This past weekend we drove down to Midland, TX to hang out with Dan’s coworker, Russell, and his former band, The Ducks. They had invited him to play with them again since he’s living in the area right now.

So we booked a room at the Clarion hotel there (I was very worried about this, as the reviews online seemed pretty negative) and headed down. We got to see lots of cotton fields which were being harvested, as well as sunflower and sorghum fields. Then we got into oil country and there were oil rigs all over. We got into Midland around 8pm Texas time, and checked in. Upon entering the room I was blown away. It was very nicely decorated, clean, and pretty modern; a very nice room. It was a huge relief.

We called Russell to let him know we were there, and followed him to the place they were playing called The Bar. It was a decent place, had a nice stage area and even a big patio outside. We joined the a few of Russell’s friends at a table and got some food and beer. The band didn’t go on stage until 10pm, so we just hung out with everyone as the arrived. The lead singer, Ben, has super long hair and was very entertaining. He really knows how to play a crowd, and during some of the songs he went into the crowd and got people to sing lines. Dan and I got to sing “And party every day” from the Kiss song, “Rock and Roll All Night”. Most of the songs were from the 80’s, but they played a Rage Against the Machine song for Dan after he bought Russell and Ben a Jager bomb.

After the Bar closed, Dan helped Russell get his drum set into his truck and then a group of us went to the house Ben was staying at for the night. We hung out until around 4:30am, and then we headed back to the hotel. Check out time the next day came way too soon, and Dan was kind of hung over. So we dragged ourselves out of bed and hit up Denny’s for breakfast. After that we headed north to Lubbock with the windows down a bit as it was gorgeous outside.

In Lubbock we drove around a bit then decided to check out their mall. We wandered all through it, and stopped to check out the puppies and kittens at the pet store inside. The had Mini Pinschers that were very cute. I think if we decide to get a dog, that would definitely be an option.

After the mall Dan wanted to lay down somewhere, so we found a park. We got out our blanket (Dan called it a cape for some reason) and found a nice spot by a tree, but the nice day was a lot colder and it had gotten pretty windy. So we only stayed there for a little while, then went to get supper. Right nearby was a restaurant called Texas Land and Cattle, so we ate there. It was a bit overpriced for what we got, but the food was good. After dinner it was dark so we headed back toward Clovis.

This past weekend Dan and I decided to head to Amarillo, just to check out some new scenery. We left Saturday afternoon and arrived around time for supper. Dan had heard a few of his coworkers might be heading up too, so we waited a while to go get supper, but they ended up eating before they got on the road. So we checked out our Urban Spoon app on our ipods, as well as the internet and decided to try out a place called Hoffbrau Steaks. It was a very good choice. Entrees came with soup or salad and a choice of side…I got the teriyaki sirloin and it was one of the most tender steaks I’ve ever eaten. Soooo good. Dan got a ribeye and enjoyed it also.

After supper we went back to the hotel so Dan could change, and then he wait for his coworkers to get in town so they could go to a bar that sounded a lot like the Blind Horse in South Carolina. I was not feeling like hanging out in a loud, crowded and possibly smokey bar, so I relaxed in the hotel while Dan went out.

Sunday morning we checked out our options of things to do around Amarillo, and decided to go south a bit to  check out Palo Duro Canyon. Our hotel had had a binder with attractions, and it listed a stables right outside Palo Duro State Park. We drove there to find out their prices, as they hadn’t answered when we tried calling. It was really informal, but we didn’t have to wait too long for the group before us to return and for ours to head out. I was a bit iffy about getting on a horse without ever doing it before, but after I was up, they gave me a 10 second rundown of what to do, and I discovered that most of the time the horse knew where to go anyway. My horse was called Yah-te-hay, a Native American word used for “hello” and “goodbye”. Dan’s horse was called Rambo.

We headed out to the trail, and it was very interesting- the land all around was super flat, and suddenly there’s this large hole filled with rocks and trees. Right away there was a pretty decent decline to go down, but the horses didn’t have any trouble. It had to be one of the most perfect days for it, it was around 80 degrees, very sunny, and a nice breeze. There were three guides that went down with us, and the one closest was dressed up like a real cowboy- hat, spurs, gun and all. He was very friendly and informative though. He told us that his grandfather had bought the land we were going through at 92 cents an acre way back in the 50’s because at the time it wasn’t good for much. They used to have some cabins, but all that is left now is a few ruins of them. They’re working on some new construction in another part, but those aren’t finished yet. There were a lot of trees, and a good amount had leaves that were turning yellow, which made for a pretty view. On the ground were some small cactus. We rode for around an hour then reached the main building again. Dan and I both agreed that it was definitely a good choice of activity. I’d love to try riding a horse again, though next time it would be more interesting to go over flat land so I can maybe try other paces.

So now they tell us that we’re supposed to stay in Clovis till sometime around the end of October. I hope that we can leave by my birthday, that would be a good present. Dan got moved to nights now, which isn’t too bad, though it was much better when we were in South Carolina. I brought pizza to the guys for their “lunch” the other night and I had to go through the guard station in order to get to the construction parking lot which is usually not gated. I guess they decided to lock the gates at night now though, so that was interesting. Thankfully the security guy didn’t seem to have any problems with me driving into the facility, though I got a bit confused on the way out and drove over the scales for the milk trucks. Dan laughed at me for that, and asked if I found out what my car weighs. Unfortunately I never saw that anywhere while I was going by. Hehe.

I am getting super sick of this hotel. The housekeeping people seem to have stopped coming by to see if we want towels and such, which in some ways is nice as they would knock pretty early sometimes. I guess it’s not that big of deal as they will come by with stuff if I call the desk. The tv here sucks. We only have a couple good channels, and I guess this place has a dish, because sometimes the channels aren’t working. I really wish we had a place where I could organize our stuff better. I can live in a mess for so long before it starts getting to me. For the moment I have things moved around in an ok arrangement, but I’m sure it will get messy or added to again soon.

Dan bought some of those space bags, so today I put our big down comforter and some sheets and blankets into a couple of them. We had to dig the vacuum out of the trailer, but it was worth it for the space it does save. Now I can be pretty sure that the comforter would be safe from getting dirty in the backseat of my car, where it had been riding since we left Michigan.

Still no decision on a new computer. I know what I want, I just don’t know when I will be able to get it. We’re spending more money than we like here as it’s such a pain to try to cook things in this hotel, though at least we have a skillet and the mini fridge or it would be much worse. I very much miss having an oven. Dan and I opened up my imac and tried to figure out what was wrong with it, but we really didn’t know what we were doing, heh. I’m considering sending it to Sheena and Doug, as they’re good and geeky. David volunteered to look at it too, but he wanted me to buy a new hard drive to try to put in it, and I think that Doug might have something already. I don’t really want to put money into it if that’s not the problem.

Saw my cousin Sarah’s pictures from Labor Day weekend. They were the usual family group pics that we always take at that time. I really wish Dan and I could have been there. I love my family’s traditions, and it sucks when I can’t participate in them. I think this year was only the second year ever that I missed going camping with everyone. One other time I was in Iowa for Dan’s cousins’ wedding. I really really hope that our plans to come home for Christmas work out, I miss everyone.

Dan had to work Saturday, so we drove to Albuquerque on Sunday afternoon to have a change of scene. We booked the Hyatt Place on hotels.com, and it was almost a twin to the one we stayed at for our anniversary last month. Albuquerque is somewhat similar to Colorado Springs, being right by the mountains. It’s so cool being able to drive down a street and see them in the distance.

After checking in, we looked up where the apple store was and then ventured over there. I am pretty certain that I’m going to get the 13″ macbook pro now, even though the screen is pretty small. It’s got more useful features than the plain macbook, and it doesn’t look as dated. The apple store was in a sort of high-end outdoor mall, so after that we wandered into some of the other stores. There was even an Anthropologie, which Dan  had never heard of. Some cool stuff, but way too expensive for us.

After browsing for a bit more we met up with Melcher, Ramstad and T-Payne over at Melcher’s apartment. He’s got a sort of expanded studio, that’s not super nice, but much better than the place in Plymouth. It even came furnished and has all utilities except internet paid for. We got supper at a sushi place, and Ramstad ordered shrimp nigiri and asked for the heads too…so he got raw shrimp on rice with fried shrimp heads then got the other guys to try them. I can’t do it…the eyes freak me out. I did try the raw shrimp though, and I don’t recommend, it was mushy and icky.  After supper we went across the street to a place called Billy’s Longbar. They had a ton of taps, so I got a Fat Tire, which isn’t available in Michigan. The bar closed around 11, so we went back to Melcher’s where they guys played Call of Duty for a while, then Dan and I headed back to our hotel.

Since we hadn’t made any real plans before heading to the town, we found a Red Robin for lunch the next day then just drove around to different places. We found a Best Buy and a large mall, and went to see the park where they launch hot air balloons from every year. If it looks like we’re going to be stuck here through a good bit of October, it would be fun to go back since they have a balloon festival the first week in that month.  While driving around we listened to Deathly Hallows, which Dan had started while driving to New Mexico, and it was fun to actually be able to listen together. I’ve been wanting him to “read” it for a long time now. We met up with the other guys for supper again, this time at that Billy’s Longbar since they had 25 cent wings. That night I had an Ace Pear beer, which isn’t very beer-like but still yummy.  Then we got in the car and headed back to Clovis. We finished the book with about an hour’s drive left and Dan slept the rest of the way. We got back “home” to our motel around 1am. It’s hard not to wish that all hotels could have awesome beds like the Hyatt Place did, and the one here is not very comfy. Hopefully we can move on soon, Dan sure seems to be frustrated working this job.

Clovis is an ok town. Not very big, but better than Plymouth was. We’re still in the motel, and plan to stick it out here for the rest of the job. We still don’t know how long it will be, they told us a month before we arrived, but several people have indicated that we’ll probably be here longer. Will got lucky, he was only here for three days before he got sent to Washington.

Dan went to the doctor on Tuesday for a physical and to get his feet looked at. He’s had on and off pain for over a year now and after getting some new boots his feet were really killing him. They took x-rays and were supposed to refer him to a specialist, but we haven’t heard back from them yet. Hopefully it’s nothing major.

My imac died a few days ago. It’s pretty sad. I did make sure to back up everything before we left Indiana, so I didn’t lose too much. I had made some changes to the catalog for Be Young, which I’ll have to redo later, but right now I’m trying to decide what to get for a replacement. It’s looking like it will be a macbook pro laptop, but not 100%.

We might go to Albuquerque for Labor Day, but it’s not for sure yet. Some people had talked about golfing, so Dan might want to stay and do that instead. I really wish we could be home and go camping, but it can’t be helped. It’s warmer here anyway, so that’s a plus.

August 8

Me, Dan and Will drove to the Dune Park train station to ride into Chicago in the morning. We met Sheena and Doug on the train, which they barely made after missing two other stops before Dune Park. Will had never been to Chicago. We got off at 56th street and walked to the Museum of Science and Industry, which we wandered until it was our time to go see the Harry Potter exhibition that was there. While waiting to be let in, there was a lady asking trivia questions, of which I knew all but one…yay for showing off my geekiness. The they let us into the exhibition area. It was very very cool. They had so many props and costumes and things and it was so amazing to see all the details that the designers put into everything. I think we spent about an hour there, but I could have stayed much longer.

After leaving the museum, we got back on the train to get to Millenium Station, then walked down Michigan street to the Cheesecake Factory. The wait was not bad at all, and we were starving. Dan ate a massive burrito, and Will demolished a large portion of pasta. We also got some cheesecake, mmm.

We left the Cheesecake Factory and did a bit of shopping, then hopped on a bus to go to the Sear’s Tower. We were excited to go up, as none of the guys had ever been, but when we got into the lobby, they were telling everyone that it was a 2.5 hour wait to get to the top, and we were worried about missing our train out, so we walked to Millenium Park instead. It was very packed, since it was a hot day. There were tons of kids and grown-ups hanging out at the sculpture that squirts water. We saw a wedding party getting photographed by the “bean” sculpture and it made us thankful that we didn’t have as hot of weather for our wedding.

August 9

The same group from the day before drove to the beach in St. Joseph. We went to a smaller beach, on the north side of the pier which was much less crowded. It was in the 90’s again, and a perfect beach day. Lake Michigan was supposedly 73 degrees, but it felt a lot colder. We all managed to suck it up though, and it was very nice getting to swim before leaving the area. It was also relatively breezy, so Sheena got out her stunt kite and we all took turns flying it. I crashed it multiple times, as I could never figure out the timing to make it spin. Toward the end of the afternoon, the clouds started coming in, and we saw that there were some storms coming in on the radar. We packed up and drove to the other side of the pier to this pizza place, and got a table a little bit before it started to rain. There was a pretty decent storm while we ate, and it was fun to watch. We were very glad we didn’t get stuck out in it.

August 14-15

Dan had been told that we were going to Albuquerque on the 6th, Longview, WA on the 7th, and then on the 13th we were finally told to head to Clovis, NM. So we packed up on the 14th, and drove up to Grand Rapids to spend some time with family before heading west. Saturday afternoon Dan put his new exhaust kit onto his truck, and I helped my dad cut down tree branches and haul them to Grandpa’s. Since the 16th was our anniversary, we went out to a restaurant downtown called Leo’s that night. It was very very good. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a fancy seafood restaurant. Dan got seafood jambalaya, and I got bouillabaisse, which is a French shellfish stew and had lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, mussels, and fish in a tomato-saffron broth. It was kinda messy, since I had to get the shells off the crab and lobster, but very very delicious. I wish I could go to a fancy restaurant more often, but I suppose the allure would wear off. After dinner we went to our hotel, Hyatt Place by Metro Hospital, which was also very nice. Super comfy bed, and a nice couch and tv.

August 16-21

We went to Millbrook for church, and then had lunch with Dan’s family. After that we headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s for an open house so that we could celebrate our anniversary as well as see as much family as possible before heading west for possibly a year. Who knows, we could get sent east again after this job…

The rest of the week we did different errands and such including cleaning my car, getting new tires for it and taking Harley to the vet (sadly, she was found to have kidney failure and died on Wednesday night). Then got packed up to head out on Thursday. We drove through to Lincoln, NE and stayed there Thursday night. Dan’s Aunt and Uncle (Colette and Terry) and his grandma were headed out to Colorado Springs too, so we met for breakfast at McDonalds in Lincoln, then got on the road. We made it to Dan’s other Uncle and Aunt’s (Jason & Gina) in the early evening, and unloaded our overnight stuff. As a big group we went to dinner and then came back and talked for a while.

August 22

Dan’s relatives had an event called “Buddy Walk” which was a walk to raise money for an organization that Jason and Gina work with due to their one son having down syndrome. We thought about helping, but Dan wanted me to see Pike’s Peak, so we decided to do that instead. We took the Civic up the mountain, and did a good job of keeping the car and the brakes from overheating. I made Dan drive, as some of the road scared me. The view at the top was awesome. It was a pretty clear day, so we could see all of Colorado Springs below and lots of other mountains around. The temperature wasn’t too bad either, only 58, not the 43 that we saw online. We looked our fill, then headed back to Jason and Gina’s, where we arrive just after they did. We all got our swimsuits and headed to the pool in their housing development. It was a great temperature and we spent a few hours swimming and talking and playing catch with some mini footballs. Then we headed back to the house and grilled. After dinner we took turns showing pictures off each others cameras by plugging them into their tv. It was nice getting to show off some places we’ve been, and see where everyone else had visited too.

August 23-25

On Sunday we loaded up again, and headed south to New Mexico. For several hours we had mountains to the west and flat or small hills to the east, then most everything flattened out. We caught up with a nice rainstorm, and since the land was so flat, we could see the rain falling and some good lightning around. We got in to Clovis in the evening, and headed to the hotel that Will had found which has decent weekly rates. The manager showed us a couple rooms, and then ended up putting us into a different room which we hadn’t seen, and it was missing the mini-fridge, microwave and had a tv that looked ready to fall off the wall. So they start working on trying to find appliances for us, and we headed to get some food at Chili’s. We got back and were ready to crash, but the guy was still working with the tv, so we had to wait. I was not very happy with the hotel at that time, though now that it’s been more than a day, it’s not so bad. We have a king sized bed, and free internet.

Dan came home from his first day of work talking about how unorganized the job is here. It’s another cheese plant that is expanding. Apparently there are way too many guys with not enough parts or things to do. We really hope that the Washington job will be ready soon, so that we can get out of here and get more settled up there. Still crossing fingers that we don’t get stuck here too long or end up being sent somewhere else.

So that’s what’s been up with us…I should have updated a while ago, but I forget about this site at times.

So we’re about 2 hours from Grand Rapids now. It’s close enough that we can go visit on occaison, but far enough that two hours is still kind of a long drive. I’ve gone up a couple times on my own to organize some of our stuff and do laundry, though Dan’s been stuck here working. We’re coming up this coming weekend though, as it’s Rachel’s 5th birthday, and Emo’s going-away party.

Our apartment here is kind of “ghetto”, with some interesting neighbors and pretty old. It’s a studio, so we’ve had to arrange it so we can fit everything in the one room. It works pretty well. We did have an incident with a mouse, but I haven’t seen any evidence for a couple days now, so hopefully the poison I put out killed him.

We have a deck here, and bought a small charcoal grill, which we’ve made several good meals on. We attempted pizza the other night, and next time we need to make sure the grill isn’t quite so hot. The dough burned a bit. I also bought a cheap bird feeder, hoping to coax all the birds I could hear over to eat there, but a squirrel came instead. He made all the birdseed fall out and then started chewing on the feeder itself. Stupid squirrel.

Apparently this is a pretty short job, so we should be moving on again soon. It’d be awesome to be able to stick around until Labor Day and go camping, but it’s not looking good right now. They added two people to the crew and they definitely didn’t need any more workers.

On Saturday we went to Goshen, IN to the Elkhart County Fair. We went to see the demolition derby, and almost didn’t get to. It was super packed. We ended up having to pay for seats, which ended up being decent, but we were hoping to get in the free grandstand. The derby was pretty cool though. I’d love to go to another.

We were happily surprised with the location of next jobsite, which happens to be Plymouth, IN. This means we’ll be living around 2 hours away from Grand Rapids. Yay! Dan’s first day there is supposed to be July 6, so Dan’s taking vacation days July 1 and 2, with a holiday on the 3rd and we’re going to visit Lynchburg, TN and then go home for the 4th. Hopefully it won’t take long to find an apartment to live in.

Since we know we’re leaving soon, we’re trying to make the most of seeing the area, though some was on accident. We went to a new restaurant, Smoke on the Water, which is in the West End Historical District part of downtown Greenville. When we got there, they told us it would be about 45 minutes to an hour wait, so we decided to walk around the area a bit. We went about a block or two and found this park, which ended up being right on a rive, that had this cool curved bridge and a waterfall. It was so cool, because we had no idea it was there, and we pretty much just stumbled across it.

Yesterday we went to Caesar’s Head State Park up in the mountains near the North Carolina border. We almost didn’t go, as it looked like it was going to rain, and it ended up raining some while we were driving, but when we got to the park it was only cloudy. We first stopped at the office area, where there was a short path to an overlook. From there was another path that went thru a cut in the rock and to another overlook, tho that one wasn’t as good. After checking that out we headed to the trail head for Raven Cliff Falls, which is supposed to be the tallest waterfall in SC. It was a decent hike- 4 miles round trip, with some nice hills and rocky areas. We stopped for a bit at the waterfall overlook, and kind of wished we could have gone all the way to the falls, but there wasn’t a very direct trail to take, and we didn’t have a lot of time left since the sun was starting to go down. We got back to the car and headed back down the road to a place that we had passed on our way up. It was this huge bare rock that was covered in graffiti. It had an amazing view of Table Rock and the area around, and would be awesome for stargazing if you could go there after dark.

After getting about 2 hours of sleep last night (this morning) we headed out to Asheville with Little Dan and Will. We stopped for breakfast at the first Waffle House we came across because the boys were hungry. I’m going to miss going there when we’re out of the South. Lately I’ve been getting their bacon-egg-and-cheese biscuit with hashbrowns. Yum. It’s great having a place that is open 24 hours and serves breakfast all the time.

Anyway…we continued driving to Asheville and entered the estate. The drive up is very long, and then you come to the building where you buy your tickets. Tickets bought, we piled back into the truck and drove farther in to a parking lot. From the parking lot we had to take a shuttle bus, which brought us right to the front steps of the house. It’s quite a sight as you pull out of the trees and onto the terrace in front. Just like a house out of a fairy tale or something. We had a little time to kill before we could enter the house, on Saturdays they give you a specific entry time so that the crowds are more controlled. So we walked around the former Stables/Carriage House which is now a gift shop, and around the front so we could get photos. The house is decorated with gargoyles and fleur-de-lis and other gothic style embellishments.

Finally we were let in, and the rooms were just as impressive as the outside. There is a pretty structured route that you take, which leads you through bedrooms, a massive 7-story high formal dining room, complete with organ and three fireplaces, a billiards room, salon, kitchens, servants’ hall, and gymnasium. There were some very surprising finds, including an indoor heated swimming pool, which is no longer kept filled, but was very impressive. Also, we got to see the two-lane bowling alley, and several bathrooms which at the time were almost unheard of in houses. Each bathroom had a huge tub as well as a toilet with plumbing. The ceiling of the Salon was draped with rich fabric, though most rooms had interestingly carved or coffered wood. One room had marble on its walls. On the back side of the house was a covered porch which looks out onto the mountains that aren’t very distant. One of the staff of the house told us that the property used to contain 125,000 acres of land. The house contains lots of paintings, thousands of books, and lots of great craftsmanship. It’s baffling to think that one small family could build this size house.

After completing the tour through the house, we ventured out into the gardens. First there was a terrace attached to the house that was covered in wisteria. The breeze kicked up and the fragrance of the flowers was amazing. In the more formal “walled garden” there were lots of tulips. By the time we made it through a lot of the garden we were all dragging our feet. Not much sleep and a lot of sun probably contributed. So we made our way back to the truck and drove to the Biltmore Winery, also on the property. We decided to eat lunch at the Bistro restaurant there, which was a bit more high end and pricey, but very good. After lunch, we headed into the Winery to get in line for the tour/tasting. We were each allowed to taste 8 different wines, 3 recommended and 5 of our choice. Dan and I decided to buy a bottle of their Zinfandel as well as their Riesling. Very tasty wines. By the time we got out of there, we were all ready to take off. It was a longer drive back, as we were all a bit sleepy, but we made it safely.

I could visit again and again if I had the chance. Too bad we won’t be in the area for much longer. At least we had a near perfect day.

I had been thinking about doing something more “artistic” for a while now, but just hadn’t been inspired to do it. I made sure to grab my paint brushes from my parents’ house the last time I was there, and on Sunday I finally figured out what I wanted to paint. Then yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies that I was missing, including watercolor paper and Sta-Wet sheets to mix the paint on. I impressed myself that I could remember all the prep steps, like stretching the paper and taping it down so it wouldn’t wrinkle when I was trying to paint. Then I did a quick sketch of what I planned to do, and went to town. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Now to figure out what to paint next!