For several weeks now I have been pondering going on a road trip for my birthday on July 31. Since coming back from Japan (well ok, with the exception of the first month being back) I’ve pretty much been working every day on something inside of the house. Painting, assembling furniture, collapsing boxes, cleaning the basement, even putting together sheds outside have been the mainstay of my past month. I’ve been to busy to even apply for jobs (which at this point I think its probably a fruitless attempt and soon I’ll just be concentrating on securing a job starting in September). So, without much opportunities for having fun, I thought that going on a little trip ala Japan would be a nice departure from it all.
So naturally, I’m pondering going to a Hard Rock Cafe that I’ve never been to before. Mostly for the fact that they give you free things on your birthday, and also for the fact that I suppose now I have to make it my goal to visit all HRC’s in the US and/or North America. The challenge though was deciding where to go. I’ve already visited all the HRC’s around Michigan (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto), so anywhere I went would involve a few hours drive. My mom suggested going to Niagara Falls because I have never been there, and after I discovered that there are *2* HRC’s there (one on the US and Canadian side), I figured that would be a perfect place to visit. Its only about a 5 hour drive from Ann Arbor, so it would make a perfect 2-dayish trip. While looking up information on HRC’s, I discovered that there are also two of them in Toronto, while at this point I have only been to one of them (the one located in the Sky Dome, next to the famous CN tower). And with Toronto only being about 1.5 hours away from Niagara Falls, well, why not take a detour on the way back home? Of course I would try to visit a few other things in Toronto, besides just the HRC. Talking to my friend Khoi tonight he told me he liked Toronto’s China Town, so that would also be a great place to visit during a day in Toronto.
With this plan in mind I’ve asked a few friends if they wanted to go with me and so far haven’t found anyone. Cassidy is interested in going but can’t get off work on my birthday. 
But I’d rather travel with her on a non-birthday day then go with anyone else, and it would just be nice to get out of this house, birthday or not. So stay tuned, because maybe I’ll soon be able to report that I’ll be going on a trip soon…