600 Miles to Toronto
A Road Trip Narrative

The trip started the way any road trip/vacation would, packing and then panicking at leaving way behind schedule. The official wrong turn at the start of the trip, and then we were off, making our way down the highway at a good clip. We traveled up Interstate 70 most of the way through Pennsylvania, then Interstate 76; deciding to stick to the major highways in order to keep our 600 mile trip down to a minimum number of hours. At this point you are probably wondering who "we" are and where "we" are headed on this trip. To begin, "we" are Robert, my boyfriend, and I, Jennifer. I am journeying to Toronto, Canada for a class trip. In Toronto my hope is to visit some museums, tour the city to see how it differs from the lovely D.C Metropolitan area, and of course see Niagara Falls. I would also like to research the history of Toronto to compare its development to my knowledge of the development of the United States, as learned in my Roads and Rivers class. I also hoped, embarking on this journey, that I would find myself, and my first glimpse of independence. However, being that we have not yet reached Toronto the story of my journey up there must be sufficient at this time.

So there we are again traveling at about 90 miles an hour in my lovely 1999 Camaro Z28. Putting about 1,200 miles on this car round trip is not what I had in mind but it seemed to be the most logical of cars to take. This is taking into consideration the fact that my boyfriend's car is in pieces in his garage and my parents Jeep has a nice habit of breaking down when you need it most. The Camaro proves to be a good option because it seems to happily cruise at 90mph, giving me some adrenaline as I travel down the mountainous roads of central and western Pennsylvania. The car quickly makes its way towards our destination, seemingly faster than I had expected.

This trip is the first time I have been so far from home without the company of my parents. As the miles tick by, I begin to grow more and more nervous at the thought of being alone in a foreign city. I receive comfort by glancing over at Robert; his cool confidence reassures me that we will be fine.

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Website created by: Robert Parkhurst and Jennifer Pumphrey