I thought I was about to sleep in an asylum.

Turns out it was a school.

Uh. What?

Well, sort of. I actually slept in an awesome classroom, that has now been converted into a beautiful apartment shared by my friend Ben (a friend met on birthright in Israel in February) and his lovely girlfriend Jill (who has one of the best laughs I have ever heard - contagious). When I first walked into the building, the wide hallways and white walls had me convinced that I was about to sleep in some haunted, creepy asylum. Then I spotted the lockers, and saw the inside of their  apartment and loved it. It's just the right amount of quirk, that I love ever so much.


My ride yesterday was only about 6 hours, but I had still worked up a serious appetite (although, I did munch quite a bit on the snacks ma packed me - thanks!) so we went out to eat at Jill's suggestion of Double Wide Grill in Southside, Pittsburgh.  They had an awesome vegetarian/vegan menu, that made my taste-buds  and stomach very happy. The grill itself was pretty cool and quirky too. They had tons of outdoor seating, big screen TV's to watch last night's game on, and some old school gas pumps that were pretty nifty. We hung out for awhile while I wolfed down a BBQ seitan sandwich, and had a great conversation.

Today, I was originally planning on driving about ten and a half hours (UGH) to Madison, WI, but instead, I've decided to take my time cross country. I mean really, how often does one get to drive across the USofA? Not very. So I may as well enjoy it and see some of the sites (Ben says that since I've already seen the Pittsburgh schools, well, years ago, but they don't really change, do they?, ate at a Pittsburgh restaurant, and drove across a bridge to get to his place, I've "seen all the Pittsburgh sites").

So, instead of driving all the way to Madison, by Ben's suggestion, I'm going to drive to South Bend, Indiana and check out Notre Dame. Its only about 6 hours from here, so I'll have the afternoon to wander around the school (although, I bet the freshmen are moving in this week - so the place could be swarming with irritated kids and sobbing parents, could be interesting). I'm not sure where I'll be sleeping tonight, hopefully I hear back from some of the couchsurfers I messaged last night (if you don't know what couchsurfing is, check it out at couchsurfing.org!).

Since I've already said my goodbyes to Ben (see left and excuse my fresh out of the shower hair), and packed up - I'm on my way!