Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El
Good morning, Saloners! Last weekend, the entire household here (us plus our parents who are visiting us) headed out northwest on a road trip to Chicago. The whole drive one way is about 12 hours long, and after having done two longer trips last year, one to Miami, and the other to New York/Niagara Falls, we didn't want another reason to sit in the car for a whole day. So this time, we broke it out a bit and stopped at a few places in between.
Our favorite state to drive through was, no surprise, my state Virginia. The rolling hills, lush greenery, and the mountainous backdrops never bored us. West Virginia was next - our drive through this state almost completely involved winding through roads between mountains and it was a little queasy after a while. But it was still very beautiful. On the first night, we stopped to have lunch near the University of Charleston. It was a very foggy night and the whole region was just a visual treat. Our not-so-favorite states to drive through were Ohio and Indiana. These states were full of lovely farmlands and the distant landscape had some trees, but after a while, it was humdrum. The landscape did not seem to be moving much.
I found it funny that after winding through West Virginia's roads and its mountains, when we crossed over to Ohio, the landscape suddenly flattened out. The trees and mountains disappeared, the roads became straight. Even in the dark, it was obvious to us that the landscape has changed. We stayed our first night in Columbus, Ohio and spent part of the next day walking through Indianapolis downtown. Indianapolis was a lovely city - plenty happening but without the crowd. Of course, it was a Saturday morning, so that could be the reason we were able to walk leisurely. We walked along the canal that I always see in photos from this city and then headed to downtown. This is where we had our best lunch of the trip - at the Le Peep restaurant. All six of us agreed that the food was well worth the long walk we had through the city and the somewhat long wait for the food.
Our favorite state to drive through was, no surprise, my state Virginia. The rolling hills, lush greenery, and the mountainous backdrops never bored us. West Virginia was next - our drive through this state almost completely involved winding through roads between mountains and it was a little queasy after a while. But it was still very beautiful. On the first night, we stopped to have lunch near the University of Charleston. It was a very foggy night and the whole region was just a visual treat. Our not-so-favorite states to drive through were Ohio and Indiana. These states were full of lovely farmlands and the distant landscape had some trees, but after a while, it was humdrum. The landscape did not seem to be moving much.
I found it funny that after winding through West Virginia's roads and its mountains, when we crossed over to Ohio, the landscape suddenly flattened out. The trees and mountains disappeared, the roads became straight. Even in the dark, it was obvious to us that the landscape has changed. We stayed our first night in Columbus, Ohio and spent part of the next day walking through Indianapolis downtown. Indianapolis was a lovely city - plenty happening but without the crowd. Of course, it was a Saturday morning, so that could be the reason we were able to walk leisurely. We walked along the canal that I always see in photos from this city and then headed to downtown. This is where we had our best lunch of the trip - at the Le Peep restaurant. All six of us agreed that the food was well worth the long walk we had through the city and the somewhat long wait for the food.
Chicago was crowded and a traffic-nightmare, just as I expected. After spending a few days there, I was ready to get out. I guess it's a lot better to live and work in the suburbs than have to head to the main city daily, because we got sick of the traffic and the bad driving we started encountering as soon as we crossed into the city. Seriously, there were cars swaying in their lanes and almost hitting their neighbors.
We were in Chicago for about three days, and spent a good chunk of that time walking. Boy, are our legs sore! Two of our very good friends who stayed near Chicago joined us on our city tour. We walked along the Navy Pier, then walked to the Millenium Park, and back to the Pier because that's where we parked. Parking fees cost a fortune, so we had to find ways to go cheap. Chicago was certainly more spacious, less crowded, and cleaner than New York. Some of the suburbs I visited, however, looked neglected. There were blues music festivals and rock concerts going on in open-air stadiums and amphitheaters while we were there.
Food is usually the main reason I love road trips. I spend as much time deciding where to eat as I do making the itinerary. Sadly, food in Chicago was lackluster. I'm pretty sure that's because we didn't go to the right places, but after a lot of walking, none of us wanted to walk more miles to eat some food. Deep dish pizza was meh. We had some sandwiches in the Cosi restaurant that was pretty good, and there was a little Thai place we walked into more because it was closer than because we were expecting anything great that turned out to have some great dishes.
The lake and river boat tour we did was the best part of our trip. The tour took us out into the Michigan lake, from where we got an awesome view of the city's skyline. This city certainly takes a lot of pride in its history. Oh, and the Skydeck we visited was amazing too. It was super exhilarating to stand on a piece of glass and look down into the ground straight below, about 1350 ft of a drop. Yep.
On the way back, we stopped at Beckley, West Virginia, and enjoyed a walk through the inner structure of the New River Gorge Bridge. When I told my family that we were going to be walking under the bridge, they imagined walking on the ground, like it was a big deal. And then we were taken to the interior structure just under the main bridge, a whole 851 feet about the river and they were looking at me like I was nuts. We all did it, however. The views around were wonderful, and there were even some falcons nesting in the bridge who were resolutely holding their ground when we tried to pass.
It was killing to go back to work the very next day. Having had much less sleep than usual during the trip, I was nursing a headache while also handling the backlog of work that had piled up in the three days I was out. But it's the weekend again now and that has helped. I also have a lot of neglected house and online chores to do, and that's been my main focus over the last couple of days. Hopefully, things will get back on track from tomorrow, which should mean more reading and blogging.
What have I missed in bloglandia?
On the way back, we stopped at Beckley, West Virginia, and enjoyed a walk through the inner structure of the New River Gorge Bridge. When I told my family that we were going to be walking under the bridge, they imagined walking on the ground, like it was a big deal. And then we were taken to the interior structure just under the main bridge, a whole 851 feet about the river and they were looking at me like I was nuts. We all did it, however. The views around were wonderful, and there were even some falcons nesting in the bridge who were resolutely holding their ground when we tried to pass.
It was killing to go back to work the very next day. Having had much less sleep than usual during the trip, I was nursing a headache while also handling the backlog of work that had piled up in the three days I was out. But it's the weekend again now and that has helped. I also have a lot of neglected house and online chores to do, and that's been my main focus over the last couple of days. Hopefully, things will get back on track from tomorrow, which should mean more reading and blogging.
What have I missed in bloglandia?
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I hope you have a great week!