Tomorrow I leave!

I am excited/nervous. Unfortunately I got sick in the past couple of days, so working on my last minute plans has been extra unpleasant. Oh well. Tonight I have to pack, do some cleaning, and send out a few more emails. I have been trying to plan a surprise party and this road trip, and it's too much planning for me!

I'm currently downloading a whole bunch of random podcasts, as well as ones that were recommended to me. That should keep me nice and occupied, especially when I get sick of listening to music.

Is it possible to have a healthy friends with benefits type relationship? Or is that just delusional type thinking? I have a feeling I know the answer. Ugh.

This is where I'll be at the end of this week:
Ahhhhhh can't wait :)

The trip, in some detail

As of now, this is my route. It's 3,500 miles. 12 stops: Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, Asheville, Atlanta, Myrtle Beach, Greenville, Charlottesville, New York City, Boston, Toronto, Ann Arbor.

Average time driving between each place is about 5 or 6 hours. Going from Indy to Cincinnati is only 2, but driving from Boston to Toronto is about 10. I'm thinking that I should add a pit stop in there somewhere mid NY.

The only 2 places I haven't emailed someone about staying there are Myrtle Beach & Boston. I'll do that today. I might re-think stopping in Myrtle Beach, but not 100% sure yet.

I'll be spending about $500 in gas on this trip (that's what I've budgeted for). I think I'll bring a little envelope to keep all of my receipts in from this trip so I can know exactly how much I spent. Then again, I can just look at my bank account and that will tell me, haha. Yikes!

I'm actually getting really excited about this whole thing :) I will try to leave on either the 7th or 8th (Monday or Tuesday) and then come back on March 29th.  3 weeks!

Panera

Friday night- hidden in a corner of panera. Planning road trip no distractions! Except for  high school kids sitting near me talking about their favorite celebrities. Yikes. *post sent via mobile device

Jenna Marbles

Woah, came across this today randomly on Facebook. Almost didn't get past the first 30 seconds of the video because this girl was making me crazy, but I think I like her now.


This is her blog: http://www.stoollala.com/
Pretty entertaining.

The next day

Thinking about what happened last night makes me want to throw up. Two drunk people should not be allowed to make important decisions. Alcohol has not been my friend lately.

Made some oatmeal cookies last night, they are tasty. There are 2 sticks of butter in them.

Going downtown this evening for a late dinner with friends. Will bring cookies!

I need to get the ball rolling on this road trip. I finally told my mom about it, she is...hesitant.
Emailing/calling people today!

Busy day

Today, so many things to do!

- Finalize road trip plans
- Email people about staying with them during my road trip
- Clean room/bathroom
- Grocery shopping
- Laundry
- Make food for thing tomorrow
- Clean out car
- Find iPod!
- Make dinner?
- Put new pictures on Facebook

It begins

First day of March, I will be 25 in 9 days. WHAT? I would like to buy a cute dress in celebration. I think that this dress is lovely, but unfortunately does not exist in my size. I will continue to look.

Went to the doctor today, that's always fun. Then ate Jimmy John's. In fact, I still have half of my sandwich waiting for me in the fridge. Making a mental note to eat that when I'm done here...

After speaking to Sunny this evening, I think that Indianapolis will be the first stop on my road trip! Great! I will either leave on Thursday or Saturday. I suppose it would be polite to tell my cousin in advance that I'd like to stay with her in Atlanta.

I made a salad tonight that was rather (unexpectedly) tasty.
Cabbage, Radish, and Cucumber Pressed Salad. I didn't have ALL of the "required" ingredients, so the radish was replaced with turnip, and the shallots were just onions. It worked out fine. Making healthy food is super satisfying to me.