O-H-I-O-NO

Ohio- Oh no.

What a day.

So I left Rochester ahead of schedule this morning- around 11. I picked up gas and some waterbottles and stopped at the bank and was on my way.

Rochester to Buffalo - $2.75 in tolls

Okay- so the entire time I was driving through NY, Annabelle (my car- the voice of my GPS) was telling me to drive through Canada to get to Ann Arbor. I had decided that this was not going to happen. I was going to take I-90 through ohio and then north to Ann Arbor. So I fiddled with the settings (this is an important element to remember for later). Finally when I got through PA (another $3.15 in toll fares) no problems. Annabelle finally came around too.

I made it to Cleveland and thats when things started to get interesting. I made it through Cleveland, except that Annabelle routed me through these different side streets--- I drove through downtown Cleveland and through a residential area. I passed the stadium where The Browns play. Its a lovely area. Okay- so that was weird. More hilarious than weird... a scenic route. I thought Annabelle was mad at me for calling her names over the whole canada thing and so she decided to take me on the "shortest" route. No big deal. Once I got through Cleveland I decided to stop for lunch at a Five Guys- great burgers and excellent fries. All the toppings are free so I can have a burger w/ tomato, pickle, onion lettuce mustard and mushrooms-- so delicious.

SO I hit the road from there--- that was about 3:45p. I traveled on my way and got on the Ohio Turnpike (yay! another toll road) when I got a phone call from AAA. "Hello Lauren?" - yes "Yeah, it seems you left your purse at a restaurant this afternoon" -- oh... crap. Umm... a Five Guys in Ohio? "Yes. You can ask for Ted."

Bahahaha. Great. I'm on the turnpike (where btw, Ohio tolls are way more expensive than NY or PA). So I used my phone to call the store and figured out I was 45 minutes away. Add another $1.50 to get off the turnpike. Luckily, my iPhone routed me back to the restaurant without taking the turnpike- thank goodness. 45 minutes later I run back into the five guys restaurant and announce that I was the "really smart person who left their purse there!" They all welcomed me with a loud "HEEYYYYYY!" Then they asked me where I was headed. -- Ann Arbor. Well... not so welcome any more. Their faces were hilarious. "Oh... are you a Michigan fan?" -- uhh not really. My sister is starting school there. I know where I am. "Ok. good. because you know sarah here goes to Ohio State.."

Now I'm sure all of you know that U of Mich and OH State are bitter rivals. Sooo try to understand how awkward I felt explaining why I was going to Ann Arbor.

With my purse in hand and my phone dying I go BACK on the Turnpike and headed for Toledo--- 5:30pm (ETA: 7:30p).

Well... Annabelle was still on "Shortest Route" mode- which certainly means its not the "Fastest Route." Before I knew it (and $4.50 in tolls later) I was driving through this sketchy part of Toledo. I finally realized that Annabelle was in a different mode and ack made it to Ann Arbor a little after 8- dead phone and all. Geez.

What a day.

Toll Total: $11.90

Hour Total: 9hrs

Time it should've taken 6.5 hrs

After this, I'm fairly certain that I left my brain in NY. Goodness.

I am happy to report that I did make it and I'm hanging with my sister and her friend. We went out for a nice dinner and now are back at her friends apartment. Tomorrow we are venturing to Treasure Mart (Not certain about that one yet- Apparently its a vintagey antiquey secondhand furniture place- I'm excited) and then IKEA and then picking up Dad at the airport.. somewhere I'll check into the hotel too.

For now, I am going to get into my pjs and lounge.

What a day.