Lights Out        

       I had two reasons for taking a 16 day trip through the U.S. The first reason is that for the longest time I had always wanted to  explore the vast industrial complex known as the "Rust Belt." The second reason lies in the fact that this area of the U.S. has some of the best and worst examples of how to build an urban area. For an urban planning student such as myself, nothing beats a living classroom of successes and failure. With such motivations I made my dreams come true and on a dreary August morning I said good bye to Canada and said hello to the United States.

       Over the next two weeks I would meet some amazing people and see sights that my imagination could have never produced had I never visited them. This was not a holiday though, sites that attracted normal tourists repelled me.; where normal tourists feared to go, I went. From the ghetto's of south side Chicago to the backwoods of upstate New York I ventured into areas that many people would write off as a travel destination. Relaxation was not part of the picture as I pushed past my physical and mental limits in the name of exploration in a land of foreigners. More importantly though, I learned a great deal about life, myself and my relationship with God. In the following pages you will find my journal entries (and pictures) of my explorations and thoughts from the day.

       Due to serious time constraints, my trip will be put up in  a series of four or five parts.

Part I

Part II

Part III