IL: Pittsburgh ho! Happy hour, tailgating, what else can you ask for?

September 12, 2008

My first trip back to Pittsburgh was for the Pitt vs Iowa football game. I stayed with Tara, Garret and Rece. The first two pictures are from friday night at Tara's.

My old tailgating crew!
Mary, Judd and Ellen. Haha, Iowa lost.
Me and Rece

I had a good time in Pittsburgh, but more importantly, I felt good that I had left.

IL: Visit from Mom and Dad to IL

August 23, 2008

Mom and Dad took the 8+ hour drive out to visit me and the cats. The good news is, we get to do the touristy thing and visit the sights of central Illinois.

Below is a picture of Moe, he pulled our boat at the I & M Canal. Back in the day before refrigeration, the I & M Canal was built to get fresh fruit to Chicago in less time. From Peru, it took 24 hours on a boat to get to Chicago. The ride was quite factually, and hot. Alongside of the canal is the towpath, which goes over 65 miles. You can actually ride your bike on it for miles, but it is a bumpy ride.



With mom and dad visiting we also got to do their favorite thing, antiquing!!! They not only went to the local antique mall once, but twice in a day! Thankfully I was sleeping during the second visit. And we did enjoy a nice dinner at a local restaurant, the Uptown Grille. Kind of pricey, but good food. It was nice to see mom and dad as usual!

IL: Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick

September 12, 2008

My first rule of traveling was that I refused not to do anything just because I couldn't find anybody to join me. Apparently a concert to see Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick was not so popular in Illinois. So, after 4 days of non stop raining that later resulted in the worst flooding in Illinois, I made it to the concert.

Heart... wow, they were amazing.
Me in a rainjacket.
Journey...

Overall I quite enjoyed the concert and the one overpriced beer that I had. The music was good and I enjoyed the company, me.

IL: Mattheison State Park

September 6, 2008

Jen came to visit Peru!! We went to a local state park for a nice 3.5 hour hike and talk.
A gorgeous waterfall.

Me in a creepy cave.
Brew brew and Auntie Jen! He was so happy to see her.

IL: Rip's Fried Chicken

September 17, 2008

I knew one person that lived in Peru, Illinois before I moved here. He recommended I go to Rip's Chicken, the greasiest and most famous fried chicken in the area. So on my first date with a co workers cousin, Brad took me to Rip's. The chicken was fried, greasy and I almost had a heart attack.

I will never return...

IL: Chicago NikePlus Human Race 10K

August 31, 2008

After a long night out on Friday, I finally made the two hour drive to Chicago to stay with Sarah Pifer and run my second 10K. The race was called the Human Race and was run in 25 different cities around the world. Here is a view driving into Chicago on Sunday.


That's me a few hours before the race in front of Soldier Field in Chicago. The weather was in the 70's and sunny.

Below is me after the race. Over 14,000 people ran in Chicago, the most of any of the cities participating in the Human Race. I didn't quite make my goal time, but I finished in 63 minutes and I had to walk a few times because there were so many people.

IL: Trip to Madison, WI

August 15, 2008

I went to Madison, WI for the night to visit an old grad school roommate, Jen. On the way there, I drove by a huge wind farm. And the common sight along the roads in Illinois--cornfields everywhere!!
Friday night we went to see outdoor music and beer on the grounds of University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was nice to see how "green" the town is with lots of bike paths, recycling and public transportation.

Saturday morning we went to a farmers market around the capital building.
Thats a picture of me in a mouse costume with some cheese on the street.
Here's a random picture of some guy playing his guitar upside down. It was pretty impressive.

After watching the Olympics and a quick nap back at Jen's house I headed back home for a big 5K the next day.

IL: Bienvenido a Peru!

August 8, 2008

I left before the sun rose to begin my new adventure as a traveling physical therapist. With my car packed to the brim, Brewster, Bart and myself set out to drive the 8 and a half hours from Fairview, PA to Peru, Illinois. The boys did good in the car. Bart was a little restless at times and took a nice chunk out of my finger but Brewster was great and slept the entire time. Brewster was VERY happy to be in a different cage than Bart too. I got into Peru early afternoon.


The new place was not what I expected--the 1970s carpet odor and stench of stale cigarettes permeated the air. At least that was the entrance. The apartment is a spacious 2 bedroom that needed a little TLC. After unloading, I decided to head to the familiar locations of Target and Wal-Mart. I picked up a lot of cleaning supplies. Most of Saturday was spent scrubbing and cleaning. It was very exhausting. I managed to do some laundry at the local laundromat as well. It has been quite a few years since I've been to a laundromat, but I guess I may have to get used to that with the life of a nomad.

Here are a few pictures of my place...