ROAD TRIPPING! Part Two

After leaving Kansas City, we kept east on 70 towards St. Louis. St. Louis was very nice and we enjoyed our time there. Since we did not stay in the city, we had some time to kill and casinos are EVERYWHERE! Can you guess what we did? Well that did not end as well as the first night so it was a bit sad and the fact that One Republic was playing in this little field right beside us and we missed them! It looked like such a fun time!

We also went to a BBQ joint that has been on one of those restaurant shows and it was very good! When we arrived there was a very long line, but luckily there was a nice woman in front of us who told us it was fast and the turkey was to die for! We had a great time talking to her and getting some other recommendations. She was right! I ordered the turkey and it was delicious! Brandon's BBQ was pretty good too, but I think he liked my turkey!

On Saturday, we spent the day at the Gateway Arch. It was pretty packed and we had a few hours to kill before our time to go up so we were able to explore the museum and get some of those old lemon drop hard candies. My throat by this point was hurting pretty bad and we were both stuffy, so the hard candy helped a bunch! Once it was our time to go up, it really wasn't our time to go up. It was our time to watch a movie, look around another little museum, and then stand in line some more. All worth it though. Brandon and I are pretty good at knowing "worth the wait" as our whole relationship is based on this principle! We got in this little cart that took 4 minutes to get to the top and once we were up top the view was amazing. We got a few pictures and enjoyed the view, but it was a bit crowded and hot, so we didn't stay up there as long as we would had liked. A must though if in St. Louis.

    

View from the top!

   

Inside the elevator. 

I really liked St. Louis, but this was all before the Ferguson stuff happening. Glad we missed that whole ordeal!

Reaching St. Louis also meant the end of Interstate 70! Such a bittersweet moment! Now we weren't strictly going east, but we went south towards Louisville.

On route to Louisville, we found some caverns that were just a year open and had an underground boat ride. We were all about this and it was a great time to stop. We got there a bit late, but it happened to work out great because it was only us and another couple getting a tour. We had the whole cave to ourselves and it was great! We took our time, and spotted crawfish, salamanders, bones, fossils, stalagmites, stalactites, "bacon", and other cave formations. The boat ride was pretty nice and the reflections were crazy! Wish my camera could had captured them. The history about how Indiana Caverns was discovered was also neat since they are still caving and making the cave system longer. It was a very nice tour, so if ever get the chance, you should check it out!

We got to Louisville around dinnertime so we grabbed something to eat and called it a night. We did not really get to explore the city too much. One of the Man Vs. Food restaurants in Louisville was an ice cream shop and since we weren't near it we didn't get to go, but I looked up the menu and it featured ice cream with Old Forester. I thought that was very neat, since Old Forester is THE Evelyn drink! I really did not know that it was such a popular drink that it could be used with ice cream!! I think it would be quite disgusting!

After Louisville, we headed south to Nashville. We stopped at Mammoth Caves on the way and took a tour. They were amazing and really enjoyed going there and exploring a few trails. If you have never been then you really should go! It is an amazing cave system!

Entering the cave! It was a nice relief from the outside! 

In Nashville I was very excited to meet up with my cousins, the Remkes, for dinner. I hadn't seen them in awhile so it was nice to catch up with them at another BBQ place that was very good. Thank you Chris, Amy, Matt, and Meredith for dinner and for the tips! I especially enjoyed talking to Meredith about her summer and gymnastics! :)

Thanks for dinner, Amy!!! :)

We spent the next day near Opryland, but we (I, mostly) decided to shop! There was a nice outlet mall so I thought that it would be a great day to spend our day! I am pretty sure Brandon did not enjoy it very much, but I thought it was good!! Got a few great deals and snagged at 100 dollar dress for 17 dollars! Pretty awesome right?? That dress would be the blue navy one I wore in our engagement pictures!

The next morning we woke up and headed to one of the top water holes in the country, which also happened to be not too far off the interstate and it was probably the best part of our trip! It was GORGEOUS! The hike down was great and we had to go "slogging" through a creek. I had my camera with me so I had to be extra careful and almost fell a few times into the creek. When we got to the water hole it was a magnificent waterfall that flowed onto some rocks and then was a very deep swimming pool to jump into. We watched some young boys climb up about 30 feet, if not more, and then jump into the water. They were pretty brave and it sounded like it really hurt a few of them.

We stayed there for about two hours then decided to take a short cut up, which involved some rock climbing. At first I was pretty scared, but then actually enjoyed it. It was nothing too dangerous, but it looked like it when we were standing at the bottom. It was nice not having to "slog" our way back down the creek once more!

We got back on the road again and then stopped for the evening in Johnson City, TN (Wagon Wheel plays in the back of my head), and then headed home the next morning.

We made great time throughout the trip and it was surely a trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed every second I spent with Brandon and can't wait to make more memories with him. I remember calling his mom and telling her the engagement party was off because we were just sick of each other joking around! I don't know if she believed me or not, hope not, since I couldn't have asked for a better time. Brandon is an amazing man and perfect for me! I am so lucky (he is too ;)) to be able to spend my life with him and make a life with each other. It's a great feeling.

ROAD TRIPPING! Part One

Finally, July 29th arrived! A day I had been awaiting for since first finding out the Brandon was going to Morocco to study abroad. We talked about a road trip to bring his car back home and then it suddenly became reality, then it became a countdown. If you are ever in a long distance relationship then you will know how much a countdown means, however, it is also a bit saddening thinking back on it now. I had been looking forward to that day then the two weeks to follow since at least March and now it is over. Enough dwelling on that factor because this is about happy and the fun times we had spending seven days getting from Colorado to Virginia.  Before I left Virginia, Brandon and I had planned the trip out, and we decided to try avoid big chain/fast food restaurants, which in turn made us eat at places featured on Man Vs. Food. I will have to tell you we ate at some amazing places too!!

My flight did not land in Denver until midnight (2 a.m. EST) and then the next morning we headed out around 9, so my time in Colorado was short.

Heading out! 

We grabbed breakfast at my favorite breakfast place, The Egg and I. There is one in Midlothian, but I have never ate there, but the few in Colorado are amazing! Once we got past Denver, Colorado started to look different. No more mountains, instead the great plains embraced us for the rest of the day driving.

No cars in sight!! 

This was our view for most of Friday between Colorado and Kansas. 

Once we finally reached the border we stopped at the rest area to see if we could find anything fun to do in Kansas along the route, but the man in there said we needed a year to explore all of Kansas. Quite an answer when we only had the day! In turn, we kept trekking eastward! 

A few miles into Kansas, we started seeing signs for "THE WORLD'S LARGEST PRAIRIE DOG!" Brandon's friend had mentioned it to him before leaving and said he always wanted to stop but never had. Well...we were shammed. We paid our money to enter this run down building and make our way outside when the woman said all of the animals were alive (Brandon was so excited to see this prairie dog) but the "World's Largest Prairie Dog" was a monument. Not a real prairie dog. We were a bit let down, but it was our own fault cause we were saying how it is going to be a spam like the ones at the fairs or something! 

The goats were the best part! They were real...

The world's largest prairie dog was not! 

We went through the farm pretty quickly and then were back on the road. We weren't on the road too long before I had to use the restroom. I am probably the world's worst road tripper by the amount of times I needed to stop, but it also gave Brandon a chance to clean of his car, named Pearl. Have I mentioned the bugs yet?! They were splatting left and right onto the windshield and front of the car. It was pretty gross and there were some big 'ol bugs hitting the windshield!

Can't really see the splatters except on the bottom, but they were all over! 

Abilene, Kansas is not too far off 70 and is also the childhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although it was a bit late, we were able to still walk around and we met a man who retired from working there so he was able to tell us a lot about the history here. It might have been a good thing that the museum was closed because Brandon can spend forever in a museum and we did need to be in Kansas City that night! 

The house that Eisenhower grew up in!

The tripod Brandon got me came in quite handy on the trip! 

Getting closer and closer to Kansas City and Stroud's Fried Chicken, Brandon points out a casino and I put my raging hunger on hold for a few minutes to go try our luck (Brandon had never been in a casino so I wanted to show him the ropes (; ) 

Happy we won! 

After leaving the casino, we were trying to book it to Stroud's. We had only ate breakfast and that was about 12 hours earlier so we were both starving and pretty much inhaled the meal. I do not eat fried chicken at home, but let me tell you, this chicken was amazing! They also gave you cinnamon rolls and they melted in your mouth. We ended up eating the leftovers for lunch the next day at a picnic bench at a rest area and it was just as good! 

With a full belly, we were able to get a good nights rest and head to our next location! 

Summer Drifted Away

Wow, where has the time gone? I think I am one of the worst bloggers in the world! I am actually doing better with this one though since I am trying to write a post every now and then. I have created a few then did not even write a post so at least I am getting somewhere with it! July was a fun-filled month and also the first have of August has been amazing! Now it is time to get focused and finish out my last semester of college.

The first part of July I spent taking a class at Longwood, not so much fun, but I needed it to be able to student teach and graduate in December. As long as I try my best during student teacher and graduate on time then I will be able to officially move to Colorado at the end of December. :D I am so excited to say this! The class only had four student, including myself, so I am lucky the professor spent nine full days teaching it for me. Longwood went above and beyond for me and I am so grateful the professor recognized my situation and taught it for me.

After the class, I spent the week at the Bay House with the family. The house my parents bought is not the biggest, with three bedroom, two bathrooms, and a few sofas, but I love the fact we are in close quarters. There is not too many times that the whole family gets together, let alone for a few days, and I just love the fact we have the opportunity. Hopefully Brandon and I can make a few family vacations because they are a lot of fun.

Side Rant: I KNOW IT IS GOING TO BE HARD. No one needs to keep reinforcing it to me. I KNOW I transferred from Virginia Tech because it was too far from home. I KNOW I came home every weekend from Longwood. I know. I lived it so I KNOW.  My family means so much to me, but Brandon does as well. I need to have my own family, too, and Brandon and I are made for each other. He is going to take care of me and support me as his wife and I will do the same as him. Life is an adventure right, so why not make the most of the opportunity that Brandon is giving us? I am excited to see what is in store and I know that I will be just fine! All done.

Brandon spent July flying the gliders as much as he could. He needed to reach 94 flights and at one point he only had 54 so he had quite a ways to get before third summer period ended and he left for Morocco. If he didn't reach his 94 then he would have as much opportunity to fly this upcoming spring semester. However, HE REACHED 94! I was so happy for him and he spent a lot of extra time at the airfield to reach the goal a few days before I flew out for the road trip home. He is amazing!

Thats about all we both did for July before I flew out on the 29th! The road trip post will be in the works soon! :)