Yorktown... I think

So I think this picture is from Yorktown- maybe Laura, Amy or Anna will comment and correct me or fill in the story behind this house. I was kind of checked out the day we went to Yorktown- I blame Keio Exhaustion Syndrome (KES) perhaps that also explains my current procrastination and lethargy.

More Summer Photos

Forgive me I still have catching up to do....

Here are some more pictures from my friends trip out, these are from our trip to Historic Jamestown, my first trip there- it was very pretty and worth the trip out- I'll have to take my next visitors there too.

Checking In

The semester is officially underway. It was a strange and sad first week (it officially started last week- but I didn't have all of my classes until this week). I have two fairly close friends here (among other less-close friends, I'm not a complete loser) and one of them lost a parent this week- hence the strangeness and sadness of the week. I feel so badly for her. None of my friends have lost a parent before so I wasn't sure what one was supposed to do when something like this happens, so I'm not sure I handled it all that well. She went home and will be gone for a few weeks, Virginia is going to seem different without her here, she was one of the people I befriended right at the beginning of last semester so she has been a big part of my life here- I know it's only 3 weeks- not a huge amount of time- but it's going to be really hard without her here especially since she is gone under such sad circumstances.

On the bright side, my classes all got off to a good start. I'm especially excited about a directed reading I'm doing on war and America. I've mentioned before how much I like war memoirs- now I get to read them for a class, it should be really fun! Hard... but fun.

Road Trip!

I think I'm slowly saying goodbye to Utah. First, a couple weeks ago I went south to St. George (to get my dog). A couple days later I went north to Bear Lake. Today I went west to Wendover. (Apparently I'm also saying goodbye to Wyoming and Nevada).* I guess I have to head east now- does it count that I'm going east in August- the extreme east (i.e. Virgina) ( I almost wrote the far east there but that has a different connotation)?

My friend Laura and I get together every Sunday. We were emailing back and forth trying to decide what to do today when I suggested a quick trip to Wendover, to my surprise she said yes. So off we went.

For those of you who have never driven through Utah's West Desert- you haven't missed much- it's a desert. Apparently the vast emptiness of western Utah inspired this work of art...

 

Click here if you'd like to find out more about the Utah Tree and its creator.

I guess I should also include a picture of the vast emptiness that is the salt flats...

Shortly after passing the Utah Tree we arrived in lovely Wendover (for those of you who haven't been to Wendover I'm being slightly sarcastic here- Wendover is much like all small towns in Nevada (at least the ones I've been too) there are  several casinos and trailer parks (I'm guessing this is were the casino employees live) and not much else).** We went to my favorite hotel and casino- the Rainbow. I've always like the hotel rooms there, it seems like the kind of place Elvis would have stayed (only probably not in Wendover). Plus the restaurant there serves the best Monte Cristo sandwich I've ever had- they are deep-fried-licious- extremely unhealthy, it's probably a good thing that Wendover is so far away. 

But before we ate, we hit the slots. We both stuck to the penny slots- we are wild and crazy girls! After loosing most of my money (the small amount I was willing to gamble with) we headed to the restaurant. Then we played some more before heading back home. It probably sounds like less fun than it was.

The drive home was fraught with danger. We had some very tense moments. For example, here's what we saw when we stopped at a rest stop. (Sorry if that sentence seems redundant).

    

Yikes! Luckily I didn't see any snakes or scorpions- but maybe because that's because I refused to watch out for them. The toilets in the rest stop were even scarier than the snakes and scorpions! (Sorry no pic here- I draw the line at taking pictures of toilets).  Then we were stalked by a guy from the rest stop- ok so he was in front of us- but that just shows you how sneaky he was. Next we passed a NO DROWSY DRIVING sign and I yawned! Then, about an hour later we noticed water on both sides of the road!*** (This picture is of the median). 

Luckily we made it home safely with no snake or scorpion sightings or floods, and we both stayed awake the whole time, plus we lost the stalker- or he lost us- he was so sneaky!

During the drive Laura and I came up with a plan for how to handle the inevitable questions that people will ask when I'm living in a new state and they find out I am from Utah (or that they think if they don't want to ask out loud). I'm sure other Utahns know what I'm talking about- Are you Mormon? Are you Polygamist? Do you know any polygamists? Or multiple questions on Mormonism or polygamy. (In case you're wondering I'm not Mormon and I have seen polygamists around but do not know any personally- well that's not completely true I have known polygamists but they weren't the ones to tell me they were polygamist and did not talk about it- probably because it's illegal and smart crime breakers rarely discuss their crime breaking activity). I'm sure you're wondering what our brilliant solution is... I'm going to tell people I'm from Colorado. Of course I won't be able to lie convincingly about this if I'm standing next to my car- it is the Car of Truth no one can lie when they are in or near it- and I have Utah plates.

In case you are wondering, I lost $40 (twenty of my own and twenty of my dad's) and Laura broke even. I had the best luck on a machine called "Blazing Sevens" which made me think about Blazing Saddles, which I haven't seen but intend to- I've already added it to my Netflix queue.****

*Wendover is on the Utah/Nevada border and the more scenic route to Bear Lake cuts through Wyoming.

**I apologize to anyone from Nevada who is offended by this comment, especially if you're from Wendover, Battle Mountain, or Winnemucca (I'm also sorry if I spelt that incorrectly).

***In case you missed it- this is sarcasm- the ride home was not any scarier than any other ride when I'm driving. 

***Speaking of Netflix, I'm still watching 21 Jump Street, after a short break to watch Weeds. Laura, the show I was telling you about (the one where they debate creationism and evolution) is Season 2 disc 5. The episode with Brad Pitt is also on this DVD. It's hairtastic! Laura and I had an interesting discussion about how we both think less of Johnny Depp because of the way he left the show and has since bad-mouthed it. We both think that it is an insult to the other people who worked on the show (especially the actors an the people who gave him his first big break) and it's insulting to the fans who first noticed him because of the show.