Milwaukee – A day among American Idol Rejects

How tragic that we ended up in Milwaukee the day that literally thousands of young hopefuls were denied their dream of making it onto American Idol. We didn’t know that try-outs were taking place down the street, but the long faces we encountered tipped us off. We briefly spoke with a mother and daughter who had come all the way from California – this was the third year of rejection for the daughter. At another place, the waiter told us that he served a family where all three kids had tried out and didn’t get in. Alas, the American Dream is a rough road, Kiddies.
But, despite other people’s palpable sorrow, we had a wonderful day! Had good beer, food, and then won a raffle to get cheap tickets to see Wicked. Second row for $25 bucks, baby! Just a day spent in this adorable city before heading north to see family, but definitely worth mentioning.

Chicago...sort of

Decided to book it from Kentucky to Chicago, IL to see a friend that was only in town for the evening. We missed the pleasures of Indiana and Illinois, but alas, we decided that we just can’t see everything. Thanks Kaitlin for the recommendations though, we’ll see it the next time through!
The geniuses that we are, we decided to drive through downtown Chicago at 5:00 pm. That’s right, a vacation is not complete until you’ve sat in rush hour traffic! Luckily, it only took about an hour and we had a lovely dinner with our friend Ben in the suburb of Libertyville. We ate at a restaurant called “Firkin” – ten points to the person who can tell me the definition of that word:)

Mammoth Caves – Hey look, a big hole in the ground!

After a beautiful drive through West Virginia (and only one impulse purchase at a roadside “antique” store) we landed in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, site of the largest underground cave in the world. As it turns out, it’s a little weird to be at a national park that you can’t see. You know you are standing on top of it, and that it exists, but it’s not quite the same as looking up at mountains. Since you pay by the tour, we only took one. It was a nice historical walk through a big dark hole in the ground. No glimpses of cave animals (they are further in the cave away from the noise and lights of people) and no real glimpses of stalagmites/stalactites. For us science nerds, it was a little bit of a letdown. We were hoping they would just give us a helmet and flashlight and say, “have at it!”
Upside of our time there was the great camping spot and the incredible lightning and thunder storms. So humid, but so beautiful! Tom even took a shower in the rain (shampoo and all). I watched from the inside the truck to make sure he didn’t get hit by lightning – I am such a good spouse:)

Virginia/West Virginia – A Via Ferrata say what?

Most of you know that I worked for an Adventure Education company in Massachusetts. A co-worker from that company has recently relocated with his family to Virginia. The timing was right and we were able to stay with them and reap the benefits of his new adventure-based job. He manages, among other things, and attraction in West Virginia called a Via Ferrata. If you are like me, you have no idea what this is. Turns out, it’s a “pee-your-pants” rock climbing adventure that was invented in Italy. Climbing holds are permanently fixed to rock faces, and you have the pleasure of vertical climbing without the usual danger since you are clipped in and don’t have to find cracks in the rock to help you along.

Tom handled it beautifully (surprise surprise!) and I used almost every profane word I know, but we both finished with some incredible views, pictures, and memories. Our guide was very kind to tell me I had “skills” which I am pretty sure she says to everyone that needs a little mental push up the rock. Thanks so much to my co-worker Wayne for setting this up—check out the amazing pictures!

Washington, D.C. – Monument Valley (the man-made one!)

Not our first time to the nation’s capital, but definitely the best one. We stayed with Cara’s aunt and uncle Rick and Julie in Silver Spring, MD. They took a couple of days off work to show us around the city and we packed it in. We saw the “Charters of Freedom” documents including the declaration of independence, bill of rights, constitution, etc. We also spent time in:

• the museum of art (Yay Jackson Pollock!)
  
• botanical gardens (Yay rare orchids!)


• amercian indian museum (Yay, Brian Jungen!)


• holocaust museum (no yay here, very very sad)


• Arlington national cemetery (Yay changing of the guard!)


• the capital building (Yay statues and paintings, oh my!)
  

Phew! Rick and Julie also treated us to a moonlight trolley tour of the monuments. We narrowly avoided getting struck by lightning next to the Jefferson memorial, but the storm cleared and distant lightning lit up the city. Thanks Rick, Julie, and DC!

Long Island – Damn, I Forgot to Bring my Beach Body

After the bustle of the city, we thought a nice, quiet state park campsite would do us well. So, we headed to Long Island (of course!). Our camp neighbors had a different scenario in mind – how does a nice mix of hip-hop, rap, and latino beats sound at full volume? Like diversity.
The next day we headed for the beach, where Tom won our competition for who could look the most like a boiled lobster. Tom says: Note to self #1: don’t try to body surf waves that are taller than you. You will be brushing your teeth with sand. Note to self #2: Apply sun block prior to going out in the sun, not after.

Jersey Shore – Headline: Rogue Wave Douses Foolish Couple, Camera in Critical Condition.

Picture this: a beautiful morning walk on the Jersey shoreline. The only people in sight are rich housewives doing yoga by the waves. Oh look, now you see a jetty, how nice. You go sit on the jetty and watch the waves roll on below. You take some pictures, you breathe in the warm air of summer. And then BLAM! You are smacked in the face by a rogue wave, soaking you and your damn expensive camera. Thanks for nothing Jersey Shore.
P.S. The camera lived to see another day.