I'm no country girl
I discovered the truth of that statement somewhere around the Missouri state line. Which was, unfortunately, about a thousand miles too late to turn around. Not that I would've probably turned around, but the thought was tempting a time or twenty.
Yes, I traveled out to Missouri. I went with the fiance, future brother and sister in law, future nieces, and future in laws. Suffice to say, it was a long trip. It was also a fun trip, with only a few moments here and there making it not so fun. We stopped in multiple places, following the RoadSide app for fun things to do (and reasons to get out of the van). We took a ton of pictures, most of which are on my Facebook page. A great deal more are probably being downloaded by the future family, as it was their iPhone and their beautiful SLR Nikon that the pictures were mostly taken with. Still, it was a lot of fun. And long. Can't forget the long.
The trip went from Almost Middle Of Nowhere, Virginia, to Really Middle of Nowhere, Missouri. We visited the fiance's family, enjoyed home cooked meals, played with planes and horses and 4-wheelers. And in the midst of all this fun, I discovered the very unfun truth: I am a city girl, through and through. I like my warm bed, warm showers, my McDonald's and my paved roads. I like my malls wide and filled with an abundance of shops I can't buy things from because I'm more of a window shopper. I like my grocery stores to be only a few or twenty minutes away, and I like being able to have multiple grocery stores to choose from when prices drive me crazy. I love my internet and being able to write in it, play on it, read on it. City girl status, check.
The only good thing about the country is the people. The fiance's family out west is a demonstration of love, kindness, and smiles. They're also a large demonstration of family drama, but that's every family, a point I've been trying to gently show him. Every family has that. It's how a family reacts that shows their strengths and weaknesses, after all. It made me miss my family and their drama, which I think is pretty telling of how much I don't like the country. No one in their right mind would miss my family's drama.
I won't go into a list of things I didn't like about the country. I will tell you, however, that if you get the chance to head across the country, and you have an iPhone, get the RoadSide app. In Missouri alone we came across Ozarkland (a large tourist store that stocks exactly the type of kitschy stuff you would think a store named Ozarkland would carry) and The Awakening, a huge giant trying to crawl out of the earth right in front of the library.
Gotta love all the help he's getting.
So far, no one's seemed to care about his plight, but that may be on account of their wanting to climb on him. Poor giant.
That did include me, climbing on his toes.
The trip back was almost worst than the trip there. We all wanted to be home. There was crying and wailing and a gnashing of teeth. Until the girls wanted to watch a movie; then the adults had to be quiet. To top off the trip and make it a real adventure, the truck - the one hauling the camper - broke down. We got it fixed, but it limped all the way back through the mountains. I could go on for hours about all of the things that happened on the trip, but it's like showing everyone your vacation photos: unless they're in a cool montage involving stirring music, no one wants to hear about it. Everyone takes photos on their vacation, but no one wants to see your photos. Though if you look at theirs, they might consider returning the favor.
This city girl is leaving you with only two photos. Until the next trip, which will hopefully not be for some time and will not be heading into the country. My vacations will involve cities from here on out. Nice, warm cities.
Or my house. I'm okay with staying at my house and enjoying the warm breeze, too.
~Jean
Yes, I traveled out to Missouri. I went with the fiance, future brother and sister in law, future nieces, and future in laws. Suffice to say, it was a long trip. It was also a fun trip, with only a few moments here and there making it not so fun. We stopped in multiple places, following the RoadSide app for fun things to do (and reasons to get out of the van). We took a ton of pictures, most of which are on my Facebook page. A great deal more are probably being downloaded by the future family, as it was their iPhone and their beautiful SLR Nikon that the pictures were mostly taken with. Still, it was a lot of fun. And long. Can't forget the long.
The trip went from Almost Middle Of Nowhere, Virginia, to Really Middle of Nowhere, Missouri. We visited the fiance's family, enjoyed home cooked meals, played with planes and horses and 4-wheelers. And in the midst of all this fun, I discovered the very unfun truth: I am a city girl, through and through. I like my warm bed, warm showers, my McDonald's and my paved roads. I like my malls wide and filled with an abundance of shops I can't buy things from because I'm more of a window shopper. I like my grocery stores to be only a few or twenty minutes away, and I like being able to have multiple grocery stores to choose from when prices drive me crazy. I love my internet and being able to write in it, play on it, read on it. City girl status, check.
The only good thing about the country is the people. The fiance's family out west is a demonstration of love, kindness, and smiles. They're also a large demonstration of family drama, but that's every family, a point I've been trying to gently show him. Every family has that. It's how a family reacts that shows their strengths and weaknesses, after all. It made me miss my family and their drama, which I think is pretty telling of how much I don't like the country. No one in their right mind would miss my family's drama.
I won't go into a list of things I didn't like about the country. I will tell you, however, that if you get the chance to head across the country, and you have an iPhone, get the RoadSide app. In Missouri alone we came across Ozarkland (a large tourist store that stocks exactly the type of kitschy stuff you would think a store named Ozarkland would carry) and The Awakening, a huge giant trying to crawl out of the earth right in front of the library.
Gotta love all the help he's getting.
So far, no one's seemed to care about his plight, but that may be on account of their wanting to climb on him. Poor giant.
That did include me, climbing on his toes.
The trip back was almost worst than the trip there. We all wanted to be home. There was crying and wailing and a gnashing of teeth. Until the girls wanted to watch a movie; then the adults had to be quiet. To top off the trip and make it a real adventure, the truck - the one hauling the camper - broke down. We got it fixed, but it limped all the way back through the mountains. I could go on for hours about all of the things that happened on the trip, but it's like showing everyone your vacation photos: unless they're in a cool montage involving stirring music, no one wants to hear about it. Everyone takes photos on their vacation, but no one wants to see your photos. Though if you look at theirs, they might consider returning the favor.
This city girl is leaving you with only two photos. Until the next trip, which will hopefully not be for some time and will not be heading into the country. My vacations will involve cities from here on out. Nice, warm cities.
Or my house. I'm okay with staying at my house and enjoying the warm breeze, too.
~Jean