We have decided that this trip already has a theme.

Our original plan to begin the trip was to rent a cargo van to transport us, our bikes, and our gear from Chicago to Pittsburgh.

Here’s a timeline of today’s events:

9:07am

Budget Car Rental Lady: “Your cargo van was supposed to arrive yesterday but it’s not here. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Us: “We’ll figure it out.”

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We ended up getting a much smaller SUV, which we began to pack up.  Of course, upon doing so, we quickly realized the bikes would have to be somewhat disassembled.

10:15am

Ellen: “I can’t get my front wheel off.”
Us: “We’ll figure it out.”

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Ellen’s bike has a fancy anti-theft feature that was a little too fancy for us even, but with the help of internet, we figured it out.

10:25am

Us: “How are we going to fit all this stuff in the car?”
Us: “We’ll figure it out.”

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10:31am

Us: “Did anyone print directions to Pittsburgh?”
Us: “Well figure it out.”

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And, we did.  That’s what smartphones are for.  Here we are arriving in Pittsburgh:

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We were quite hungry upon arriving in Pittsburgh, but after losing an hour due to the time change, many places were already closed.  We did find a Buca di Beppo near our hotel.

Us: “Its 8:53 and they close at 9.”
Hostess: “Come on in! You need some carbs!”

We even had a post-dinner, mini-Bellagio show:

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After dinner, we also decided we didn’t know exactly where in Pittsburgh the trail begins.  I swear we are somewhat organized, generally, and we do have most of the logistics taken care of.   I guess I’m the type of person who’s okay with going on trip without having to know, or be in control of, every single detail.  I trust that we can figure out many things we encounter.