Meet Virginia, I Can't Wait to Meet Virginia

As this weekend marks the two-year anniversary of my exodus from Utah, I was just on the phone with Kade and mentioned this to him (the two of us left from Utah together to come east, him to Raleigh, NC and me to DC). He promptly pulled up his email, and found what he sent to friends and family on our second night of the trip. Please read and enjoy. It's lengthy, but worth it for a good laugh. Our third day was fun as well, and I may have to find something about that, but enjoy this for now.

Hello Friends!

Greetings from the other side of the country! It has been quite the adventure and we're only on our second day. Right now, we're in Zanesville, Ohio, which is 78 miles out of Columbus (Columbus is quite the beautiful city at night). We were hoping to make it into West Virginia tonight, but we're bushed. It's 12:45 a.m. and we've been driving since 9:00 a.m. We didn't get to bed until 4:30 a.m. That was twice as much sleep as we received the night before.

I was pretty much packed by Thursday night, but I still had a few things to throw in and then my room to pick up. I also wanted to go spend time with my family and then had to pick up Darin in Brigham. We got back to my house at 1:30 a.m., got the car packed, and then we were up until almost 4:00 a.m. getting stuff finished. We then woke up at 6:30 and got on the road. It was rough. Anyway, we survived the drive through Wyoming (the UGLIEST of states) including seeing some giant statue of Mary or Jesus (we couldn't tell which it was) and then we got to see a trailer house with teepees built into it. Like, permanent, concrete teepees built into the middle of a trailer house. It was insane. Don't worry, I took pictures. Anyway, we then headed into Nebraska and that is where the fun began.

A few miles into Nebraska, Darin was driving and noticed this HUGE field full of cattle. He was like, 'Wow! That's a ton of cattle.' I meanwhile was studying the atlas (Did you know Ohio is the 7th most populated state in the US?) and looked up and said, 'That is a lot of cattle.' Those were almost the last words I spoke. The cows were not just any cows. They were primed and ready for the slaughter, which meant they were fed a warm grain and it stunk to high heaven. We coughed, we gagged, we gulped down the vomit, and we tried to hold our breath. Because we were crying and laughing so hard, that proved impossible. So, we shoved our noses in our armpits to smell the deodorant over that hideous stench. I was brave a couple of times and tried to see if the smell was gone. It wasn't. It honestly was the worst smell on earth and lasted for MILES!! I would rather smell ten dead skunks at once than smell that again. That was our introduction into Nebraska. It was almost a death by toxic fuming. The reason I know about the warm grain, etc., is because I was texting my dad at the time, who drives through that area constantly. I told him I was taking my last breath and that it was due to these horrible cows. He wrote back, 'Oh, those ones on the right hand side? Yeah, that's pretty bad. There's a rest area a few miles ahead. Pull over, walk around, and get a cold drink. It will help with the sickness.' I don't think anyone will ever understand how bad it was unless they were to smell it themselves.

OK, so beyond the cows, we kept seeing urine filled bottles by the road, mile after mile. I couldn't figure out what I was looking at, until Darin explained that a lot of truck drivers do that to save time and then throw them out. That made me sick to my stomach too. But, a few miles later, we were both sick as we looked over to see a lady vomiting by the side of the road. OK, OK, I'll stop with the nasty details of the trip.

So, last night, we were planning on making it to Des Moines, Iowa. We were so exhausted though and tried to stay in Omaha, Nebraska instead. It turns out there was some college world series going on and the entire town's motels were booked, including all of the towns for the next two hours. We were exhausted, couldn't find a place to sleep, and we were starving. We finally found a place somewhere by Elk Horn, Iowa. I almost ran over a family of raccoons, but due to my sharp sight at 2:00 a.m., I avoided the tragedy. The funny thing is that Darin and I were playing the either/or game earlier in the day and one of his questions was, 'Would you rather run over and kill an entire family of kittens or watch Duchess get eaten by a boa constrictor?' Of course, I'd much rather run over the cats. Anyway, a few hours later, there we were, with me almost running over a mama raccoon and her four babies. Disaster was avoided, so I hope Duchess doesn't meet up with any boa constrictors.

OK, so we couldn't get food b/c everything was closed, so we backtracked several miles to an open gas station to grab some junk to get by on, including refrigerated deli sandwiches. It was awful. But, for those of you who have seen me when I'm tired and hungry, you know it was best that I get something, anything really, to eat. It was essential. So, we were up early this morning and have driven about 1800 miles, maybe a bit more, between today and yesterday. We've driven through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and most of Ohio. We're going to hit it tomorrow and try to get to Washington, DC by 1:00 p.m. I am aiming to get to South Boston, Virginia by 5 p.m. I'll head into Raleigh on Monday morning. I have an apartment now and a roommate, so that'll be fun. I'll meet him on Monday or Tuesday. I'll still be house sitting for the week, but will be able to drop all of my stuff off at the apartment so I'm not unpacking twice. I limited my packing to 120 shirts, 40 pairs of pants, 25 pairs of shoes, and then a lot of crap that I just had to have. Darin didn't do much better, so poor Luh-fawn-duh the Honda is loaded to no other. Bless her soul for surviving so far. We bought a cargo bag for the top of the car for luggage and it's stuffed too. The straps go through the car and hook inside, so now the door seals are separated making it soooooo noisy in the car. We solve this by stuffing kleenex and toilet paper in the door frame by the straps. We are both about the same height and the straps hang down a few inches from the roof of the car, so we are slouching down in the chairs to avoid having a strap pushing down on our heads the whole time.

OK, OK, I'll let ya'll go. I need to get to bed and this e-mail is long enough to keep you busy for a while. I hope you are all doing well. I'll catch ya' later. Have a blessed day!

Love,

Kade

She's No Betty Crocker

So how's this for funny? Remember a couple of months ago when Cindy McCain got in trouble for using some Rachel Ray recipes and claiming they were her own? Well, she's back at it again. Apparently, she submitted a plagiarized recipe from the fine folks at Hershey, when she with the (then) other two remaining potential first-spouses were asked to submit a family cookie recipe to an online magazine. Not to say that this is a valid reason that her hubby shouldn't be president--heaven knows there are plenty of those--but it just makes me wonder if her addiction to Percocet and Vicodin have caused some permanent damage. But then again, I have a feeling that Mrs. McCain isn't much into baking cookies. I gather they don't do that too much on her home planet, and I am sure that it wasn't her cookie-baking skills that won over John McCain when he was cheating on his first wife, who had been crippled in a car accident, with her.

Here's a link to the story. I just think it's kinds funny. And the cookies look delicious too. Maybe I can make them and claim them as my own.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-weiner/re-heat-offender-cindy-ba_b_107428.html

It's Funny 'Cause It's True

So, in case you didn't know, my best girl just left me for the summer. Well, it's been about two weeks now. And she'll be getting back in exactly seven weeks and one hour (not that I am counting).
Anyway, I find that my evenings have been extremely open since she left to Russia. I enjoy hanging out with my roomie and playing Mario Kart, but that can get old--particularly so when the roommate beats me and I pout like a child. So we (well, at least I) need fun activities to do during this summer. Suggestions?

Before and After

Yup, the last time I shaved my whole face was on March 16th--well, that is until this morning. I think it'll be my new summer-time look. But, I have a slight feeling it will return at the beginning of August. Thoughts (other than my looking like a complete gomer in the photos)?

Why I'm Voting Republican

I've had a change of heart, and here's why:

Recent Additions

Last week, I got to thinking (and we all know how dangerous that can be at times). I thought to myself, "Self, you haven't used your iTunes gift card that you got for Christmas yet." Then I realized that two bands I like had both recently released CDs and I could use it to buy at least one of those, so after much thought and deliberation, I decided to download Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie, which left $5.01 on the card. Since that wasn't enough for the other CD, and since I could get it on sale at Target for cheaper, I went there the next day and purchased Weezer's Red Album.

Critical Review:

Both offer very nice sounds. Neither is an aberration from their band's normal stylings, so as a fan I appreciate that, but would kind of like to hear a little more from them--I must note, however, I am not a die-hard fan of either group, and am not super-familiar with either group's earliest stuff.

Narrow Stairs, by Death Cab was not one that I popped into the CD player and instantly loved. I don't think any of their albums have been yet. However, in listening to it in my car during my commute (FYI, I don't Metro anymore--thank goodness), I have become a big fan of it. My favorite song is number seven, "Grapevine Fires." It's so smooth and cheerful. However, I do like other songs on there like "No Sunlight," "Your New Twin Size Bed" and "Long Division." I would say that the first radio release from the album, "I Will Possess Your Heart," is arguably the weakest song on the CD.

Weezer's self-titled Red Album is a catchy one. The first three songs are the best (my favorite of which is "Pork and Beans," which has the best music video to accompany it), and number four is really good. After that, they blend into the background in my office, so I can't tell you right off the top of my head if I like the rest of them a lot or whatnot. But I do like the CD as a whole.

Both CDs are really good, but I wouldn't say they're life-changing. They don't fit in the lines of say, Stadium Arcadium, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers or some of my other most-favorites. However, they are sure to get plenty of play time in my car and on my iPod.

So now I have five dollars left to use towards songs or an album on iTunes. Suggestions?

I Heart New York

Two weekends ago for Memorial Day weekend, Melanie, her former roommate, Marin (Muh rin), and I went to the Big Apple and stayed with Melanie's sister, Amber and brother-in-law, Tim. Turns out it was a trip that the two had planned way before I was ever in the picture, but since Mel was leaving only a week after, I was able to work my way into the plans.
We left on Saturday morning, and got there in the afternoon after a decent bus ride. We went to Amber and Tim's, dropped our stuff off, and promptly went sight-seeing. First off, we went to Rockefeller Plaza and went to the "Top of the Rock," which I had never done before, and actually found preferable to the top of the Empire State Building.

Mel and Me on the top of the building

St. Patrick's Cathedral from above.

After we came down from the top, we went to the Nintendo World store. It was a nice chance to play the Wii, since I hadn't done it before. Now, I want to buy one more than ever.

Then to Times Square

While in Times Square we found Junior's, which has the most amazing cheesecake. I got Devil's Food, and the others got Carrot Cake cheesecake. It was just about life-changing. We walked to Bryant Park and rested our weary legs while enjoying some of our delectable treats.

View of the Chrysler building at sunset.

The next day we went to Central Park with Amber and Tim, had a picnic, and played frisbee for a while. Thousands of others had the same idea of going to the park to enjoy the amazing weather.

Marin, Tim, Amber and Mel

After Tim and Amber left, we went to further explore the park. This is my favorite bridge ever. and we got an adorable picture together. Don't mind that it looks like I've got a death grip on her.

After we left the park, I got a hold of a friend of mine from Brazil named Everton, who is here in the states, living in New York. We went to FAO Schwartz, and then to SOHO and Little Italy. We got pizza and then got some fantastic rice pudding at: The next day we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

This was my third trip to Ellis Island, and the first time that I had looked at the museum stuff they had there (don't ask why, I don't know). It was fascinating. Probably one of my favorite things to have seen this time. After we got off the ferry, we went to see Wall Street, and Ground Zero. We then went to Amber and Tim's I said goodbye and went to get a bus home. Mel and Marin stayed another day so they could go see Wicked (the original purpose of their trip).
I think I really do heart New York. Definitely not a place I think I would like to live (who knows for sure), but it's a lot of fun to visit.