American Road Trip - Part 1/6 - Rust Belt

Time of Visit: May 2022

After finishing my last college exam, I embarked on a road trip from New Jersey to Los Angeles.

Rural Pennsylvania is barns, hills and fields.

Heading west on Interstate 76, we stopped at a small town called Mcconnelsburg. It used to be a rest stop going west from DC by horseback, but nowadays it's a little too far from the interstate and has faded into a sleepy little town.

It could really be any small town in the United States.

Some of the nice architecture survived.

But most of the town is just a shell of its former self.

A local lawyer's house.

Pittsburgh felt like a little oasis of civilization after five hours of farmland.

Cold noodles with chicken from Everyday Noodles.

After driving about 2 hours from Pittsburgh, we stopped in an artsy, residential neighborhood of Cleveland called Tremont for brunch. After driving through the rest of Cleveland, we realized that it might be best neighborhood in the whole city.

Victorians make the world a better place.

Driving about 15 minutes to the northeast through decaying factories, blighted industrial zones and boarded-up homes, we arrived at the Cleveland Museum of Art, right next to the Case Western University campus.

Gardens to the south of the museum.

French painting exhibit.

The museum's central atrium.

We got some bread, cheese, and pastrami from West Side Market to make some sandwiches for dinner. West Side Market is a historic market complex with tons of stands selling meat, cheese, produce, and a variety of artisan ready-to-eat foods at relatively affordable prices.

Driving about 2 hours west towards Toledo brought us to Maumee Bay State Park, where we picnicked overlooking Lake Erie.