So I've been remiss in blogging, sue me. It's been one of those things where when I think of something clever to share I either don't have a writing implement (be it pen and paper or laptop), or I just post it on Facebook.
I need to stop doing that -- status updates are no place for lengthy verbiage.
Also, I should really start posting to my fannish forum again. LAZY. Then again, my fannish time has also been rather limited, even though as of 48 hours ago I was indoctrinated into the land of Inception and I'm loving it liek whoa.
SO!
1. The drive through S. Illinois is heinous. Yes, I have a hate on for the state as a whole because I've always had hellish times going through O'Hare and for that one time that Natalie and I were stopped for speeding and got ripped off by a dirty cop. And yeah, the fact the bit about the Chicago bands and the fangirl mecca doesn't make up for the tedium of driving through the southern bit of the state.
2. Likewise, Missouri is kinda awful too. Though St. Louis was rather lovely, at least the parts that I managed to see. I drove into the city proper to visit this basilica, but was denied due to the fact that I was an idiot and didn't schedule a tour -- also, that I came just as noon mass was starting. So I ended up walking around the church and then down around the neighborhood to gawk at the awesome turn of the century houses and tree lined streets.
Then it was off to the Butterfly House, though there was a detour in trying to find the science museum (saw it from an overpass, and while Garmin led me there, I couldn't find parking, so), wherein the butterflies were pretty, a women made a comment about caterpillars liquefying, and I kinda reveled in the tropical wonderland while everyone else fled back inside the building proper. Apparently growing up in Florida does have its advantages.
Next up on the list (and after getting turned around even more, b/c while Garmin is awesome, if you can't get into the lane you need, it's still all buggered sideways. was the Laumeier Sculpture Park. Twas very cool, and I spent about an hour on the back trails looking at the various pieces. Maybe not totally worth the time, but it was nice to branch out on the tourist track. And not only did I get to see a giant Jenga-like Mayan temple looking thing, but enjoyed the hilarity of walking back to my car in the midst of a high school boys cross-country practice. Totally not as cute as the Leon team, but it was hella funny watching them make their circuit around the various giant sculptures -- I didn't laugh or egg them on, but oh how I wanted to do so.
By that point it was more of Missouri driving and I even got stuck in rush hour grind while trying to leave St. Louis -- possibly the first time I've hit that particular kind of traffic outside of hitting the wall of Turnpike vs. Interstate traffic after Thanksgiving.
3. Hannibal, Missouri is scary. The hotel I stayed at was extremely weird as it had an indoor pool, but the pool was in the middle of the hotel. And while the rooms faced into the hotel, some idiot decided it would be an attractive feature to have all the second floor rooms have windows facing out into the open hallway. And the whole place smelled of warm pool (which, yes, is totally different that a "normal" pool -- ten years of competitive swimming has obviously made me a snob on this point). But on the weird upside, when I was taking my bags inside, there was a group of guys outside having an impromptu acoustic-Collective Soul/Pearl Jam jam session.
It was almost like being back in Tallahassee.
I spent the night before my 32nd birthday watching The Right Stuff and giggling like a loon. There might've also been some swooning over Sam Sheppard but that's to be expected.
4. BIRTHDAY! I left late because one of my very favourite episodes of Supernatural was on and who am I to ignore a gift like that?
The theme of Boring As All Hell CORN continued as I drove into Iowa on Hwy 61. I spent most of the time amazed to find a good rock radio station in the middle of friggin' Iowa and mystified by the "exits" labeled with letters instead of street names or numbers.
It was all very Clark Kent-y and Smallville-ian. And not in a good way.
5. After getting through Iowa City (didn't see the giant carousel in the mall this time, dammit) and Cedar Rapids (which didn't smell of burnt Egg McMuffins his time, thankfully) I rolled into Cedar Falls, my home away from home. Or something.
I stayed with Original Recipe Sarah and spent time with her awesome parents, and outside of being home, that's the best birthday I could hope for. Well, outside of things I won't mention here, but yes. And there was Bindi Dog and fantastic pizza and shakes at the Good Dairy [Drag] Queen, and even a stop at the used DVD store. [bought: X-Men movie collection, Chronicles of Riddick, Some Kind of Wonderful, Stealth and 27 Dresses (yes, a totally guilty pleasure) because my tastes are exceedingly varied].
AND THEN WE PICKED UP MY SISTER IN WATERLOO. And anything with Waterloo will never cease to be funny to little miss Francophile. And it was the first time in almost a year since I'd seen my sister, and oh, she looks bright and young and I'm still jealous of her hair.
Rest of the trip in the next entry? Yis.
