my week in a huge nutshell, this is way late
I have to say that although I loved spending my first two college spring breaks with the rowing team in Louisiana (I didn’t even get a spring break last year) going on something completely unorganized was a blast. I knew going on a cycling trip in the mountains without the proper gear and with no other girls to back me up wasn’t going to be the most ideal way to spend my spring break. My wonderful long time friend Jennifer quickly requested time off of work and we decided that we were going on a road trip. With midterms there was no time to plan so the day before I sent out a text message to several friends living in other states. When they responded I looked the closest one that had nice weather. We would have just headed to Florida but we only had from Sunday to Thursday to complete whatever adventures we were going to partake. Little Rock Arkansas. Home of an old military acquaintance, 11 hour drive, 65 +degree weather, and all the sunshine I could have ever asked for.
I finished my last midterm on Wednesday so I kind of felt like my spring break had started at that point even though I still had class and work. Not only that but at about 6am Thursday morning I had a pleasant awakening to James coming in for the weekend. (this is totally off subject but I got a B on my biochem exam and I felt like I had just won the lottery, I wanted to brag about that for a second ) James and I didn’t do much over the weekend which was actually really nice. I just enjoy his company. We made dinner every night which is something that I haven’t really done for him yet. He’s such a good cook so I was intimidated to cook for him. It was nice to cook for him and now I feel a lot more comfortable. We went and saw 16 blocks on Saturday and we were going to head out to a sports bar to watch the Duke North Carolina game. James being a HUGE (huge is an understatement) NC fan and a HUGE Duke hater, we decided that we better just watch the game at my place. That ended up being a good plan. We made homemade pizza, watched movies and some of the game. NC WON!! Sunday we went to church, had breakfast and then he had to head home for work that night and I was off to Jen’s house in Kalamazoo.
I got there and we loaded up my car. At about 2pm we were off on our adventure. After driving through snow, rain, thick fog and getting lost at every highway junction because of cruddy directions we made it there at about 3am. We didn’t do much that night, just hung out for a little bit and headed off to bed. We awoke to sunshine engulfing the room. It was magnificent. At about 11:30am we were ready to hit the little town of Little Rock. It was a cute little town and we pretty much walked every inch of it. We weren’t to keen on heading indoors for too much because we wanted to enjoy the sun. In the early afternoon, me slightly tan and Jenny slightly burnt, we settled on a grassy knoll along the river to choose our next destination. We met some locals and were trying to decide to get a hotel there and go out that night or just head somewhere else. Finally we decided that we were going to head to Cincinnati a day early. That was wonderful for me because we got to surprise James at work.
We left as the sun was setting and headed on our way. Not too far along we came up on some tour buses, the kind that carry famous people. The entire trip we were being entertained in the car by taking funny pictures of people. These drivers were a riot and we ended up stopping at a rest stop to see who was on the bus. It was a George Straight tour bus and we got to go on and check it out. They also gave us free t-shirts. That was a short stay and after heading through Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville, we were finally in Cincinnati. We stopped by the hospital to visit James and then headed over to his apartment to CRASH!! The next day we lounged around for a bit and Jenny and I headed downtown Cinci to check out the scenery. We got some good photos, picked up some stuff to made lasagna, chocolate covered strawberries and French bread and we went to James and had our feast of a dinner. James headed to work and Leslie, his room mate, Jen and I went to a bar called the Madfrog. There was a group there break dancing. They were awesome to watch and Jenny made friends with them just as she does wherever we go, which is one thing I love about her. Then ended up showing me some moves and I was surprised, and I think they were too, that I picked up on it so fast. I even did a freeze on my first try. That’s where you put your hands on the ground and your legs and body are resting on your arms and everything is in the air frozen in some crazy position. When I move down there they want me to come practice with them because they don’t have very many girls who pick up on it fast. I’m not sure if I will but it’s something to think about or try if I ever get bored. Leslie ended up fitting right in with Jen and my goofiness so we had a great night.
They day we had actually planned way in advance and been looking for had arrived. Wednesday!!! We were going rock climbing in Kentucky! I went over Christmas break and James and I froze our butts off. I was looking forward to having some warmer weather and a bigger group to go with. Originally it was supposed to rain but the day ended up being absolutely beautiful. Jen and this other girl Allison that James works with aren’t that experienced, well neither am I, so we stuck to some smaller routes. Not to mention we met up with James at work after he had worked a 10 hour shift all night. What a trouper. Just getting some more experience under my belt was great. I’m getting more confident in belaying too which is what I really wanted to work on. Now I’m looking forward to going again so I can climb some challenging stuff. I told James, now that I know Red River Gorge is only two hours from his house I’m going to be bugging him all the time when school gets out to go. We also got to go to the pizza place out there that so many rant and rave about. It’s called Miguel’s. We had James favorite, chicken, feta cheese, banana peppers, and artichoke hearts. It was delicious and to go right along with it Kentucky’s own Ginger Ale. I usually don’t like ginger ale but I tell you, if you go there, you have to get some. (This is random but I also found out on our trip that one of James good friends is doing his residency at the same hospital I’m going to be stationed at over the summer so I’m excited because I can bug him to take me too. Plus I will have someone to hang out with when he’s not doing his doctor thing and James is doing his pharmacy thing.)
Well we wrapped up our short but event filled week with an interesting trip home. When we were driving home from Kentucky James was extremely tired so I drove his car. I’m not that experienced with a stick so it was rough and somewhat frustrating. We picked up my car at the hospital and Jen and I got on the road. She ended up having to drive most of the way home because by then I was really tired as well. It was raining really hard on the way home which was no fun but Jen and I had some great conversations. Also, to my biggest shock was seeing a whole new side of her after knowing her since middle school. I feel like I know her on such a different level now and it’s very exciting. In the past year Jen and I have become so much closer and she is probably the first female friend that I have that can share EVERYTHING with.
I rolled into my parent’s driveway at about 3:30am Thursday morning and got up a few hours later to go work with my mom at the greenhouse. It was a rough day but I made it though. I worked with her on Friday too. It felt good to do absolutely nothing today. My niece is here and she is so adorable. I’ve been washing my car and doing various things with her. Tonight we are going to go watch a movie and I’m going to head home to do some homework. Tomorrow it’s back to the chaotic world of Grand Valley to finish off these last six weeks and bid goodbye to the Lakers.
I finished my last midterm on Wednesday so I kind of felt like my spring break had started at that point even though I still had class and work. Not only that but at about 6am Thursday morning I had a pleasant awakening to James coming in for the weekend. (this is totally off subject but I got a B on my biochem exam and I felt like I had just won the lottery, I wanted to brag about that for a second ) James and I didn’t do much over the weekend which was actually really nice. I just enjoy his company. We made dinner every night which is something that I haven’t really done for him yet. He’s such a good cook so I was intimidated to cook for him. It was nice to cook for him and now I feel a lot more comfortable. We went and saw 16 blocks on Saturday and we were going to head out to a sports bar to watch the Duke North Carolina game. James being a HUGE (huge is an understatement) NC fan and a HUGE Duke hater, we decided that we better just watch the game at my place. That ended up being a good plan. We made homemade pizza, watched movies and some of the game. NC WON!! Sunday we went to church, had breakfast and then he had to head home for work that night and I was off to Jen’s house in Kalamazoo.
I got there and we loaded up my car. At about 2pm we were off on our adventure. After driving through snow, rain, thick fog and getting lost at every highway junction because of cruddy directions we made it there at about 3am. We didn’t do much that night, just hung out for a little bit and headed off to bed. We awoke to sunshine engulfing the room. It was magnificent. At about 11:30am we were ready to hit the little town of Little Rock. It was a cute little town and we pretty much walked every inch of it. We weren’t to keen on heading indoors for too much because we wanted to enjoy the sun. In the early afternoon, me slightly tan and Jenny slightly burnt, we settled on a grassy knoll along the river to choose our next destination. We met some locals and were trying to decide to get a hotel there and go out that night or just head somewhere else. Finally we decided that we were going to head to Cincinnati a day early. That was wonderful for me because we got to surprise James at work.
We left as the sun was setting and headed on our way. Not too far along we came up on some tour buses, the kind that carry famous people. The entire trip we were being entertained in the car by taking funny pictures of people. These drivers were a riot and we ended up stopping at a rest stop to see who was on the bus. It was a George Straight tour bus and we got to go on and check it out. They also gave us free t-shirts. That was a short stay and after heading through Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville, we were finally in Cincinnati. We stopped by the hospital to visit James and then headed over to his apartment to CRASH!! The next day we lounged around for a bit and Jenny and I headed downtown Cinci to check out the scenery. We got some good photos, picked up some stuff to made lasagna, chocolate covered strawberries and French bread and we went to James and had our feast of a dinner. James headed to work and Leslie, his room mate, Jen and I went to a bar called the Madfrog. There was a group there break dancing. They were awesome to watch and Jenny made friends with them just as she does wherever we go, which is one thing I love about her. Then ended up showing me some moves and I was surprised, and I think they were too, that I picked up on it so fast. I even did a freeze on my first try. That’s where you put your hands on the ground and your legs and body are resting on your arms and everything is in the air frozen in some crazy position. When I move down there they want me to come practice with them because they don’t have very many girls who pick up on it fast. I’m not sure if I will but it’s something to think about or try if I ever get bored. Leslie ended up fitting right in with Jen and my goofiness so we had a great night.
They day we had actually planned way in advance and been looking for had arrived. Wednesday!!! We were going rock climbing in Kentucky! I went over Christmas break and James and I froze our butts off. I was looking forward to having some warmer weather and a bigger group to go with. Originally it was supposed to rain but the day ended up being absolutely beautiful. Jen and this other girl Allison that James works with aren’t that experienced, well neither am I, so we stuck to some smaller routes. Not to mention we met up with James at work after he had worked a 10 hour shift all night. What a trouper. Just getting some more experience under my belt was great. I’m getting more confident in belaying too which is what I really wanted to work on. Now I’m looking forward to going again so I can climb some challenging stuff. I told James, now that I know Red River Gorge is only two hours from his house I’m going to be bugging him all the time when school gets out to go. We also got to go to the pizza place out there that so many rant and rave about. It’s called Miguel’s. We had James favorite, chicken, feta cheese, banana peppers, and artichoke hearts. It was delicious and to go right along with it Kentucky’s own Ginger Ale. I usually don’t like ginger ale but I tell you, if you go there, you have to get some. (This is random but I also found out on our trip that one of James good friends is doing his residency at the same hospital I’m going to be stationed at over the summer so I’m excited because I can bug him to take me too. Plus I will have someone to hang out with when he’s not doing his doctor thing and James is doing his pharmacy thing.)
Well we wrapped up our short but event filled week with an interesting trip home. When we were driving home from Kentucky James was extremely tired so I drove his car. I’m not that experienced with a stick so it was rough and somewhat frustrating. We picked up my car at the hospital and Jen and I got on the road. She ended up having to drive most of the way home because by then I was really tired as well. It was raining really hard on the way home which was no fun but Jen and I had some great conversations. Also, to my biggest shock was seeing a whole new side of her after knowing her since middle school. I feel like I know her on such a different level now and it’s very exciting. In the past year Jen and I have become so much closer and she is probably the first female friend that I have that can share EVERYTHING with.
I rolled into my parent’s driveway at about 3:30am Thursday morning and got up a few hours later to go work with my mom at the greenhouse. It was a rough day but I made it though. I worked with her on Friday too. It felt good to do absolutely nothing today. My niece is here and she is so adorable. I’ve been washing my car and doing various things with her. Tonight we are going to go watch a movie and I’m going to head home to do some homework. Tomorrow it’s back to the chaotic world of Grand Valley to finish off these last six weeks and bid goodbye to the Lakers.