Day 29: New Orleans

This has felt like the busiest day! Lots of fun stuff to talk about. We started off the day with a swamp tour! Vil had suggested this awhile ago and I had agreed to do so enthusiastically, as it sounded like fun. We drove out to the Lafitte swamps (only about 20 minutes away) and boarded a basic pontoon boat. For about 90 minutes, we went out to the bayou and saw a bunch of wildlife creatures, including herons and alligators. Capt. Allen, our tour guide, talked in a quick southern drawl, which meant we missed about half the words he said. He would often call to alligators with a "Buuuba, buuuba, hey girl!" and they would coming swimming over! We shared the boat with an old couple from California (Manteca), another middle-aged couple and their daughter who asked somewhat inane questions, and a younger couple with their three young children who were kind of obnoxious but funny to watch.

It was an interesting way to see the marshlife around the area and to hear Capt. Allen's thoughts on the recent oil spill and the further development of the swampland. And the weather held out pretty well - barely any rain and decently low humidity. Or maybe I am just getting used to it!

After the tour was over, we headed back to the mainland. We went to a Mexican/Creole restaurant for lunch which was delicious. After that, we made a quick stop at Vil's condo then went to Tulane (where I updated from earlier today about yesterday). Vil is in the midst of completing her thesis research and needed to work on her cell specimens (I don't know if she technically called them that), so I sat in the lab with her and went on her computer and read my book while she worked. It felt a little like it was "Take your Son/Guest-in-town to Work Day" but that is fine by me!

After that, Vil took me on a driving tour of some parts of New Orleans (which was fine with both of us, considering that it was pouring). We drove past and around Tulane and Loyola New Orleans, which are separated by a single street. Got to see some more really expensive homes that look straight out of a Southern painting. Lots of famous people live here, so Vil has taken me to see all of their homes - Sandra Bullock, the Manning family, Drew Brees, Ann Rice, Joh Goodman, etc.

After the tour and the rain had died down, it was time to go to Hansen's (don't know if I spelled that right) for a snowball. This is essentially a New Orleans dish. It is basically a well-done snow cone. The ice is shaved so thinly that it almost has a consistent of ice cream, and the flavors are a bit more sophisticated than wild blue raspberry or something like that. I got cream of strawberry and it was pretty delicious.

Then we came back to Vil's, hung around and rested for a bit, then headed out to dinner. We went to Joey K's, a restaurant and bar that has been featured on "Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives". The food was good, and all I know is that if I lived in the south I would probably be morbidly obese (and very full). I resisted buying a shirt from the place, if only because my last name is not Kammut (and wouldn't that be weird if I wore a shirt around with my name on it? Didn't they have PSAs back in the day about not doing that so people couldn't kidnap you off the playground?).

Then we went to The Bulldog, a local bar (that was very unlike The Bulldog in Spokane, WA, than god) and had a few drinks. The Bulldog has a porch that you can sit on with your dog if you want! Did I mention that Vil has a dog? His name is Boston, and he is very mild-mannered and kind of acts like an old man (sleeps a lot). We got along very well.

Overall I have enjoyed seeing New Orleans and getting to catch up with Vilija - it has been to long and she is a good friend for letting me invade her life and 500 square foot condo for 2 days! Tomorrow it is onto Texas, where I shall be trying to withstand the winds of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Alex. Just another reason to dislike Texas in my mind!

(I have pictures which I will try to upload from the swamp and Hansens - just not working right now!)

Day 28: Nashville to New Orleans

Greetings from the Tulane School of Medicine (and the department of Pharmacology to be precise). I am sitting here while Vilija does some work with cancers cells for her thesis, aka smart people stuff!

But enough about today, back to yesterday. I said bye to Amanda, Murfreesboro, and Tennessee at around 9am. It was already in the mid 80's at this point, so I had started sweating before I even made it to my car. I went south through Tennessee until I got to Birmingham, then went west through southern Mississippi before getting to New Orleans at around 6:30pm.

Driving through the south was kind of an ordeal. The super hot and humid weather is not actually that bad - I just roll my windows down all the way and drive fast. I would much rather have that than the lightning and thunder and torrential downpour that I had to drive through for about an hour. It was pretty scary (especially since I had already flipped a car in monsoon weather 4 years ago in Arizona and don't want to repeat that again!), and there was a car that had skidded down an embankment in the weather. I got through it slowly but surely (and made up my mind then that if I ever visit the south again, maybe it will be in the winter).

I have also decided that my scope of humor does not extend to people with southern accents. I think it's because when they start talking, I am at first fascinated with the way they talk and then second do not think that someone with that accent would try and be sarcastic. It throws me for a loop! See the two conversations I had below with two different people from the south at gas stations (please think of them having southern accents in your head).

Scenario 1:

Old Southern Man: Washington, eh? Just passing through?

Me: Yes, on my way to New Orleans.

Old Southern Man: That's nice, New Orleans will be a bit cooler than Nashville.

Me: Oh, that's good to hear.

Old Southern Man: And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell ya!

(Side note: At this point, I should have stopped and asked if he knew my grandpa George Aherne, who said this phrase all the time, but sadly I did not).

Scenario 2:

Old Southern Lady: Well, I never thought I would have seen a car from Washington here in Alabama!

Me: Oh yes, just passing through on my way to New Orleans.

Old Southern Lady: I hear that Washington is a beautiful state.

Me: It is - and it's a little bit colder than it is here!

Old Southern Lady: Well, just you wait. Later this week it's supposed to drop into the 80's, and if that happens I might have to turn the heat on!

Me: (sort of blank stare) Uh huh.

Old Southern Lady: I was joking.

Anyways, two funny conversations. Alabama was a pretty state, lots of rolling hills and green shrubbery (same with Mississippi too I guess). I took Highway 10 West over to New Orleans, and you take a very long bridge over this big bay and a swamp - very cool.

I finally got to my friend Vilija's place at around 6:30pm. Vilija (pronounced "Vil-e-uh" but from now on I will just call her "Vil") and I went to UCDavis together and were both Student Housing nerds (aka RAs and SRAs together). She is currently finishing up her postbacc at Tulane and is applying to med schools. In essence, she is smart.

Vil moved to New Orleans a year ago but she is already quite an expert in the city life. And she owns this tiny little condo just off of St. Charles street (which has the streetcar running down it and where all the Mardi Gras parades go through!). Anyway, after I got there and got cleaned up (changed into clothes that weren't drenched in sweat), we made our way down to the French Quarter.

The French Quarter (minus Bourbon Street) is the old historic part of town with a lot of the buildings that you would think of when envisioning New Orleans. They have lots of wrought iron and some bright colors and are very statuesque. We went to a restaurant that Vil knows for dinner and ate po'boys and gumbo - delicious! After that, we walked down by the river some and saw the Mississippi on its final journey to the Gulf (I was trying to remember where I passed the Mississippi up north but forgot). We also walked through Jackson Square and took some pictures.

After walked off dinner a bit, we went to the famous Cafe Du Monde and had beignets. The restaurant is right next to the river and has a lot of outside sitting (perfect for those humid southern nights. right??). The restaurant is kind of old-fashioned, as they only serve beignets and coffee and only take cash. And they're open 24 hours! Anyway, the beignets were delicious (and I managed to finish Vil's too).

After that, we walked around the French Quarter and Bourbon Street and then went to a bar (Pat O'Brien's). We got hurricanes (Dad, even though I don't normally drink rum like you I held my own, you would have been proud) and sat in the piano bar portion for awhile before walking through Bourbon Street. That place is crazy - lots of loud signs and music and tourists and people trying to scam on tourists. Even for a Monday night it was pretty crowded! They close the street off to through cars at night so that people can walk freely. And it is still seems kind of weird to see people walking around with drinks in hand - take that, open container laws!

After that, we took the streetcar back to Vil's and called it a night. Will write more about today later, including the swamp tour! Bye!

Joey

Day 27: Nashville, TN

Today was another day spent in Tennessee. I must be going crazy because I am getting sort of used to the heat - what is wrong with me? Maybe I am becoming a southerner?

Woke up this morning, got ready, and drove into Nashville to meet Connor for brunch. Connor is my brother's best friend (Jamie's words), and he is louder, bigger, and more obnoxious than Jamie (my mom's word). He has been living in Nashville for the last two years after he got transferred for his sales job. I met him and his girlfriend Kathleen for brunch at Fido, a spot near Vanderbilt. Connor is very personable and hilarious, and so even though it had been two years since we had seen each other it was fun to catch up with him and see what Nashville life is like.

After brunch, I drove back to Murfreesboro and back to Amanda's apartment to help her get ready for the BBQ she was hosting in the afternoon. Several of Amanda's co-workers came over, and we ate food (a lot of food eaten today) and chatted and such. It is always fun to see a group of entry-level Housing professionals get together, as there are some commonalities and differences between the conversations and sociability. It was interesting hearing about the hierarchy at MTSU and also how some of their conversations have probably taken place at Gonzaga (and elsewhere). A fun group for sure!

After the BBQ, I headed out to Smyrna (a town in between Nashville and Murfreesboro) to meet up with Ann Schmidt for dinner (more food - I think I was actually sick of eating by that time) at Cheddar's. Ann was a year ahead of me in the Master's program at University of Dayton and she was a fellow ResLife GA. She moved to Nashville about two months ago to start a new job as an admissions counselor at Aquinas College, a small Dominican college in Nashville. She had been gone for the weekend at a wedding, so it was nice of her to come back and have dinner with me and it was good to catch up.

After that, headed back to Murfreesboro and hung out while Amanda and her coworker Darrell did some work - no rest for the wicked! Overall, my time in Tennessee has been fun. I don't know if I could ever live in the south, but it is a nice place to visit and it is great to see people who love living here.

On to New Orleans tomorrow! It is strange to think that my trip is half over, depending on how you look at it. In two weeks I will be back in Northern California with the parents and will be there for the rest of July, so even though I will still be technically "roadtripping" I will be in an area I am mostly familiar with. Anyway, I have gotten pretty used to spouting off my trip details to those who want to listen, and I realized today that my "cities/places I have already been to" list is now longer than the "rest of the places I am going" list - a sign that the trip is almost done! Better make sure to make the most of the rest of the time.

Good night!

Joey

Day 26: Nashville, TN

Ok, now on to telling you about my day today! Got up around 8am (thanks to going to bed early!). Amanda and I got ready for the day and set out.

First up was the Loveless Cafe and Motel for brunch. The cafe was opened in the 50's and still exists in Franklin, TN today. It has been a family owned restaurant for most of its life and has is a favorite of many a country music star (or so Amanda says). They serve some really good home cooking, but these best part are the biscuits that they put on your table when you come in with different homemade jams on the side. Take a look below (I didn't take the picture, just found it online):

So good! I was definitely full afterwards.

After breakfast Amanda and I made our way into Nashville. We started at the touristy part and walked up and downs the streets. It is amazing how busy the bars and saloons were, even at noon. There were a bunch of bands performing in bars and the beer was already flowing! We also went to the Charlie Daniels Museum (sort of just a room in the back of his store, but still a bunch of memorabilia) and went into a bunch of other stores. We walked down by the riverfront and saw the historic Fort Nashborrough where the city was originally chartered.

Walking around was pretty surreal. If you were here today and no one told you about the flood, you might have no idea that it actually occurred (save for some moldy smelling carpets in a few stores). It seems like Nashville has done a good job of restoring most of the commercial properties, even without the help of a bunch of national attention on the issue (I remember hearing about it as it happened, but after it seems that the oil spill relief kind of dominated the news).

After walking around downtown (we also saw the Ryman Theatre, home of the original - and now temporary home of - the Grand Ol Opry), we did some driving tours of Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities (they look very old and very southern). We stopped at the Parthenon replica that is over 100 years old in Nashville (but opted not to go in and pay the 6 bucks to see the artwork - yes, we are still a little cheap). Then walking around Centennial Park where the Parthenon is located, we stumbled upon a hippy festival of some sort. Yes, even in the south there are hippies around, celebrating peace and loving life. Makes you happy to know that!

After the Hippy Fest, we headed down to the Yazoo Brewery to take a tour and sample some beers. Yazoo is a southeast brewing company (mostly ships to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi) that is growing and is yet still small and personable. We went in and signed up for the next tour, and I sampled their pale ale while we waited - delicious. We also got to meet 4 older couples who were from Ohio sitting next to us - they also went on the tour with us and were celebrating their weekend without their kids in Nashville!

The tour was pretty hysterical. They give you a pint glass to keep and you use it throughout the tour to sample different kinds of beers. Kelly, our tour guide, was self-admittedly a little hungover from the night before and regaled us with stories about her experiences with "the cham-pag-na of beers" (she also had a southern accent which really helped the story). I really enjoyed their hefeweizen (had a banana scent, the best hefeweizen I think I have ever had), and Amanda liked their Dos Perros (their version of a Mexican beer). She even bought a jugful (or a "growler" in their terms). They gave us plenty of beer on the tour, and Amanda and I both cut ourselves off during the tour - she was driving, and I didn't want to fall asleep on the tour. What good ResLifers we are! I bought a t-shirt afterwards, don't worry...

After that we went to go look at the Grand Ole Opry building and surrounding area. Unfortunately, we were not able to actually go inside, as the building was flooded and is still undergoing renovations. So sad! They don't know when it will be finished. After seeing that, Amanda and I drove back to Murfreesboro. We went to a tshirt store so I could buy a MTSU shirt (naturally). Then we went to dinner at Which Wich? which is a good sandwich store where you order your sandwich on a bag and then it is transported via clothesline across to the sandwich makers - a little gimmicky but good.

Long post, sorry! Went to Publix (grocery store chain), came back to Amanda's apt, went over to her friend Darrell's apt for a bit and hung out, and now am back here getting ready for bed! A long day but very fun. We shall see what tomorrow has in store!

Day 25: Dayton to Murfreesboro, TN

Greetings from Murfreesboro and Middle Tennessee State University!

So to my one loyal reader that my post about my day yesterday is so late (you will see why in my post about today - keep you in suspense).

The day was a bit uneventful yesterday. Woke up at 7:30am, said bye to Megan (for the last time!), and then went back to bed until 9am. Really got up, cleaned things up and got ready. Then at 9:30am I went to the park to meet up with my friend Laura Hinkebein from grad school. Laura and her three kids were at the park playing around (aka Laura was tiring them out so they would nap) so I went to help her out and catch up on her life. Laura's kids are 7, 3, and 10 months, and they are all full of energy - she definitely has her hands full! They are fun though, and it was good to see her and say hi.

After saying bye to them, I went back to Megan's, packed up my things, and got on the road to Tennessee. The drive down is pretty straightforward - I-75 to Cincinnati, then I-71 to Louisville, then I-65 to Nashville. I got into Kentucky pretty quickly and was impressed by the scenery - there were green forests and shrubbery on rolling hills as far as the eye could see. I also came across these gems in Kentucky:

- The National Corvette Museum

- Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln (national historic landmark)

- "The Best Flea Market in the World!" (or so the sign on the side of the barn proclaimed)

- the other Bowling Green (KY, as opposed to the one in OH)

Didn't see much of Louisville as I drove around the city - sorry to those of you waiting in anticipation of my description of it. I was surprised how quickly I got to Tennessee after that (even though it looked pretty much the same as Kentucky did for the first part). After a few hours, got to Nashville and then headed southeast to Murfreesboro (about 30 minutes away from Nashville).

The drive from Nashville to Murfreesboro (pronounced "Murphy's-Borrough") was a little intense, as the skies opened and the thunder and lightning started. Recurring theme - I do not like thunder and lightning! Especially when driving in a car in a place I don't know. When I eventually made it to Murfreesboro, half of the city was without power, which made things a little more complicated.

I finally made it to my destination - Middle Tenessee State University, home of the Blue Raiders (that's for you, Uncle Dave) and Amanda Virag. Amanda and I were in grad school together and worked on the same staff our first year at UD. She is currently an Area Coordinator at MTSU and my host for this leg of the trip.

After getting here and settling in, we went in search of some food (which wasn't an easy task as some of the city was still without power - not MTSU thankfully). After trying some too crowded places, we settled on Puelo's, a local Italian place. Pretty good! After that, Amanda took me on a driving tour of campus. There is a bunch of construction going on (new student center, new science center (maybe?), renovations of current residence halls) but the campus overall is pretty (for being a state school built in the 60's, which was mostly a time of utility and function and not aesthetically pleasing buildings - thank you for that fact, History of Higher Education class from grad school).

Came back, chatted for a bit, then headed to bed, as we were both pretty tired (Amanda from working a full day of work, me from driving). I will tell you all about today tomorrow! Happy Saturday,

Joey

Day 24: San Diego to Dayton (and my views on air travel)

So, I made an executive decision and decided that my roadtrip day count will include my time at the conference, as I was still technically away from home and doing something in a new part of the country (believe me, I have thought way too long about this fact).

So, the NACURH conference ended today, and I made the journey across the country to continue my adventure. As my conference co-advisor Esther so eloquently put it yesterday, "[I] am flying 3,000 miles away to end up about two hours away (in LA) two weeks from now". Well when you put it that way, it does seem a little backwards...

Anyway, the conference committee had the tough task today of getting over 2,000 people to the airport at various times. I was not envious of their planning! They had different shuttles planned and different times and scheduled us for them. Since my flight was at 6:30am, I got one of the earliest shuttle times - 3:45am. Ouch! If you know me, you know I love to sleep more than anything else. However, I respected the rules of the conference and diligently followed their schedule (don't worry, I went to bed at 10pm the night before so I at least got 5 hours of sleep).

I was under the presumption that the shuttle would leave at 3:45am, make a bunch of stops, and I would still get to the airport on time. I was right in that, but my timing was off. We did make a few stops, and I did get to the airport before my flight left - around 4:15am. Seriously, I got there so early that the check-in kiosks weren't open yet. I got there so early that I was the only person in the security line. I got there so early that Starbucks wasn't open yet. Crazy! I got through security and was in front of my gate at about 4:35am and waited around for my flight. Slept through most of the first flight (probably snored a lot but who knows?) and connected in Denver for my flight to Dayton. Got in at around 3:15pm EST.

So, my thoughts on air travel. Since I moved out of California three years ago I have done a lot of flying back and forth across the country. I don't know anyone who actually likes flying (if you do more power to you), but I certainly don't dislike it or am afraid of it. I think I am more annoyed by the whole process. It is like we remove all notions of personal space bubbles from our American society but still don't have any collegiality. So it's not that I mind standing/sitting so close to people, I just mind that we have to ignore each other in polite silence and pretend like this isn't an uncomfortable situation.

Also, I don't think I am made to fly. I am tall and not the smallest person on the planet, so I am pretty much shoehorned into some of those seats. And I normally don't have the attention span to sit in one space for such a long period of time. AND I really don't take instructions well from others (don't I sound like a model employee? Thanks for your patience Mr. Lamsma...). So flying is not so much my cup of tea, especially after this road trip, where I have gotten very used to calling my own shots in a much more relaxed setting. Off the soapbox I go...

Anyway, got back to Dayton, sat through some traffic on I-75, and got to Megan's apartment. Megan was still at work, so I unpacked a little, showered, and finally felt like my day was started. Headed down to the Dayton mall to have dinner with Chelsey and caught up on some of the new surrounding her life - always a good time.

After that, I headed back up to Dayton and met up with Jenna and went to watch a Beatles cover band (named Ticket to Ride) at the Fraze Pavilion. I am not much of a Beatles superfan, so here's how I ended up at the concert.

[Conversation taking place last week]

Jenna: Do you want to see a Beatles cover band at the Fraze the Thursday you are back in town?

Me: Does the Fraze serve beer during their shows?

Jenna: Yes.

Me: Then yes.

It was still a fun concert, even past the beer (and free Krispy Kremes handed out). The Fraze is a mini-amphitheatre type concert venue with lots of grass and bleachers seating, so it is always fun to scope out who is dancing in a ridiculous way. Jenna and I were scouring the crowd, looking for the funniest middle-aged female dancers, when I noticed that the men sitting to the left of us were pointing and laughing at Jenna. So we were looking for the weirdest dancer, but the one place we didn't look...was at Jenna. Touche.

After the concert we walked back to Megan's house and ate some cake with her and Andrea. I had mentioned the delicious idea of a orange creamsicle flavored cake before I left for the conference, and those two managed to make it happen (despite the criticisms and sarcastic comments from Jenna and myself).

All in all, a good day! Tomorrow I leave Dayton for good (weird since it's been my home post for the past three weeks) and head on down to Nashville for the weekend!

NACURH 2010: San Diego, CA

Hi from UCSD! I am currently sitting in the corporate boardroom and thought I would update this thing. It is the middle of role call here, and you can only imagine the time it takes to role call over 220 schools all yelling things.

For those who don't know, NACURH is the National Association for College and University Residence Halls. It is essentially a governing system for the Residence Hall Associations (RHAs, which are leadership and governance for residence halls on campus) across the nation. Make sense? Probably not, but that's ok.

So this is essentially a conference for students who are part of a resident government system. This is the national conference, which means over 220 schools and over 2,000 stduents and advisors. That's a whole lot of people!

I am here as one of the advisors for our Gonzaga delegation. We have 8 students here with us- 7 are the RHA executives here, and 1 is an NRHH rep (the group I advise during the year). The students do some work, like going to sessions on programming, networking with other schools,
and passing legislation. They also have a bunch of fun stuff for the students every day, like concerts, carnivals, movies, games, and live band karaoke (dad, you would have loved it).

What is boils down to is that this is a conference full of nerds! There are so many spirited people all around- lots of cheering, games, costumes, trading pins and gear, etc. Even as a extrovert I am a little overwhelmed by all of the spirit!

My role as an advisor varies here. I kind of keep students in line (making sure they are going to sessions and are being good), lead some reflections, and provide advice when voting on corporate legislation. Even though it's a student conference, there are some things for advisors to do. They have some advisor specific programs that I have gone and learned from. And there was an advisor social the first night which led to lots of networking and such.

Overall it has been a fun experience. UCSD is a cool campus, even if it is large and a little confusing to get around. After being here for a few days I can see why people would never want to leave- perfect weather all year round.

This is the last full day of the conference. Tomorrow I fly back to Dayton and continue the road trip. I am a ready to get back to nana and continue to journey. After so many days of traveling and seeing new things, it is a little weird then being "stuck" in one place for a couple of days!

Ok, probably should be setting a good example for my students and paying attention. Take it easy!
Joey

Hi from San Diego!

Sitting at the San diego airport! Just flew in from Dayton (and boy
are my arms tired) for the NACURH 2010 conference. Not sure if I will
be hosting over the next four days, as I don't know if I will have
Internet access or be doing anything interesting to you all. Bye for
now!
Joey

Day 19: Dayton and Fairfield, OH

Yesterday started off kind of slow. Megan got up and went very early to her marathon training group and Zumba class, and I went to the laundromat to once again clean my clothes. After we both got back to the apt, we went and had lunch at Big Sky Bakery, a place right around the corner from Megan's apt that bakes all their bread fresh and also has soups and sandwiches. And you get a free piece of bread with whatever you order. Bought a muffin? Free slice of bread. Just a soda? Free slice of bread. My kind of place! After that Megan dragged me to the new Kroger on Stroop and showed me around the place - it is actually pretty fancy.

Then we went back to her apt and I got ready for the wedding I went to. I had to wrap the gift but there was no scotch tape in the house, but luckily I found some blue tape and used that (that is one of those "You know you're an RA when..." type situations, I swear). The wedding was in Fairfield, OH, which is about 40 minutes south of Dayton (in between Dayton and Cincinnati). I was wearing my suit, and spent about 45 minutes in the car when it was 90 degrees and humid out - can you guess what that equals? Yes, a massive amount of sweating. I'm pretty sure I was already sweated out by the time I got to the ceremony. And the ceremony was outside, which meant more sweating. Luckily I took my coat off and managed to not pass out from dehydration.

So this wedding I went to was a friend from grad school (Matt Perry) who was getting married to his partner...also named Matt Perry. Yes, they are in love and have the same name - small world! So while it technically wasn't a wedding, it was a commitment ceremony but had everything that a normal wedding has - a wedding party, toasts, cake, dancing, a drag queen performing the medley of Motown hits from the start of Sister Act 2. You know, normal stuff!

In actuality, it was a fun ceremony. I was even more impressed that they would use so much of their own money to have a ceremony and reception for all their family and friends when they would not "get" anything else out of it (like how heterosexual couples get tax breaks, spousal support, etc from the government). It was nice of them and a fun way to celebrate.

Anyway, there were a bunch of friends from grad school at the wedding, including Mo, my work spouse from last year. By work spouse, I don't mean that we want to get married to each other (although we did discuss if we got married what songs would be played at the reception). Mo is just my counterpart in work. We don't do things the same or agree on everything, but we just get each other and challenge each other appropriately and can trust each other. She works at Paul Smiths College in Paul Smiths, NY (aka middle of nowhere) so it was fun to see her and catch up. We did make tentative plans for a roadtrip next year (which would include a webcam in the car so you could watch our shenanigans).

After the wedding was over, Mo, Chelsey, Andrew and I went to the Back Porch Saloon nearby to meet up with Krys, Mo's friend from undergrad, and Lauren and Jessica, Krys' friends. (Side note: Jessica was originally introduced to us as "Lindsay" until that was corrected, and I really wanted to keep calling her that throughout the night, but I was told she wouldn't like that. Oh well). At this bar, my fact was reaffirmed that ResLife is a small world when Chelsey and I ran into Alan, a former staff member from Dayton, and Mo ran into one of her old residents (who was underages - whoops). We also managed to talk to a guy from Germany for awhile, and we decided that he was telling us the truth where he was from and not just acting.

Left the bar around 11:45pm and started the drive back to Dayton. It had actually cooled off considerably and it was just wonderful driving home with all the windows down and not sweating. I enjoy summer nights like that! All in all a good day.

Day 18: Dayton

Let's start off with a fun fact about Dayton: Did you know that Dayton has the most inventions per capita? Now you do...

Woke up this morning after Megan had already left for work. I went to breakfast at the Golden Nugget (basically the best breakfast place in Dayton or maybe ever) and then went off on my day. I went to Target to pick up a wedding gift for the wedding I am going to tomorrow. It is now my belief that wedding registries are a very neat thing but also take the fun and surprise out of gift giving. I guess the wedding party gets what they want and that is nice, but it seems a little...weird that I am giving something so random. Will the Matts remember for the rest of time that I gave them some wall hanger/electronics charger? Probably not. And what's the point, then, of giving a gift receipt with the gift? They asked for this thing specifically, and they already know how much it costs, so they would likely not return it and have to be shielded from (gasp, the horror!) knowing how much I spent on them. Such a silly process. But I digress...

After that. went to Meijer and CVS. Then I headed to the University of Dayton! Went first to the bookstore (obviously - and I get a 10% discount as alumni). I randomly ran into Jim Pera there - small world! Jim is a Campus Minister at UD and is one of my good friends, so it was fun to catch up quickly and we made plans to hang out later this weekend. I then marveled at some of the construction going on around campus and somehow found my way to Kennedy Union and said hi to Gwyn, a friend from grad school who works at the Union, and a bunch of other people there. Then I walked up to Rebecca Schaller's office and chatted with her.

I then made my way quickly to the movie theater to see Toy Story 3 with Jenna and Megan. Holy crap, that movie is good. It was surprisingly emotional, especially at the end (won't give anything away). There were actually a good amount of people in their 20s in the theater, which isn't that shocking considering the first movie came out 15 years ago.

After the movie, we got some dinner at Potbelly and then went to Jenna's apt and ate some of her homemade key lime pie - delicious! Jenna lives at The Greene (the joint housing/commercial space use, aka a fake city) which is pretty cool, and her apt has all the new and fancy features. An apartment from the future!

THEN (sorry, a lot of then's) we met up with Chelsey, Andrew, and Liza (Jenna's friend) and went to listen to Kenny Loggins in concert. How random is that last sentence? Kenny was playing at the Fraze Pavilion, which is an outdoor concert venue only a few blocks from Megan's apartment. There is a park right in front of the Fraze where you can sit and listen to concerts for free! Which is good, because I don't know if I would have paid to see Kenny Loggins in concert. He played all of his hits, except for my personal favorite, "Playing with the Boys". Oh well, still a good time!

And the lightning bugs are out here - so freakin' cool. I had only seen them for the summers I was in Dayton but they sure do put a nice "classic summer" feel onto a hot summer night. So yea, a random day but pretty good!

Day 17: Baltimore to Dayton (with Columbus in between)

At first I thought this day would be boring since I was driving a lot and the exact same way that I done only five days before, but it didn't turn out to be half bad!

Pat woke me up at 6:30am as he was leaving the house. We said bye, and I quickly got ready and was on the road by 7am. While I don't like being rushed in the morning, I do like starting my drive early. I escaped most of the Baltimore-area traffic and was on my way once again through eastern Maryland, northern West Virginia, and southeastern Pennsylvania on my way to Ohio (got all that?). I still managed to stop for gas at the same two exits I had on my way to Baltimore - coincidence? I hope so!

I had more time this trip, so I mosey-ed a little bit more than usual. I stopped by and drove around the West Virginia University campus - looks pretty nice. I also didn't mind too much getting off the beaten path and took a random highway for awhile (tried to remember the number but forgot it).

I made my way to Columbus by around 4pm. I first stopped and visited Heather, a friend from grad school who is working at Denison University int he Academic Support office. She and her fiancee had just bought a house, and since she is off work for the summer she is busy painting and doing work around the place. It was nice to sit and catch up with her, and I spent two hours there (which went by very quickly as we are both talkative people!).

After that, I headed down to Ohio State (a quick trip into Columbus) to see my friend Kenny Lopez. Kenny and I were RAs and SRAs together at UCDavis, and he is now a Hall Director at Ohio State. We have known each other for about 6 years now, and it is fun to see how our paths have gone in similar routes into student Student Affairs but different in the types of schools we are working at. OSU is huge! Kenny I think was born to be a Hall Director, and he is amazing at the job - so much energy and passion for what he does. It was good to see him again after moving out of Ohio! We went and got some Mexican food for dinner at El Vaquero, a local place. Then we went to Jeni's Ice Cream for desert. This place has somewhat crazy flavors and are all delicious. I got three mini scoops of pistachio honey, pear, and salted caramel. Holy crap they were good!

After leaving Columbus, it was a quick trip to Dayton and back to Megan's apt, where I tried to stay awake talking to her but quickly fell asleep on the aero bed in the living room. Long day but good!

Overall, I enjoyed both Baltimore and DC. I am torn as to whether or not I would live in either city, as the things that I enjoy about the cities are mostly based on my slim view as a tourist. I am finding more and more through this trip that I do enjoy and prefer a smaller city, like a Spokane or Dayton. But it was fun to visit the east coast and I'm sure I will again in my life.

Day 16: Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD

Today was a really exciting day! (I honestly never know how to start these posts out. I apologize for this). Anyway, I feel like I did a bunch of stuff this morning and then sort of nothing this afternoon, and then a lot at night again.

I woke up in DC at around 7:45am ish and got ready quickly. Then Bowen and I made the short commute to her office, and by 8:30am I was sitting in the California Welcome Breakfast hosted by Senator Dianne Feinstein. The senator hosts these once a week (every Wednesday at 8:30am) out of her own pocket! It was just bagels and muffins and donuts and coffee and orange juice, but still was really cool.

The senator got up and welcomed us and ribbed the crowd a bit. Basically there were about 200 people there, and anyone who is a California resident who is in Washington can get on the list to go. There were some high school and college students there on school trips, and some families and other random people like me (even though I'm not technically a resident of the Golden State anymore, I faked it with great authenticity). So anyway, the senator welcomed us and let us know what she was working on in her committees and legislation. She then introduced most of her staff that was around and then opened up the floor to questions to answer. All in all, the whole thing was a little over an hour long, but it was gratifying to see a very busy senator take time and money to get to see some of her constituents. She is really engaging in person and answered people's questions rather candidly (for a politician at least). And she is still going strong even in her 70s. All in all, I left very impressed.

After that, I went back to Bowen's office, and she took me on the underground subway over to the new Capital Visitor Center. I remember riding this subway as a member of the general public when I visited in 2001, but times, they are a-changin'. You have to be an employee or escorted by one to take the ride now, so it felt a little scandalous to be doing so (especially with the "ESCORTED" nametag I had to wear). The new Capital Visitor Center is beautiful, and they did a great job blending it in with the current building and still providing some historical artifacts in the exhibit hall and lobby. And it was busy in there too!

I made my way through there and got to use my Senate viewing gallery ticket (thanks to Senator Feinstein) to see a live vote taking place. The whole viewing was fascinating, because it was nothing like I had expected. The senate chamber is pretty tiny considering they only need space for 100 or so people. It is still ornately decorated and kept up, and they gave us a pamphlet with lots of information about the chamber (and a senator seating chart which was helpful). I have to be honest that I forgot what the actual vote was about (something about unemployment benefits), but it was nothing what I expected. The senators just kind of come in and mill around and chat as the votes are counted electronically. I guess I expected lots of verbal "yay" and "nay"s and suspense, but that didn't really happen. And once a vote is over, pretty much everyone leaves expect for the president pro tempe (that title might be wrong) and who ever is speaking. Most of the actual work of senators is done in committees and subcommittees.

And the seating gallery in itself is a sight. It's basically stadium-style seating with movie seats. There are no cellphones aloud (you check them beforehand), no food or drink, no talking, no excessive standing, no showing any signs of support or disdain or what is being said, no wearing hats. Basically all you do is sit, read your senate info, and watch the proceedings. They actually kept my attention for about an hour, which is a miracle considering that I am not a politics junkie and have trouble siting still. And there was this one guy who was in charge of where everyone sat and all he would do was just get mad at people who were talking or touching things they weren't supposed to or jockeying for a better seat. He even kicked a kid out for sleeping! He was half the show up there, I swear.

After about an hour I left and headed back to Bowen's office. Gathered my things, said bye to her (and Washington) and walked over to Union Station to catch the MARC train back to Baltimore. After this trip I decided I am pro-train, and I am ok with the amount that our federal government subsidises railroads. Look at me, making political decisions based on personal experiences!

Got back to Baltimore around 1:30pm. Pat was gracious enough to leave work and come pick me up from the train station (I think he just liked being able to leave for a bit). I went back with him to work and hung around his office for a bit and met his co-workers (I met one of them twice, as Pat had temporary amnesia and introduced me to Jess, who I had had lunch with about 48 hours prior). After that, we took a trip through campus and went to the Student Union, where we went to the post office and bookstore (Aunt Terry, you would have approved of the bookstore - recently remodeled!). We also ran into his two bosses from Back on My Feet, and it was nice to meet this, as Pat has nothing but great things to say about them.

After that, I was not gonna lie - I was tired. I went back to Pat's apt and took a nap. I hope that I can always have a job where I can take naps! Pat got home from work, and we ran some errands. At this point, Pat was getting a little grumpy. After 3 years of friendship, I know exactly how to push his buttons, so I did just that during our car ride and stops and made him even grumpier. Jack, you would have loved it.

We met up with Pat's friends Tim, Ivan, and Jen (did I get that last name wrong? Maybe. My apologies) for dinner at Chipotle. This was a treat because we don't have Chipotle in Spokane and because I got to tell a few "embaressing Pat" stories (I know I spelled that word wrong but I don't know how to spell it! I just tried for like two minutes to figure it out and gave up). Ivan and Tim are the Resident Director equivalents here at Loyola, so clearly we had some stuff to talk about.

After dinner, the group of us went over to another friends' house (Ben and Christina) and played a couple rounds of a board game. I am not that competitive of a person, and board games make me nervous. Still, it was a very fun time. Pat has found some great friends here, and it is nice to see his new life and put faces to names and places.

Leaving here early tomorrow morning and heading back to Dayton. Should be kind of a boring day in the car, but I am making a stop in Columbus, so we shall see.

Joey

Day 15: Washington, DC

Sorry for the late update! Yesterday and this morning were so jam- packed that I didn't find anytime to update this thing in an appropriate fashion.

My morning started off rather early (for me at least) as I left pat's apt with him as he left for work. Instead of going to loyola's campus ministry department for the day (perish the thought), pat dropped me off at Baltimore's Penn station so that I could catch the train to DC.

How cool is this - Amtrak runs a MARC train (still don't know what the acronym stands for) that runs between DC and Baltimore many times a day for 7 bucks each way. What a deal! And the train gets you right to Union Station in washington, basically in the heart of everything.

Anyways, got down to union station at around 10am and didn't have anything planned until 1pm, so I wandered around, took the sights in, enjoyed the non-humid weather, and tried to not look like a complete tourist (I find that if you look exasperated and don't take any pictures you can kind of fit in).

I met up with my friend Michelle for lunch. Michelle and I were RAs and SRAs together at UCDavis (you will notice a recurring theme with most of my friends I think...). Michelle now works as a Department Coordinator at National Geographic, which everyone always oohs and
aahs over when they hear it. Not me though! Kidding. Anyway we had fun catching up and cracking jokes. And we went to Potbelly and got sandwiches, and even though it was super crowded and they made my sandwich late it was totally delicious and worth it.

After lunch, I went by the National Archives and saw their new exhibit on Civil War documents which was cool. I then tried to head into the Smithsonian (Natural History Museum) but I could barely stand the amount of 10 year olds there. Keep your students in the classroom,
teachers! No real learning takes place in the real world.

After that, I was kind of sick of crowds and just wanted to hang out, so I rambled down to the mall and just hung out on a bench and read a book. After about an hour, I noticed that there was a camera and a camera purse sitting on the bench next to me. I opened it up and called the number inside. The guy who the camera belonged to was appreciative that someone found it and wanted to get it tomorrow from me, but since I was leaving the city tomorrow (aka today) that wouldn't work. So I had some free time (and a day Metro pass), I took the Metro out to Pentagon City, Virginia and gave this guy his camera back. It was actually fun to do, and I only got a little bit nauseous on the metro train back (I don't like sitting facing backwards from
the direction I am moving in!).

Then I met a family friend, Alexandra, for happy hour. Alexandra has grown up acrossthe street from my parent's summer cabin almost all my life, so we go way back (and our mothers are still hoping we get married). Alexandra is a rising senior at Boston University, and she is doing an internship in DC for the summer doing some boring government work (her words). It was good to see her even it was only for about an hour, especially since I probably won't see her this
summer again.

After that, I had to put my Metro skills to the test and race across town to Capital Hill and meet Diana (henceforth called Bowen), Mariam (aka Spoon), and Michelle for dinner. Let's see, how do we all know each other- we were all RAs together at Davis at one point or another and hung out in the same group of friends for junior and senior years of college. Does that adequately describe our friendships? Probably not. They are all very hysterical in their own ways.

The above picture is an example. I had a painting in my apt senior year of college of three ladies in those positions. They thought it was hysterical, and for my birthday that year I got a life-size picture of them impersonating the pose (I still have both the original and new copy - I just don't know how they will go over at Gonzaga). Since 2006, many different versions of the picture have been created, and they continue to be hysterical. (Side note: I should probably put all of the versions together at some point if I could find them all - would be hilarious).

(P.S. You already know what Michelle and Diana do- Spoon is a teacher at a charter school in DC.)

We ended up at Matchbox for dinner which was a good restaurant. Dad, this placed served watermelon wheat beer from 21st amendment in SF! Small world. We stayed there until almost 10pm catching up, reliving old jokes, and probably making new ones too.

After dinner, we went back to Bowen and Spoon's apt where I crashed for the night ("crashed" seems like a very college word but I can't think of what else to say). I think after this trip I should create a website comparing and rating air mattresses- I am getting quite the tour of all different types on my summer vacation!

That's it from Tuesday- all I have to say is that I can't wait to update about today already!

Joey

Day 14: Baltimore, MD

Greetings from the Charm City!

Today's weather was not as terrible as yesterdays. Or maybe I am just getting used to it, who knows?

My morning started at 5am as Patrick left his apt to get to his meeting for Back on My Feet, the organization that he is a team leader in Baltimore. (check it out at www.backonmyfeet.org). I barely heard him, rolled over on the futon, and went back to bed...until I woke up at 10:30am. Whoops! Once again, my father has bestowed upon me a wonderful gift of sleeping anywhere and everywhere and never waking up. Anyway, I got ready decently quickly, updated the blog for yesterday, and got out the door.

First on the list was meeting Patrick, his co-worker Jessica, and their mutual friend Lauren for lunch. We went to Alonso's, a local bar and grill that still had pretty good food. The conversation was pretty lively, as we are all versed in Jesuit ways (and have all worked at or gone to Jesuit institutions) and higher education and such. After lunch, Jessica and Pat headed back to work, Lauren went back to DC, and I headed out to explore Baltimore on my own.

First up was Fells Point. Fells Point used to be the main shipyard in the city of Baltimore and where a lot of working class families lived. It has since been reinvented into a sort of 20-something living area with a lot of different shops and such, all with some original brick buildings and cobblestone streets (fun fact: Fells Point is actually where Frederick Douglass lived as a slave for a time and learned how to read and write). It was interesting to walk around and see different shops, and I did a little bit of shopping (oh, budgeting money for summertime). Baltimore's waterfront is so...historic compared to those of the only other city I can really compare it to - San Francisco, and it is interesting to see older buildings that still serve a purpose. And everything still looks classy in brick in my opinion.

Anyway, after that I drove about 3 miles south of the city and went to Fort McHenry. Now operated by the National Park Service, Fort McHenry served as a defense post for Baltimore for 200 years. It is most famous for the Battle of Baltimore which occurred between the Brtish and Americans in 1814 (side note: the Americans won. Yay us). Francis Scott Key oversaw the battle from a ship and was inspired to write a poem, which we now know as the Star-Spangled Banner.

The fort has been kept in pretty good condition despite have several uses over many years. The Park Service is building a new welcome and visitors center, but instead I was treated to the welcome and intro film straight out of the 70's - classic. The area around the fort is really pretty and provides some nice views of downtown Baltimore.

I then made my way back through the Baltimore traffic and back to Pat's apt. We went to dinner at Little Havana, a restaurant on the waterfront with half-priced burgers on Mondays. Afterwards we took a driving tour of the area of town where Pat's shelter is that he runs with (seriously, check out www.backonmyfeet.org !). Then we went and bought some work shoes for Pat (I never said that 100% of my trip would be exciting! Sorry for making fun of you, Pat...) and then we did a driving tour of a few more Baltimore neighborhoods. This city really is a collection of neighborhoods, and it is cool to see how quickly those neighborhoods can change.

That's it for today! Tomorrow I make my way down to DC again.

Day 13: Baltimore/Washington, DC

Yesterday started at 6:30am with Pat waking me up and asking if I wanted to go to the Farmer's Market with him and a friend of Back on My Feet. Only problem is, I don't remember the day starting this way. Patrick said I sort of grunted at him and he took that as a no. Whoops! That's what happens when you try and wake Grumpy Joey I guess. I am a little disappointed that I missed out, as Patrick had some good food at the place (or so he said when he got back).

Actually woke up at 9am and got ready for the day. Pat was going to take me to mass on the Loyola Maryland campus. We got over there in time for the 10:30am service - except for the fact that it actually started at 10am. Yes, that's right - Pat, the campus minister, did not know the correct mass time. Don't worry, I made fun of him for it a lot. Anyway, we went and saw his office and I saw a little bit of campus.

Did I mention the weather was atrocious? Because it was (and looks to be today too). In the mid-90's and super humid - ew. I don't know people live in this! Especially when I saw people running and hanging out outside for extended periods of time. I think I would pass out from dehydration due to the massive sweating that would ensue. But I digress...

Anyway, later that day I made my way down to Washington, DC to see Diana Bowen, a friend (and former RA and SRA nerd like me) from UCDavis. My GPS (actually Nicola's GPS) decided not to function for the first half of the trip, and yet somehow I still managed to find my way through downtown Baltimore and onto the freeway south - impressive for me at least! It finally started working once I was on the beltway and gave me adequate directions.

Diana (who also lives with Spoon, another RA friend from Davis) lives in a ridiculously nice apartment on Capitol Hill. The neighborhood isn't as busy as Dupont Circle which is nice, as there are pockets of quiet and a decent amount of parking.

Diana and I were going to kayaking on the Potomac, but the weather and her co-workers bailing made us think twice. So instead we walked to the Eastern Market and looked at some of the things being sold (and caught up and talked along the way). Very cool market on Saturday and Sunday, as there is fresh local food being sold as well as crafts and mementos.

I had wanted to send some postcards (ps if you want a postcard, leave me your address below if I don't already have it), so we went in search for some. That search took us down to the Mall for one of those carts on the side of the roads that sell FBI shirts and Obama ties. As we were walking down there, we got caught in a torrential downpour. I mean, so much so that we were completely soaked - it's like had jumped into a pool. I kind of had to laugh at the whole thing. And we didn't even get thunder and lightning to look at! Not cool.

We ended up finally finding postcards at one of those shops (after stopping at the American Indian Museum which apparently doesn't have postcards) and made our way back to Bowen's apt via the capital (and looking at the new capital visitor's center, which I am going to try to visit when I go back on Tuesday). We had dried off about halfway at this point (and it was in the 90's, so I wasn't sure what was water and what was sweat anymore). We went back to Diana's apartment and rested for a little bit.

Then we headed down for dinner at Taylor's Gourmet Sandwiches - picture from the internet below!

Taylor's is located on H Street. which is going through its own gentrification process. A lot of new "shnazzy" shops are opening and the city is installing a trolley line through the street. The sandwiches are awesome and the restaurant has gotten a lot of press for its new location and the design of the restaurant.

All in all, a good day (minus weird weather). Found my way back to Baltimore last night and chatted with Pat a little before bed.

Two weeks down! Crazy to think about - it has gone both quickly and slowly at the same time. I am not tired yet of life on the road (either physically or emotionally) which is a good thing. I am enjoying writing the blog and hoping you are enjoying reading it! Will try to keep it concise as I know I have a tendency to ramble.

Day 12: Dayton to Baltimore

I am having a really hard time remembering what number day I am on...this doesn't bode well when I am in the 20's and 30's!

Anyways, yesterday I started the journey to the East Coast (aka Baltimore). I was sort of excited about this, as I had never driven east past Columbus, so I had no idea what was in store. I left Dayton about 15 minutes behind schedule (at around 9:15am). This common occurrence just shows how little I care about self-imposed deadlines with no implications- this is both good and bad in life!

Anyways, drove east on I-70 for most of the day. Going from Dayton to Columbus is a rather boring - just lots of flatlands and farms. Eastern Ohio is rather picturesque, as there are some rolling hills and trees that continue into Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. The ride didn't have any mountain passes so that was nice! I went through some nice looking towns - Zanesville, Ohio, Washington, PA, and Morganstown, WV (the home of the University of West Viriginia - go Mountaineers!).

What the ride did have, however, was ridiculous weather. Dayton when I left was hot, humid, and overcast - I think I was already sticky and sweaty just from my walk to the car. That weather continued for the whole day. When I got to Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, I also got rain and lightning and thunder. The rain was coming down in sheets, and all I could see for about 10 minutes was the car's hazards lights in front of me (Mom, it reminded me of that ride back from LA that we had when I was 13). There was thunder and lightning that I kept driving closer to, until at one point the thunder and lightning were at the same time and my car shook a little. Needless to say this freaked me out and I drove a little bit faster to get to Baltimore. (Maryland drivers are also crazy, so this is not just a Midwest thing).

I finally got to Pat's apt at around 6:30pm. Pat is a good friend from grad school who got his Master's in Theological Studies and now works at Loyola Maryland as a Campus Minister. After I got to Baltimore, we hung out a bit and caught up, then went and got some dinner at Pei Wei, this sort of Asian diner. Delicious!

Then we drove down to Washington, DC and went to a party that one of Pat's friends was having that night. While at first I wasn't thrilled about this idea, it did turn out to be really fun. I know no one at the party except for Pat, and I really shine in those social situations - I can say whatever I want and will never see those people again! Also, many of them were involved in social work/ministry work, and I am amazed at the small circles that occur and how much people know each other. Plus, the party was on the roof of an apartment in Georgetown which provided amazing views of the school and the National Cathedral. Afterwards we got a little lost in Georgetown which was fun to see all the ridiculous houses.

All in all, a long but good day! Gotta go and stop using Pat's computer - almost time for church!

Day 11: Dayton

Or should I say "Daytin", as it is supposed to be pronounced (right, Mammers?).

So I thought that today was going to be a boring day, and I was worried how it would come across in the blog. But it turned out to be pretty fun (for me at least!).

I woke up later than expected - apparently I did not wake up when Megan left the apt this morning (I thank my father for the skills to sleep through anything). Anyway, I got up and started my day, which was pretty much entitled Errand Day in Dayton.

First, I went to the laundromat so that I could have clean clothes for the next week. I thought about going to Spin City (the laundromat that I went to for my first year of grad school oh so very much) for old time's sake, but instead I just went to a place closer to Megan's apartment. There was this old-time trucker who talked to me there about his views on unemployment and women, and I politely nodded and listened while my clothes dried.

After that, I went to the most glorious store on the planet - Meijer (pronounced Meyer). For those not in Michigan/Ohio/other states, Meijer is kind of a high-class Walmart, with food, clothes, and everything else in between. I used to go there all the time when I lived here, and since I needed a few things I thought of no better place to go! Somethings never change, and Meijer is one of them. When I used to drive Babe (my 92 blue Ford Explorer) around Dayton, it had a twin in the Meijer parking lot, and I found it today again!

After Meijer it was lunchtime. I had decided early on that I would go to a Dayton-specific place for lunch in order to soak in all the goodness. So eventhough I thought about Chipotle/Panera/Jimmy John's, since those are chains (delicious chains nonetheless) they wouldn't suffice. After some deliberation, I settled on Los Tres Amigos (or just "Los Tres" for short), a delicious Mexican food place we used to frequent. Apparently we used to go there a lot, as the waiter semi-recognized me when I went in. "Hi senor, you have not been here in a long time", he said. He probably was thinking, "Where is that girl that you used to come with who spoke Spanish a lot?" (aka Clare). All in all, a good meal.

I then gave my car some TLC and got an oil change and a new air filter - thanks Jiffy Lube on Wilmington! It was amazing driving back and forth from all these places and seeing what was new/old/changed in the course of a year. Norton's (bar on Wilmington) is now vacant, and lots of little shops have popped up here and there. There was something else I was going to add to this part but now I forget...

Anyway, later in the day I went to visit the Smith family. Christina Smith is an Area Coordinator at UD and I had grown close to her, her husband Mike, and their two little children in my time in grad school. It was fun to catch up with them some more and see how much the kids had grown in a year - I'm not sure they remembered me but who would at ages 3 and 5? They are a fun bunch as always.

And of course, I saved the best for last - a trip to Tank's. Tank's was my favorite bar in grad school, and a bunch of us spent many a Wednesday night pondering life's big questions over mini-pitchers and cheese sticks. The place has changed a little bit but was still as awesome as ever. Megan, Jenna, and I got dinner there, and then Rebecca, Erin, and Dave joined us later for drinks - a good time. I miss having a bar within walking distance of where I live (that isn't overrun by students and has pretty good food and a place to sit and chat - don't I sound like an old person or what?). After that we had a quick trip to Ritter's for some frozen custard - can't get much better.

Tomorrow - off to Baltimore and spending the next 5 days on the East Coast!

Joey

P.S. The weather today was gross! Hot and humid and muggy and a little rainy. And even with all this, I chose to wear a gray t-shirt. When will I learn?? I must have sweat through that thing like 4 times.

Day 10: Dayton and Cincinnati

I keep forgetting what day of the roadtrip I was in, until Megan reminded me that the day corresponds with the day of the month (since I started on June 1st). So, Day 10 is on June 10th!

I woke up this morning and got ready at Megan's apt (she was already at work). Then I was off to Cincinnati to watch the Giants take on the Reds at the Great American Ballpark!

The game was at 12:35pm, so I thought by leaving Dayton at 11:15 I would leave enough time to get there (since, as I recalled, Cincinnati was about an hour away). Well, I was right on the timing of the trip - what I had not counted on was the traffic I hit (darn you, 75 south) and the fact that it would take forever to find parking downtown (workday + ball game = most spaces being taken up!). So I ended up getting to the game at around 12:50pm having already sweat through my Giants shirt. It was hot today in southwestern Ohio - got almost to 90! Luckily there was little to no humidity.

I really like the Reds stadium - I had gone to watch a few games there during grad school. In fact, I realized today how much I enjoy watching a MLB game live. This was the first game I had ever gone to alone, and I still thoroughly enjoyed everything about it, even if I didn't have someone sitting next to me to talk to (and trust me, I didn't have many allies when I was so pro-Giants. I spotted about a dozen people total who were rooting for the Giants and that was it!). I hope that the next city I live in (or the city that I end up in someday) has or is close to a professional team.

Even though the Giants lost, it was still a fun game to see. And since it was so hot, I naturally got a little too much sun. I have never had the tops of my knees sunburnt before - interesting. Since the game went so long (after 4pm), I was late getting back to Dayton, as there was a bunch of traffic in the city and on the way back from Cincinnati.

Got back around 6:30pm and tried to help Megan with final preparations for dinner, even though she refused to let me since I was "the guest of honor". Megan had invited over some of her work colleagues who I hadn't met before (Andrea, Andrew, Melissa, and Brian, Melissa's husband) and some of our friends (Jenna and Chelsey). It was great to see friends again and also to meet more of Megan's new friends from work, as they are all very fun and have formed a good group. Megan made homemade lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, while other people brought fruit, spinach and artichoke dip, and strawberry shortcake. All delicious! Jenna and I secretly rated all the food, but it was only in jest at Megan...or was it??

After dinner, Megan wanted to play Quelf. What is Quelf, you ask? It is the most random, hilarious board game that we love to play at Gonzaga in Residence Life and which I noticed Megan also owned- what a coincidence. Unfortunately, we ended up playing Sexy Secrets, which is this sort-of dumb board game that Megan bought for a bachelorette party a couple years ago (and which we also played during grad school once). The game is tamer than sounds, and although playing with co-workers/strangers is a little awkward, it was pretty fun.

The best part of the day was actually Jenna and I helping Megan to realize that her MacBook Pro which she has owned for almost a year has a camera (yes, she is that technologically impaired). We took a bunch of photos. Some are below, one has become my profile picture on this blog, and the other has been added to my Yellowstone trip post. If I didn't take pictures where I was at, I might as well fake it!

Tomorrow is relatively unplanned in Dayton, so who knows what trouble I will get into!

Joey

Day 9: Milwaukee to Dayton

Yesterday I completed the final journey into the Eastern Standard Time zone.

I started out in Milwaukee. Adrienne cooked some breakfast (using her Magic Bullet - so speedy) and I go onto the road there at around 8:30am. Got through the rest of Wisconsin pretty quickly and made the way through Illinois. Current Gonzaga student and Wisconsin expert Lizz Wehnher had commented on my last post about Wisconsin's bad drivers that I should "wait until [I] see Illinois drivers", and I have to say, she was right. Illinois drivers are also pretty crazy and don't seem to have very much regard for others on the road or posted speed limits - maybe it's just a Midwestern thing? Or a Central Standard Time thing? Who knows...

Made it through Chicago without much traffic - that city is huge. that cut through Indiana on 65 until I got to Indianapolis, then took I-70 over to Dayton. I don't know why, but I really enjoy Indiana. It is a nice state with some decent scenery and good people (or so I generalize). I got off the freeway somewhere about 40 miles north of Indianapolis for fuel and got a little lost on some backroads but actually had a good time seeing the countryside. And it was nice to be in a state with a lot of cell phone coverage!

Anyway, got to Dayton at around 5:30pm. I had forgotten how to navigate around the city a little bit, so it took me a little while to get to where I needed to go. I got to my hotel for the next three days (Megan Thomas' apartment), got ready quickly, and headed up to the Oregon District downtown for dinner for Rebecca's birthday at Thai 9.

I got really nervous going up there for some reason! I think it just felt a little weird to be back and to be seeing lots of people again. The dinner was fun, and it was nice that I was able to celebrate with Rebecca and say hi to lots of old folks. After dinner, we went to a new German bar across the street and had sangria (yea, I know, those two things don't really mix).

I made my way back to Megan's apartment to actually see her! Megan was a year ahead of me in grad school. She got her Master's in Community Counseling (but still worked as a GA for Res Life) and currently works as a social worker for at-risk youth in Dayton (or something of that nature). She is hysterical in playing host - she bought pistachios and reduced fat Cheez-it's and already made lasagna for the "party" she is throwing for me on Thursday night. Too funny.

Off to the Giant's game down in Cincinnati - if I can remember how to get there!

Day 8: Milwaukee

Lots to say about yesterday!

Adrienne worked until noon, so I had the morning to myself. I spent it getting ready and also took a walk to the post office (which Adrienne told me later was in a bad part of town, whoops!). After she came home, we went out and she played Milwaukee tour guide for the day.

Let me preface this by saying that the weather yesterday was less than ideal. Actually, it was bad- mid 50's and raining all day. Very uncharacteristic for Wisconsin in the summer! Still, Adrienne was determined to still show me the sights and sounds.

We drove around Marquette, which is easy to do on such an urban campus. Still pretty though. In fact, the whole downtown is pretty scenic and manages to escape that whole 70's arcitechture vibe, which is nice.

Finding parking downtown could have been filled as a reality show. We found a spot only a couple blocks from our destination, but we realized we didn't have quarters for the meters. We tried to ask a parking attendant for change but he only tried to swindle a spot out of us. No way dude! So Adrienne ended up dropping me off at a cousin's subs store to get change while she drove around the block (this is all in the pouring rain mind you). I came out of the store with 8 quarters and Adrienne had to cut across four lanes of traffic, so she got honked at a bit. Then we finally found a spot, and said spot had 1 hour 52 minutes left in the meter. Didn't need those quarters after all!

So, we finally arrived at our destination- The Safe House for lunch. The safe house is this spy-themed restaurant with trap doors and passwords- and that's just to get in! It was a fun place to eat, as they have memorabilia and spy knick-knacks all over the place. And you have to find the secret route out too, which Adrienne had to subtly ask how to find (yes, it's that hidden).

After lunch we did some walking and driving around downtown. We saw Cathedral Square, where they have jazz concerts every Thursday during the summer. We also saw UWM's campus (massive) and some of the shoreline of Lake Michigan. All of these were prefaced with the line
of "this would be nice if it wasn't so rainy/foggy". Still, some good views.

Later that day, we went to the Brewers game with some of Adrienne's friends (Maggie, Mike, Sarah, Dave, and Kathy). The cool thing that Milwaukee does is that a majority of the bars have free shuttles to the game and back. We went to O'Brians before the game to have a few drinks and to catch their shuttle. The shuttle ride there was hysterical- some drunk girls and winconsin type people gave us some good fodder (the drunk girls saw us later and acted like we were best friends). There is some good people-watching in Milwaukee, and Adrienne and her friends make good use of it.

The game was tons of fun- the Brewers ended up scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and a full count to win the game. Miller Park is pretty cool, and they have some funny traditions- the world famous Klement's sausage race in the 6th (the Italian sausage won
despite my cheering for the chorizo) and the singing of "roll out the barrel" after take me out to the ballgame. And there were lots of people-watching there too.

After the game was a little bit chaotic catching the right shuttle back (and making jokes along the way). When we got back to Adrienne's we ended up hanging out and talking until midnight- crazy!

All in all Milwaukee was tons of fun- it was great to see Adrienne and see her life up here. I enjoyed Wisconsin and all it had to offer! Adrienne, don't worry, you made the blog In a positive light! I have now seen two out of the three Fritzsche children- sorry to the third
who shall remain anonymous...

Now it's onward to Dayton!

Day 7: Omaha to Milwaukee

Yesteday during the day was a little boring since it was mostly spent in the car. Then it became fun at night!

I left Omaha at about 8:30am and hit the road. I made it very quickly to Iowa (right across the river) and drove through it most of the day. I purposely chose to go a little off the beaten path so that I could see the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. It was definitely worth the trip! The field and house look exactly the same and are open to the public- you can go play ball on the actual field! Very inspiring.

Not much else to report on from Iowa, except that I did drive through Grundy County and stopped at the welcome center there to see if there was an auction going on. No such luck!

I made it to the southwestern tip of Wisconsin and drove across the state to get to Milwaukee. I don't like to generalize, but it seems that Wisconsin drivers are crazy a little. They go really fast, they swerve into lanes, and generally are a little nuts. I got stuck in traffic in Madison, which was a little shocking, because I hadn't seen that many cars on the road in awhile.

Anyway, finally made it to Milwaukee around 7pm, after going through the famous town of Oconomowoc, home of current Gonzaga RA Lizz Wehner. I am staying here with Adrienne, who is my parent's goddaughter, family friend, Boyd's sister- how else do I describe how we know each other? Basically we go way back.

Adrienne had a softball game at 8, so I tagged along. It was actually thrilling to watch, because the other team was super aggressive, so lots of people got hurt and kept the game intense! Adrienne got a ball thrown right at her and made a mark on her arm- you can still see the
stitch from the ball! Luckily they still won.

After the game the team went to Club Paragon. When I first heard the name if this place, my thoughts drifted to a disco with strobe lights and pulsing music, and why would a softball team go there? Well good thing club paragon is nothing like that. It's actually just a regular old bar with wood log walls, heads on the wall, and lots of tv screens on sports channels. They have pitcher races throughout the season- too bad team 'adrian' (spelled the wrong way) is at the bottom of the list. Check out the bar at www.clubparagon.com (for reals).

Milwaukee weather has been nice, not humid at all and a little rainy- I'll take it! Adrienne is getting done with work early and is going to take me around the city, and tonight we are going to the Brewers game with some of her crazy friends. Good times!

Day 6: Omaha, Nebraska

Happy Sunday from America's Heartland!

My second full day in Omaha was generally low-key and quite nice actually. I am enjoying Jenny as a host - she just kind of goes with the flow (despite her "J" tendencies).

We went out to lunch today with Linda and Jacob, two of Jenny's friends. Linda works as the Residence Life Director at the College of St. Mary's, and Jacob is her husband. They are quite funny, as Linda is a typical housing nerd (very energetic and loud) and Jacob has a dry sense of humor. I enjoyed them both! Especially when Linda and I got to swap some Housing stories. We were supposed to go to Petrow's, a local malt shop type place that is famous around these parts. Too bad we forgot that Petrow's is closed on Sundays! Still wanting me to get the local Omaha experience, Jenny, Linda, and Jacob took me to the Rice Bowl, the local "hole-in-the-wall" Chinese food place. Delicious of course!

After that, Laurie and Jacob took us on a mini-driving tour of Omaha to see the things that Jenny couldn't find yesterday. We went and saw Rosenblatt Field, home of the College World Series (for one more year at least until the new stadium opens), and we also saw the Omaha Zoo, which is the 2nd highest rated zoo in the country apparently (behind San Diego). Very cool to see both! Did I mention that the weather was absolutely perfect today? In the 80's, sunny, low humidity - if everyday in the Midwest was like this I would never want to leave.

After Linda and Jacob dropped us off, Jenny and I did some errands around town. Jenny got some tomato plants and planted them in her yard. We found the one Bank of American ATM in Omaha (or what we thought was - thanks a lot US Bank imposter!). We also went to a half-priced book store where I restrained myself and only bought three books. Who knows when I will read them when I already have 6 books with me on the trip? I am already on book number 2 for the trip as is, so we shall see if I get to them.

We then met up with Boyd, a family friend of mine, for dinner at BrewBurgers, a local Omaha establishment. It has been featured on "Drivers, Dine-in's, and Dives" for its famous beef brisket, so we were excited to try it (side note: the brisket was ok - good but we decided not "Food Network worthy"). Boyd regailed us with some hysterical stories from his life - he is a funny guy! I have kept in touch better with his sisters than him, so it was good to see him again and see what he is up to.

And that's pretty much it! Having a quiet night here and then getting up in the morning and heading to Milwaukee!

Joey

Day 5: Omaha, Nebraska

Ok, more time to post now, and about my Saturday spent in America's heartland.

For the first part, I am staying with my friend Jenny from grad school. Jenny is currently working at the College of St. Mary in Omaha as the Director of Student Leadership and New Student Orientation (basically she has five jobs and does them all very well).

We toured the CSM campus today. It is the tiniest thing ever! They have about 1,100 students ever. It is hilarious to listen to Jenny refer to the college, as she says things like "the history professor" and "the HR person". Still, the campus has a lot of new facilities and it looks pretty cool.

After that, we got some delicious grub at Wheatfield's, a local bakery and restaurant. Their special was raspberry pie - Jack, I thought about buying you some and carrying it with me all the way to Texas but I didn't think it would make it (because I would have eaten it, not because it would have gone bad).

We then went to downtown Omaha, which is actually cooler than it sounds. You can certainly tell that Omaha was a city built with another industry in mind but it has reinvented itself pretty well (the city thanks you, Warren Buffet). There has been a lot of money invested in the riverfront property and the surrounding areas.

We stopped by Sand in the City, which is an event this weekend in Omaha known throughout the nation (or so says Spirit Magazine, official magazine of Southwest Airlines). They bring a ton of sand into a parking lot and have professional sculptors come and make amazing things. The public can buy a vote for the best one, and the money goes towards Omaha Children's Fund (don't quote me on that). All of the sculptures had some sort of Omaha tie-in. Jenny and I each voted for a different sculpture but the one that we thought was the creepiest was winning. Go figure!

After that we walked the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. It's a bridge built in 2008 that goes across the Missouri River and links Omaha to Iowa. It''s the longest pedestrian suspension bridge of it's kind. We also stopped by the National Park Service Midwest Office and looked around their Lewis and Clark museum and such. History in the area!

Jenny tried to take me around to the zoo but we got a little lost. Oh well! I also got to see the new College World Series stadium being built and the tallest building between Denver and Chicago - who knew it was in Omaha? You and I both now do.

All in all, it has been a pretty relaxing day, minus the ridiculous humidity. I forgot what it was like to walk outside into an oven! Crazy. I have enjoyed seeing just hanging out with Jenny and not making her think she has to do a ton of tour-guiding things with me.

Tomorrow, we are going to hang out with some of Jenny's friends and I will get to see Boyd, an old family friend living in town. Then Monday it's off to Milwaukee!

Joey

Day 4: Rapid City, SD to Omaha

Hi a few hours late! Sorry I didnt update last night (except that I'm sure no one cares). I got into Omaha late last night and Jenny (my friend who I am staying with) is stealing internet from a neighbor (just like she did in Dayton - some things never change), so I didn't get onto the computer until this morning.

So, yesterday was kind of a boring day in my life - lots of time in South Dakota, what can I say? - but I will try to make it sound interesting. I got up and left the campsite at Rapid City and made a quick trip to Mount Rushmore before getting on the road.

I have to be honest that I had and still have mixed feelings about Mt. Rushmore. The physical aspects are amazing, and the story of the sculptor and the way that he created the project is astounding. 90% was constructed by dynamite - crazy! And seeing it in person is certainly awe-inspiring..I guess I just have mixed feelings because the place has become a total tourist trap. Mt. Rushmore is located in a national forest which now has a bunch of freeways and attractions and shops, and it seems like no one cares about the rest of the forest. It just felt a little weird! I know that the sculptor had good intentions about why he wanted to do this, but it seems now like the only reason it was created was to draw tourists to southwestern South Dakota.

Anyway, I then got back in the car and drove across South Dakota on I-90. Has anyone else done this drive? In a word: nothing. After the National Badlands Park and some prarie land, that is about it. I did make a stop at the (in)famous Wall Drug, which was pretty cool and fun to see! I did not stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell sadly. There was an 1880's town I drove through too.

I finally made it to Sioux Falls and then drove south through Sioux City to get to Omaha (after a brief freeway ride into Iowa). It has been good so far! Jenny has been a gracious host and I am trying to get used to the humidity and the thundershowers! I will be in Omaha until Monday morning when I will drive to Milwaukee, so maybe another update will come tomorow, we shall see!

Day 3: Yellowstone to Rapid City

Greetings from Rapid City, South Dakota! This city is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and my campground for the night is definitely more urban (no, not with graffiti and gangs, just less worries about bears and there's a Kmart across the highway).

As I am typing this, I can hear and see thunder and lightning (i tend to forget which one is which). As a native Californian, I do not find thunder and lightning comforting or soothing; it still tends to freak me out. I saw some today on my drive and it motivated my usually law-abiding self to drive over the speed limit and get away as quickly as possible.

Started off my trip this morning in cold ass yellowstone. I had to get back to I-90, which is no easy feat. Both the guy at the front desk and the GPS told me to go through Yellowstone, which I did. It took about two and a half hours to get through, but mind you I went all the way from the west entrance to the east. And I do have to say, I'm glad I did, because the east entrance to the park is freaking amazing. It has a much higher elevation, so the roads are still covered in snow
and there's a pass to get through he mountains. Lake Yellowstone was almost completely frozen over, which is what happens I guess when you're a big ass lake 8000 ft in elevation and it's cold out.

Right after yellowstone east exit is the Shoshone National Forest (I think I need to look up what distinguishes a park from a forest). What's amazing about the forest is that it is exactly adjacent to yellowstone but has completely different topography- the temp went up by about 20 degrees, there were mesas, buttes, and shrubs, and snow was nowhere to be found. Very interesting and scenic.

After the getting out of yellowstone and Shoshone, I traveled through Wyoming. I first stopped in a Walmart parking lot to change out of my jeans and sweatshirt that I was now sweating in. Then a trip through Cody, Wyoming, the self-proclaimed "Rodeo Capital Of the World". Jamie
got a kick out of that one.

After going through a bit more of mid-Wyoming, I went through the pass
of the Big Horn National Forest in order to get to I-90 again. Holy crap- that place was spectacular. I became of those drivers who doesn't pay attention to the road and gawked (I have a tendency to do that a lot actually). It was just bog jutting chunks of limestone and trees with a roaring river down it. Incredible. I stopped and took some pictures which I will post later and I'm sure came out poorly. (side note: yes, the only camera I brought along was the camera on my old iPhone, which still takes pictures but not calls. Whoops!)

The top of the pass came at around 9,000 ft- lots of cool views and snow up there too! After the long winding ride down I came to Dayton, Wyoming, population 650. Tagline: "A Little Slice of Heaven". Cute town, but I wish they sold Dayton shirts so I could have bought a couple!

After Dayton, I quickly found I-90, which meant lots of boring time in the car. Actually, the scenery wast terrible- mostly rolling green hills. After 5 hours of them, they just get a little dull.Wyoming is definitely a beauiful state- I might have spoken too soon about my love for Montana.

That's about it. Going to go to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow, then cutting across south Dakota and getting into Omaha. Sorry if I haven't been keeping in touch well over the phone- apparently you don't get good reception while going 80mph in northeastern Wyoming. Another life
lesson learned!