Day 3.24: Kent, OH to Syosset, NY

We got up early to leave by 9am. Aaron woke up to say goodbye just as we left, but Liz did not in fact join us for the farmer’s market. We got on the road for a long drive through the entire state of Pennsylvania, which took us hours. We did pass a sign for Punxsutawney, which got Arielle excited.

After passing many Sheetz locations, we finally found a Wawa and couldn’t have been more excited. We each got a banana cream smoothie and Arielle got her huge iced coffee. Abe ate the leftover tagine and we continued along, crossing into New Jersey, where we began to hit traffic. We slowly crossed the George Washington Bridge, entering New York, and miraculously made it to Long Island by 6:30pm.

We dropped our stuff off at the home of Pop-Pop, Abe’s grandfather, and went out with him to Butera’s, his preferred dining establishment. Arielle got an eggplant rollatini appetizer and a Caesar salad, and Abe got a steak.

For dessert, we enjoyed a chocolate chip pie to go with ice cream on the side (packaged tightly in a to-go container). We went back to the house and spent some time together before going to sleep.

Approximate number of miles covered: 461

Day 3.1: Katonah, NY to Kent, OH

After an extraordinarily productive yesterday during which we booked almost all our accommodations for this trip and our subsequent trip to Europe, we got up around 9am to pack up the last of our things. A relatively leisurely breakfast was followed by the swiftest, smoothest loading of the car that we’ve had yet. We can even see out the back window completely, which is really something, thanks to the absence of a large box, a third suitcase, a fourth duffel bag, and a third crate. Hopefully we have everything we need with us! We said goodbye to Abe’s parents and left their house around 12:30pm. Our first stop was at the local Goldberg’s Bagels, where we purchased a bialy with butter for Arielle to eat with a Pickle Guys sour pickle she had brought from home, a pumpernickel bagel with butter for Abe, and a half dozen everything bagels to bring to our hosts for the night.

We were already five hours ahead of the last time that we drove to Ohio on our first road trip last summer, which was a great start, and we mostly made good time en route. Unfortunately, we sat completely still for an hour on a single-lane stretch of 84 West in Pennsylvania due we think to an accident, and then finally started moving. We used the time well to watch some TV on Abe’s computer since the car was parked anyway!

The good news is that we managed to find a Wawa along our route, despite the fact that searches in Waze for Wawa pulled up locations of its far inferior Western PA competitor, Sheetz. Arielle got a 44-oz iced coffee, which she brilliantly split into two far more manageable 22-oz cups to store in the cupholders in the back seat, and Abe got a large Banana Cream Smoothie, once again available for only $3 thanks to the “Siptopia” promotion. We hit some very intense rain but also experienced some incredible skies full of clouds.

The fanciest restaurant we were able to find for over a hundred miles was a Ruby Tuesday located in Dubois, PA. Abe ordered an 8 oz. top sirloin with grilled zucchini and a baked potato on the side, and they even allowed us to add the unlimited garden bar for only $4, which Arielle had as her meal. It was a good find, and worthwhile to know that this chain is a decent option that’s not too pricey and has good vegetarian options, including two soups Arielle may try next time.

We got back on the road with over two and a half hours to go, and luckily didn’t hit any more traffic along the way, soon crossing into Ohio.

We weren’t too late to be greeted by Abe’s cousin, Aaron, who we had seen in Florida just three days earlier at the unveiling for their grandmother. He and his girlfriend, Liz, who had already gone to sleep due to an early morning the next day, have a lovely house in Kent, a nice college town. We brought our things in, socialized for a bit, and then went to bed after a long day of driving.

Approximate number of miles covered: 480

Day 2.65: Philadelphia, PA to Katonah, NY

We woke up for the final day of our trip, saying goodbye to Becca and Max before loading up our car for the last time. Our most crucial stop of the day was at a Wawa after we crossed into New Jersey, where we filled up on gas and purchased a few items for lunch. Arielle was delighted to get her iced coffee, and we used a free drink reward to get a lemonade. She got a hoagie with egg, cheese, and tomato, and Abe got a quesadilla to go with the banana cream smoothie he so enjoys.

We opted against taking the George Washington Bridge and instead followed our directions up to the Tappan Zee Bridge. The drive was very pretty, and we stopped for a bathroom break and to take in the view right at the New Jersey-New York border.

It only took another forty or so minutes to reach Abe’s parents’ house in Katonah, where we returned after last being there back in November. We brought in some of our stuff and enjoyed a leisurely evening adjusting to life off the road. We had a great dinner with Abe’s parents at Tengda, where Arielle split a sweet potato tempura roll with Nancy, in addition to getting a California Roll and garden salad, and Abe enjoyed the Thai Red Snapper with soy ginger broccoli on the side.

Thoroughly exhausted, we went to sleep, looking forward to staying in one place for at least a couple nights.

Approximate number of miles covered: 255

Day 2.64: Philadelphia, PA

We got up and talked a bit with Becca before heading out for the day to explore the city and take advantage of the nice weather. It only took about twenty minutes to get to Rittenhouse Square, which includes a beautiful park. Our first stop was at Goldie’s to try the famous tehina milkshakes. Arielle ordered the banana flavor, which she quickly got used to, though Abe discovered he didn’t like it after just two sips. Abe was excited about using his birthday credit from Sweetgreen, which was set to expire that day. His standard bowl with arugula, wild rice, tomatoes, sweet potato, raw corn, tortilla strips, and avocado was fantastic. Arielle got two pretzels and a dipping sauce from Philly Pretzel Factory to go along with her milkshake, and we sat and ate in Rittenhouse Park.

After lunch, we sought out a Smoothie King since Abe had seen signs all over nearly every restaurant about Ritual, with Smoothie King offering a discount option that would make a smoothie free! Unfortunately, we got pretty lost looking for it since it was in a mall and finally found it after about half an hour. Luckily, the people there were very nice and had stored it in a cold place while we were searching (which was especially great considering the Ritual app detected where we were and only transmitted the order when we were allegedly five minutes away so that it would be as fresh as possible).

We stopped to get a plain tehina shake to bring back for Becca and Max. Upon our arrival, we decided to go out to keep enjoying the nice day together, and sat on a rock right by the water with Becca and her dogs, Pippa and Paul, for a couple hours while Max went for a bike ride. Highlights included a girl who came over to ask about breeds for adoption and excitedly spent at least ten minutes going crazy over the dogs, thanking us repeatedly in a way that sounded like she was going to walk away, but remained; and Pippa wildly barking every time another dog came close.

We walked back to their apartment, changed for dinner, and took an Uber to Buddakan. This moderately upscale restaurant was a formidable experience. Our favorite part was the fire roasted edamame appetizer (hold the shellfish sauce). Arielle got the wok cashew chicken with tofu instead, and Abe got the black pepper beef. Everything was delicious.

We had a great time and then capped off the night by walking a few blocks to the Franklin Fountain to get ice cream. Abe got the Hydrox Cookie and Arielle got the Mint Chocolate Chip. It was great to be able to sit outside and eat.

We took an Uber back to the apartment and hung out for a bit before heading to bed.

Approximate number of miles covered: 8