I don’t know about any of you, but there is a good amount of the time that living here in Erie really starts to drain me of any kind of energy.
All my life, I grew up in probably one of the most rural areas within an hour of Erie, and because of that, I have become accustomed to a kind of life that rarely meshes well with city living that I have been doing for the past couple years.
First off, the city just plain smells.
Whether it’s some dude down the street smoking cigarettes or the infestation of skunks that has taken hold in the city, there is always some kind of strange odor that will force its way into your nostrils as you walk down the street.
Secondly, the sun seems to never shine here. I’ve talked about this ad nauseum, so I’ll spare you the details.
Overall, I like sunlight but not heat, and Erie seems to only give me the latter and never the former.
Lastly, and something that I have really been noticing the past few weeks, the humidity here in Erie is off the charts.
I can’t take three steps out my door without getting soaked in sweat. I’ve tried just about everything under the sun and I still end up pitting out by the time I get to class.
If it doesn’t cool down soon, you can catch me heading to class in a speedo, and trust me, no one wants to see that.
There is one big upside to living here in dreary Erie: being so close to Presque Isle. Since I have had my car up here, I have made Presque Isle my happy place.
As someone who loves to drive, the calm and scenic loop that Presque Isle provides lets me just shut my brain off and relax while taking in the beautiful views.
You’d be surprised how clean Erie looks when you’re looking at it from Presque Isle.
Granted, there is a good amount of distance between downtown and the peninsula, so that probably helps.
Recently, I have taken up roller blading on the bike path the goes around the peninsula, and I could not be more happy with my time doing that.
For the past couple of weeks, I have made a point to head out in the morning before too many people get there, and lace up my roller blades and just cruise.
The paved trail is surprisingly well-kept and I rarely have any issues with rocks or large branches.
My favorite part of the trail is where it meets the beach toward the end of the trail.
After spending a great amount of time just following the road, the path moves off and opens up into a beautiful view of the beach, and it constantly brightens my day every time I skate by.
It also doesn’t help that Sara’s, a local favorite restaurant, is right next to Presque Isle and the fact that you have to drive past it on the way in and out.
My wallet has taken an absolute nosedive in the time since I started casually driving there on a regular basis.
If you haven’t gone to Sara’s and you go to Gannon, you are either a freshman without a car, a freshman without any friends with cars, or you have been living under a rock, because Sara’s is truly a fantastic culinary experience.
I can’t believe the fact that I just called Sara’s a “culinary experience” but I did, and now I have to live with that.
Long story short, go to Sara’s and get a hot fudge shake and a cheeseburger. You will not be disappointed.
I think we can all agree that living in Erie isn’t the greatest thing in the world, but if you can find your happy place like I’ve found mine, I think we should all be able to survive another year.

BENJAMIN HAYLETT
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