In the past week, I’ve managed to cross through a few states, explore some seriously cool corners of cool towns, and swoon over far too much street art (the real key to my heart). Let’s take a peek together.
I poked around the Antique District in Huntington, West Virginia and talked with some of the owners about how the area is changed — and what it’s actually like now. Huntington, the second-largest town in West Virginia, is known nationally for being one of the worst-hit cities by the opioid epidemic (although residents now are quick to tell you that they’re bouncing back and it should be known for so much more.)
Recognize those glasses? (If you’re remotely a fan of the MCU, you should!) It’s the little things while on the road.
And in this week’s episode of “most people are good,” my check engine light went on the morning I was supposed to drive from West Virginia to Pennsylvania for my next stop on this grand adventure. I visited/called a half dozen shops before one could squeeze me in, and the mechanic at this shop not only did a full check, but did it TWICE, and did it FOR FREE.
There were a few codes sparking as problems, but taking a look, he saw that there wasn’t actually an issue — they were just old codes the last mechanic never cleared out. He could’ve very easily made something out of nothing and taken advantage of the city girl from “not around here” who (very obviously) knows very little about cars, charging me hundreds of dollars to fix nonexistent problems, but instead he cleared them out, rechecked the whole system, and sent me on my way. The whole visit took less than a half hour.
I swear, I find good people everywhere. (And I feel so, so thankful about my car.)
With car fully checked out, I made my way to state number SEVEN (Pennsylvania!!) and as you can see — I could not be happier to be here.
My first stop was Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania (and a seriously pretty one at that!). I know you may get tired of hearing me say this in the coming weeks, but HOLY MOLY IS THE EAST HILLY(!!!). There were so many moments driving around this city (and trying to park in this city) where I muttered to myself some version of “Well Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
That said, the views led to views like this, which make it all worth it, right?
Just four words: pop punk meets karaoke. Can you imagine anything MORE PERFECT FOR ME?? (Probably not.)
And then, after exploring across the state, I’ve made my way to Philly for some exploring and cheesesteaks (obviously). Philadelphia is SO MUCH BIGGER than I expected and parking is a complete nightmare, but I’m really enjoying my time in this East Coast city. Tonight I’ll be poking around a few happy hours to chat with people who live here and get a sense of what makes this city tick.
Top of my list? How people really feel about supervised injection sites (like Safehouse), which offer a monitored place where people can use heroin and other injectable drugs. A judge just ruled that they don’t violate federal drug laws.
And then tomorrow, I move on to state NUMBER EIGHT(!!) and will be seeing my cousin in the city that never sleeps. I may not sleep, simply because of my excitement.
Until next time.
