Welcome to Ohio

Road Trip Travelogue

We made it! We finally made it to Youngstown, Ohio. After several failed attempts trying to move our things using shipping containers from U-Haul, Tom and I decided to rent a 26 foot truck from Penske and hit the road.

---

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only $30 a year and you get a complimentary copy of my BURNT BASQUE CHEESECAKE RECIPE ZINE.

---

In a span of two days, we emptied the shipping containers, loaded everything into the truck—that was unfortunately parked half a block away from our actual house as if things weren’t hard enough as is—finished packing the rest of our stuff, gave our three kitties some drugs, made a ton of ice coffee, said a couple of prayers, and we were off.

We drove a total of 1,400 miles from Austin all the way up to Youngstown, a city on the Ohio and Pennsylvania border. There are a surprising number of people in Youngstown that I’ve asked, “How would you describe Youngstown?” who reply, proudly and with a shrug, often even a smile, “It’s Deerhunter. You know, Walken, De Niro” and maybe a mimed rifle aiming. Youngstown is plopped right in between Pittsburgh and Cleveland so if you have recommendations for any of these places leave those in the comments. I’m pretty excited for Tom to show me around and for the both of us, and all of you, to discover what’s here.

By the time we got into town, we only had one day to unpack and return the truck before being charged extra fees. Injuries from this rugged experience were relatively minor; lots of bruises, cuts, a couple cat bites, and one pulled muscle in my neck, yes I know rookie mistake. Our fingertips are utterly eviscerated by the cold, the cardboard boxes, washing our hands so so so so many times from all the grime and diesel refueling.

We did it though. Somehow we were able to make the entire drive in just two days. We did have to spend the night in West Memphis, a luxurious experience at Studio 6. In retrospect, it was a fitting prelude to Youngstown, but it got the job done and best of all there was plenty of parking space for our 26 foot truck with a car trailer in the back. We were so nervous of getting stuck somewhere since backing up was never going to be an option. We even used a trucker app called Hammer to make sure we had proper height clearance on our route and stopped at the appropriate gas stations with lots of room, clearance, and diesel. We did stop twice at Buc-ee’s, once in Texas and another time somewhere in the middle of Kentucky—a bit surreal considering we laughed at the sign “Next Buc-ee’s is 584 miles on the right”.

Personally, one of the highlights of the trip was seeing and driving across the Mississippi River. It was my first time seeing it! I think the excitement to see the river is partially a result of a Mark Twain heavy curriculum. Secondly, I have a thing for rivers. Don’t ask. Or do. Another beautiful surprise was the drive itself.

Arkansas was a shockingly beautiful place to drive through, although, be warned, the roads are horrendous and I’m convinced were intentionally designed to break vehicles. The interstate roads are super bumpy, apparently a byproduct of how they were built and finished (arguably not finished). Just be prepared. What feel like endless ridges on the road make for a very jerky and rattling driving experience.

This was my first time driving through this part of the United States. We drove through some major cities such as Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville. The drive into Ohio was another highlight of the trip. The last time I saw Cincinnati was back in 2005 or 2006. The city looked so much bigger than I remember. We drove into Cincinnati as the sun was starting to set. The city itself is located right on the Ohio River (or O-Y-O in Iroquoian which means “the great river”) in a valley, you could see the entire cityscape driving down I-70 which is quite hilly. Descending down those hills, seeing the bridge, and the city in the foreground was such a stunning way to return to Ohio, a state that I used to call home in the mid to late 2000’s.

We also, finally, after 13 years, got to experience all four seasons in a span of 2 days. We went from 80 degree weather in Austin, to beautiful fall Arkansas with orange and red leaves still decorating the majority of the trees lining the highways, to early spring in Kentucky where everything was green, and eventually to winter driving into Akron with snow on the ground and ice on the roads.

---

You might be wondering now that we are here. What’s next?

Well, I am super excited to explore a new place, yes, even Youngstown. There is so much to discover here. Youngstown pizza for example. There are so many Youngstown pizza places, old ones too. Tom’s dad has Alzheimer's and while driving him around town, he had story after story of most of those places. And Youngstown is like that, where everyone’s got a connection to everyone. People are passionate about their favorites and there will be arguments. But everyone still holds open the door in the cold, please and thank you and Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. I didn’t really pay attention to that when we were younger and I was visiting, but it definitely explains my partner a lot more!

So pizza is the upcoming project. There’s a big variety too: doughy with hearty tomato sauce, bell peppers and Romano—things everyone would have in their cold cellar as jars or cans; slices of big wide thin crust pizza with tons of pepperoni and cheese that remind me most of my time in Astoria; or the signature style of so many working class bars across this steel mill city. There’s a lot of history to unpack here!

I am also incredibly excited for delis, diners, and dive bars! The beer scene is also pretty active here and well we all know my love for fermented grains be it liquid or solid. Youngstown and the surrounding area has been transforming and there’s a large amount of new small and local businesses that Tom has never seen before. Even though we are enjoying establishments that have been around since the 1930’s, there’s local families adding new food, drink, services, products, and skills with each generation year after year. And we drove by TWO beautiful Ukrainian churches!

Speaking of delis, I might have found one of the best delis in the USA! Yes. Not just Ohio or Youngstown, the whole country! We went out today for the first time since we got into town and boy was it worth it. You probably want to know the name of this magical place so let me tell you, it’s called Kravitz Delicatessen. The deli has been around since 1939. Walking into the place was a total time warp. Both of us got giddy with excitement and ran to the counter to grab a seat. We knew we had to order right away.

We ordered a giant Reuben with corned beef for $16.99 with a side of fries ($1.99) and a pickle. The corned beef is made in house as is the thousand island dressing. The kraut was perfectly sour, the rye bread had the perfect hint of caraway, and the pickle was huge, as all deli pickles should be.

I want to write a lot more about this wonderful place because well the world needs to know about them. Here is a video of the most delicious corned beef Reuben I have ever had!