some of Topher's favorite pictures from the last few days

Heather's Favorite Cow

Me on the Farm

My Sister and my Uncle Tom

H. and I at the McClain High School Homecoming Football Game

The Indiana Dunes

Chicago's Chinatown

BUBBLE TEA

If anybody reading this ever finds themselves in Chinatown, we highly recommend Lao Sze Chuan. Careful, it's spicy.

Tomorrow means more Chicagoland fun and then we strike out west, headed towards South Dakota.

see y'all later.

chicago...chicago...

Howdy folks!

We spent yesterday driving from Ohio to Indiana, spent the night camping near the Indiana Dunes. Hung out at the Dunes for a little bit today and then landed in Chicago. We are staying in Chinatown tonight and plan on going to the Chicago Diner and the Shedd Aquarium tomorrow. But now we are both looking forward to taking a shower and relaxing in a hotel room. We spotted a wifi coffee spot on Halstad and that is where we are right now. They have the best flan in Chicago, Topher had to have some. Later sk8rs....

Round on the ends and Hi in the middle

So we have left the gently rolling hills of south central Wisconsin, now we're in the flat dry fields of south central Ohio. Why? Cause that's where my Mom's from, and thats where my grandpa and extended family live, and Heather has graciously agreed to drive me here and visit with my family. Ain't she great?

I'll type more later, my brain is still kinda fried from sitting in the car all day.

leaving wisco...

Old friends...

Yesterday we went and visited some of Topher's old friends in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. His friends are Mustard and Beer:







Then we met up with some of Heather's old friends (actual people) Collette, Jordan, and Camille. (Not pictured: Sarah)


Now we are drinking coffee on State St. Later we are going out to Spring Green (with a stop at the brat stand in Black Earth) and then to see a zombie movie. ahhh, vacation.

We're here...

Hey folks,

We made it back to Madison. Yesterday we took it easy, having lunch at Sai-Bai Thong and then got sidetracked and shopped at Hilldale and then saw Talk To Me with Eileen. We made it home to catch Top Chef and veg out on the couch. Now we are ready to hang out! So, give me a call and I promise to answer my phone this time...seriously. I promise, I am changing my ring to Brass Monkey right now.
(This is Topher, Heather is changing her cellphone right now, she told me to type. Hows it going everybody? Madison is nice today. Warmer than we expected. The leaves are starting to change though, so maybe it will get cold soon. I am hoping that they are still serving bratwurst on the Union Terrace. I wanna eat a bratwurst. If anybody back in Seattle needs any Wisconsin junk, let us know. Okay, here's Heather again)

This morning we snuck out and headed over to Mother Fools for delicious iced coffee and baked goods. Now we are heading to State Street...I am too caffeinated to type right now...

:::plans:::

On Tuesday Topher and I fly to Chicago and begin our road trip. First stop is Madison, followed by Ohio, Colorado and sights including Deadwood, The Black Hills, Wall Drug and Yellowstone. For the next few days we are still getting settled in our new place and trying to, you know me, organize everything before we leave.

The sun has been shining a great deal the entire time I have been in the NW, but I guess that is over now. It's gray now, which is fine with me...right now Topher is reading me the "gossip" from the newspaper, so I gotta go.

Wandering 'Round

Yesterday was another excellent day of our excellent vacation. Heather figured out how to play Tetris on the laptop and I spent the morning staring out the window and organizing our CDs. We have too many CDs.

After that we decided to walk over to Fremont and hit the happy hour at Blue C Sushi. Avocado Rolls and Sake are good. Then we took a scenic stroll along the Lake Washington Ship Canal and were blessed by these words of wisdom:
Heather picked out a new ride for me to replace my beloved Ford Aerostar:
But I found something more in my price range:
And we rode to Fred Meyer in style:

Another classy evening out in Seattle!

introducing queen anne

so far, so good...

good may make it sound like it is only good, but imagine someone much cooler than me saying "it's all good" or something like that. i would prefer to say sweet or stellar or something totally goofy, but...

seattle. for the last three years i sort of was in the place i was. not really belonging so much as just a victim of geography. i am dealing with the change when it happening, instead of waiting until later and then flipping out, as an old habit, and it has been a myriad of emotions and concepts. i am so glad that we decided to do this, things are going wonderfully and i feel like i am in a new stage in my life, maybe the second stage?

topher has made the transition incredibly easy and seattle is beautiful. i think that this time i have successfully escaped the midwest for good. he has taken me to many of the wonderful places he enjoys and a few new places, one of which already beat evergreen in the mock meat category! (topher plans on a mock meat tour of the city.) i have not driven a car for over a week! the coffee here is amazing! and other stuff has been great as well. our place is amazing and being closer to the ocean makes me realize that i missed it more then i realized.

i miss friends and family, but it is very exciting to feel like i have a new family...

Photo Essay: Monday