Yesterday was New Mexico! Such a beautiful state. We were off freeways until the last 100 miles of a 500 mile day. We visited Roswell and think we saw some aliens. We visited Lincoln, the most dangerous town back in the 1800's with Billy the Kid and his gang. We drove through some mountains and a massive storm with lightning in the distance.
So amazing.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A day in Arkansas
Yesterday, we spent most of the day in the beautiful state of
Arkansas. Anna's ancestors homesteaded there and her uncle, aunt and family still live in the area. Uncle Utah and aunt Mona were so gracious to host us at their farm. You know how they say the country is quiet? Well it is until you go outside in the evening and hear all the bugs. Wow! I even recorded the sound for your enjoyment (to be uploaded later.) I was able to go visit the cows while Utah fed them and in the meantime, saw a black snake and a red fox cub. So cool. I want a farm.
After leaving the relatives, we went down the street to the homestead where Beaver Jim Villines, one of Anna's ancestors homesteaded. There is still a structure there from the 1800's and a plaque telling the story. I was so happy for Anna to be able to see this.
The remainder of the day was spent weaving through NE Arkansas and visiting the cute mountain town of Eureka Sprimgs. Then off west into Oklahoma for the night. Today, Texas.
Arkansas. Anna's ancestors homesteaded there and her uncle, aunt and family still live in the area. Uncle Utah and aunt Mona were so gracious to host us at their farm. You know how they say the country is quiet? Well it is until you go outside in the evening and hear all the bugs. Wow! I even recorded the sound for your enjoyment (to be uploaded later.) I was able to go visit the cows while Utah fed them and in the meantime, saw a black snake and a red fox cub. So cool. I want a farm.
After leaving the relatives, we went down the street to the homestead where Beaver Jim Villines, one of Anna's ancestors homesteaded. There is still a structure there from the 1800's and a plaque telling the story. I was so happy for Anna to be able to see this.
The remainder of the day was spent weaving through NE Arkansas and visiting the cute mountain town of Eureka Sprimgs. Then off west into Oklahoma for the night. Today, Texas.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Chihuahua across America!
Phoebe is having a ball on this trip. She gets to be posed with all manner of Americana. In this photo, we found an abandoned 2 story Santa Claus but a couple of abandoned gas stations and hotel. We were in the middle of Indiana having lunch at an Amish buffet when we saw this. Crazy. From the prices of gas, we can tell it was closed sometime last summer when we were in the $4 gas economy.
Saturday's adventure in driving took us from Lexington (boo Sheraton) through Kentucky and into Indiana and then Illinois and finally Missouri. We are outside of St. Louis staying in a Chalet in a strange complex of hotels and restaurants. Pretty cool place since it has this whole Swiss Matterhorn feel. Ooh, and there is a restaurant named Pujols. Baseball themed restaurant.
We're gonna go check out the Arch this morning and then visit relatives. Should be a good day in Missouri.
Saturday's adventure in driving took us from Lexington (boo Sheraton) through Kentucky and into Indiana and then Illinois and finally Missouri. We are outside of St. Louis staying in a Chalet in a strange complex of hotels and restaurants. Pretty cool place since it has this whole Swiss Matterhorn feel. Ooh, and there is a restaurant named Pujols. Baseball themed restaurant.
We're gonna go check out the Arch this morning and then visit relatives. Should be a good day in Missouri.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Lexington BedJumping
A long day in the car after a truly wonderful time with our friends Tiger and Allison. Thank you so much.
First - bedjumping at Day's Inn in Lexington, KY. See Phoebe to the right and her reaction? No animals were harmed in the production of this photo.
We snaked our way northwest from Greensboro NC through NW NC and then SW Virginia and finally east Kentucky. Beautiful area out there. I wanted us to get off the freeway and boy did we. On 25 mile stretch took us a couple of hours due to curves and mountain passes. But, we did get to see a buzzard or two, so it was worth it. In VA, we traveled this one valley for awhile which had tons of car repair shops along with numerous flower shops and tanning bed. Oh, and almost all the commercial buildings were abandoned. I saw huge coal operations and a pelican in the middle of the river. So awesome.
Tomorrow St. Louis. Night Night.
First - bedjumping at Day's Inn in Lexington, KY. See Phoebe to the right and her reaction? No animals were harmed in the production of this photo.
We snaked our way northwest from Greensboro NC through NW NC and then SW Virginia and finally east Kentucky. Beautiful area out there. I wanted us to get off the freeway and boy did we. On 25 mile stretch took us a couple of hours due to curves and mountain passes. But, we did get to see a buzzard or two, so it was worth it. In VA, we traveled this one valley for awhile which had tons of car repair shops along with numerous flower shops and tanning bed. Oh, and almost all the commercial buildings were abandoned. I saw huge coal operations and a pelican in the middle of the river. So awesome.
Tomorrow St. Louis. Night Night.
I love beds
How come every time I write I am exhausted? The road is hard on a gal, especially when every night since graduation I've either a) slept on the floor; b) drank too much; c) slept on an inflatable mattress; or d) some combination of a, b, and c. So tonight I'm in the somewhat lo-fi, low budget Days Inn with the a/c cranked, in my pjs on a king-sized bed. My Chihuahua is beat and her breath is so bad. Note to self: get Phoebe's teeth cleaned immediately upon return to Portland.
Tiger and Allie showed us such a good time last night. I discovered that in North Carolina, when you order "roe" at the fancy sushi restaurant down the street, it's important to differentiate between "roe" and "roll", as apparently in North Carolina, "roe" and "roll" sound the same. Much drama and confusion insued. But a fun time was had by all, I got my roe, and the manager mistook Brett for a civil war reinactor, so the free sake was certainly appreciated.
I'm planning and scheming for life in Portland. So what if there are no jobs available right now? I've got the NCLEX to master. Plus I've got a little mini-vakay with my sister that I must shower my attention on. I'm feeling like it's going to be late October, November before this girl has a new job.
I still have this sort of fantasy of having a marghertia for breakfast at some point during my journey West. Of course, this only ever sounds good around happy hour every afternoon. Alcoholic beverages just aren't that appealing to me at 8am.
Oh, I'm so anxious to look at our photos! I've haven't had access to the Internet the last couple of days. I'm torn between continuing to write and perusing our photos. As far as actual road tripping today, my favorite/most terrifying moment was on the B.F. Buchanan scenic highway to Pikesville in the southwestern corner of Virginia when I had to pee so badly I pulled over on a lonely hill and hoped no vehicles would drive by. And it was especially exciting because several minutes before I had scared myself that the single vehicle that had passed us earlier, the one I fondly and affectionately named The Serial Killer Van, would turn around and somehow be on our tail, abducting all of us into the SW Virginia mountains never to be heard from again. Maybe I didn't share this information with Brett honestly; I joked about it like I thought it was funny, but actually I kind of freaked myself out for about 1/2 an hour. And squatting on the side of a lonely hill makes me feel all-the-more vulnerable.
It's time for bed.
Tiger and Allie showed us such a good time last night. I discovered that in North Carolina, when you order "roe" at the fancy sushi restaurant down the street, it's important to differentiate between "roe" and "roll", as apparently in North Carolina, "roe" and "roll" sound the same. Much drama and confusion insued. But a fun time was had by all, I got my roe, and the manager mistook Brett for a civil war reinactor, so the free sake was certainly appreciated.
I'm planning and scheming for life in Portland. So what if there are no jobs available right now? I've got the NCLEX to master. Plus I've got a little mini-vakay with my sister that I must shower my attention on. I'm feeling like it's going to be late October, November before this girl has a new job.
I still have this sort of fantasy of having a marghertia for breakfast at some point during my journey West. Of course, this only ever sounds good around happy hour every afternoon. Alcoholic beverages just aren't that appealing to me at 8am.
Oh, I'm so anxious to look at our photos! I've haven't had access to the Internet the last couple of days. I'm torn between continuing to write and perusing our photos. As far as actual road tripping today, my favorite/most terrifying moment was on the B.F. Buchanan scenic highway to Pikesville in the southwestern corner of Virginia when I had to pee so badly I pulled over on a lonely hill and hoped no vehicles would drive by. And it was especially exciting because several minutes before I had scared myself that the single vehicle that had passed us earlier, the one I fondly and affectionately named The Serial Killer Van, would turn around and somehow be on our tail, abducting all of us into the SW Virginia mountains never to be heard from again. Maybe I didn't share this information with Brett honestly; I joked about it like I thought it was funny, but actually I kind of freaked myself out for about 1/2 an hour. And squatting on the side of a lonely hill makes me feel all-the-more vulnerable.
It's time for bed.
World's largest cigar store - NC
Whew! What a couple of whirlwind days. We're back on the road and in North Carolina visiting our friends Tiger and Allison. More on that later.
Over the last couple of days, we have done the following:
On the way to North Carolina, we were coming upon Greensboro late in the afternoon when we started seeing billboards for JR, the largest cigar store in "THE WORLD!" Oh, and it wasn't just 1 billboard, but 20 or so. We had to stop. Then we began seeing JR, the largest discount fragrance store and cigarette store and jeans outlet. It is the Ultimate Shopping Experience!!!!!
We stopped and visited, with Phoebe, always a show stopper. While they did have a very large Cigar store, the rest of the store was a bit cheesy. Kinda a mix of outlet mall and Walmart. I was blown away by the cigars. You could get almost any cigar you wanted by the box and doing some quick math based on Portland prices, they were the same, so it was a good deal. I have a bunch of cigars for the trip and didn't really need a whole box of anything, so we chose to forgo a purchase. Maybe next time.
Here in Greensboro, we're visiting our great friends Tiger and Allison. Allison grew up here and they recently moved back. So good to spend time with them. They took us down to the local sushi restaurant where we had some kick ass sushi roles. We were also entertained by a gentleman who thought I was a Civil War re-enactor because of my sideburns (Civil War general Burnside had sideburns.) The guy was somehow affiliated with the restaurant and regaled us with stories of Civil War battles and Grant's campaign. For about 15 minutes. At first, it was a bit strange, but we just drank our beer and rolled with it. Made for a great story and experience with Greensboro.
Today, we're off to Kentucky. Gonna snake through the mountains. More photos will be uploaded tonight.
Over the last couple of days, we have done the following:
- Packed Anna's apartment
- Attended a Nurses pool party
- Did ceremonial burning of uniforms
- Packed the Jetta to capacity
- Packed the Jetta beyond capacity
- Anna Graduated
- Anna Graduated
- Anna Graduated
- Drive to Germantown, MD to visit George and Dolly
- Played vintage Star Wars Pinball
- Drank microbrew beer
- Drove through Virginia to NC
- Ate Sushi
- Slept.
On the way to North Carolina, we were coming upon Greensboro late in the afternoon when we started seeing billboards for JR, the largest cigar store in "THE WORLD!" Oh, and it wasn't just 1 billboard, but 20 or so. We had to stop. Then we began seeing JR, the largest discount fragrance store and cigarette store and jeans outlet. It is the Ultimate Shopping Experience!!!!!
We stopped and visited, with Phoebe, always a show stopper. While they did have a very large Cigar store, the rest of the store was a bit cheesy. Kinda a mix of outlet mall and Walmart. I was blown away by the cigars. You could get almost any cigar you wanted by the box and doing some quick math based on Portland prices, they were the same, so it was a good deal. I have a bunch of cigars for the trip and didn't really need a whole box of anything, so we chose to forgo a purchase. Maybe next time.
Here in Greensboro, we're visiting our great friends Tiger and Allison. Allison grew up here and they recently moved back. So good to spend time with them. They took us down to the local sushi restaurant where we had some kick ass sushi roles. We were also entertained by a gentleman who thought I was a Civil War re-enactor because of my sideburns (Civil War general Burnside had sideburns.) The guy was somehow affiliated with the restaurant and regaled us with stories of Civil War battles and Grant's campaign. For about 15 minutes. At first, it was a bit strange, but we just drank our beer and rolled with it. Made for a great story and experience with Greensboro.
Today, we're off to Kentucky. Gonna snake through the mountains. More photos will be uploaded tonight.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Graduated. It's sinking in. Srsly
I am overwhelmed and exhausted, but oh so incredibly happy. And I'm pretty sure that as the days go on I will relax even further into the idea that school is finally over and I'm one NCLEX away from a new career. My apartment is a sparse wasteland of dust bunnies and nearly-empty bottles of mustard and jam (why do I have 5 jars of nearly-empty jam in my fridge?). It's late, and I haven't slept well for at least a week. Tonight I'm sleeping on one of those egg-crate foam pads directly on the floor, as I sold my king-sized bed to an English woman living in West Philly whose home was overrun with bed bugs and she was desperate for my gently-used-with-a-few-funky-mysterious-stains bed. I should have charged her more, like maybe enough to pay for a hotel room tonight, because I don't expect I'll be sleeping well tonight, either.
So we're keeping a blog as we travel across country. Check in if you want, leave comments should you desire. I'm going to miss Pennsylvania a little bit. I'm not going to miss school very much, but I'm for sure going to miss all the awesome people I've met and spent time with over the last 14 months. Oh, but am I excited to get home.
I'm too sleepy to post a picture tonight. I just want to curl up with my Chihuahua. on the floor. Oh, and my hubby, I get to start hanging out with him again. That'll be fun. Adventures a-plenty in the next couple weeks. And now, sleep.
So we're keeping a blog as we travel across country. Check in if you want, leave comments should you desire. I'm going to miss Pennsylvania a little bit. I'm not going to miss school very much, but I'm for sure going to miss all the awesome people I've met and spent time with over the last 14 months. Oh, but am I excited to get home.
I'm too sleepy to post a picture tonight. I just want to curl up with my Chihuahua. on the floor. Oh, and my hubby, I get to start hanging out with him again. That'll be fun. Adventures a-plenty in the next couple weeks. And now, sleep.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)