I will also be posting a few short pieces about the recent updates to Chuck, as well as some random snips of our freeloading.
Here is a little preview of the all the extreme modness that has been done to the kitchen cabinet.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Planning and Freeloading
A quick update. We are still bumming around the Midwest. We are planning the first stages of a trip into Central America. It is going to take a few more weeks to get everything together. The crappy weather recently hasn't made it any easier. We will post an update in a few days with a prospective route. Enjoy the coming spring.
I will also be posting a few short pieces about the recent updates to Chuck, as well as some random snips of our freeloading.
Here is a little preview of the all the extreme modness that has been done to the kitchen cabinet.
I will also be posting a few short pieces about the recent updates to Chuck, as well as some random snips of our freeloading.
Here is a little preview of the all the extreme modness that has been done to the kitchen cabinet.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Leaving Vegas
Friday the fourth was our last day in Vegas. We said goodbye to my sister and her boyfriend early in the morning, as they took off to California to visit his family. The rest of the group was planning on flying out at about 4pm.
Jonathan and I had already mapped out our return trip to Tulsa. We wanted to install a new fridge while before we went traveling again. Hopefully this will help with the food issue. Anyway, since we didn’t want to spend the night anywhere that was below freezing, we were planning on driving a long distance on Saturday. Therefore, we were going to get a couple of hours down the road that day to lessen the load on the next day. That meant we needed to leave by 2pm or earlier, since sunset came early and we crossed a time zone.
However, we still had a few hours that morning. I wanted to visit the M&M store, to see if they had white chocolate and peanut butter M&Ms. I thought it would be a good chance to spend some time with my mom, so I invited her along. Sadly, the M&M store didn’t have any of the kind that I wanted, but my mom got Jonathan a bag of whatever he wanted. There was also a display model of the M&M racecar. After that, my mom decided she still needed a few souvenirs for folks, so we escorted her shopping a bit more.
By then, it was time for lunch. We went to the Cafe at the Monte Carlo, where my Dad joined us. One last small meal to get some family time in before we all departed. Afterwards, we all said goodbye and Jonathan and I hit the road.
We stayed at a BLM ground in Arizona, where it was still above freezing at night and near I-40. That next morning, as we started down the road again, we were pulled over by the local police. Confused, as Jonathan wasn’t speeding, we waited for the cop and Jonathan reminded me to pull out our insurance and registration. While I was still hunting for the registration, the cop came up my side, so I hurried to roll down the window. As soon as he came up, he asked about whether we were required to have trailers tagged in Oklahoma. Having researched this before, we were certain that we did not and took our word for it. Then he wanted to see our registration as the tag had the previous year’s sticker on it. Jonathan then explained that he hadn’t been paying attention when he put this year’s sticker on and had put it on the wrong side. The cop just needed to look at the other side, which he later saw. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the current year’s registration, which infuriated me, as I remember making a point to remember to put them in the van as soon as we received them. Fortunately, he was able to look us up through insurance or the previous year’s registration or something and we were fine. Apparently, the real reason he stopped us, though, was that we had come from the BLM ground. He explained that since there was someone’s private mine there as well, overnighters weren’t encouraged and we should avoid staying there in the future. Advice heeded, we were allowed to leave without a ticket or anything, hallelujah! When we got back to Tulsa and got our mail, we found the registration hadn’t arrived before we left for Baja. Made me feel a lot better.
Later as we travelled and I looked up the weather for our destination that night, we discovered that the location would be below freezing there as well. So Jonathan decided that we would try to drive all the way on Saturday. We arrived at about 3am and slept in the driveway of Jonathan’s brother’s house after setting up the space heater that they left out for us. We were tired enough that we actually slept all morning and didn’t even rouse when the inhabitants left for their churches.
Jonathan and I had already mapped out our return trip to Tulsa. We wanted to install a new fridge while before we went traveling again. Hopefully this will help with the food issue. Anyway, since we didn’t want to spend the night anywhere that was below freezing, we were planning on driving a long distance on Saturday. Therefore, we were going to get a couple of hours down the road that day to lessen the load on the next day. That meant we needed to leave by 2pm or earlier, since sunset came early and we crossed a time zone.
However, we still had a few hours that morning. I wanted to visit the M&M store, to see if they had white chocolate and peanut butter M&Ms. I thought it would be a good chance to spend some time with my mom, so I invited her along. Sadly, the M&M store didn’t have any of the kind that I wanted, but my mom got Jonathan a bag of whatever he wanted. There was also a display model of the M&M racecar. After that, my mom decided she still needed a few souvenirs for folks, so we escorted her shopping a bit more.
By then, it was time for lunch. We went to the Cafe at the Monte Carlo, where my Dad joined us. One last small meal to get some family time in before we all departed. Afterwards, we all said goodbye and Jonathan and I hit the road.
We stayed at a BLM ground in Arizona, where it was still above freezing at night and near I-40. That next morning, as we started down the road again, we were pulled over by the local police. Confused, as Jonathan wasn’t speeding, we waited for the cop and Jonathan reminded me to pull out our insurance and registration. While I was still hunting for the registration, the cop came up my side, so I hurried to roll down the window. As soon as he came up, he asked about whether we were required to have trailers tagged in Oklahoma. Having researched this before, we were certain that we did not and took our word for it. Then he wanted to see our registration as the tag had the previous year’s sticker on it. Jonathan then explained that he hadn’t been paying attention when he put this year’s sticker on and had put it on the wrong side. The cop just needed to look at the other side, which he later saw. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the current year’s registration, which infuriated me, as I remember making a point to remember to put them in the van as soon as we received them. Fortunately, he was able to look us up through insurance or the previous year’s registration or something and we were fine. Apparently, the real reason he stopped us, though, was that we had come from the BLM ground. He explained that since there was someone’s private mine there as well, overnighters weren’t encouraged and we should avoid staying there in the future. Advice heeded, we were allowed to leave without a ticket or anything, hallelujah! When we got back to Tulsa and got our mail, we found the registration hadn’t arrived before we left for Baja. Made me feel a lot better.
Later as we travelled and I looked up the weather for our destination that night, we discovered that the location would be below freezing there as well. So Jonathan decided that we would try to drive all the way on Saturday. We arrived at about 3am and slept in the driveway of Jonathan’s brother’s house after setting up the space heater that they left out for us. We were tired enough that we actually slept all morning and didn’t even rouse when the inhabitants left for their churches.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Party!
Thursday the third was quite the busy day. Not only was it the 57th anniversary of my grandparents, but I had a lot planned. We started off with a breakfast date with my sister and her boyfriend. Il Fornaio was supposed to be a good breakfast place as well, so that is where we ate. It wasn’t very impressive, in my opinion, as they sent my a very pathetic muffin, but at least the coffee cake was good. At breakfast, we ironed out the plans for the rest of the day. It basically meant that all my day was accounted for.
After breakfast, Jonathan and I went to the laundromat to get some clean clothes. That took us all the time until our next event, which was a visit to the stratosphere. We went with Suzanna and Mitchell, no one else was interested. We went to ride the rides on the top. They had a tricky marketing scheme set up there. It was $15/ride plus admission or $33 to do all the rides once with admission included. If you wanted to repeat a ride, you had to pay $9, I believe. These were all posted on the sign. Then in small print on a paper on the register for $34 (one dollar more) was the unlimited package that let you ride all the rides as many times as you want all day long. So, if you weren’t paying close attention, you could end up paying more than you should.
The rides were fun, although cold. My favorite was the X-Scream. It is a ride that is a like a combination of a teeter-totter and a roller coaster and 866 feet above Vegas. It is quick and unexpecting without giving you a headache or nausea. And the line was short and in the sun, which made it much more enjoyable.
From there, Jonathan and I had to go to Drago Sisters Bakery to pick up the surprise cake for my grandparents. I had had a hankering for Tres Leches cake since Cabo San Lucas. I finally had a chance to get some. None of my family had eaten it before, so I was basically pushing my desires off on them, but I wasn’t particularly concerned, as they normally had similar tastes to mine.
As soon as we got back from the bakery, it was time to pick everyone up to go to dinner at Musashi Japanese Steakhouse. That was the one place my brother wanted to eat before we left Vegas, and I thought it would be a good place for my grandparents anniversary dinner, so Suzanna and Mitchell made us reservations there. It turned out to be a great meal. THE BEST chicken that I have ever had! And they had quite the show while cooking the food. I think my grandparents had the time of their lives.
And to finish off the perfect meal, the tres leches cake hit the spot! It was also quite the success with everyone, not just me. Everyone said it was one of the best cakes they had one, but it wasn’t even the best tres leches cake I had ever had.
After breakfast, Jonathan and I went to the laundromat to get some clean clothes. That took us all the time until our next event, which was a visit to the stratosphere. We went with Suzanna and Mitchell, no one else was interested. We went to ride the rides on the top. They had a tricky marketing scheme set up there. It was $15/ride plus admission or $33 to do all the rides once with admission included. If you wanted to repeat a ride, you had to pay $9, I believe. These were all posted on the sign. Then in small print on a paper on the register for $34 (one dollar more) was the unlimited package that let you ride all the rides as many times as you want all day long. So, if you weren’t paying close attention, you could end up paying more than you should.
The rides were fun, although cold. My favorite was the X-Scream. It is a ride that is a like a combination of a teeter-totter and a roller coaster and 866 feet above Vegas. It is quick and unexpecting without giving you a headache or nausea. And the line was short and in the sun, which made it much more enjoyable.
From there, Jonathan and I had to go to Drago Sisters Bakery to pick up the surprise cake for my grandparents. I had had a hankering for Tres Leches cake since Cabo San Lucas. I finally had a chance to get some. None of my family had eaten it before, so I was basically pushing my desires off on them, but I wasn’t particularly concerned, as they normally had similar tastes to mine.
As soon as we got back from the bakery, it was time to pick everyone up to go to dinner at Musashi Japanese Steakhouse. That was the one place my brother wanted to eat before we left Vegas, and I thought it would be a good place for my grandparents anniversary dinner, so Suzanna and Mitchell made us reservations there. It turned out to be a great meal. THE BEST chicken that I have ever had! And they had quite the show while cooking the food. I think my grandparents had the time of their lives.
And to finish off the perfect meal, the tres leches cake hit the spot! It was also quite the success with everyone, not just me. Everyone said it was one of the best cakes they had one, but it wasn’t even the best tres leches cake I had ever had.
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