Day 2: Harrisburg, PA to Hartford, CT

Carly and I started the day thinking that it would be a piece of cake. Our first day went so smooth and we only had to drive 6 hours today, as apposed to the 9 hours we did yesterday. Well... we were completely wrong. Our day started with us locking the keys in the car while we were packing our suite cases. (That should have been our first clue about how the rest of the day would be. ) We got on the road shortly after... which was a task in and of itself. I believe we had to reroute 3 time before finding our way back to the correct freeway. On our way we took a detour to Philly for some Philly cheesecake. Once we were downtown we quickly realized parking was going to be a task. We found a parking garage near the restaurant and decided to park there. Upon entering the garage with both looked at each other in regard to how shady it was. The antenna on my truck kept hitting the pipes above and there were cars parked everywhere, making the pathways very small. Once I had parked, we made our way over to Jim's steaks. It was quite delicious! The workers were very funny and kind, and forgave us for our lack of knowledge when ordering/paying.

Here is where our day took a turn.... Trying to get out of Philly was awful! We spent probably a good 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get the New Jersey turnpike. It was a constant struggle of missing our turn and hitting re-route. Finally, we made our way to where we supposed to be. Once we had that figured out I stopped to get gas. I pulled up and a man come to the window, which immediately through us both off. He asked how he could help, and I assumed he was going to just take my money for the gas. Well, it turn out he was going to do everything for me. It was an interesting experience.

Eventually, while were driving we could see the skyline for new York City. We were very excited, and even took a little video. Little did we know that during the filming of this video we would completely miss our exit. This lead to another 30 minutes of being lost, in the city. They really need to work on there signs... there is nothing until the last moment you have to exit.

Shortly after finding out way to where we were supposed to be we hit traffic. it was stop and go for about 35 miles. However, after the stress of getting lost we didn't mind the slow pace. From there is was smooth sailing and we found our hotel. We were so happy to be there, we didn't want to leave. So we grabbed McDonalds and watched TV the rest of the night.

Day 1: Ferndale, MI to Harrisburg,PA

 We were on the road by 6 am this morning. The trip went surprisingly smooth the first day There was not a lot of traffic and it was smooth sailing on our 9 hour drive. We didn't make to many stops along the way, just food, gas, and bathroom breaks. We had our music blasting the entire time.

Ohio was, as everyone knows, flat and boring. I did all the driving and Carly did all the sleeping. Thanks goodness for coffee and bagels. 
What Carly, and I didn't realize was how thankful we would end up being thankful for the convenient service stations on the turnpike...

We entered Pennsylvania full of joy to be out of Ohio, and full bladders. We also realized quickly how confused the new area made us.  After we got through all the tolls, we had expect there to be a service station shortly after, so we could eat and go to the bathroom. However, we were sadly disappointed We drove for 20 minutes before we saw any signs for exits. We saw a sign for a service station, but failed to see where it was because we were so busy paying attention to the food that was there. After another 30 minutes, there was still no service station... Finally we found an exit for food! We were very happy to be fresh and replenished. It wasn't quite smooth sailing yet though. Carly took the wheel and were confused all over again... it took us several minutes to figure out how to get back on the turnpike. Finally, we were all set and back on the road.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we checked in and had a little rest. I found out about a zoo not to far from our hotel so we got ready to see the animals. It was in Hersey,PA. it was quite a cute little zoo, but very small. They had an interesting animals that we don't have at the Detroit Zoo though, which is nice. Out favorite animal was the ocelot. They were quite adorable and active. We also fell in love with there bear. From the zoo we headed out to find an interesting restaurant. We discovered a Chicago grill, hoping maybe for some Chicago style pizza. Unfortunately, pizza was not on there menu, but they had some delicious pasta. Now were sitting in the hotel room watching TV.

The plans to leave at 9 tomorrow morning and head toward Philly. We going to have lunch at Jim's Steaks, recommended by Rachel Ray. (Check it out: http://www.jimssteaks.com/index.html )

Welcome

Welcome to Adventures on Pumpkin Lane! This blog will document my adventure at my new job, Natures Classroom. Hopefully it will provide some good stories. The journey will begin on Wednesday when Carly and I set off on our road trip to Massachusetts. We are leaving at 6am,  which should be an adventure in itself getting Carly to get up that early. On our first day we will be driving 9 hours and heading towards Harrisburg, PA. Our only goal is to find fun attractions and good food at this point. We then head out on Thursday to Hartford, CT. Our plan is to stop in Philly on the way. From there we will part ways. Carly will set off on her first plane ride, and I will continue driving an hour before I arrive at 73 Pumpkin Lane.