We last updated in Indiana...before we fell asleep. Well, tried to sleep anyway. Living in Washington, I thought I knew what a thunder and lightning storm was. There is some rain, 5 or 6 bolts of lightning and the thunder that accompanies it. What I learned is that Washington lightning storms are kinda like...buying french bread in America, eating california style pizza in Virginia, or a philly cheesesteak sandwich in Kansas. I guess what I'm trying to say is lightning storms in Indiana are TERRIFYING...especially when viewing them from inside a tent. Literally...lightning every 10 seconds and the thunder did not stop for half an hour. So we didn't get much sleep and when we decided to pack up in the morning, everything was soaked and dirty. great.
The day after Indiana was not to exciting. We drove through Chicago, which is an extremely ugly city. Everything there seemed dirty. The only redeeming point of interest in that area was how they handled their "service" stations along the toll road. They were these big archways that went over the freeway and had restaurants and such inside. It kinda felt like you were in an airport. We had chinese food in one and then continued on to Minnesota. After our experiance in Indiana, we were not looking forward to camping outside again so we upgraded to a little cabin site and slept indoors while hanging our tent out to dry a little while we went to explore the area. We had arrived really early that day and since we were sleeping indoors we decided to see if there were any movies we wanted out and watch them in the cabin. We bought Men in Black and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because they were 5 bucks and watched those.
The next day we headed towards Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills. South Dakota is an interesting state...every city in South Dakota has something that is the most amazing thing you will ever see and they will advertise it thoroughly. We visited Wall Drug...which you start seeing signs for 355 miles away and then every 5 miles from that point. You would think it was a lot cooler than it was. However, it's just a block of old west looking building, lots of cowboys, and a maze. We bought some ice cream...which I guess was pretty good. We did manage to pull ourselves away and continue on to Rushmore. Again, we got there pretty early so we had 3-4 hours to visit Keystone, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse (kinda). I say kinda because we didn't want to pay the 20 bucks to get in when you can see the actual mountain from the road. Crazy Horse is interesting because it's been being built for nearly 100 years and it isn't close to being done. I saw it when I was in junior high and the only difference between then and now is there is a hole in the mountain where is armpit is gonna be. Mount Rushmore was Mount Rushmore...it's surprisingly small in real life. Keystone is another old west themed town. It's...not exciting. Merrilee bought some black hills gold...from the black hills.
We upgraded to a cabin again that night and, for the second night in a row, had problems with our internet so we couldn't update. Did I mention that earlier? We didn't update the last few days cause KOA internet access is spotty at best.
Anywho, we started driving through Montana. Again, not exciting. We intended on upgrading to a cabin site in Misoula, MO, but they were booked. So, we decided that we could either find a hotel, sleep in a wet tent, or drive through till we couldn't drive anymore. We decided on the last option and hit Spokane around 9 o'clock. At which point we figured we could make it to Seattle before 2am, so we just drove through. We made it into Merrilees Mom's house around 1:30 and crashed after a quick cuddle with our kitties. We plan on trying to clean up the tent today, doing our laundry and then heading ho e tommorrow morning. We're excited to be getting home, even though that means we have to go back to work :-(
-Jason
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
blog ity blog blog blog
yeah, so it's been awhile again. Somehow it's harder to blog when you are staying at a house rather than a campsite...go figure. However, we are now on our homeward stretch and it's nothing but campsite on the way so....I can officially announce that we will try to post almost every day when we have the time!
I believe we left off in connecticut...which was fun. We met up with a ton of the HoA gang and had a pretty crazy fun party. It was really great meeting, in person, all of these people we have known for almost 2 years. Good times were had by all and it was difficult to tear ourselves away, but we finally managed to make our way through the state of New York. Sunday night, we stayed at a campsite in Herkimer...which was nice...but very cold. An eventuality we were not wholly prepared for. Luckily, it was a short driving day (4 hours) to the Buffalo area to visit Merrilee's dad.
We had an excellent time touring their town and visiting Niagara Falls with them on Monday and Tuesday. We did the "Maid of the Mist" and "Cave of the Winds" tourist thingies and was able to experiance the falls in the wettest way possible. We got souvenior shoes! WOOO. Except I donated mine...which I regretted later as my Vans got completely drenched and took nearly 8 hours to dry. However, all and all it was an excellent day.
We woke up this morning and met Behr for breakfast at Tim Horton's. Not half bad coffee and/or breakfast. One thing that is refreshing to know about this roadtrip is that all of my friends that I enjoy "virtually" and thoroughly enjoy in real life...or IRL for those of you "in the know." The day was pretty uneventful. Pulled into our campsite in Indiana around 6...got lost trying to make our way to Michigan for dinner...Merrilee stressed out...I made lots of jokes to make her feel better...she yelled at me for making jokes...I made jokes about not making jokes...she hit me. A good time was had by all.
Oh, and one thing I will not miss about the east coast and mid west is...HUMIDITY. We don't get much of it in Washington and thank the lord almighty for that. Humidity sucks.
I believe we left off in connecticut...which was fun. We met up with a ton of the HoA gang and had a pretty crazy fun party. It was really great meeting, in person, all of these people we have known for almost 2 years. Good times were had by all and it was difficult to tear ourselves away, but we finally managed to make our way through the state of New York. Sunday night, we stayed at a campsite in Herkimer...which was nice...but very cold. An eventuality we were not wholly prepared for. Luckily, it was a short driving day (4 hours) to the Buffalo area to visit Merrilee's dad.
We had an excellent time touring their town and visiting Niagara Falls with them on Monday and Tuesday. We did the "Maid of the Mist" and "Cave of the Winds" tourist thingies and was able to experiance the falls in the wettest way possible. We got souvenior shoes! WOOO. Except I donated mine...which I regretted later as my Vans got completely drenched and took nearly 8 hours to dry. However, all and all it was an excellent day.
We woke up this morning and met Behr for breakfast at Tim Horton's. Not half bad coffee and/or breakfast. One thing that is refreshing to know about this roadtrip is that all of my friends that I enjoy "virtually" and thoroughly enjoy in real life...or IRL for those of you "in the know." The day was pretty uneventful. Pulled into our campsite in Indiana around 6...got lost trying to make our way to Michigan for dinner...Merrilee stressed out...I made lots of jokes to make her feel better...she yelled at me for making jokes...I made jokes about not making jokes...she hit me. A good time was had by all.
Oh, and one thing I will not miss about the east coast and mid west is...HUMIDITY. We don't get much of it in Washington and thank the lord almighty for that. Humidity sucks.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The East Coast (or Most of it)
Sorry it's been so long! Traveling can keep you really busy. Lets see...
Wednesday we spent the day going from Virginia Beach, to downtown Norfolk, and then had dinner at Bardo's. They say it's a Toppas Bar, but it wasn't actually toppas, but it was still really good. After that we went back to Geoff's and attempted to make an early night of it, but then Janet and Chad came over, so we hung out with them for a while.
We then got up early the next morning, and made our way to Washington D.C. That was the first time I'd ever been on a subway! We ate lunch, and tried to make our way around the Mall for the afternoon. When we first got to D.C. it was pouring. We needed cash, so we stopped at an Eckerd's and picked up umbrellas and cash. But as we walked out the door, it stopped raining! So we ended up carrying umbrellas around with us all afternoon instead. It ended up getting really hot, so after seeing the Washington Monument, the Whitehouse, and the Lincoln Monument, we caught a bus and went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for a while. We only really saw the dinosaurs and geology exhibit, because by then we were getting tired and still wanted to see the capital building. So we left, saw the capital, then took the subway and bus back to the hotel. From there, we picked up Geoff's car, and went to dinner with his friend (also named Chad). After that, we were exhausted, and fell into bed. That was a lot of walking in the sun!
Friday morning we packed up, and started driving to Connecticut. We made good time, and got to the Statue of Liberty by about 1pm, and decided it was worth the Ferry fare. It was great. We got to see Ellis Island, but we decided not to visit. It was crowded, and we got good pictures from the outside. So we went on to the Statue of Liberty. That was great. I never realized the base was so big, and she was so small! And since we didn't go to NYC, we admired the skyline. When I first saw it I wasn't so impressed, then I realized it kept going... As soon as we got off the return ferry, it started raining. So when we got back on the New Jersey Turnpike, there was a ton of lightening. Sadly there was traffic, so we got to see a lot of it. It took us almost 2 hours to go from Jersey City through the little bit of New York we went through. When we finally hit Connecticut, it really started raining, and we hit even more traffic.
We ended up getting to Marie and Joe's just after 7. There were already a ton of people here, even though the party isn't actually until tonight. Some people have hotels, but there are 6 people sleeping in the living room, one in front of the bathroom upstairs, us 2 in one bedroom, 3 more in another bedroom, and 4 in the master bedroom.... I'm not sure how showers will work.
Anyway, we're having a great time. I'm posting now because most people are still asleep.
Ta ta!
Wednesday we spent the day going from Virginia Beach, to downtown Norfolk, and then had dinner at Bardo's. They say it's a Toppas Bar, but it wasn't actually toppas, but it was still really good. After that we went back to Geoff's and attempted to make an early night of it, but then Janet and Chad came over, so we hung out with them for a while.
We then got up early the next morning, and made our way to Washington D.C. That was the first time I'd ever been on a subway! We ate lunch, and tried to make our way around the Mall for the afternoon. When we first got to D.C. it was pouring. We needed cash, so we stopped at an Eckerd's and picked up umbrellas and cash. But as we walked out the door, it stopped raining! So we ended up carrying umbrellas around with us all afternoon instead. It ended up getting really hot, so after seeing the Washington Monument, the Whitehouse, and the Lincoln Monument, we caught a bus and went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for a while. We only really saw the dinosaurs and geology exhibit, because by then we were getting tired and still wanted to see the capital building. So we left, saw the capital, then took the subway and bus back to the hotel. From there, we picked up Geoff's car, and went to dinner with his friend (also named Chad). After that, we were exhausted, and fell into bed. That was a lot of walking in the sun!
Friday morning we packed up, and started driving to Connecticut. We made good time, and got to the Statue of Liberty by about 1pm, and decided it was worth the Ferry fare. It was great. We got to see Ellis Island, but we decided not to visit. It was crowded, and we got good pictures from the outside. So we went on to the Statue of Liberty. That was great. I never realized the base was so big, and she was so small! And since we didn't go to NYC, we admired the skyline. When I first saw it I wasn't so impressed, then I realized it kept going... As soon as we got off the return ferry, it started raining. So when we got back on the New Jersey Turnpike, there was a ton of lightening. Sadly there was traffic, so we got to see a lot of it. It took us almost 2 hours to go from Jersey City through the little bit of New York we went through. When we finally hit Connecticut, it really started raining, and we hit even more traffic.
We ended up getting to Marie and Joe's just after 7. There were already a ton of people here, even though the party isn't actually until tonight. Some people have hotels, but there are 6 people sleeping in the living room, one in front of the bathroom upstairs, us 2 in one bedroom, 3 more in another bedroom, and 4 in the master bedroom.... I'm not sure how showers will work.
Anyway, we're having a great time. I'm posting now because most people are still asleep.
Ta ta!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Super Quick
So, today we went to Virginia Beach, then explored the Norfolk waterfront. We went to dinner at this amazing restaurant, and now we're hanging out with friends. Tomorrow we're heading to Washington D.C. and we won't have internet access. I'll try to post this weekend, but no guarantees!
<3 Merrilee
<3 Merrilee
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Roller Coasters and Headaches
So, I'm a huge fan of roller coasters, but Washington doesn't really have many. And since we don't really get out of the state, I don't ride them much. Luckily, Busch Gardens had a ton. I especially liked the Griffon. It was incredible. We got there about 10 this morning, and stayed until just after 4:30. We're not kids anymore, and we were completely worn out. So we've just vegged and played Wii the rest of the evening.
The day doesn't have a lot to be said about it, there's just a lot of pictures. Enjoy!
The day doesn't have a lot to be said about it, there's just a lot of pictures. Enjoy!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wookie Noises and Monticello
We woke up this morning relatively early because we were going to head over to the Charlettesville area to see Monticello. First however, we met with Meera and Katie for lunch. Lunch was...interesting. Apparently, when you order field greens in salads at "Soup Revolution" they also include all the bugs from the field in your salad. I had about 6 bites of my salad before I found a nasty dead ladybug near one of my shrimp...so I kinda lost my appetite. The company was good though and I have been storing up enough fat from eating every other nasty thing that missing lunch wasn't going to kill me.
Monticello was lots of fun. I was able to fulfill my lifelong dream and drop my cell phone in Thomas Jefferson's back lawn. I also dropped my keys in Thomas Jefferson's back lawn. I even dropped my wallet in Thomas Jefferson's back lawn. In addition, I pinched Merrilee's bum in Thomas Jefferson's Beer Cellar, Amongst other Thomas Jefferson rooms.
Stopped for dinner at the Legacy Brewery with Geoff's friend Christie. We got two beer samplers and had a nice dinner. Geoff got a cool cup.
We then drove home and spent at least 15 minutes perfecting our best Wookie/Murloc noises. Geoff won.
Monticello was lots of fun. I was able to fulfill my lifelong dream and drop my cell phone in Thomas Jefferson's back lawn. I also dropped my keys in Thomas Jefferson's back lawn. I even dropped my wallet in Thomas Jefferson's back lawn. In addition, I pinched Merrilee's bum in Thomas Jefferson's Beer Cellar, Amongst other Thomas Jefferson rooms.
Stopped for dinner at the Legacy Brewery with Geoff's friend Christie. We got two beer samplers and had a nice dinner. Geoff got a cool cup.
We then drove home and spent at least 15 minutes perfecting our best Wookie/Murloc noises. Geoff won.
North Carolina?
Yesterday Geoff took us for a drive. We saw lots of farms, and peanut sculptures, and we ended up in North Carolina. Not for long, just enough to say we've been there. It's not too far of a drive from Portsmouth. We also did laundry, then came back, ate leftovers for dinner, then watched the first two Harry Potter movies. But I fell asleep. I am boring I guess. That's all we really did!
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