dromomaniacom

[dromomaniacom]

ROAD TRIP PART ONE - ON THE ROAD FROM BOSTON TO NIAGARA FALLS

I had a fool proof plan for this road trip. I meticulously plan every trip I go on. It's actually to the point of being a fault. I make a BINDER for god's sake. With PAGE PROTECTORS. It's the Virgo in me. The plan was to pick up the car Thursday afternoon, pack it up and be asleep by 4PM. I'd get a good 8 hours of sleep and get on the road by 2AM, fully rested and prepared for the 13.5 hour drive ahead of me.

After packing some last minute forgotten items and getting everything into the car (4 bags, plus a cooler of food and drinks...overpacking is my other downfall) I didn't end up getting to sleep until after 5PM. Not a big deal, I'd just push everything back an hour and still get a nice long rest. Right?

Wrong. I woke up a 9PM and couldn't get back to sleep. Crud. I even put on a Ken Burns documentary of the Civil War. History always puts me to sleep. But that wouldn't even work this time. I was awake.

After weighing my options, as going back to sleep with clearly being vetoed by my body, I decided to just take a nice long shower and hit the road. I mean, I was wide awake now. So a little after midnight I was jumping on I-90 W blasting Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son" (a nod to Dean Winchester and Supernatural...I'm a nerd), and excited for my journey.

On the agenda for today's part of the journey was to drive from Boston to Cincinnati. Roughly a 13.5 hour drive according to Google Maps. Despite many of my friends telling me this could not (or should not) be done in one haul, I was hellbent on proving them wrong. Also I had pre-payed for a hotel in Covington via hotwire.com and I was not going to let that go to waste.

I decided to take I-90 W instead of I-95 S to avoid going through the New York City metro area. It's roughly the same distance, anyway. Since I would be driving across the state into Buffalo, I would be stopping at Niagara Falls. So that would be my first real stop.

It rained most of the way - sometimes drizzling and sometimes pouring. Occasionally there would be a few precious moment of no precipitation. Of course, when I imagined my road trip it would perfect; there was no rain involved, so this was kind of a downer.

I drove across Massachusetts and at exactly 3AM, I cheered loudly as I saw the sign that read:

LEAVING MASSACHUSETTS COME BACK SOON

And then moments later....

ENTERING NEW YORK THE EMPIRE STATE

One state down, three to go! This was easy!

I stopped for the first time about 150 miles outside of Buffalo at the Chittenango Service Area. There are several reasons I stopped at this particular service area.

1. I was down to a quarter tank of gas and the next "service area" wasn't for another 45 miles. In retrospect, I definitely could have made it but at this point I wasn't too familiar with the car (which, by the way, is a 2013 Dodge Charger that I have affectionately named Chargles) and didn't want to risk it. 2. I had to pee real bad. 3. It advertised a Starbucks and I NEEDED coffee. I had picked up a Starbucks Doubleshot before I left Massachusetts but that was long gone. 4. Chittenango is a REALLY fun name.

Running through the rain into the travel center, dreaming of a deliciously overpriced iced coffee, I was disappointed to find that the Starbucks was closed (of course it was - it was 5:30 in the morning). So I braced myself for a dirty truck stop bathroom, strode through the door and found... a very nice, very clean, normal looking bathroom. There were even fresh flowers over every sink! Hats off to whoever is running the Chittenango Service Area.

I filled the tank and got back on the road. At this point I decided to try out cruise control. I've always had this irrational fear of cruise control. For some reason in my mind, I pictured myself turning it on and not being able to turn it off. Then I slam into the back of an oil truck going 80 mph, it blows up, I die a fiery death, and its a whole big mess. Not only did that NOT happen, but once I figured out how to use it, I couldn't imagine NOT using it. I truly don't believe I would have made it to Cincinnati without it. It was a DREAM. I would like to meet whoever invented cruise control and SHAKE HIS HAND.

I arrived at Niagara Falls at 8AM.

The sun had risen only a couple hours ago and there was barely anyone there besides what must have been the two oldest women in America (wo)manning the information booth and a couple of joggers. Imagine using Niagara Falls as your morning jogging path? How beautiful is that?

I walked down the path to the rapids, glad to be walking around after hours upon hours in the car. I spent some time with the beauty of the river - even though the rapids were loud and the water was violently rushing toward the Falls, it was somehow still tranquil. I headed over to the Falls and it was gorgeous. Breathtaking. I stood there watching the water mist for awhile. It was beautiful.

To be honest, halfway through New York I had questioned if I should just skip this detour and continue my journey. I am so thankful that I stopped. It was nice to stretch my legs, walk around the park, and see one of the most beautiful sights in America.

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT STOP: CINCINNATI!

#Travel #Road trip #america #niagara falls #cincinnati #travel blog #dromomaniac #dromomania #dromomaniac.com

[dromomaniacom]

Countdown To Birthday Road Trip

In a little over a week I will be leaving on my first ever road trip. I will be turning 26 on the 18th of the month, so this trip is my birthday present to myself, a jumping off point on my pledge to go on more adventures. I’ve wanted to go on a road trip for YEARS and I’ve never been able to get around to it, so I’m INSANELY excited. I’ve been working crazy hours at work to save up enough money to fund the trip (I’m still not quite there…eek!) and I’ve been doing a lot of planning.

  On Thursday afternoon I will pick up my rental car and pack it full of everything I will need on my journey. Then it’s straight to bed so I can get an early start on my drive. I would like to leave by midnight, but depending on when I can get everything done, 3AM is the latest I will leave.

  Friday is my long driving day – first up to conquer on the map is driving from my house in Braintree, MA to Covington, KY, just south of Cincinnati. I’ll be taking 90-W and going over towards Buffalo and then down toward Cincinnati instead of going 95-S through New York City and Jersey. It only adds about a half hour to the drive and I get to stop mid-way through the day to see Niagara Falls!! I’ve never been there before, and while I hear the Canadian side is MUCH better, I’ll stop for a bit at the New York side just to see it. If I have time, I also want to stop in to Anchor Bar in Buffalo, home of the original Buffalo Wings. Then it’s straight down to Covington!

   In the summer of 2007, I moved to Covington and lived with four of my best friends….in a one bedroom apartment (which is a story in itself). We lived right in the middle Mainstrasse Village, several blocks consisting of shops, restaurants and – most important to our summer – bars. I could write a full blown novel about my summer in Kentucky (not a bad idea….) but suffice it to say it was the best summer of my life and I met some of my favorite people who are still a part of my life today and mean the world to me. I’ve gone back to the Mainstrasse several times a year since 2007, and it still feels like my second home.

  Saturday night I’ll be having my first of several birthday parties at Strasse Haus and the other bars around the area. I will definitely need a couple of stiff drinks and good friends after my long drive!!

  I’ll be in Covington for the weekend before I pack up Monday morning and head down to Nashville! I went to school in Nashville for three years at Belmont University. While there I met three girls (Crystal, Katelin, & Katy) (Angela, I’m not forgetting you, I just didn’t meet you at Belmont! Lucky you!) who would become my best friends, my family, my sisters. Katy and Katelin are still in Nashville and the Bengals are playing the Steelers that night so we will get some cold beers and some friends together and scream WHO DEY! at the top of our lungs.

  Nashville birthday party plans are TBD, but I’m sure we will be out somewere Tuesday night. But not too late because early Wednesday I leave for….

  NEW ORLEANS!

  I went to New Orleans for the first time this year, and then went back shortly after. I have fallen in love with that city. It has the party mentality of Las Vegas that I love but with actual CULTURE thrown in. Even Bourbon Street, which I agree is an absolute tourist trap, still has a feeling of a real city, whereas Vegas to me just feels like Drunk Disneyland. The food, the drinks, the people, everything about that city makes it one of my favorite places in America.

  Wednesday night is my actual birthday and I fully plan to end it passed out on Bourbon St. covered in beads (kidding….kind of…hehe). There are three kinds of people in this world: people who hate their birthday and don’t want anyone to celebrate it, people who pretend to hate their birthday so people will make them feel better by forcing them to celebrate, or people who 100% love their birthday and want to party and see all their friends and people they love that make their life amazing. I definitely fall into the last category, if you couldn’t tell. So I’m going to party pretty hard that night.

  I stay in New Orleans until I get my fill of po’boys and hand grenades. I’ll leave to head back to Covington Friday morning and spend the night there before continuing my drive home on Saturday or Sunday.

  I find out Thursday if I get an extra week of vacation, which could drastically change plans…in a good way!!

I will be posting frequent updates from the road, so stay tuned!

#road trip #travel #dromomania #mainstrasse #nashville #new orleans #niagara falls #NOLA #NKY #bengals #who dey #kentucky #cincinnati #dromomaniac.com #birthday #dranks

[dromomaniacom]

This is absolutely gorgeous, great job JCR!!

225 - This was my grandmother’s home that I spent a lot of my childhood in. A lot of good memories in this house here. 

#gorgeous #photography #john roden photography

[dromomaniacom]

travel fugue

Hello Dromomaniacs!

Welcome to my newest adventure. For the past five years, I have been working for an airline and doing quite a bit of traveling. I love researching destinations before I go them for the first time and am most interested in finding the best food, the most offbeat attraction, and the most potent drink a city has to offer. I grew up in Boston and moved to the Bible Belt for 3 years, so clearly I love a good culture shock.

I've always had a passion for writing and now I will finally combine my two loves (travel & writing) in the new blog; where I will bring to you city guides, travel memoirs, restaurant and bar reviews, travel tips, and much much more.

Coming up, we have a very exciting trip in the works - my very first long road trip. I have been extremely spoiled with free flights for the past 5 years and it is time to get back to basics. I will be heading from Boston to Buffalo, to Cincinnati, to Nashville, then on to New Orleans to celebrate my birthday. Then back! I'm super excited and will keep you updated in the planning process as well as share updates from the road.

xoxo Aimee

#travel #dromomania #road trip #dromomaniac.com #travel fugue #travelling #airlines #culture #food #drink #offbeat #welcome

[dromomaniacom]

Perfect View | Georg Wallner

#look at those stars #someone remind me to get a flashlight