There is not much at all to report on the day I spent after Chicago. For one, I stayed in Chicago in the morning because my check out wasn't until noon and I wanted to spend more time sight seeing. That day, May 31, I traveled to Cleveland. I had every intention on going to the rock-n-roll hall of fame. Unfortunately, the museum closed at 5:00pm and I didn't make it into town until right after 5:00pm. I did drive around town when I initially got there. Again, not much to report about Cleveland itself, but I did find something interesting. In the theater district in Cleveland, which they call "Playhouse Square", there was a HUGE chandelier that hangs in the intersection at 14th Street and Euclid Ave. I am upset that I did not take a picture of the chandelier. I later learned that it is the largest outdoor chandelier in North America. With that being said, it is cool to see, but not important enough to go out of your way to see it. This night, I didn't even go out to eat. I ate the second half of my sandwich from my lunch and the cookie that I was given the night before from "The Kitchen" in Chicago. So, I can't even speak on the food in Cleveland. I did speak to a couple that grew up in Cleveland, and they insisted the best things to do in Cleveland are to attend a baseball game and to enjoy Cedar Point. Cedar Point is a theme park that isn't even located in Cleveland, it is about an hour West of Cleveland. So basically, even people who are local to Cleveland spend their time outside of the city. This was the first night of my trip that I got a full eight hours of sleep. At this point in my trip, I really started to empathize with musicians and truckers who are constantly on the road. It definitely tires you out!
The only other thing I have to add about Ohio is the toll roads! I was aware that toll roads were commonplace outside of California, but, I figured they were only in major cities and more specifically states that are on the East Coast. This was a wrong assumption! I first experienced toll roads in Illinois, but so far, the state that I have spent the most on toll roads is Ohio! It was $15 to drive across the state of Ohio! I have purchased bus tickets from San Jose to Los Angeles that are cheaper than that! I absolutely cannot believe it. States with tolls have cheaper gas than California, but you have to pay just to drive down the highway so it probably evens out.
The next morning, June 1, I was really excited for my next adventure: Scranton, Pennsylvania. If you know me, you know that I am a big fan of The Office. Well, for those of you who don't know, the show takes place in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I had a list of things to do and see (the list was WAY too long for the amount of time I was able to spend in the city). Unfortunately, I woke up and did not feel well at all. So the amount of time I spent exploring was significantly less than I had hoped.
With this being said, I was completely underwhelmed by my experiences in Scranton. I know that the show was supposed to be set in an average American town, so I wasn't expecting the hustle and bustle of cities like Chicago. Scranton is the sixth most populated city in Pennsylvania, so I was hoping for at least a little spark. Before embarking on my trip, I read other blog entries from fans that totally glorified Scranton. I, on the other hand, would encourage others to visit another part of the state, especially if you are a solo traveler.
Pennsylvania was not all bad. It is arguably the prettiest state that I have driven through. The entire state is completely green and covered in trees.
Once I arrived in Scranton I was able to visit the Penn Paper Tower, which can be seen in The Office intro. I also saw the Electric City sign, but, unfortunately, I saw it during the day so all of the lights were off. As a side note, I learned that Scranton is called the Electric City because they were the first city in the United States to utilize an electric trolley as public transportation.
I did eat at Alfredo's Pizza Cafe, not to be confused with Pizza by Alfredo (Season 4 episode 3 "Launch Party" for reference) and was pleasantly surprised. The stop at Alfredo's Pizza Cafe was definitely my favorite part of the day. Alfredo's is aware that The Office fans stop by so they also have merch available. If you want a better variety of Office merch, though, you need to stop by Cooper's Seafood, which I did not make it to.
I also did not visit the "Scranton Welcomes You" sign (which can also be seen in The Office intro). The sign used to be located outside to welcome visitors as soon as they exited the interstate and entered the city. Because of the popularity from the show, the sign was bringing in a lot of traffic, so the city ended up moving the sign into the Steamtown Mall (the mall also appears in The Office). Unfortunately, the mall is mostly run down with little foot traffic, so it was closed before I was able to make it there. Additionally, I was hoping to enjoy a drink at Poor Richard's Pub which is also referenced and shown numerous times throughout the series. Since I did not feel 100% yesterday, I also decided to skip that stop on The Office tour.
Even though Scranton did not live up to my expectations, it was nice to have an early night to relax so that I could feel refreshed for the next day's adventure.
They must have “The Office” fan conventions there, right? Bet that would make it a lot more fun.
Now that Cleveland and Scranton are behind you, I suspect things will get better. Hope you are feeling better today and will enjoy Bangor.
I absolutely love reading about your travel adventures! The pictures make your journal come to life!