I just deleted a long post I wrote last night detailing our adventures so far and talking about our upcoming ones, but accidentally deleted it when I was approving a comment. I guess I shouldn’t blog while in strange hotel rooms before my first cup of coffee.

But, because I am a little geeky I was able to recover it, but not the comment…

Clare’s decided what colleges to visit and the majority seem to be in the Midwest…

So we’re off! We left at 9 am Monday and drove to Pittsburgh (with a pit stop in Breezewood). Clare’d shown an interest in Chatham University, after learning how beautiful the campus is, so we stopped by Chatham for their 2 pm tour.

She loved it, as expected. The campus in a secluded, woodsy, hilly area of Pittsburgh. Some of the dorms are in converted mansions and the administration building (which is attached to the dining hall) is in a mansion that, upon entering, you wonder where the butler is hiding.

The only worry Clare has is the woman’s college aspect. She’d like to go somewhere where she can meet a guy, and Chatham itself would not be that place. My thought is — she’ll have lots of chances to meet guys in the surrounding area. She loves Pittsburgh, so I think Chatham is a good match. She’d even be elegible for a couple of merit scholarships.

We spent the night in the Wyndam in Oakland. This experience was better than the last, Sponge Bob, one, but the hotel is run-down and expensive, even with a college visit discount. We had dinner at Primanti Brothers in Oakland and both ordered one of their famous sandwiches which contain, besides the normal sandwich ingredients, cole slaw and French fries.

We also visited Dean and my old neighborhood, Shadyside. We walked past the house where Dean and I rented the third floor. It was being completely gutted and fixed up and I talked to three of the construction workers who were curious about what the place was like 25 years ago. They asked if the roof was shot back then and if anyone moved in after us. I would have asked to see the third floor, but I noticed, over the head of one of the construction workers (on the second floor) that I could see daylight over his head.

We left Pittsburgh this morning around 10, after a filling and delicious breakfast (and the above mentioned drive around Shadyside) and headed to the next school on Clare’s list: Washington & Jefferson in Washington PA. We got a little lost and ended up in a run-down neighborhood just outside the school. The few gothic style buildings we passed by didn’t erase the slums we drove through to get there, so Clare didn’t even want to stop.

From there we drove through West Virgina to get to Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. Clare talked to a very nice admissions counselor and had a tour. The school grounds are attractive and there are many pluses, but Clare’s worried the school is too much in the middle of nowhere. Marietta is a beautiful old town, but very tiny.

We thought we’d visit more than one college a day, but our mornings are not as organized as they should be. Tomorrow we plan on visiting Dennison and Kenyon — they are pretty close together and not too far from here. We’re staying in Cambridge, Ohio tonight — Clare said it is like her vision of Hell, but she was a little hungry when she said that.

Our hotel room is clean, cheaper than the Pittsburgh one and convenient. We have a view of a hill, which is better than the freeway. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays down the road, and have retired for an early evening.