An Actually Fun Road Trip from New Jersey to Ohio (and back)

When I went to visit my sister in Cleveland this spring, I decided to turn the eight hour road trip into an actually fun and enjoyable adventure across state lines.

On the departure day, I woke up extremely early, so early that the roads of central Jersey were dark and spooky. I hoped that no deer would venture to cross my path. They obliged, and by 8am I’d made it to my sister’s former home in Harrisburg and picked up some bagels to bring to them as a treat and breakfast for me.

By lunchtime, I was in Pittsburgh and stopped for lunch at Mediterra Cafe. The patio is laptop and dog friendly, and the day was beautiful, so I spent a couple hours having lunch and catching up on work.

Getting up so early really helped, because by about 5pm I was in Cleveland for a fun weekend with my sister. I wrote about my Cleveland favorites in another post.

After that, it was the return road trip that really stood out. I decided to take the long way for maximum sightseeing purposes. I booked a hotel to spend the night in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

On the way, I stopped and had some yummy coffee and breakfast tacos from Drip Coffeehouse + Kitchen. And snuck in some work calls on my pesky laptop again. Afterwards Bailey and I walked through Historic Brookville and saw the Jefferson County Courthouse.

We made it to our hotel in Williamsport around 5. The Genetti Hotel is a dog-friendly hotel that’s technically owned by Best Western, but they put in all the care and heart of an independently run hotel. Look at this note they left in the room:

Bailey is not usually allowed to be a bed dog, but sometimes she gets a special treat at hotels. Shhh!

Hot Yoga Williamsport was right across the street, so I dropped off the bags and ran right over for class. It was a heated studio and really nice class taught by a wonderful teacher named Jenelle (@the_body_aligned).

Next up, it was time for some tourism, so I took a walk through the town and onto Millionaire’s Row, a strip of old victorian mansions that used to be occupied by the wealthiest Pennsylvanians. Today some of them are a bit run down, but many are still beautiful and impressive to see.

It was almost dinner time, so my next stop was the Bullfrog Brewery, which was back closer to my hotel. It was easy to walk around the town since nothing was too far away, but far enough to get some steps in after being on the road all day.

At the brewery, I had a tasty apricot beer and a giant plate of nachos (with a small side salad for balance!) and followed it up with a homemade root beer. It was a perfect dinner stop in my book.

After dinner, I headed back to Bailey and we settled in for the night. It would be another early morning.

I knew I had a long drive ahead of me, but I’d always wanted to visit Ricketts Glen State Park. Bailey and I packed into the car super early and got to start hiking just after sunrise. The sky was cloudy and a little drizzly, but that meant uncrowded trails and rushing waterfalls.

The Glen Falls Loop trail passes 21 waterfalls (21!!) and is considered to be the best waterfall hike in the eastern US. I didn’t keep count, but trust that there were so many amazing waterfalls.

There’s a 7 mile version of the hike and a shorter 3ish mile loop that still passes the same number of waterfalls. I decided to take the shorter route, since I still had quite a bit of driving to do that day. Bailey loves hiking, but she agreed to get back in the car.

I hadn’t found any breakfast places on the way, so I ate a few sad soggy leftover nachos and then we finished the rest of our 3.5 hour drive home to NJ.

If you have the time, I definitely recommend taking the long way to make your road trip maximally fun!

Cleveland Favorites

My family just found out that next month, my sister will be moving from Cleveland to New Jersey! She’s been living in Cleveland for the past year with her husband who was completing a medical fellowship.

When I first found out that’s where they were heading, I have to admit I was a little bummed. Cleveland has a reputation of being cold and grey… and it’s far away from the east coast! But I had the chance to visit them twice during the past year, and the city absolutely surpassed my expectations.

I was surprised to find lots of nature activities, hip new shops and restaurants, and the usual friendliness and good neighborly vibes of the midwest. We’ll be happy to have them back on the east coast, but I think they’re pleased with their year in Cleveland.

So, in honor of their last few weeks in Ohio, here are some of my favorite Cleveland things they introduced me to:

1. Nature Walks at Rocky River Reservation

   The biggest surprise I found was that Cleveland has a lot of nature areas to explore. The weather might be grey a lot of the time, but the city’s parks are full of color and activity. The Metroparks system has tons of hiking and biking trails to explore.

2. Watching Games at Lakewood Truck Park

Cleveland is definitely a sports city. While we were waiting for my sister to get out of work, my brother-in-law brought me to the food truck park for a few drinks. It was a fun atmosphere with lots of young people watching games, drinking beers, and eating snacks.

3. Spotting the Cleveland Signs

There are six Cleveland signs around the city. I’ve only seen about three, but spotting them can take you to other cool locations, like this view of Lake Erie and downtown from Edgewater Park.

4. Climbing the Tower at Holden Arboretum

The Holden Arboretum is about a 30 minutes drive from the city, but I would say it’s worth it for climbing the Emergent Tower and exploring 20 miles of nature trails. The canopy walk was closed when we visited, but the leaves were changing colors which gave us an awesome view.

5. Hiking at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

I have a goal of visiting all the national parks, so of course Cuyahoga Valley was on my list of want-to-do activities. It’s one of the smaller national parks, and the hike we did was close to the road so not very immersed in nature, but I would still say it’s worth visiting if you happen to be in Cleveland.

6. Day Tripping to Chagrin Falls

We went to Chagrin Falls during both my fall and spring visit. It’s a great place to take visitors or stop for the day, with lots of shops, restaurants, and views of the falls.

7. Sunsets over Lake Erie

I haven’t gotten lucky enough yet to see people surfing on Lake Erie (or to try it myself), but the sunsets sure are pretty.

8. Vintage Shopping at Paradise Galleria

Paradise Galleria is THE COOLEST VINTAGE STORE I’VE EVER BEEN TO. Actually, it’s the coolest store I’ve ever been to! It’s kind of a big warehouse with sections for different vendors, and it’s full of amazing stuff. It has a ball pit and a slide! Wow! I could spend hours there.

9. Mediterranean Tapas at Zhug

My sister took me to lots of yummy restaurants in Cleveland, but Zhug really stood out. I love mediterranean food and all the plates were delicious and very shareable.

10. Indoor Mini Golf at Birdietown

Last but not least, indoor mini golf! We played a quick round at Birdietown and had a great time. The course is neatly designed—challenging enough to keep you interested and fun to play with friends. Plus they have food and drinks.

I guess I won’t be back in Cleveland anytime soon that I know of, but I’d be more than happy to visit again!