that rosebud girl

road trip, day 7.

al…most….there…..ugh….

thursday’s log:
the stretch: denver to salt lake city
miles traveled: 624
random observations: on I-70 in utah, there are a million signs for these things called a “Ranch Exit.” they’re not leading to one thing; they are just a bunch of exits every so often. i have no idea what they are or where they go…it looks like they are roads to the middle of nowhere. also, there are numerous signs warning people about deer, and on some of those signs, the deer in the picture has a red nose. cute.

so what did i say earlier about not wanting to have any 600-mile legs on this trip? so much for that plan.

as it turned out, i think i took the really long way to salt lake city. mapquest the route and it says you can take the 25 to the 80 west and go through most of wyoming. but i chose to go on the 70 because i wanted to drive through the rockies. it’s probably one of the most treacherous drives in the country (i definitely wouldn’t be doing it at night or in the winter, or both)….but the scenery is well worth it. however, there’s nothing like driving through curvy mountain roads where the speed limit sign says 75….and i’m barely going 60 because i’m scared to death i’ll fly off the turns and fall into a ravine.

as i said, though, the scenery is fantastic. nothing like canyons and big ol’ rock piles and tree-covered mountains to remind you what a speck you are in ths world. save for the crazy curves and sheer drops (no guardrails in some points! what are people thinking?) the change in scene was so welcome after three days of flat, boring nothing.

i do dig nature a lot, and this drive made me want to go to the grand canyon. and all those caverns and rock formations in southern utah.

pictures will come later….i am tired. and still shaking after sitting in the damn car for so long.

road trip, day 6.

not having a wireless card for my computer really is a pain….

wednesday’s log:
the stretch: lincoln, nebraska to denver
miles traveled: 516
minor miracles really do happen: i got up at 5 a.m. to do this drive and was out the door by 5:45. holy cow.

okay, so why did i get up so early? because i wanted to catch a rockies game at coors field. i am not kidding. not that i care about the rockies that much, but i really, really, really, really wanted to get in another baseball game on this trip. (i did dub it the great american road trip and ballpark tour, after all.)

so the tally is four baseball games and three parks i’ve visited that i’d never been to before. cool.

i was thinking about this as i drove through very boring terrain in nebraska and extreme eastern colorado: i have seen games in 15 ballparks — one ballpark is no longer in use for baseball (qualcomm in san diego) and one is for a team that no longer exists (montreal). so i’m like halfway there.

i have also been to 38 states. woohoo! i don’t know if i finally have ed beat, but this i am so close to 40…

anyway, wednesday’s trip was fine. i just drove through a small swarm of bugs somewhere in the early morning hours in nebraska. i actually thought it was rain at first until i saw all the bugs splattered everywhere. ew. i also got a lightning show — i am afraid of few things, but lightning scares the hell out of me. otherwise, nebraska is, as i said, pretty boring. same goes for most of that midwest farmland.

denver was very cool. the rockies lost really badly, but i had a good time. i sat out in the outfield, hoping for home runs. of course, three home runs get hit, even to left field, where i was sitting, but none go to my section. bastards. i also didn’t bother with sunblock and am now slightly roasted. not too painful, but well, it’s still sunburn. it was hella hot too. i wanted to walk around downtown a little more, but was way too hot. oh well.

left field at coors field also had the coolest beer man ever. i have a picture of him somewhere. he was just cool — he gave people a business card with his cell phone number every time he served them and told them to call him whenever they needed a refill. it was awesome. i got a mike’s hard lemonade from him just ’cause i thought he was awesome. i didn’t get a business card, but he did remember my name (of course i got carded!) and checked up on me once before i gave up after 6 1/2 innings and found shade.

here are a few pictures (i have far more from coors field, but haven’t had time to edit those). all are from my cell phone.

i realize i have a severe backlog of pictures, but i blame this on the lack of a wireless card….

okay, so it’s slanty because i was driving! this is much of what i saw while driving through nebraska.

this is a rare break in the nebraska scenery…it’s some covered bridge near north platte, i think.

this was a great sign i saw at a gas station in nebraska.

eastern colorado is actually kind of boring, scenery-wise. no rockies for quite a while.

denver skyline (though this is an awful photo of it — what do you expect, it’s a cell phone!)

more to come later….

road trip, day 5

(no day 4 ’cause i stayed in chicago)….

tuesday’s log:
the stretch: chicago to lincoln, nebraska
miles traveled: 540

lots of random thoughts…
- illinois is one big toll plaza. it sucks.
- there are lots of signs for off-track betting in illinois.
- there is a gas station chain in iowa called kum and go. bizarre. i didn’t stop there though.
- the largest truck stop in the nation is in iowa (iowa 80).
- i added two states to my list: iowa and nebraska. yeeeeeah!
- i was honked at twice…not that get-out-of-my-way-you’re-pissing-me-off kind of honking, but two short honks. it happened like five times. i don’t know what that means. maybe it’s some sort of code or courtesy. beats me.

i actually changed my plans last night. i was going to go to kansas city originally but changed routes. i wanted to get those states on my list. and i figured the lincoln to denver jaunt would be shorter than going from KC to denver. i’m trying not to have any 600-mile drives.

okay, here are some cell phone pictures. yes, i took them as i was driving. hence, the weird angles.

farmland in illinois. the sky looks kind of threatening, though.

this is the mississippi river, just as you cross from illinois into iowa.

i was trying to take a picture of the welcome to iowa sign. damn cell phone doesn’t zoom, though.

this is a receipt from a gas stop stuart, iowa. just to prove i actually set foot in the state.

some windmill near stuart.

road trip, day 3 …

… though i didn’t go anywhere!

the log:
the stretch: chicago….and chicago.
miles traveled: 0 (at least not by car)
world of the weird: far too much to mention. chicago can be a crazy place.

today was pretty chill. pete and i just headed out to the cubs-white sox game at comiskey….ahem, i meant u.s. cellular field. (stupid corporate naming.) that was pretty cool and unevenful in itself, but it’s all the stuff we saw on the way to the game that merits mention….

first of all, there must have been some sort of gay pride thing somewhere in the city because there were all sorts of rainbow-clad people all over the subway, including a shirtless guy dressed like a firefighter (think one-quarter of the village people here).

secondly, we got to the station for comiskey….and just as the train pulls away, i hear this unmistakable sound of liquid hitting the tracks….and there is some dude standing between the train cars (moving subway, mind you) and taking a piss. i am not kidding. it’s a damn distinct sound.

third, there was a midget selling water in front of comiskey. pete and i seem to see midgets a lot.

fourth, pete tried out one of those pitching things where they tell you how fast you’re throwing….and got up to a mere 42 mph. some guy next to him started saying, “hey, that’s what that little kid before you was throwing.” ouch. the grand total? 42, 40, 38 — he only went downhill from there.

the game itself was pretty cool….mark prior tossed one-hit ball for about six innings (lots of people in usc gear around….pretty sweet). u.s. cellular field is pretty nice, and the upper deck view was pretty cool. the crowd was very spirited, making the game lots of fun.

we then ate at the weber grill restaurant for dinner….so good! i was super full though.

i have one more day in chicago, then i get to hit the road. woo.

here are pictures from u.s. cellular….finally….

it was a really, really hot and hazy day in chicago. ugh.

view from almost dead center. bp had just finished.

scoreboard.

wider view of the outfield.

this was “fundamentals,” this kid-friendly section with games and baseball skill things. it was kinda fun to watch all those kids messing around.

mark prior pitching. of course, a trojan. he has some humongous calves, i swear.

frank thomas up to bat. no homers for him, though.

this was our view from our upper deck seats. i kinda dug having the foul pole right there.

road trip, day 2

saturday’s log:
the stretch: cleveland to milwaukee to chicago
miles traveled: 553
the prevailing thought: just about every highway i traveled on was a toll road. that sucked. i hate tolls.

man, i trucked through ohio. it was insane. pete and i had a bob evans breakfast and hit the road….it was a pretty okay drive until we hit chicago construction….and about fifteen billion tolls.

but the destination was milwaukee and miller park for the twins-brewers game. and i give miller park a big thumbs-up. it was a really nice park. concessions were good and not ridiculously expensive. i had a terrific brat (and a sundae later). but we got standing-room tickets because the place was almost sold out. the crowd was spirited, we saw about five home runs — including prince fielder’s first major-league homer, which landed in the spot we had previously been standing for six innings….of course we moved just before that happened. *groan*

i was just happy because i saw the racing sausages. i even bought a mini sausage bobblhead set. sweet.

we went back to chicago and hung out at the hotel. i was tired after all that driving.

and now, some pictures from miller park…

the famous racing sausages! they were all lined up at the team store. but if you notice, the hot dog is missing….there are two italian sausages at the end. the bratwurst, though, is my fave — i like his outfit.

the slide that bernie brewer goes on when the brewers score.

groundskeepers on the field.

view of the game. a huge crowd was there, can’t you tell?

that’s tomo ohka pitching for the brewers.

brewers outfielder carlos lee. he was right below us in left field.

that’s johan santana up to bat. it was pretty entertaining (these AL pitchers trying to bat in interleague crack me up).

bernie brewer hanging out during the game.

the sausages preparing to race at the end of the sixth inning.

scoreboard at miller park.

on the road again …

the great american road trip has officially begun….

friday’s log:
the stretch: went from delaware to cleveland.
miles traveled: 479
quote of the day: “gosh, you are so hairy! when you get hot, you must get hot.” … that was said by an indians team store attendant to pete, as we waited in line so he could pay for some postcards.

so the drive started today. i was a little tired when i left because i hadn’t slept until about 3:30 a.m. the day before….but the drive was okay. we left around 11 a.m. or so. pretty uneventful….just lots of tolls (ohio sucks because they don’t have ezpass) and lots of the same scenery on the pa and ohio turnpikes.

we went to jacobs field for an indians game….reds-indians….walked up and bought tickets, baked for a little while in the upper deck, first base side….actually turned out to be a pretty good game….and we saw ken griffey jr. homer twice. pretty sweet.

of course, i forgot my camera. so my cell phone camera had to suffice. *sigh* stupid camera isn’t nearly as good as the real thing….

jacobs field sign, just before we went in.

nice scoreboard view. hot, though.

view of the diamond.

pete chowing down on some fries.

sun setting somewhere around the fifth or sixth inning.

cleveland skyline.

self-portrait. too bad you couldn’t see the scoreboard all that well.

my last day …

i have officially been out of work for a few days….woohoo!

my second to last day at the news journal was last wednesday….it was the last day that jason and brad were going to be there, so they got me a gift (actually, brad got me the gift)….it was a panic button. pretty funny stuff. ron also bought shakes from the dairy palace for everyone (*sniff, sniff*….no more dairy palace….). jason and brad said that i should have the largest shake in honor of my departure. it’s 40 ounces. pretty friggin’ large. so they got me peanut butter. and i finished the whole thing. in about an hour. holy crap. felt quite full, a smidgen sick….and then i ate dinner about an hour and a half later. i think i cemented my legend at the paper by sucking down that shake. crazy. no wonder i am fat.

here is my shake. think very, very, very big gulp.

this is said shake about an hour later….see, i really did finish it!

thursday was my last day, and ron paid for lunch at iron hill for me…..problem was, i was late to my own farewell lunch. i’d gone to the vet earlier in the day and was really tired….because i’d gotten up at 8 a.m…..i figured i could take a little nap before lunch at 11:45. so i didn’t set an alarm. but i got a call that woke me up and it was shorti, asking if i was still coming to lunch. i rolled over to look at the clock and it said 12:05. ooops. but i made, it, had a good meal and got a gag gift of a costco-sized pack of tissue. cool.

lots of people were still in the office at night, all of whom said goodbye at various times. it turned out my last night was a minor fiasco….the phillies game went 13 friggin’ innings, meaning i didn’t get out until 2:30 a.m. *sigh*

for all the crap i went through at that place, i will still miss it. it’s all about the people. i will miss nightly insults, clowing around and general jackassery. it was pretty fun.

now, i am in sacramento, securing a place to rent (whee!), looking at new houses with ed (prices….making me sick….stupid expensive state), and chillin’.

recital time!

okay, so it’s a few days late. i’m a busy person.

the recital went well. surprisingly well. i had a minor emergency beforehand — i had forgotten my shoes at home — but thank goodness for rizza, who saved the day by bringing the shoes. whew.

no one fell. and i didn’t lose a shoe during a dance like i did last year. no one in my classes cried or refused to go on stage. one class almost didn’t enter on time but it was okay.

it was a ton of fun. i loved it. i am sad, though, that my teaching career has come to an end. not to mention my delaware dancing career.

oh, well. now i just have to find places to dance in sacramento….

and now, some photos:

kids from one of my saturday classes….even though they’re not really?looking at the camera. they’re the ones who almost didn’t enter on time…still cute, though.

me and fellow tapper katie.

colleen, me and kelsey.

my other saturday class, looking very princess-like.

me and fellow ballerina christina. i will miss dancing with her. i danced with her for two years. *sniffle*

all the very relieved teachers after the show: dawn, missy, me, laura, tina, kathleen and stacey. yes, i was still in ballet shoes.

micah, the lone boy in my saturday class. he was cute.

holy cow!

i got the second-coolest present ever last night….tom is going on vacation all next week (my last week at work) so he gave me a parting gift….it was a john starks new york knicks jersey….from circa 1994….something i have wanted for a very, very, very, very long time! that was freakin’ awesome. i had joked around at work with some other people that if someone found that jersey for me, he or she would be my most favorite person on earth. so i guess tom has moved up to the top of the list of my favorite work people.

nothing much else going on….i read edgar’s blog about how he went to coachella and saw all these awesome bands….so i am jealous….but he dissed keane, which makes me mad. blah. (i’m kidding.) he said he’ll be in allentown, so maybe he can come down for a little while. crazy boy.

tonight, rizza and i are hosting fondue at our house….elisa and dawn are coming….so it’ll be a nice girls night in for us.

all it takes is a moment …

so i stood with ed for two hours in rain and cold and was thoroughly miserable…..but in about a split-second, it was all worth it.

we went to a keane concert last night in philly. it was at a small outdoor venue (festival pier, in penn’s landing), but it rained the whole day. rained up until and through the concert. i was tired, miserable and on the verge of wanting to go home….but once keane showed up and started playing, it was awesome. the show was great (their pianist is my new idol), the songs totally kick ass, and it turned out to be a good (though sopping wet) time.

we also got tickets to see coldplay up in the bay in august….hopefully i will be able to get the appropriate day off to make that show.

it’s been a whirlwind of trying to see people before i leave. on wednesday, i finally got together with dawn (i hadn’t seen her since last fall, really) and watched the phillies game. chase utley hit a grand slam to bring in what turned out to be the winning runs. so that was cool. but he still went to ucla…and i can’t respect a guy who went to fucla. ?Ǭ†but we had a great time, hung out a little bit at mcfadden’s (until the music was just too loud to bear) and ate at the melrose (mmm….chocolate creme pie!). good times.