Ain't No Party like A Scranton Party....

I don't believe there has ever been anyone so excited to go to Scranton.



We stopped by to visit with Sr. Lenore- She gave us a great tour of the Marywood Campus, which was beautiful! Here we are in front of St. Alphonsus, one of the founders of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:



A wonderful poster on the door of the Director of Social Justice:


Sr. Lenore's new chair... in classy "merlot"!



And the most fun place we ate on the whole trip- Cooper's seafood, in downtown Scranton. For you Office fans, this is one of Kevin's favorite restaurants.



And of course.... Penn. Paper & Supply.

Oh Say Corn You See!

Nebraska




Iowa



Michigan




Indiana



Ohio

Truckin'

Well, we didn't see the "World's Biggest" anything today...too busy DRIVING! We did about 460 miles after getting a late-ish start. We did a quick tour of downtown Joliet, Illinois but there wasn't much to see. Since Interstate 80/90 in Indiana and Ohio are toll roads, it's kind of hard to get on and off, and it's hard to find anything really interesting near the road.

We did take a quick detour into Sturgis, Michigan to see Great- Great Grandma Emma Ginther's house




and took a short walk/drive through downtown Sturgis




then lunch at the Sturgis Dairy Queen



We spent the rest of the day driving through Indiana, Ohio and then on in to Pennsylvania. We hit our first bad weather in Ohio (heavy rain), but made it through to fight on another day.

Tomorrow it's off to Scranton, hopefully to see Sr. Lenore and the Dunder Mifflin Company (Rachel wants to drop off her resume there).

"The World's Largest (insert tourist attraction here)"

World's Largest Wooden Nickel (and no, we didn't take it)














Iowa is very corn-y, but "as high as an elephant's eye"? "Eye" think not!













The World's Largest Truck Stop (we had to go; 'nuf said)
































































World's Biggest Coffee Pot



















Rachel at the Texas Roadhouse, Joliet, IL















Jake and Elwood, Rachel and Sue, Texas Roadhouse, IL








You can tell we're tired by how short the posts are getting... Anyways, Iowa has it's nice spots but all in all I was glad to get out of there. I've also had to adjust my list of must-sees, since we didn't get to the Salt Lake, Jessie's out of town and we're traveling north of the Albino Squirrel Mecca. I guess at this point I'm most looking forward to Scranton on Saturday. I'm going to try and find Dunder Mifflin ;)

Talk to y'all lata... Gobama!

Bye Wyoming

Said goodbye to Wyoming today. I really liked Wyoming; it was gorgeous and Laramie was beautiful and everyone was riding bikes. But we needed to hit the road early today so...


















Saw the "giant" statue of the Virgin Mary....
we'll let you judge the validity of that statement




















At Buffalo Bill's Fort Cody, Ft. Platt, NE














Buffalo Rachel


































100+ year old whiskey...





















2 Headed Calf




















And the world's biggest plow
















These were very Sod People....


























Yet another landlocked lighthouse....










Tomorrow it's off to Iowa and Illinois...I think the "World's Biggest Pot of Coffee" is on the menu...no seriously, we're going to see the World's Biggest Pot of Coffee...

A Fork in the Road

We got an earlier start today..around 8:00am. We had breakfast here

Wyoming is beautiful, and constantly changing

The Lincoln Monument on Interstate 80


Giant Copper Lincoln Head overlooking Interstate 80


Giant copper T Rex in Laramie at University of Wyoming

Tomorrow, it's off to Omaha and the "World's Largest Plow"...whoo hoo!

Fear and Loathing

Las Vegas is not one of my favorite places, and the sooner we could get out of it, the better. The Luxor was more rundown than I remembered it, and the casino is really one of the saddest places I've ever seen. By the time we were able to get our act together, it was 9:30am. We drove for hours by landscapes that resembled the surface of the moon. The relatively few miles we drove through Arizona was a little more interesting.



Hopefully tomorrow we'll make up a little time....I really want to see the "Giant Head of Abraham Lincoln" in Laramie, having missed the "100 year old Pioneer Fruitcake" on the way up through Utah.

Leaving Las Vegas

So, today I did it: I pulled a 'Peter' and got out of my boat to walk on the proverbial water. Yes, today I left Las Vegas for greener pastures back east (both literal and figurative). Last night we stayed at the Luxor (which, at $67/night was WAY overpriced, that place sucks!) and headed out with a bit of sadness on my part. I'll be back to visit often, definitely.


Got a fair amount of driving done, not as much as maybe we could have, but pretty good for the first day out. Didn't get to see the lake- we didn't realize that Utah is an hour later than Nevada- but we are planning an early start tomorrow and we'll see it then. BUT, we did get to see (drumroll) a landlocked lighthouse.



When I first heard mention of it, I felt a twinge of sadness and sympathy... I mean, a land-locked lighthouse? A stamp with no glue, carrot with no stew, cat with no mew. But once mine eyes beheld it's magnificence, I understood: This is important. This means something.

I wasn't able to find much on who would build such an icon and under the duress of what mischievous spirit, all I was able to find was the minutes of a Ceder City, UT Planning Commission meeting, in which one member of the body asserted that "...The lighthouse is considered a sign."

It is, it truly is. To all those seeking safe harbor, it declares "PROVIDENCE".

Unless he meant that it was a sign like a billboard. That would not be romantic.

We also drove through a cool rock passage:
















That was Mom's favorite part.
















Goodnight!

Sue and Rachel's Most Excellent Adventure

Today we're leaving Las Vegas and driving north on I-15 through Utah to salt Lake City. The three sights I want to see on this trip are as follows:

1. The Salt Lake
2. Jessie and her gigantic glinting diamond!
3. The Mecca of Albino Squirrels

So hopefully I'll be able to check no. 1 off my list today.

~Rachel

So, this is the public record of me stepping out of my comfort zone and venturing out onto the open road. We'll try to keep this blog up to date as we go along. Luckily, Rachel will be stepping into Steve's role of "Internet Guru", as I have no clue what I'm doing with this blogging nonsense. Our goal is to make it to the east coast within 5 days or so, stopping along the way to see the kitschy side of America....we'll see how that goes. Stay tuned...
~Sue


View Larger Map

Here's a map still in the production phase. Hopefully it will show the route we're taking, with points along the way of where we stop.