Most of this phenomena is attributed to my laziness and also to spending my idle time reading Quora.
The other day while reading Quora i happened to come across an interesting question asking people in their 50's and no one else about what they regret the most about having done/not
done early in their lives.
Almost all the answers were alluding to the fact that most of them had got into long term debt which limited their ability to experience life to the fullest or take risks. i.e., People solely due to peer pressure or assumed superficial societal standing, invested in stuff like expensive homes or luxury cars. This limited them from taking that one stress reliever vacation or stopped them from taking risks early on in life like joining startups that are worth millions now and would have changed their fortune.
So the one thing that most of them suggested to Millennials and the Generation Z folks was not to invest in immovable assets, long term debts and instead invest heavily on life changing experiences like helping communities to bring in a social change or contribute to the upliftment of the impoverished or taking risks early on in life or even taking that one vacation that you were always waiting to take but which you never did due to some commitments.
So, I took their suggestions and took that one road trip that i was longing to take for a while but wasn't able to due to circumstances.I drove 2700 miles through the beautiful landscapes of America's midwest :)
It all began with my inlaws making a plan to visit us in the states. They had Chicago, St Louis & Niagara falls in their itinerary. Also, the last time I visited Ohio to meet friends i just fell in love with the huge swaths of farm lands uniformly covered with thick lush green vegetation.
I wanted to drive through these amazing landscapes situated in Illinois,Indiana & Ohio.
However, due to the circumstances then i wasn't able to. So the road trip through the midwest was buried somewhere deep down in my trip itinerary & my inlaws plans to visit Chicago & St Louis just revived it.
They were visiting us just for a month and a quick search through travel websites for flight tickets to these destinations showed that flying to these destinations would have burnt a huge hole in our pockets :) So, the cheapest way to visit these places and cater to my cravings of driving through the midwest was to rent a car & go on a long road trip.
So the planning was complete & below was the Trip Circuit
NJ → Chicago → St Louis → Ohio → Niagara Falls → NJ
The Trip
First leg of our trip was from NJ to Chicago which was roughly 800 miles (1300 Kms).
We were all up by 6AM & after a hot cuppa, we were off to experience a long & tiring road trip.
Driving through the midwest was made famous by James Hetfield when he, through his amazing band, inscribed these lines into eternity.
"On a long and lonesome highway east of Omaha
You can listen to the engines moaning out its one old song
You can think about the woman, or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering the way they always do
When you are riding sixteen hours and there's nothing much to do
You don't feel much like riding, you just wish the trip was through
My experience driving through the highways leading to Chicago was the same. The highways were long & lonesome. Surrounded by vast expanse of beautiful farmlands, you could see miles ahead in the highway. Luckily the car that i rented was equipped with Cruise control option & all i had to do was to set the cruise limit to the speed limit & enjoy the drive :)
It took us around 13 hrs to reach Chicago. Though the mileage seems huge the drive was not tiring at all. Driving through these varying farmlands of Soyabean, corn etc & each farmland having its unique layout & to top it off a good car, great music, amazing company, lonesome highway & a car equipped with cruise control makes the drive less boring & leaves you craving for more time on the road. No wonder Hetfield concludes the 1st part of the song by the one below :)
But here I am, on the road again
There I am, up on the stage
There I go, playing the star again
There I go, turn the page "
Chicago
We reached Chicago late in the evening.This is my 3rd visit to Chicago & I am never bored of this place. The one place that makes me visit Chicago time and again is lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the 5 great lakes in USA.Be it a stroll on the lakeside trail alongside the lake in Grant park or be it just spending great deal of time seated on the concrete blocks & gazing at the beautiful skyline from the lake trail behind Shedd Aquarium or be it watching the night sky being lit up from the Navy Pier by the amazing firework display on the Lake or be it taking the Architectural boat ride on the streams flowing through downtown & gazing at the spectacular buildings that have so much architectural significance. Lake Michigan never ceases to excite :) so do visit this place while in Chicago.
Shedd Aquarium
As a fish lover I had an opportunity to visit another must visit place in Chicago, Shedd Aquarium ;) . I learnt a great deal about marine life & how our over dependency on Plastic is negatively impacting huge amounts of marine life in the world. Also one eye opening fact that was presented in one of the shows in the aquarium was a fact that the people in the US alone use 500 million plastic straws every day :O
So to bring in some awareness they have created fish structures made from plastic washed ashore from the ocean. Few structures below isn’t it amazing creativity :)
Sky Deck
The Sky Deck situated atop the Willis Tower is another must do things while in Chicago.You can get the spectacular views of the Chicago city from the Sky deck.
Millenium Park & The Cloud Gate
Situated alongside Lake Michigan Millenium park hosts an amphitheatre & a beautiful man made structure called the cloud gate modelled on a Mercury drop & designed by an Indian. Must say we Indians are very creative :)
The Loop
If you want to indulge in some great Pizza joints or indulge in shopping or just walk through some amazing buildings then the Loop is the place to go to.
So evident from the above we indulged in all these amazing experiences that Chicago had to offer and that completed our 1st leg of the trip.
St Louis
It was time to embark on the 2nd leg of our trip i.e., Chicago to St Louis. We were visiting our relatives in St Louis so at the same time wanted to check out the must visit places in St Louis.
It took around 6 hrs to reach St Louis & the Drive from Chicago to Missouri was breathtaking. Dusk had cast its spell on the expansive farm lands. It was like watching sunset over a beach.
Gateway Arch
Our first attraction visit in St Louis was the Gateway Arch. The Gateway Arch is a 630 Feet steel monument in St Louis. It is the world’s tallest arch. Apparently the Arch was built to revive the St louis riverfront & stimulate its economy.
The best part about this arch is that there is a tram line inside the arch & you can go all the way to the top of the arch using the tram. It takes 4 mins to go up the arch & once up you are subjected to some spectacular views of the St Louis downtown & the capitol Building.
Meramec Caverns
Meramec Caverns is a 4.6 mile long Cave system.The Cave consists of Limestone deposits formed over millions of years. Apparently this cave was used to extract few ingredients for making gunpowder & used during the American Civil war. There are structures inside the cave depicting the same. The cave was also used by infamous american outlaw,Jesse James as a hideout.
A River close to where we stayed
The trip to St Louis also featured spectacular hospitality by our relatives(Kaku) :) Kaku had a mini farm setup in his backyard where he grew vegetables & his vegetable needs were catered to by the mini farm :) few pics below
So after visiting some historically significant places & some amazing hospitality it was time to embark on the 3rd leg of the trip, St Louis to Columbus Ohio.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus was more like a pit stop. I didn’t want to drive all the way from St Louis to Niagara falls as it would have taken a lot of time. Instead we could utilize the time exploring Ohio. The Drive to Columbus from St Louis again was treat to the eyes. The vast farmlands in Indiana cast a hypnotic spell on me & I just gazed & gazed at the beauty that the state has to offer. No wonder i see a lot of RVs on the road in Indiana. I guess they just camp alongside these beautiful landscapes Indiana has to offer. I took a detour just to explore the interiors & man was that the best driving decision i have made.The landscapes were straight out of the comic books we used to read in our childhood where there are huge farmlands, a Mill to process the output from the farm & then there is a beautiful silhouette of the sun hiding behind the clouds. A treat to watch indeed.
After a refreshing drive we reached Columbus after 7 hrs and called it a day.
This was my 2nd visit to Columbus as I was here the last time visiting friends. Below are the places one can visit while in Columbus
Old Man’s Cave
Ohio Caverns
Putin bay
Alum Creek Dam
After visiting Alum creek we headed off to The final destination of the trip
Niagara Falls
A lot has already been told about this natural wonder. So I will just let the pictures do the talking.
All I would like to mention is that while you are in the maid of the mist tour & when you are right in front of the falls it feels like you have reached heaven’s door :)
So after a long road trip I went back to the rental agency to give back the car. The agent inspected the car & calculated the mileage & it read 2700 miles. She looks at me and goes “Seems like you must have had a long week” :)
So this concluded one of the best road trips I have undertaken in my life & one of the best experiences in my life…. As men in their 50's in Quora have stated, it is time for us to shed all the worries & embark on life changing experiences…Hope you embark on an awesome road trip & have great experience too….
So until next time ciao :)
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