Keep Calm and Drop Acid

June 12:  

We woke up leisurely at my gramma's house and were on the road by 10:30.  We had an 8-hour drive ahead of us to Pennsylvania and my little sister.  The trip was relatively uneventful, except for a truck we saw with this wacky advice...

Rachel had made us a nice dinner, and we went to a frozen yogurt place called Kiwi.  They had 16 flavors available in 8 machines (plus the twist of each machine flavors) and tons of toppings.  The different thing about this place is that you serve yourself!  You choose a bowl size and fill 'er right up.  You're charged by the weight of your yogurt/toppings.  Pretty neat idea...  We went to the library, rented The Lincoln Lawyer (I had just finished the book), went home, and watched it.  Then we went to bed.

June 13-14:
Rachel had 2 days off, but Jake still had to go to work at Wegmans.  So of course we had to go see him...and eat lunch there!  It was so nice to be back at Wegmans - one of the things we miss most about New York.  That night, we went to church and had the pleasure of being in Jake's young adults class.  We played Catch Phrase then studied a chapter in James.

I had to get some bloodwork done on Thursday, and the nearest lab my insurance would cover was about 40 minutes away in Altoona, so we made a little day trip of it.  We went to Wegmans again (why wouldn't you?), got subs to eat later, and headed out.  When we neared our destination, the GPS took us down a dead-end gravel road in the most run-down part of town and told us to turn right....  Uhh, you mean into the river?  Or do you think there is some way we can magically fly up onto the bridge 30 feet above us?  We finally found our own way to the bridge and then arrived at the wrong location anyway.  I took a nervous poop, then we left to find the real lab.  When we finally arrived, the technician was out for lunch.  Now let me tell you something...I HATE giving blood (hence the nervous poop).  I was fine with it in high school, but once I got a little older it started to really bother me.  I'm talking nausea, feeling light-headed, fainting - the whole 9 yards.  So waiting for the technician to get back only made me more nervous.  Jake told me that he would get me a Frosty and Lee said I could buy a new watch if I made it through without fainting. Once the technician was able to take me, she was pretty gruff.  Not personable at all, not looking at me when she talked, answering my questions with 1 or 2 word answers, you get the picture.  When she moved me to "The Chair" I finally said, "I'm not so good with all this stuff."  I told her that the last time I gave blood, they had trouble finding a vein in my arm.  She looked at me, must have seen that I was already turning pale, and then started talking her head off trying to keep my focus on something else.  She told me that she could take the blood from my hand instead, and it wouldn't hurt any more or less than taking it from my arm.  I said ok, and she began, blabbing again about something or other, and asking me what I did for work.  Less than 30 seconds later, she said I was done!  I didn't even have time for my hearing to become muffled (my go-to first sign that this is going to be a bad experience).  I got all bandaged up, and we peaced out of that joint! 

Josiah's dream finally realized?

In more ways than one...

We went shopping at the sketchiest second-hand shop I have ever seen (Rachel's pick).  There was a guy sitting about 6 feet from the entrance in a lawn chair watching an old tv.  The place smelled like cat pee, probably from the litter box sitting right next to the door.  I could barely stand the smell, so I didn't even get much past the entrance before I told the other three I would be waiting outside.  From what I hear, the guy that owned this place could have been featured on the show Hoarders.  I wanted to shower in the worst way after I left.  Gross.  Then we went to a few normal stores like Gabriel Brothers and Sams Club.

On our way back, there were several sets of rumble strips in the middle of the road.  There was no logical reason for them to be there, and they were only in the right lane of the highway.  Lee and I had already driven over them on our way in to State College, and we told Rachel and Jake that we thought they were supposed to make some sort of song.  They told us we were crazy, but there was a sort of melody when we drove over them!  I googled it later and while I didn't find anything on the Altoona highway itself, I did find out that those sort of things exist!  Here's a video about Honda's Musical Road...

           

When we got back to State College, we wrapped Ben's wedding gifts we had got that day.  Later, we had a campfire and Jake made us one of his delicacies...squirrel!

Good picture to end on, right?  By the way, I never got the promised Frosty or watch...  Figures.

~Hooks

To Grandmother's House We Go

June 7:
We left Texas and made our way to Alabama, where we stayed for the night.  Lee usually drives everywhere we go, but this time we split the driving since it was a 12-hour day.  We settled in and started listening to a book on tape - Michael Connelly's The Reversal.  As is our custom on road trips (and probably yours too?), we tried to get each "Welcome" sign as we passed into new states.  I took the first driving shift, so Lee was on state line look-out.  ...He needs a little practice.

 

After about 6 hours, we switched and Lee drove (hence, the beautiful shot of the Alabama sign).  We stopped for lunch in Mobile at a place called The Hungry Owl.  Lee was super excited because this place had been featured on Man Vs. Food  and he wanted to get the same burger Adam had gotten on the show.  The restaurant was pretty cool and totally decked out in owl decor, but we were there at an odd time, so it was mostly empty.  

Sadly, I was a little disappointed with my gator and crab cake sandwich, but I don't really like the Creole seasoning used in most Southern seafood cakes, so it's not surprising.  (Don't really know why I ordered it...I think I was enthralled by the gator.)  And I know my baked mac 'n' cheese looks good, but it was actually pretty weird-tasting.  It had a gross smoked flavor or something.  Even Lee didn't really like it, and he'll eat anything!  However, he did love his sandwich:  a burger stuffed with sauteed onions, peppers, celery, sausage, 3 cheeses, and jalapenos, then topped with sharp cheddar, bacon, candied jalapenos, smoked gouda, Creole bbq sauce, and a fried egg!!!  Try saying that all in one breath!  His loaded potato salad was to die for too.  I know, because I ate most of it.  :)

We stayed in Alabama that night, close to the Georgia border, in a Hampton Inn.  No pictures of that though because we've stayed there several times now, and I think you kind of get the idea.  This one was newly built and had modern decor, though, so there were no bathtubs (and no hot tub either), which was exactly what I was aching for after a long day on the road.  Add to that the fact that Lee completely schooled me in Skip-Bo 3+ times, and I was not the happiest camper.  (Darn my will to win!)

June 8:

We woke up, ate a yummy hot breakfast, and were on our way bright and early.  We soon passed into Georgia...then South Carolina, and finally North Carolina, finishing The Reversal somewhere in there.  We saw many odd and interesting things on our way... 

Lee was on camera duty again.  We can only guess that this is Georgia.  ;)

 Pretty water pictures...

   

This was a tricky one for me. It came up fast.

Hi, Caleb!

That poor man is toppled over.

Lee had always dreamed it was real...

Imitating me.  12 hours in a car can do that to a person.

L: "Do you think I can take the paper?"  B: "Yeah probably, there's only a few sheets."

Later...

B: "You stole the pen too?!"  L: "They go together!  They expect you to take both!"

Lee not wanting his picture taken after above conversation.

Missed the real sign, but we had to potty at the Welcome Center anyway.

We're finally here!  "Albemarle Plantation"

Once we got to Gramma and Joe's house, we unpacked a little, ate dinner, and went down to the waterfront to relax in the hot tub.  It was close to 9 o'clock by that point, so Lee and I were the only ones there.  It was so nice.  I love night swims.  :)  We alternated between the hot tub and pool for about 45 minutes, then headed back to my gramma's house to turn in for the night.  We were exhausted from two days of non-stop driving so we slept like babies.  (Although after spending time with my niece, Julia, I'm beginning to wonder how that phrase came about...)  But you know what I mean.

June 9-11:

Gramma and Joe drove us around the plantation and showed us all the new homes being built.  We stopped by the sound to walk on the pier.

What are you doing here, Aunt Karen?

There were 3 turtles chillin on a stump here, but I scared them away.  :(

The next day, we sorted through mounds of pictures and played Mah Jongg.  NO, not the online game.  The real version, with tiles and walls and all that.  I liked it so much that I bought my own set!  Lee and I also found a pair of binoculars.  Obviously things were going to get interesting...

Eyelashes?

Crossed eyes.

Weird eyes.

Cartoon eyes!

Then we got creative.

The next day, we went swimming.  There was a boy there who was so loud (and hilarious) that we had to capture him on video.  Thank goodness we brought our camera.  However, after two hours of his pubescent laughing, we got annoyed and went home.  We ate dinner, played some more Mah Jongg, and got a good night's rest in preparation for the next leg of our journey.

My George Washington impression.

Dead Man's Float!

What I might look like it I had hypertrichosis.

And we'll end on this note...

~Hooks