my trip, in a nutshell

BUT first things first: Happy birthday to the Shoshie-boodle!!! You are lovely and brilliant and youthful, and I wish you zillions more years of lovely, brilliant youthfulness, and I also hope that through all of those zillions of years you continue to be my very good friend, because I do not know what I'd do if I couldn't send you a text message every time I got barfed on by a baby. I could get more cheesy, but I'll spare you. Anyway, happy birthamaday whooo!

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So, my trip basically went like this: Fly fly fly. Drive drive drive. Get barfed on by a baby. Drive drive drive drive. Fly fly fly. Etc.

In a slightly bigger nutshell, with pictures (none of them of barf, I swear):

I got to my brother's house in Maryland late Sunday night and stayed up until 4 am with my brother and sister-in-law and my dad and his girlfriend. There was beer, but nothing at all of interest transpired. Monday, examined the view from my brother's back door, ate mexican food, drove to my mom's house, following my dad all the way because he insisted. (Oy.) Took some nice pictures from the car, listened to some excellent radio stations.

Tuesday, my mom had to work so I hung out in Lynchburg, at one point capturing this lovely tableau:

Then I went and bought myself a new camera and got my ears pierced at the tattoo-n-piercing parlor two doors down from the New Life Christian Store (not the one in the above picture, another location) by a guy with Backstreet Boys facial hair who was listening to conservative talk radio.

Wednesday: drove to Charlottesville to see my sister. Took a bunch of pictures from the car, including a whole series of this truck full of giant logs which I found utterly fascinating.

And of course, once there, I took a bunch of baby pictures (and movies, both of them too big for YouTube).

Thursday: went to my two favorite used bookstores with my mom, the larger of which is now in a new, enormous, and terrifyingly circus-themed building.


(That's less than half of the facade; to get the whole thing I would've had to shoot from across the street.) The smaller bookstore was exactly as I remembered it — complete with history books about "The War of the Rebellion" prominently displayed in the front room, and a horrible narrow staircase down to the good stuff. Between the two bookstores, I bought fifteen books for about $60. Including a copy of Jane Eyre in comic form.

On Thursday I also had a two hour lunch with my dad, during the course of which we argued strenuously about politics, but surprisingly didn't appear to have completely alienated the staff at the IHOP by the time we left. That day, it snowed for about 30 seconds, hailed for about 60 seconds, and then rained for the rest of the day.

Friday: went back to Charlottesville to see my sister again. More pictures from the car.


Love the sky. (Also love the new camera.) Here's a cat, looking like a cat. I mauled and snuggled with several cats on this trip. I lurve kitties.

And here's a baby admiring himself in the mirror intently. Note the drool. (And here's the baby movie that wasn't too big for YouTube, if you're interested.)

Then I went ice skating with my sister on Friday night. I only fell down once, I swear. I have no pictures, because I didn't want to get murdered by a bunch of middle school kids while fumbling for the camera.

Saturday I got up at 6 am Eastern time, drove for four and a half hours (which is the part of the traveling I didn't mind), through large swaths of Virginia and Maryland. I even saw the Mormon Temple, just like you did on your trip, Shosh. Well, a different Temple, of course. This is the huge one in D.C. or Maryland or some damn place like that, seen from the Beltway.

Then I spent the next twelve hours waiting in airports and flying on airplanes. I tried to get drunk in the Baltimore airport, which worked out fine, but didn't last very long. And then I was just squished into the center seat on a three and a half hour flight, completely sober but with the memory of my bourbon buzz, being kicked by a child. I got home after 8 pm our time. It was quite a day, and I'd like to stop talking about it now.

So who wants to see all the rest of my boring slides?