Day 2: Hazleton, PA to Dublin, OH

Well, we're here at Jonas's cousins' house outside of Columbus, Ohio where we've enjoyed an infinitely better food experience than yesterday. Our day suffered a false start at 5:40 am when the motel's combination radio/television/alarm clock (yes, quite a rare appliance) went off, sending us all into a fumbling panic until Ali figured out the source of the noise. My morning also included a special bonus in the form of a hearty whack from my sister as she experienced an apparently very vivid nightmare about an hour later. In any case, we got on the road mid morning after two bowls of complimentary sugar cereal, one more a capella round of Where Have All the Cowboys Gone, and a tearful goodbye to Paul and his Budget truck. In case you ever find yourself in the bumpin' metropolitan area of Hazleton, PA with no place to stay, know this: America's Best Value Inn is, indeed, the best value. I say this with conviction as we did shop around, shop up, and get down.

The first part of the drive was pretty uneventful. I will remember to drink more coffee before we attempt the larger western states. Around lunchtime we realized we were en route to arrive two hours early at our destination for the evening, so we spent a little extra time looking for the perfect lunch location. These culinary cousins don't eat at just any old Sheetz gas station. Around the PA/OH border we finally saw signs for a lake (I forget the name--Topanga? Fandango?) and pulled off the highway. After approximately 45 minutes of driving over and around the lake, we encountered a sort of state park large enough to accomodate our cramped up legs (really, look up the Hyundai Accent and then imagine three people 5'10" and taller driving across the country inside of it along with two lives worth of belongings). We made some fancy PB+Js (or PB+banana, for me and siste) and then ran around simultaneously tossing a frisbee and passing gas (we were still recovering from last night's Stewarts). Then we hopped back into Pepe the silver speedster, backtracked until we were back on scenic I-80 and rolled into Ohio.

Ohio brought nicer scenery at first but quickly turned into any/everywhere. Lots of quickly assembled highwayside strip mall towns and box stores. People seem to support our troops more here. And Ohio has about 12 difference license plates, which we realized with dismay after playing the license plate game for about an hour and even tailgating one particularly colorful variety where the Ohio was written in cursive. No Wild and Wonderful West Virginia plates, though. I was disappointed.

Okay, I'm running out of time because I'm typing in Jonas's bedroom but I'll sum up the evening now, which is actually probably for the best because I could go on for at least ten pages about the dinner and ice cream we ate, not to mention our wonderfully hospitable hosts tonight. We ended up at Jonas's cousins' house around 6:30, just in time for dinner: an appetizer of stromboli followed by steak, cheesy potato skins, green beans, salad (with avocado! Apparently news of this exotic food has made it to Ohio, if not Stewarts in Hazleton), fruit salad, and homemade rolls! I can't explain how delicious this meal tasted after a day of car snacks, even if they were healthy/bougie car snacks. Nothing beats home cooking. I can't wait for dinner at my cousin Kendra's house in St. Louis tomorrow!

Last bit (but ABSOLUTELY not least), Jonas's cousins brought us to an ice cream joint in town...nevermind SF, I'm moving to Dublin, OH. Holy. Cow. In the most literal sense, I suppose. This place is called Jenny's. We walked in to the smell of freshly made waffle cones (we watched the girl pouring the batter onto the griddle) and the sound of hand-whipped cream, the process of which we could also see from our side of the counter. The menu was more innovative than any place I've ever been to (Boston readers, don't doubt me; you know I know my ice cream, and this place beats Christina's and Toscanini's in selection, hands down). I got honey pistachio, dark chocolate, and sweet corn black raspberry (actual corn flavored ice cream with a black raspberry swirl). I don't remember everyone else's choices but I know one option that I tried (and liked!) was the goat cheese and cherry. Those who know me well know that making a goat cheese product I enjoy is no small feat. The verdict is still out for whether it beats the quality of ice cream of the top Boston area places--Ali says yes, but I am not so quick to throw my local creamery to the dogs. I end with a definite maybe.

All right, this isn't a food blog and Jonas is snoring in the bed nearby, so I'll stop here. On to Bloomington, IN for lunch tomorrow and then St. Louis, MO for dinner and more cousin time!