While it was a LOT of driving, I really enjoyed stopping in major US cities along the way. I'll try to highlight what I liked best about the trip.
- Ohio. I lived in Michigan practically my whole life, so I've been raised to hate Ohio (and Wisconsin). There is not too much to be said about driving through Ohio, its flat and is mostly farmland. On the way back, however, there was terrible floodings, where entire patches of forests and houses were completely submerged. So, watch out for that if you're driving through Ohio in the spring.
- Kentucky. Kentucky is a gorgeous state to drive through -- its called the Bluegrass state for a reason. A funny thing though; we stopped to get gas in Kentucky when it was raining, and my card didn't work so I went inside. The guy behind the desk asked (full on Kentucky drawl) "Is dat dere a Visa? It ain gun work, cuz da rain. You need cash or Mastercard."
- Tennessee. is a very, very wide state. It took a long time to drive through. I mainly went through here to see Memphis, which is a much crappier version of New Orleans. I felt like the city was very run down, and very segregated.
- Mississippi. Very pleasant to drive through; I had 3G the entire time (very important to stream Pandora radio).
- South Carolina. Google maps put us through a random country road, which at first enraged me until I realized it was a wonderful treat to go through the beautiful landscapes -- rolling hills, gorgeous farms, wooded areas. (Edit: At the time, I hadn't heard back from any PhD schools yet, so on the way back I didn't stop in Columbia since I assumed USC was too good for me to get into. Happy to say I'm relocated there in August.)
- Florida. I must say, I enjoyed the warm and the palm trees but did NOT enjoy Florida. The roads are good, but the drivers are absolutely terrible. Everything is incredibly overpriced. The beaches are okay, you can't really swim in the sea. I couldn't help feeling isolated as well, Boca Raton reminded me of Houghton in the sense that it takes you forever to leave Florida to get out.
- West Virginia. Our car had a bit of a mishap, so we ended up having to find some random mechanic who boasted not having more than a third grade education. The part we were missing was not expected to come in until Tuesday (we were there Saturday, and I needed to be back Monday for teaching). Luckily our mother(s) saved us by bringing the 40 dollar part. The serpentine belt fell off because the thing that turns it... fell out of the car (?). The guys didn't know how to put the belt in, but were nice enough to come in on a Sunday. I'm also happy that I own a Chevrolet because the mechanics went on about how only American cars are any good. My mother-in-law caused them to be in a great mood because she was really into their workshop, and I think thats what caused the 3 hours of overtime + part + everything else to only be about 80 dollars. So, if you get stranded in West Virginia, 7 miles from freedom (how far we were from Ohio), make sure you drive American.
