New (old?) beginnings

So, yet again, I live in Seattle.  Yet again, I am starting mostly over. Yet again, I have to set up my bedroom.  Yet again, I have to make new friends.  Yet again, I have to find a job.  Yet again, I feel alone in crowded rooms.  But still... always... I am not alone.  And as Chris August says, the upside of down is that I'm lost and I'm found.  I will always be found in Jesus.

Badlands back to Seattle

November 10

We awoke to a free breakfast of waffles in Hot Springs, then headed off to the Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park.  Today proved that tours are totally dependent on the tour giver, as Jewel Cave’s tour was informational and entertaining, and Wind Cave’s tour basically just made me feel awkward.  We saw some awesome “jewel” rocks and “bacon” at Jewel Cave and some pretty cool “boxwork” in Wind Cave. The 20 degree weather outside dictated that we stay in another hotel tonight, so we stayed at Econolodge, complete with waterslide.  145 miles

November 11

We lazed around the hotel room for a while and then headed off to Montana.  After going through Deadwood (and losing $40), we opted to leave I-90 for the cute little Highway 212.  We drove through a tiny little bit of Wyoming.  It would have been a good idea if it wasn’t so cold.  We ended up taking way longer to get to Missoula than we should have and hung out in the Walmart parking lot for yet another evening.  338 miles

November 12

We woke up to 18 degree weather in the parking lot and headed off for Missoula.  We stopped at a little coffee shop in Livingston for an amazing Black and Tan Mocha and then continued on down the road.  We got to Missoula before Mark was done with work and classes, so we went to a little Princess Bride themed coffee shop.  We also said goodbye to the pumpkin that had been keeping us company since New Hampshire.  Then we had some elk steaks and headed off for Skyfall.  346 miles

November 13

We spent the day chilling in Missoula.  We saw Christopher Haxton for lunch then went grocery shopping and saw a bit of Missoula.  Then we went back to Mark’s to continue Karen’s 007 education with Casino Royale.  We made some pizza then went to the Big Dipper and went bowling, which turned out to be a horrible bowling night, but a pretty great day other than that.   9 miles

November 14

We got up and made some waffles, and then headed on down the road.  We stopped at Target and REI to kill a bit of time before really heading off.   We both got a little sad at the fact that the roadtrip was so close to an end as we were driving through Idaho, but we perked back up with a stop at Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Pullman.  Then we went to dinner with some of Becca’s friends.  After dinner we went to Becca’s and passed out watching Quantum of Solace.  275 miles

November 15

We hung out at Starbucks with Becca for a bit, and then headed off to Portland.  A shake at Sonic and a latte later, we arrived at Jana’s parents’ house where Karen hung out for the evening, while I headed out to hang out with my two favorite little men.   377 miles

November 16

I woke up and hung out with my boys while Karen went to Bob’s Red Mill with Jana.  Then we went and hung out downtown some.  We went to Powell’s to wander some and read some Elephant and Piggie books before getting some Thai food from a street vendor.  Then we headed off to WinterJam to see a bunch of bands, but mainly Chris August and Toby Mac.  18 miles

November 17

We woke up early at Jana’s and headed off for Seattle, but not before a stop at Random Order, one of Food and Wine’s best pie places.  We drove through some crazy rain on our way to Shoreline so we could make it to the Wicked show on time.  We had some Chipotle for lunch, followed by an amazing show, followed by some Valhrona Chocolate Cake.   198 miles

Madison to Minneapolis to the Black Hills

November 5

We left Madison headed west for some family time.  We had some grub at Caribou Coffee and Karen spent some time with her grandparents before heading off to her aunt and uncle’s place for some family time and a chill evening.

November 6

We left the cute little town of Northfield (after another stop at the grandparents’ place) and headed toward the big city.  We stopped for some tasty waffles at Buzz coffee and then went to the Mall of America, where we saw a gigantic Dora.  After not too long, we tired of the mall and went to a cute little library where it was homework/chill time.  Then we went to Karen's Uncle Tim and Aunt Diane’s house for some more family time.

Woooo!!!

November 7

We wandered around Minneapolis some more.  We went to the Guthrie Theater and the Mill District in the downtown area.  Then we went to Northwestern for some college apparel.  In the afternoon, Karen went to hang out with a friend and I found a Target, Dollar Tree, and Big Lots to hang out at.  Then we went to dinner at Uncle Ted and Aunt Elaine’s house and went bowling with the family too.  Then we ended the day with some cookies and ice cream at friend Kim’s house.

November 8

We made some pumpkin waffles then left the Twin Cities for Iowa and South Dakota.  We passed by the highest spot in Iowa, then hit a Starbucks in Sioux Falls for a study break.  Then we headed on down the South Dakotan road and spent the night in Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, two miles from the Badlands.

November 9

We headed off to Badlands NP and hiked around some.  It was crazy foggy, so we weren't able to see a ton.  We decided to head for Mount Rushmore anyway, hopeful that it wouldn't be quite so foggy.  Once again, we were fortunate with the weather and the clouds broke long enough for us to get a great view of the presidents.  Then we drove through Custer State Park on our way to Hot Springs, SD.  

Foggy day in Badlands NP

Jackalope at Wall Drug

4 famous guys

Driving through a herd of 74 buffalo

I fit 12 large grapes in my mouth... Just for fun :)

Nashville to Madison

November 2

We awoke in Clarksville and headed to Starbucks for some homework time.  Then we drove up to Bowling Green and had some more coffee shop time.  We had an amazing calzone and went bowling and played air hockey and hit the batting cages.  Then we went to Walmart to sleep.

We're still working on Karen's bowling form

November 3

We left the Walmart in Bowling Green for a Starbucks.  Homework was a little overwhelming this week.  Then we went to Mammoth Cave National Park and went spelunking.  That’s right, we crawled around in caves for close to three hours.  It was a pretty good time, but my knees were shot by the end of it.  Then we drove to Louisville to hit a Hard Rock and slept in yet another Walmart parking lot.

Coral fossil

Impaled!

Good looking spelunkers

 

November 4

We left the town just north of Louisville where we were staying and went to Indianapolis.  We went to a church that met in the public library, so naturally we wandered the library after.  We completed a scavenger hunt, but the lady wouldn’t give me the pencil prize because she said it was just for kids.  Then we went to Hard Rock for lunch.  We continued on down the road to Madison, WI and stayed with Lindsey, Chet, and their new baby Nehemiah.

Mammoth Cave

Today we went spelunking in Mammoth Cave NP. It was pretty rad overall. A little crawling through holes and over rocks. Good times. We started in Bowling Green and ended the day in Louisville, with yet another Hard Rock Cafe stop.

Chattanooga to Nashville

October 28

We woke up at the KOA near Lookout Mountain and took some cute little highways to Birmingham.  We stopped at the all-important Cracker Barrel for Karen’s token Southern experience.  Then we stopped at a coffee shop for some homework time and went to a cute little bakery for some pie.  We hung out with Mike, Aileen, and Judy McElwain for a good long while. 156 miles

October 29

We spent some quality time with O’Henry’s Coffee, first at the roaster where Mike works, then at the coffee shop where Karen got some quality homework time in.  Then we drove through Alabama to Tuscaloosa for some of Alabama’s great BBQ.  It was indeed fine.  We continued on through Jackson and spent the night in a Vicksburg, MS Walmart parking lot.

October 30

We awoke to a dewy car after a cold night (29 degrees) to the sun shining and a gorgeous day to go through the Vicksburg National Military Park.  The Civil War nerd in me came out some, but not too much and we were out of there in about 2.5 hours.  It probably helped that I drank a ton of liquid and had to pee through pretty much the whole thing.  Then we headed up the famous “Blues Highway” to Memphis.  We had some shakes at Hard Rock and then had some amazing BBQ chicken nachos at Rendezvous.  We briefly met up with Ingrid, but due to her sick little girl, we slept at her place and she stayed at her Granny’s.

Vicksburg National Military Park

October 31

We lazed around Ingrid’s apartment for a long time then headed out to Memphis to go to the Civil Rights Museum.  I decided it wasn’t worth $13, so we took pictures of the outside then left.  Then we went to Arkansas to get a scratch ticket and look for some pie.  We totally struck out on pie though.  Then we went to get some BBQ and ended up back at Ingrid’s killing more time.

Hotel where MLK was shot

November 1

We again lazed a bit at Ingrid’s and then headed down the road to Nashville.  We stopped at Chipotle, REI, and Starbucks before heading to more regional things.  We went to Belle Meade plantation (and saw as much as we could without paying for the tour) and then went into downtown Nashville to go to the Hard Rock.  It was the night of the CMA Awards, so it was a little nuts down there.  Then we headed to Ashley’s house in Clarksville, where Karen went to her first O’Charley’s.