Evanston-Indiana-Ohio-Pittsburgh… Ohio felt like the longest state ever…No one has been thrown out of a moving vehicle, but we’re getting closer.  If you’re in Pennsylvania and see someone hitching on the side of the road it’s probably me.  Honk when you go by…

  1. Northwestern has a course called Marriage 101, which pairs students into couples for the quarter to see how they navigate the pitfalls of relationships.  Of course, I wonder if they also have a Divorce 201, and if it involves taking a road trip with your spouse…
  2. Also wondering if there is a class: Marriage- The Legal Issues
  3. You know how people say there are no stupid questions?  Guess what?  There are stupid questions…At today’s info session, a parent asked if students needed to go to class.  OK- let’s start with this being a highly ranked school, with kids who are excited about learning.  I don’t know why someone would go to this school if they did not want to attend class (FYI- most classes are less than 20 students with a student /faculty ratio of 6:1 and participation is graded)
  4. Speaking of parents who should think before they speak- Listen to the information that is being stated. Do not ask questions that have been covered quite clearly in info session
  5. The Indiana Cracker Barrel Sign- French Toast- Southern Style
  6. There were no signs for Cracker Barrel in Ohio- I wonder if Ohio is anti Cracker Barrel
  7. We passed the RV/MH Hall of Fame- remember this, because this is actually going to come up in a future post
  8. As we drove through Ohio we found it odd that there were no road signs or Pittsburgh.  Finally, as we approached Youngstown (pretty much the last place in Ohio before Pennsylvania) we finally saw a Pittsburgh 79 miles sign.  About 20 feet past the sign we saw a signpost for New York City…
    Northwestern
    The Beach near Northwestern
    Cheese Curds – The Farmhouse, Evanston. Best regional food we have had on this trip by far
    Primonti’s sandwich- they put the fries and the cole slaw on the sandwich…seriously…

     

 

55 thoughts on “Day 9- The Trip”

  1. That Marriage 101 class sounds…interesting. However, it seems like the challenge of being paired with someone you likely don’t know should be associated more with a class called “Arranged Marriage 101” I assume most people have at least a slight relationship prior to marriage around these parts- how do you not only expect to learn about and navigate through the stress of early marriage when you also have no idea what the name of your “spouse” is until you get your assignment!

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  2. Just navigating through a different roommate will be marriage enough I reckon for many who have never had to share anything. We had an interesting international dorm at the Brook and I had roommates from Iran, and intermingled with graduate students from India, Israel, etc. That was the best learning experience. You are funny! You are also almost home!

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  3. There is a local reporter here who always gets cheese curds from co-worker when he visits folks in Wisconsin.
    Can’t wait for the RV/MH Hall of Fame piece. I live in a RV park. About 50-60% are retirees. The rest are families .

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  5. Well…I could teach the Divorce 212 course. That is the advanced divorce class, how to do a divorce and the several ways not to do a divorce. BTW- hitch hiking is part of Divorce 201. 😂
    I think you gave no worries about getting a ride or people honking.

    I think Ohio doesn’t want to advertise Pittsburgh. I always noticed the same thing in Ohio when I lived in P.A. and travelled West to East. Lots of signs giving distances to NYC but not to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

    Safe drive back!

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  7. So you enjoyed The Farmhouse, located in the Peoples Republic Of Evanston. In spite of my protestations, Susan occasional drags me there. I find it hard to sup at venues that medley Peas and Hominy with the socially conscious.

    Must say, I have throughly enjoyed reading about your scholastic jaunting here, and about the hinterland.

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    1. Thanks! My daughters friend recommended farmhouse and it was delicious! And our waiter goes to northwestern, and after talking to him my daughter loved northwestern even more. Great school and area!

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  9. While putting of chores, I got curious and Googled that class. Apparently “The course has been dubbed “the most popular course on campus.” Enrollment fills within a matter of hours, and there has been lots of local, national, and international media attention over the years.” I wonder what the student was thinking when mom asked the question about going to class. Hopefully he/she was embarrassed.

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    1. My daughter said she would totally try t take that class because it sounded cool, different and practical!! I think the kid was mortified….the question was so bizarre!!

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    1. I know! I looked at my husband when he asked it….😉 but yeah, I did turn around and look at the mother…I just couldn’t believe someone would ask that!!

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  14. Ahh! Welcome to Pa! The state of potholes and road construction. LOL! If I see you along the road I promise I will pick you up. 🙂 You have to come further south though for me to see you!
    That poor child of the parent who asked that question. They probably wanted to crawl under the desk!

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  15. I’ve been enjoying your road trip/college visit posts and this one is near and dear to my 💜 – Go Wildcats! Evanston is a great town and Northwestern is a wonderful university (and my alma mater.)
    Love the idea of the marriage class and as someone else mentioned in the comments, learning to live with a roommate is quite a challenge.

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    1. My daughter thought northwestern was perfect, except for the acceptance rate!! But she absolutely loved everything about it!! We were all really really impressed!!

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      2. She thought the kids were really there to learn and grow as people. Course offerings were awesome. Kids are really engaged in whatever they do. Students we met were great, and the campus is gorgeous. And exactly, you get a college town and you get access to city. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. I can totally see her there!!

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  16. Navigating roommates was plenty challenging enough for me freshman year. Add a fake husband? Aaagghhh!!!!
    They have a Cracker Barrel in Cleveland, but perhaps they wisely don’t allow them to advertise on billboards.

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    1. I don’t think we have Cracker Barrel in ny, but it is something we always see when we’re on vacation. Living with someone is really hard…there are so many nuances!!

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  17. Ohio is as wide as it is long. It’s really a square, in many ways. As for Cracker Barrels we have them here, but this is the home state of Bob Evans, so those get more publicity than CB– and are much better, btw. Sorry that you didn’t stay in my home state. It’s not a bad place, quietly smart, never showy, with lots of great universities.

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    1. Originally when we planned the trip she was going to look at case western, but we went to a presentation in ny and she didn’t seem to like it so we passes

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  18. Pingback: The essence of family: gone but not far, near but not here | Writer of Words, etc

  20. Pennsylvania is the longest state, at least if you are on the turnpike and don’t try it in the dark. Haven’t figured if towns sprung up around the exits or if the exits were put there because a few people had homes there. There are no signs in between letting you know where you are and no lights! You see lights up ahead then they are gone when you pass the exit,plunging yourself into darkness again. Had to travel that road ONCE when my daughter was in college and it was the longest week of my life (though I am pretty sure it was only 4 hours). She lives in the state now although close to Philadelphia so I am hoping not to have to use that road again.

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