Well, we're not both back. Alison is up in Washington, so from here on out, anything written here will mostly reflect what's going on down here in Portland. It's been 2 weeks since I arrived. The job search is a bit slower than I anticipated, but it's okay. Things are moving forward and looking up, so I expect I'll have something in place within the week. But it's boring to talk about work, so fortunately I don't have any work to talk about. I'm just going to use the excuse like John McCain would in this situation: that I don't need to focus on the task at hand (in my case, working and in his case, debating the issues our country faces) because I have to focus solely on ONE thing (in my case, doing nothing and in his case, solving our country's economic crisis). Don't get me wrong, the crisis is an important issue and coming up with a bill to bailout Wall Street that includes good policies and oversight is also really important. But we have 98 other senators that can work on it. Besides, it's not as if Obama's not working on it; He's been on the phone with Henry Paulson every day. As Gov. Rendell said about the issue of delaying the debate, “What, does McCain think the Senate will still be working at 9 p.m. Friday?”
While I tried to keep politics out of the blog as much as possible during the road trip, now that I'm here and unemployed, it's really the only thing I think about and the only thing I seem to get emails about. One I got this morning was a piece written by Anne Lamott. If you're not familiar with her work, get familiar with it. Though, I have to say, I've mostly read her earlier stuff that she wrote before becoming a "reform Christian." But I've heard her recent work, more focused on faith, is really great. The piece I read this morning said that we should be talking ABOUT Obama and not hating on Palin and McCain so much. She's even gone so far as to not only vow to not say Palin's name anymore, but not to even mutter the word "lipstick" until this is all over. I like what she's getting at, but if I follow her suggestion, it's going to put a huge damper on my plans for a Halloween costume.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
all done one day early
Well, I guess we're on schedule since we were due to arrive on the 7th originally. We woke up this morning and decided to put the full 12.5 hours of driving in today to get all the way to Portland rather than stop in Boise for the evening. So here we are! Not much to report as today was just driving driving driving and now I'm very sleepy...
So thanks for checking in on us and reading the blog. Hope you enjoyed it!!
Annie and Alison
So thanks for checking in on us and reading the blog. Hope you enjoyed it!!
Annie and Alison
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Somewhere between heaven and hell on earth
We were unable to update the blog last night; Apparently there's no wireless internet in the 
National Parks! We left our scenic spot at our motel in Wapiti, WY (see photo) early but not too early. We would have left earlier but we ended up chatting with a couple from Florida that had just come from Yellowstone and was heading to Mt. Rushmore. So we traded tips. The drive in towards the east entrance was so beautiful! The whole day was one of those days where you stop to take a picture because, surely, nothing could be more beautiful than what you're seeing at that moment. 
And then the next thing you know, the view is even more breathtaking or the next bison is that much closer to your car (sometimes a bit scary). Within the first hour we saw three bison on the side of the road. Well, one wasn't so much on the side of the road as it was IN the road, but it moved out of the way by the time we approached. Later that day there was a bison in our trail, but it too moved out of our way by the time we got closer.
Our next stop was to the lower falls and Artists Point in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Again, SO beautiful! Most of our day was spent driving in the lower loop of Yellowstone. If you can imagine the roads of the park forming an 8 with a stick at the bottom, we took the road, counterclockwise, that encompassed the lower half of the 8 and stayed in a lodge on the stick, on the way to the southern entrance and to Jackson, WY (where we are now). The highlight of our day was wa
lking around the geyser basins that are on the southwestern side of the park, driving south between Madison and Old Faithful. The Biscuit Basin was our favorite, creating a landscape that could easily be mistaken for another planet (or maybe something between heaven and hell, as Alison put it). It started to rain and it was getting towards dusk, so we skipped the Black Sand Basin to go catch Old Faithful doing her thing at around 6:30. Sure enough, by 6:35, she was spouting high up into the air. The air was relatively cold so there was lots of steam, which obstructed the view, but it was still pretty great to watch. From there we headed south to our lodge, had dinner by Yellowstone Lake, and popped open the bottle of wine we had bought earlier in the day to provide our own entertainment since there are also no TV's in the parks.
This morning we got up and headed directly south into the Grand Teton National Park and towards Jackson. We pulled over on the side of the road because lots of other cars on the side of the road signify wildlife. We managed to glance an ear of a moose hiding in the brush, but that was about it. I wouldn't have known it was a moose or even where to look if it wasn't for the friendly person next to me who gave me her spot on the pullout to get a better look.
Within a half hour we were coming up on the Grand Teton itself (with some serious cloud cover). I haven't been back here since my WEMT course in December 2006. It was great to approach the range from a new angle and to see it all without the snow. Though, I have to admit, I'm partial to the basin in the winter time. We missed the turn-off for Kelly, where I had my training, so we just decided to keep going to Jackson rather than backtrack. We passed the National Elk Refuge w
hich was sans elk. I guess they wait until winter to migrate down to this park of the basin. When I was here two winters ago, you couldn't count the elk because there were so many. Today we couldn't see even one. But the landscape never ceases to be stunning with or without the elk. We pulled into Jackson and right to Alice Roby's house. (Thanks, Alice!!) I have known Alice almost my entire life, though we haven't seen each other in ages. Her mom, Louise McPherson, was at the hospital when I was born. I actually still haven't seen Alice, as she's at a wedding right now, but she graciously opened her home to us (literally...she left the door unlocked) and so Alison and I have been free to come and go. Just a block down from the house is the Elk Refuge and it's off the main drag of town. Great location! We hit up the Whole Grocer to replenish our snacks for the last push into the west. I fondly remember the Whole Grocer from two years ago, and though Jake Stout might tell you I have a bad sense of direction from our time together in Spain, I remembered exactly where the store AND the Snake River Brewery were.
Only two more days! We should be in Portland by early evening on Monday. Tomorrow night we'll be in Boise (where, I've learned, you say the S softly and not like a Z).
P.S. Our mileage has been above 55 mpg for two days now!
National Parks! We left our scenic spot at our motel in Wapiti, WY (see photo) early but not too early. We would have left earlier but we ended up chatting with a couple from Florida that had just come from Yellowstone and was heading to Mt. Rushmore. So we traded tips. The drive in towards the east entrance was so beautiful! The whole day was one of those days where you stop to take a picture because, surely, nothing could be more beautiful than what you're seeing at that moment. 
And then the next thing you know, the view is even more breathtaking or the next bison is that much closer to your car (sometimes a bit scary). Within the first hour we saw three bison on the side of the road. Well, one wasn't so much on the side of the road as it was IN the road, but it moved out of the way by the time we approached. Later that day there was a bison in our trail, but it too moved out of our way by the time we got closer.
Our next stop was to the lower falls and Artists Point in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Again, SO beautiful! Most of our day was spent driving in the lower loop of Yellowstone. If you can imagine the roads of the park forming an 8 with a stick at the bottom, we took the road, counterclockwise, that encompassed the lower half of the 8 and stayed in a lodge on the stick, on the way to the southern entrance and to Jackson, WY (where we are now). The highlight of our day was wa
lking around the geyser basins that are on the southwestern side of the park, driving south between Madison and Old Faithful. The Biscuit Basin was our favorite, creating a landscape that could easily be mistaken for another planet (or maybe something between heaven and hell, as Alison put it). It started to rain and it was getting towards dusk, so we skipped the Black Sand Basin to go catch Old Faithful doing her thing at around 6:30. Sure enough, by 6:35, she was spouting high up into the air. The air was relatively cold so there was lots of steam, which obstructed the view, but it was still pretty great to watch. From there we headed south to our lodge, had dinner by Yellowstone Lake, and popped open the bottle of wine we had bought earlier in the day to provide our own entertainment since there are also no TV's in the parks.This morning we got up and headed directly south into the Grand Teton National Park and towards Jackson. We pulled over on the side of the road because lots of other cars on the side of the road signify wildlife. We managed to glance an ear of a moose hiding in the brush, but that was about it. I wouldn't have known it was a moose or even where to look if it wasn't for the friendly person next to me who gave me her spot on the pullout to get a better look.
Within a half hour we were coming up on the Grand Teton itself (with some serious cloud cover). I haven't been back here since my WEMT course in December 2006. It was great to approach the range from a new angle and to see it all without the snow. Though, I have to admit, I'm partial to the basin in the winter time. We missed the turn-off for Kelly, where I had my training, so we just decided to keep going to Jackson rather than backtrack. We passed the National Elk Refuge w
hich was sans elk. I guess they wait until winter to migrate down to this park of the basin. When I was here two winters ago, you couldn't count the elk because there were so many. Today we couldn't see even one. But the landscape never ceases to be stunning with or without the elk. We pulled into Jackson and right to Alice Roby's house. (Thanks, Alice!!) I have known Alice almost my entire life, though we haven't seen each other in ages. Her mom, Louise McPherson, was at the hospital when I was born. I actually still haven't seen Alice, as she's at a wedding right now, but she graciously opened her home to us (literally...she left the door unlocked) and so Alison and I have been free to come and go. Just a block down from the house is the Elk Refuge and it's off the main drag of town. Great location! We hit up the Whole Grocer to replenish our snacks for the last push into the west. I fondly remember the Whole Grocer from two years ago, and though Jake Stout might tell you I have a bad sense of direction from our time together in Spain, I remembered exactly where the store AND the Snake River Brewery were.Only two more days! We should be in Portland by early evening on Monday. Tomorrow night we'll be in Boise (where, I've learned, you say the S softly and not like a Z).
P.S. Our mileage has been above 55 mpg for two days now!
Friday, September 5, 2008
a note on mileage
A friend pointed out to me that his parents get 49 mpg on their Prius and my photo was showing we're getting below 41. I just want to comment that when you're in a state with 75 mph as the speed limit and then head into the mountains, mileage drops. We'd been averaging about 44 or 45 until then (the older Priuses like mine get lower mileage than the newer ones).
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The last state in the alphabet
Alison and I have been on the road together for over a week. I've learned to turn down the music and that I need to remind her to hydrate and she's learned "that the only thing that 
makes [me] angry is the Republican Party because [I have] control over everything else in my life." We said goodbye to South Dakota and entered the wildly changing landscape of Wyoming. We took a detour off I-90 to encounter Devil's Tower, America's first National Monument. Having determined we weren't yet hungry for lunch, we just said we'd wait for the next rest area to pull over to have our picnic. I don't know how much time any of you have spent in western Wyoming, but there's not much going on. It was an hour and a half until we found a rest area (though, to be fair, there were gas stations and fast food places on the road between). Our summer picnic was not so summery since it had started to rain and the temperature was in the low 60's.
At Buffalo, WY we said goodbye to I-90 and headed west on route 16 and up into the Bighorn Mountains. This was Alison's first time at the wheel of the Prius on such demanding terrain. She insisted that the car was protesting (I likened the sounds my car makes
going up mountains to those of a pug breathing: you think she's struggling but really she's fine). Up in the Powder River Pass and down into the Ten Sleep Canyon, we faced our first snowflakes and temperatures below 40. However, there was so much downhill coasting that I'm pretty sure we used close to no gas for about 25 minutes. (see photo)
Every turn of our drive left us more awed than the last. Sprawling plains, river carved canyons, mountains covered with conifers, and finally the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. After a quick Mexican dinner in Cody, WY, we crossed the Shoshone River and into the front range of what I think are the Carter Mountains (my map is a bit ambiguous). We've stopped for the night at a beautiful spot in Wapiti, WY, about 30 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone. Hopefully the weather will clear up for our day in the park tomorrow and I also hope that this cold weather has driven away the mosquitoes.
makes [me] angry is the Republican Party because [I have] control over everything else in my life." We said goodbye to South Dakota and entered the wildly changing landscape of Wyoming. We took a detour off I-90 to encounter Devil's Tower, America's first National Monument. Having determined we weren't yet hungry for lunch, we just said we'd wait for the next rest area to pull over to have our picnic. I don't know how much time any of you have spent in western Wyoming, but there's not much going on. It was an hour and a half until we found a rest area (though, to be fair, there were gas stations and fast food places on the road between). Our summer picnic was not so summery since it had started to rain and the temperature was in the low 60's.
At Buffalo, WY we said goodbye to I-90 and headed west on route 16 and up into the Bighorn Mountains. This was Alison's first time at the wheel of the Prius on such demanding terrain. She insisted that the car was protesting (I likened the sounds my car makes
going up mountains to those of a pug breathing: you think she's struggling but really she's fine). Up in the Powder River Pass and down into the Ten Sleep Canyon, we faced our first snowflakes and temperatures below 40. However, there was so much downhill coasting that I'm pretty sure we used close to no gas for about 25 minutes. (see photo)Every turn of our drive left us more awed than the last. Sprawling plains, river carved canyons, mountains covered with conifers, and finally the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. After a quick Mexican dinner in Cody, WY, we crossed the Shoshone River and into the front range of what I think are the Carter Mountains (my map is a bit ambiguous). We've stopped for the night at a beautiful spot in Wapiti, WY, about 30 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone. Hopefully the weather will clear up for our day in the park tomorrow and I also hope that this cold weather has driven away the mosquitoes.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A long way from Bryn Mawr (and luckily from St. Paul, too)
I know I said I would keep politics out of this, but having just caught a re-airing of Palin's speech, I just want to say that it brings me great sadness that the Republican party continues to try to build a movement on fear, hate, and negativity and peppers their plain and folksy rhetoric with blatant lies and bullshit. Normally watching something like the RNC would make me want to crack jokes and say how ridiculous it is that they think that they will win. But in this moment it just makes me want to cry. This actually produces an interesting segue to our day's adventures: At the close of Palin's speech, she was backed by a patriotic image of Mt. Rushmore. Seeing that behind her after hearing her words almost managed to ruin the very moving experience I had today with Alison at that very same monument.
Alison and I left Chamberlain this morning after she sent off some applications. We drove west for about 200 miles until we reached the beginning of the Badlands National Park scenic loop (Route 240, exit 131). Just so you know, there are no student discounts at national parks. We drove the loop and stopped off at most of the lookouts. According to my American Park Networks guide (picked up at AAA), the Badlands, a 244,000 acre landscape, was formed starting 65 million years ago from various sediment, including what is known as the Pierre Shale, volcanic ash, 
and decomposed forests. Erosion has caused, and continues to cause, the formation of channels, gulleys, cliffs, and spires. We stopped for lunch at the visitors' center and were surprised by how cold it was. We exited the scenic loop at Wall, SD which can only mean one thing... WALL DRUG! Have you dug Wall Drug? We did. I got a homemade donut, 5 cent coffee, and some postcards. As many of you probably know, they have free ice water, too. Though it's nothing to write home about. It tastes funny.
Back on I-90 for about another hour, we exited at Rapid City and headed south for about 30 miles until we came upon the aforementioned monument. Whether you're a fan of Alfred
Hitchcock, Team America World Police, or just the United States of America, Mt. Rushmore is the place for you. It's hard for me to put my finger on what was so stunning about it, but I think it's the confluence of scale, history, and the adjacent landscape. And we saw a mountain goat! After dinner we found the local movie theater and saw Hamlet 2, the highlight of which was the tune, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." Before you're offended, let me tell you that the movie explains that the song is about if Jesus came to the earth in modern times, he'd have to market himself like a sexy celebrity. All in all we give the movie 2 thumbs up.
We're spending the night here in Rapid City before driving through Rocky Raccoon country tomorrow (that would be the Black Hills of Dakota) and into Wyoming. Despite Sarah Palin ruining my night, today has been one of the best days yet. So here's to another night in a Best Western, though this one seems to be a Better Western (we have a fridge). See you in Wyoming!
A&A
Alison and I left Chamberlain this morning after she sent off some applications. We drove west for about 200 miles until we reached the beginning of the Badlands National Park scenic loop (Route 240, exit 131). Just so you know, there are no student discounts at national parks. We drove the loop and stopped off at most of the lookouts. According to my American Park Networks guide (picked up at AAA), the Badlands, a 244,000 acre landscape, was formed starting 65 million years ago from various sediment, including what is known as the Pierre Shale, volcanic ash, 
and decomposed forests. Erosion has caused, and continues to cause, the formation of channels, gulleys, cliffs, and spires. We stopped for lunch at the visitors' center and were surprised by how cold it was. We exited the scenic loop at Wall, SD which can only mean one thing... WALL DRUG! Have you dug Wall Drug? We did. I got a homemade donut, 5 cent coffee, and some postcards. As many of you probably know, they have free ice water, too. Though it's nothing to write home about. It tastes funny.Back on I-90 for about another hour, we exited at Rapid City and headed south for about 30 miles until we came upon the aforementioned monument. Whether you're a fan of Alfred
Hitchcock, Team America World Police, or just the United States of America, Mt. Rushmore is the place for you. It's hard for me to put my finger on what was so stunning about it, but I think it's the confluence of scale, history, and the adjacent landscape. And we saw a mountain goat! After dinner we found the local movie theater and saw Hamlet 2, the highlight of which was the tune, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." Before you're offended, let me tell you that the movie explains that the song is about if Jesus came to the earth in modern times, he'd have to market himself like a sexy celebrity. All in all we give the movie 2 thumbs up.We're spending the night here in Rapid City before driving through Rocky Raccoon country tomorrow (that would be the Black Hills of Dakota) and into Wyoming. Despite Sarah Palin ruining my night, today has been one of the best days yet. So here's to another night in a Best Western, though this one seems to be a Better Western (we have a fridge). See you in Wyoming!
A&A
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
weird computer activity
I don't know if it's the Best Western internet or my computer but clearly something got messed up in the most recent post. I'm too sleepy to try to figure it out, so in the mean time, enjoy what's there and I can try to fix it tomorrow.
Half way there?
a>Today was a long day on the road. We hit up the Trader Joe's in Madison at 9 AM to restock our cooler. After refueling the Prius, we were back on the road by 10 AM, heading west on I-90 (again). We crossed the Mississippi River around lunch time and stopped on the Minnesota side for a picnic lunch with the ingredients we had picked up that morning. I chatted with a couple that was heading from Wisconsin to Washington and then down to Arizona. And I thought our route was indirect! Apparently they're picking up a new camper in Washington. This picture is great because you can see both Minnesota AND Wisconsin.Neither Alison nor I had ever been to Minnesota before, so we both got to check that one off our list. The 70 mph speed limit helped things go by more quickly and southern Minnesota's flatness is only rivaled by South Dakota's. Though the monotony of the landscape was broken up by fields of wind turbines. I <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyp6IMdfsuoeWWnpgra84rZLY9qxBBEq9t8FNiVOPiLwoEyNafCHLKYBLl0rMICNMWIqVgiALDWIswrGl4XPFQTgKIjG9wujWIlRiCLNh6IKtDE_A4vaOvTYkW0dGLY_qL6vyObtkHJvYW/s1600-h/DSCN5379.JPG">
nscathed (although Alison was really hoping for some rain to clean off the dead bugs on the windshield). We pulled off the road in Fairmont, MN after seeing a billboard for Starbucks. We drove down the side road for about 2 miles until we realized that this was likely one of the stores that had been shut down. Sure enough, on our drive back to the interstate, we saw a shell of a store that had once been. Here's to you, Masa! (Masa, Alison's husband, has been lamenting the closing of some 600 Starbucks stores worldwide for the past four months. Now Alison can truly appreciate the impact). So we pressed on to our next POI, the 55-foot Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, MN. Yes, we sought this out after having read about it in our AAA book.From there we crossed the state line into South Dakota, another first for both of us, and where the speed limit is 75 mph. We were greeted by many billboards, most notably "We Dakotans reject all animal activists." This made Alison's heart beat a little faster and made me question whether we would be safe with my Obama sticker proudly displayed with these New York plates. Later this evening, at dinner, Alison thought it better to say she is "allergic to butter" rather than explain that she is a vegan.
Since I planned this trip, I have been looking forward to the Corn Palace
in Mitchell, SD. We arrived after 5 pm, so couldn't go inside. But I'll include a picture, and that will be enough said. Except to say that it wasn't all that I hoped and dreamed it would be. Johnny, if you're reading, you were right. But it was worth the stop anyway. If for nothing else, the find dining experience at Chef Louie in Mitchell, SD. It was all about the ambiance and the fine decorating. My favorite is the placement of this painting you can see on the wall. Whoever did this surely has a future in curatorial assistance.The drive from Mitchell to Chamberlain was the flattest hour of my life. Everything stretched on so far I'm pretty sure we could see North Dakota and Nebraska on either side of the highway. The sunset was the widest one we'd ever seen, and it was all quite beautiful. Alison remarked, "I can't believe there's a place like Tokyo and a place like this in the same world." (Alison lived in Tokyo for 8 years.) So we're driving along this flat plain, and then all of a sudden the highway dips down as we arrive in Chamberlain. We turn right before hitting the Missouri River and find our home for the night, the Best Western Motor Inn. In the morning we will drive a couple of hours to Wall Drug and the Badlands, and then keep going a little further into Rapid City, Mt. Rushmore, and the Black Hills.
We continue to make good progress on our license plate checklist and our new music for the day was Ingrid Michaelson's 'Boys and Girls.' Thanks again, Julia!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Reclaiming summer at Dotty Dumplings
Megan Schultz: "After a splendid day at the nation's largest waterpark, we are now consuming fine local brew on this last day of summer. Good food, good times, good friends."
That was blogged directly from Dotty Dumplings Dowry in Madison, WI. Technology is so great.
Annie: Alison, how was your day today?
Alison: It was fantastic!
Annie: You're funnier than that. Why was it so fantastic?
Alison: Because we went to the biggest waterpark in America.
Annie: You like waterparks, don't you?
Alison: I f***ing LOVE water parks. You can't type that.
Annie: I'll bleep it out.
Alison: How did you like the waterpark?
Annie: It was all I hoped and dreamed it would be. The funnel cake was the best. You look tired.
Alison: I am tired. It's because I feel like I've been through a washing machine.
Annie: You have been through a washing machine.
Alison: That toilet bowl sucked.
Annie: Yeah, I think I pulled my sternocleidomastoid.
Alison: Well, hopefully we can rest it up in the car tomorrow on our drive into the lands of badness.
Annie: You mean the badlands.
Alison: Yeah. And by the way, you have some really attractive friends.
Annie: Thanks, I'll be sure to let them know by publishing it in my blog.
The toilet bowl Alison is referring to is the first ride we went on at Noah's Ark, The Time Warp. The ride is a giant enclosed toilet-bowl-like structure ("monstrosity" would be Alison's choice of word) that sends you on a tube into darkness and whirls you around like you're being flushed down a toilet. A giant dinosaur head in the middle is supposed to give you the sense of going way back in time.
As Alison and I had walked through Chicago the other day, she said, "I wish I could reclaim my summer." After studying for the MCAT and biochemistry all summer, she was ready for some fun. Little did she know at the time, the MOST fun was just around the corner. Nicki joined us and a group of Megan's classmates at the waterpark and showed us how to do it right, zip line and all. For 6.5 hours we slid, floated, splashed, and zipped through the attractions of America's largest waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells. We even scrounged up $0.70 in the Adventure River, though Nicki tells us that her loot has been as high as $10 in the past.
We topped the day off with a successful trip to Chipotle (we'd now been craving it for three days running), and some good company over at Dotty Dumplings. Daves Strasfeld and Ullman (roommates, Wash U alums, and PhD candidates) arrived on their bikes to join in the fun.
I hadn't seen Dave Ullman since I graduated from college in 2005; It was wonderful to see him and to catch up.
And so with great sadness we will say goodbye to the wonderful people of Madison, WI, and venture west through southern Minnesota and as far into South Dakota as the setting sun will allow without blinding us. Hopefully we'll have an internet connection to give an update tomorrow, but if not, we will write as soon as we can!
Until then,
Annie and Alison
That was blogged directly from Dotty Dumplings Dowry in Madison, WI. Technology is so great.
Annie: Alison, how was your day today?
Alison: It was fantastic!
Annie: You're funnier than that. Why was it so fantastic?
Alison: Because we went to the biggest waterpark in America.
Annie: You like waterparks, don't you?
Alison: I f***ing LOVE water parks. You can't type that.
Annie: I'll bleep it out.
Alison: How did you like the waterpark?
Annie: It was all I hoped and dreamed it would be. The funnel cake was the best. You look tired.
Alison: I am tired. It's because I feel like I've been through a washing machine.
Annie: You have been through a washing machine.
Alison: That toilet bowl sucked.
Annie: Yeah, I think I pulled my sternocleidomastoid.
Alison: Well, hopefully we can rest it up in the car tomorrow on our drive into the lands of badness.
Annie: You mean the badlands.
Alison: Yeah. And by the way, you have some really attractive friends.
Annie: Thanks, I'll be sure to let them know by publishing it in my blog.
The toilet bowl Alison is referring to is the first ride we went on at Noah's Ark, The Time Warp. The ride is a giant enclosed toilet-bowl-like structure ("monstrosity" would be Alison's choice of word) that sends you on a tube into darkness and whirls you around like you're being flushed down a toilet. A giant dinosaur head in the middle is supposed to give you the sense of going way back in time.As Alison and I had walked through Chicago the other day, she said, "I wish I could reclaim my summer." After studying for the MCAT and biochemistry all summer, she was ready for some fun. Little did she know at the time, the MOST fun was just around the corner. Nicki joined us and a group of Megan's classmates at the waterpark and showed us how to do it right, zip line and all. For 6.5 hours we slid, floated, splashed, and zipped through the attractions of America's largest waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells. We even scrounged up $0.70 in the Adventure River, though Nicki tells us that her loot has been as high as $10 in the past.
We topped the day off with a successful trip to Chipotle (we'd now been craving it for three days running), and some good company over at Dotty Dumplings. Daves Strasfeld and Ullman (roommates, Wash U alums, and PhD candidates) arrived on their bikes to join in the fun.
I hadn't seen Dave Ullman since I graduated from college in 2005; It was wonderful to see him and to catch up.And so with great sadness we will say goodbye to the wonderful people of Madison, WI, and venture west through southern Minnesota and as far into South Dakota as the setting sun will allow without blinding us. Hopefully we'll have an internet connection to give an update tomorrow, but if not, we will write as soon as we can!
Until then,
Annie and Alison
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