10.01.10
We left my house on Friday night after work. Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er" got us started off on the right track. We got a bite to eat at Zoup! and headed down to York, PA. We found a crappy motel at nightfall and made a short trip to my college alma mater stopping at a Friendly's on the way back for ice cream.
10.02.10
We made the same trip in the morning where we discovered some kind of Fall Festival event happening at the college. By chance, I was able to meet with my old design professor and she was nice enough to give me a tour of the art and design facilities. I got some Nitrogen ice cream, and from there we headed to Baltimore, MD.
Upon arrival, we parked and walked along West 36th Street and discovered some interesting shops there: a lot of antique thrift stores and under-the-radar kind of shops. We lunched at a very hipster-ish place called Cafe Hon.
From there we enjoyed the sights provided by the Baltimore Museum of Art. I hadn't been to a museum since college, and it was refreshing to go to one without having to take notes the whole time. Greg later recalled this was probably his favorite part of the trip.
We said goodbye to Maryland and made the long journey to Front Royal, VA. We found another questionable motel and had enough time to catch a late movie. Luckily, we didn't opt to see an action movie because the theater, especially the speakers, was poop. But of what we could hear during The Social Network, we enjoyed very much.
10.03.10
I think we missed the free breakfast at the motel the next morning, so we opted for a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts. Then we anxiously headed to Shenandoah to take on Skyline Drive, a 105-mile national scenic byway among the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are a total of 75 overlooks where you can stop to take in the beauty. We certainly didn't do the whole thing, but the portion we did was just the right amount. The smooth, pothole-less, curvy roads were perfect for the little MG.
The Midget reached 77,777 miles on its odometer (how cool!) as we headed toward the tiny town of Luray.
There, we happened to drive by a small collection of other Midgets and found an odd, house-like brick-oven pizzeria for lunch. From there we headed back into Pennsylvania. We dined in Gettysburg (I think at a Friendly's again) and stayed the night at the most questionable motel yet.
10.04.10
Our luck ran out as we got hit with some rain for the remainder of the trip. After some shopping, which included Adidas purchases from both parties, we headed home.
For the almost 700-mile trip, I believe all I packed tool-wise was a mini toolkit, duct tape and some zip-ties. Luckily, all we needed to use was the duct tape to patch the convertible top during the Gettysburg rain. The Midget ran gloriously....from the 80mph speeds of Route 95 to navigating the confusing back roads of York to the rapidly ascending inclines of Skyline Drive. All we had to do was fill her up once in awhile and she served us well.
Above is a very rough overview of our route. Aside from some of the major highways, I don't remember what roads we took where. Greg had adopted navigation duties during the journey, and I can't recall now the specific routes we took
Greg and I are already in discussion for this year's trip. We may head West with a stop in Pittsburgh. Or maybe not. But we'll definitely do it over the summer instead of waiting for fall. Thanks to Greg, and the mighty Midget, for the fantastic memory!
