My epic novel-length account of the last week and a half of my life
So... no pics on this post. But they're on my computer, so I'll upload them later.
And since this post turned out massively long, I divided it into chunks so you can read bits and pieces (or all or none) if you want. ^_^
The Post-Finals/Pre-Trip Part
So Friday I turned in my last two essays for my British Literature class, which marked the end of my finals week. I worked a little more on a project I've been working on for my internship in the alumni office and then turned in a summary of all the information I've found so far in regards to that. It was actually fun - nerdy, but fun, because I spent a few hours of my Friday afternoon of finals week in the library's archival reading room, looking over old newsletters from various time periods between the 1920s and the 1970s. And I got to go into archives again, which was fun for me. I'm thinking being the archivist of a library would be a pretty neat job. At least for a little while.
Then as a last hurrah, a bunch of friends and I went out to eat that night. I ate way too much, but that's typical when I go out any more. Then I went back and packed a little bit of my stuff (basically my school books, and that's it - much to the chagrin of my mother and sister) and went to bed.
Saturday - worked in the morning. Went to a friend's graduation party. Met up with my mom and sister, who drove up from home to come and help me pack all my stuff and go back home again. Went to another friend's graduation party with them. Then we drove down to the Manito Gardens. If you're ever in Spokane, especially in the springtime, you need to go to these. They're downtown, and they're gorgeous. It's a collection of a variety of gardens - a Japanese garden, a couple rose gardens, a lilac garden, a conservatory - lots of stuff. And it's all colorful and smells very nice. My mom had her camera, so we took a bunch of photos - mostly she took pics of my sister and I in front of a bunch of different plants. So I might put one or two of those up later. Also, my allergies started kicking in big time - haven't really stopped. Then we had dinner and packed until the late hours of the morning. They bunked out in my room because my roommate was gone. We also managed to snag a matress from another guy's room so my sister didn't have to sleep on the floor... that was an adventure in and of itself.
Sunday - worked again. This was my last shift at the Info Desk, so that was a little bittersweet. Finished up packing, checked out of my dorm room (also a little bittersweet - I was the first one in the hall and the last one out), went to Red Robin (yummm) with Mom and Sis and then drove home (six hours and a time zone jump).
Monday/Tuesday - lazed around a lot, recovering from finals and such. Unpacked almost everything Monday, except my books. Halfway organized my room. Packed up again Tuesday for the trip on Wednesday. Ran a couple errands for my mom (because I'm home now and that's what I do apparently).
First half of road trip
Wednesday - Drove. And drove. And drove some more. Left around 6:30 a.m. or so from Bozeman and drove through Wyoming and South Dakota. Spent the night in Sioux Falls. Met up with my aunt, hung out with her son and his wife for awhile.
Thursday/Early Friday morning - Drove some more. Went from Sioux Falls through more of South Dakota, then through Iowa and into Illinois. Had a few close calls while I was driving, including a near run-in with a fuel truck (that scared a few years off my life, let me tell you). Checked into our hotel in Monee (near Chicago) then drove another half-hour to meet up with my cousin and her bachelorette party at a nail salon. Got my nails done, went to the house where we stayed at, and proceeded to have a bachelorette party - the first one I'd ever been to, in fact. It was pretty tame, considering half the girls were homeschooled, all were Christian Reformed, all but two were underage, and the hostess was a mother of a 15-month old boy and 8 months pregnant. But it was a great time, and we even had a male stripper... the hostess' son decided he didn't really want to wear his clothes any more. ;) He was quite a cutie. Watched 27 Dresses. Proceeded to have a fiasco involving a klutzy cousin, a hardwood floor, and a chocolate fountain. Spent half an hour helping clean up the results of said fiasco and then promptly fell asleep on nearest couch.
Friday - Got up. Had breakfast. Caught a ride back to my motel. Showered, then went with my mom, brother, and a bunch of my extended family to the Field Museum in Chicago. Struggled to find parking. Entered. Had a great time - I love museums. We went to the Pirates exhibit, which was both cool and fitting, since I used my Whitworth (Pirates) ID card to get a discount. Walked around a park a little bit. Drove back to the hotel to hang out for a bit, then went out to dinner with much of my extended family that was in town and not at the rehearsal dinner. Went back to the hotel. Hung out. Watched the awesome, epic Supernatural season finale in the hotel hallway with Jo. It was a grand ol' time.
Saturday - Got ready for the wedding, checked out of the motel room. Hung around the motel for a bit, then drove down to the church where the wedding was at. It was a nice wedding - my cousin was beautiful (as usual) in her wedding dress, her husband was quite handsome in his tux, the bridesmaids and groomsmen all looked dashing, and everything went very well. My brother even looked pretty decent as an usher (he really doesn't like to get dressed up at all, so it was weird to see him like that). Went to the first reception at the same church. Ate too much, considering I knew what was coming for the second reception. Went back to the hotel for a bit, then went to the second, smaller reception. (Yes, we all thought two receptions was a little overboard, too, but my uncle's the pastor of a church, so they felt the congregation should go to the first one and then have family and close friends at the second one.) Stayed for awhile at the second reception, then left early so we could drive up to Michigan. Stopped at the hotel to change and pick up my great aunt's van. Caravaned with my mom, my brother, my cousin, my aunt, and two great aunts in three different vans. Got stuck in traffic because of a big motorcycle accident and had to turn around on the interstate and find a different way out of town. Finally got to Kalamazoo very late and pretty much passed out as soon as I hit the bed.
Second Half of Road Trip
Sunday - Went to church. Had lunch at another Red Robin. Spent the afternoon at my grandparents' house just outside Kalamazoo. Relaxed and socialized and read a couple issues of Reader's Digest, which I hadn't done in quite awhile. It was very nice to have a quiet afternoon away from everything. And I've always loved the layout of my grandparents' house, so it was nice to go back there.
Monday - Had some of my grandpa's delicious French toast. His is the only kind I'll eat. Sat and talked with the grandparents and my brother, who also spent the night. Went back to my aunt's, cleaned up a little, then headed to a family gathering at another aunt's house. Ate more food, hung out with family, played some games, took pictures. Then went with my brother and four cousins to a local fun park and proceeded to race in three rounds of go-karts and play a round of mini golf. It was a lot of fun. My brother and I love go-kart racing, but we're very competetive so we like to try and wipe the other one out without getting kicked off the track. Got caught up in a couple "accidents" in each race, including one big one (that my brother started) and caused me both to rear end someone and to get rear ended and sidewiped by someone else. Very exciting stuff. Went back to my aunt's packed up, watched S.W.A.T. and showed my aunt how to use her new laptop.
Tuesday - Got up waaaay too early and drove a lot. It was pretty cloudy and gray all day. I slept a lot in the morning - my allergies were really acting up. (Still are, actually.) Drove from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Bismark, North Dakota. Attempted to catch up on my e-mail.
Today - Drove the rest of the way home. Stopped at a really cool rest area at the edge of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park - it overlooked the Badlands and the view was spectacular. Tried to get a few pictures to attempt to capture it - they don't do it justice, but I'll probably still post them. The view really made me want to write Westerns. :) Made it home, unpacked, checked mail, had dinner, when to my cousin's graduation party, talked with a few friends that I hadn't seen in awhile, got creeped out by the fact that I was in my old high school, came home, and wrote this epic beast.
So there you have it. Everything I've been up to for the last two weeks or so. I'm exhausted and sick of driving, but it was a lot of fun, too. And totally worth it.
And since this post turned out massively long, I divided it into chunks so you can read bits and pieces (or all or none) if you want. ^_^
The Post-Finals/Pre-Trip Part
So Friday I turned in my last two essays for my British Literature class, which marked the end of my finals week. I worked a little more on a project I've been working on for my internship in the alumni office and then turned in a summary of all the information I've found so far in regards to that. It was actually fun - nerdy, but fun, because I spent a few hours of my Friday afternoon of finals week in the library's archival reading room, looking over old newsletters from various time periods between the 1920s and the 1970s. And I got to go into archives again, which was fun for me. I'm thinking being the archivist of a library would be a pretty neat job. At least for a little while.
Then as a last hurrah, a bunch of friends and I went out to eat that night. I ate way too much, but that's typical when I go out any more. Then I went back and packed a little bit of my stuff (basically my school books, and that's it - much to the chagrin of my mother and sister) and went to bed.
Saturday - worked in the morning. Went to a friend's graduation party. Met up with my mom and sister, who drove up from home to come and help me pack all my stuff and go back home again. Went to another friend's graduation party with them. Then we drove down to the Manito Gardens. If you're ever in Spokane, especially in the springtime, you need to go to these. They're downtown, and they're gorgeous. It's a collection of a variety of gardens - a Japanese garden, a couple rose gardens, a lilac garden, a conservatory - lots of stuff. And it's all colorful and smells very nice. My mom had her camera, so we took a bunch of photos - mostly she took pics of my sister and I in front of a bunch of different plants. So I might put one or two of those up later. Also, my allergies started kicking in big time - haven't really stopped. Then we had dinner and packed until the late hours of the morning. They bunked out in my room because my roommate was gone. We also managed to snag a matress from another guy's room so my sister didn't have to sleep on the floor... that was an adventure in and of itself.
Sunday - worked again. This was my last shift at the Info Desk, so that was a little bittersweet. Finished up packing, checked out of my dorm room (also a little bittersweet - I was the first one in the hall and the last one out), went to Red Robin (yummm) with Mom and Sis and then drove home (six hours and a time zone jump).
Monday/Tuesday - lazed around a lot, recovering from finals and such. Unpacked almost everything Monday, except my books. Halfway organized my room. Packed up again Tuesday for the trip on Wednesday. Ran a couple errands for my mom (because I'm home now and that's what I do apparently).
First half of road trip
Wednesday - Drove. And drove. And drove some more. Left around 6:30 a.m. or so from Bozeman and drove through Wyoming and South Dakota. Spent the night in Sioux Falls. Met up with my aunt, hung out with her son and his wife for awhile.
Thursday/Early Friday morning - Drove some more. Went from Sioux Falls through more of South Dakota, then through Iowa and into Illinois. Had a few close calls while I was driving, including a near run-in with a fuel truck (that scared a few years off my life, let me tell you). Checked into our hotel in Monee (near Chicago) then drove another half-hour to meet up with my cousin and her bachelorette party at a nail salon. Got my nails done, went to the house where we stayed at, and proceeded to have a bachelorette party - the first one I'd ever been to, in fact. It was pretty tame, considering half the girls were homeschooled, all were Christian Reformed, all but two were underage, and the hostess was a mother of a 15-month old boy and 8 months pregnant. But it was a great time, and we even had a male stripper... the hostess' son decided he didn't really want to wear his clothes any more. ;) He was quite a cutie. Watched 27 Dresses. Proceeded to have a fiasco involving a klutzy cousin, a hardwood floor, and a chocolate fountain. Spent half an hour helping clean up the results of said fiasco and then promptly fell asleep on nearest couch.
Friday - Got up. Had breakfast. Caught a ride back to my motel. Showered, then went with my mom, brother, and a bunch of my extended family to the Field Museum in Chicago. Struggled to find parking. Entered. Had a great time - I love museums. We went to the Pirates exhibit, which was both cool and fitting, since I used my Whitworth (Pirates) ID card to get a discount. Walked around a park a little bit. Drove back to the hotel to hang out for a bit, then went out to dinner with much of my extended family that was in town and not at the rehearsal dinner. Went back to the hotel. Hung out. Watched the awesome, epic Supernatural season finale in the hotel hallway with Jo. It was a grand ol' time.
Saturday - Got ready for the wedding, checked out of the motel room. Hung around the motel for a bit, then drove down to the church where the wedding was at. It was a nice wedding - my cousin was beautiful (as usual) in her wedding dress, her husband was quite handsome in his tux, the bridesmaids and groomsmen all looked dashing, and everything went very well. My brother even looked pretty decent as an usher (he really doesn't like to get dressed up at all, so it was weird to see him like that). Went to the first reception at the same church. Ate too much, considering I knew what was coming for the second reception. Went back to the hotel for a bit, then went to the second, smaller reception. (Yes, we all thought two receptions was a little overboard, too, but my uncle's the pastor of a church, so they felt the congregation should go to the first one and then have family and close friends at the second one.) Stayed for awhile at the second reception, then left early so we could drive up to Michigan. Stopped at the hotel to change and pick up my great aunt's van. Caravaned with my mom, my brother, my cousin, my aunt, and two great aunts in three different vans. Got stuck in traffic because of a big motorcycle accident and had to turn around on the interstate and find a different way out of town. Finally got to Kalamazoo very late and pretty much passed out as soon as I hit the bed.
Second Half of Road Trip
Sunday - Went to church. Had lunch at another Red Robin. Spent the afternoon at my grandparents' house just outside Kalamazoo. Relaxed and socialized and read a couple issues of Reader's Digest, which I hadn't done in quite awhile. It was very nice to have a quiet afternoon away from everything. And I've always loved the layout of my grandparents' house, so it was nice to go back there.
Monday - Had some of my grandpa's delicious French toast. His is the only kind I'll eat. Sat and talked with the grandparents and my brother, who also spent the night. Went back to my aunt's, cleaned up a little, then headed to a family gathering at another aunt's house. Ate more food, hung out with family, played some games, took pictures. Then went with my brother and four cousins to a local fun park and proceeded to race in three rounds of go-karts and play a round of mini golf. It was a lot of fun. My brother and I love go-kart racing, but we're very competetive so we like to try and wipe the other one out without getting kicked off the track. Got caught up in a couple "accidents" in each race, including one big one (that my brother started) and caused me both to rear end someone and to get rear ended and sidewiped by someone else. Very exciting stuff. Went back to my aunt's packed up, watched S.W.A.T. and showed my aunt how to use her new laptop.
Tuesday - Got up waaaay too early and drove a lot. It was pretty cloudy and gray all day. I slept a lot in the morning - my allergies were really acting up. (Still are, actually.) Drove from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Bismark, North Dakota. Attempted to catch up on my e-mail.
Today - Drove the rest of the way home. Stopped at a really cool rest area at the edge of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park - it overlooked the Badlands and the view was spectacular. Tried to get a few pictures to attempt to capture it - they don't do it justice, but I'll probably still post them. The view really made me want to write Westerns. :) Made it home, unpacked, checked mail, had dinner, when to my cousin's graduation party, talked with a few friends that I hadn't seen in awhile, got creeped out by the fact that I was in my old high school, came home, and wrote this epic beast.
So there you have it. Everything I've been up to for the last two weeks or so. I'm exhausted and sick of driving, but it was a lot of fun, too. And totally worth it.