Week 3 Review, also overdue
Through the first 21 days I had driven 6,000 miles. In week 3, I spent four nights with friends and three nights in hotels.
- The Pro Football Hall of Fame was pretty much what you would expect it to be: some interesting stuff but not all that exciting. I think it’s good that they collect a lot of “artifacts” but I’ve never understood why someone would get excited to see the cleats somebody wore 25 years ago.
- Cleveland was much better than expected and Stuart gave me an excellent tour and was a fantastic host. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was more interesting than I expected. “The 500 Songs that Changed Rock” is an exhibit that I would love to see again. Also, check out the beers from Great Lakes Brewery if you get the chance.
- Cedar Point. Yes! Everything I wanted it to be. The new roller coaster they just opened this year, the Maverick, was practically perfect. I rode it just before leaving the park to drive to Grand Rapids and it left me smiling for hours. A bunch of other great rides as well. Check out my video of the Top Thrill Dragster.
- Grand Rapids… it was great to see Jordan. Also, Grand Haven State Park could be the best beach I’ve ever been to, shockingly.
- The Amish flea market in Shipshewana, Indiana, was huge and I picked up some cheap CDs but the highlight was definitely the soft pretzel. The Amish sure know how to make a soft pretzel.
- I didn’t spend much time in Chicago because I’ve been there before and I feel like I’ll be back soon but I did check out some great Frank Lloyd Wright houses in both Hyde Park and Oak Park. The home and studio tour in Oak Park was well worth the trip. It’s the first house (in the US? anywhere? not sure) with a family room and closets! Unfortunately they don’t allow photography inside. This is the Robie House in Hyde Park:
- The next day was a long one driving through Minneapolis, Fargo, and Bismarck. I obviously didn’t spend much time in any but I got to see some of the highlights of Minneapolis (no Mall of the Americas) and I got the sense that Fargo seems like a more interesting place than Bismarck despite Bismarck’s more interesting landscape.
- Deadwood, Sturgis, Rapid City and the Black Hills. Very cool. Didn’t want to gamble here but it looked nicer than I expected. Rapid City seemed like it had a lot going on and would be much easier to live in than I expected of a South Dakota town (about 100,000 people).
- The Badlands. Wow. By far the highlight of the trip to this point. It’s almost like you’ve reached the edge of the earth.
- Mount Rushmore is exactly what I expected. I had to stop there but it certainly wasn’t life changing.
I’m writing this from a campground with WiFi outside of Glacier National Park (incredible) and my laptop batter is about to die. More to come…
