Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Gretchen!
It's been nearly two years, but FINALLY...we have been reunited with our beloved Gretchen, and our old Hawai'i contingency is complete once again! Although we only visited the Doctor a couple times, it was wonderful to see her and meet her new man (and his heaters). We love you, Helga!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Grandma's Marathon
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Cabin at Lake Beauty
White Castle and Lake Calhoun
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Adieu, Denver
A few things:
1) MAHALO to Lynn, Alexis, and Amanda for being collectively AWESOME.
2) Denver dentistry = amazing
3) I'd like to be the Mayor of Morrison, and the caretaker of the Hot Tub Cottage. Can this be arranged?
4) I did NOT drink enough Coors on this trip!
5) Watch out, Denverites...I'll be back!
Stay tuned for the continuation of the circus adventures once Denny and Mel arrive in MN. Until then--aloha nui loa! See ya'll soon.
Meli Sue Makes a Friend
Colorado Rockies Game
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Garden of the Gods
Lynn very graciously drove our sorry asses around Colorado the other day to see GARDEN OF THE GODS (insert booming male voiceover here) which was...bizarre. Seriously, I felt like we were in Arizona or New Mexico at times--lots of rock formations, arches, red rock, dry heat, etc. But it was super cool to check it out: a BIG mahalo to Miss Lynn Hughes for making our day perfect! (PS More pictures to follow; I am currently dealing with some technical problems...back in a bit.) Ahui hou, HJ
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Red Rocks, Morrison, and...The Hot Tub Cottage?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Denver Sidewalk Chalk Festival
What a wonderful weekend! My first day after arriving in Colorado, and I got to meet up with some old friends and check out the chalk festival in downtown Denver. I ate some delicious pork belly at Rioja, sampled a few Everclear-infused margaritas at Rio, and checked out the art scene: lots of dogs and hippies, hot damn. So far, I'm loving Denver something fierce!
Sweet Dreams from The Howard Johnson Airport Express
Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring, And if that diamond ring turns brass, Papa's gonna buy you a sweet piece of ass. And if that piece of ass gets broke, Papa's gonna buy you a midget in a coat. And if that midget in a coat won't pull, Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull. And if that cart and bull turn over... ecck, screw it--you're a spoiled little brat! Here's a picture of us passed out in a Portland hotel bed. Enjoy.
2,000 Miles in Six Days
AS The West Coast portion of our trip winds down, and as we sit in 2 hours of Portland rush hour traffic in search of our hotel for Friday night, I ponder all the amazing places we've seen in the past five days: the tall, serene redwoods at Redwoods National Park, the California Coastline on HWY 1, the sweeping, epic adventure that is Big Sur, the wineries on Hwy 46 on the way to Oakhurst, the majestic and intimidating Yosemite National Park, wet and rainy Mount Shasta, and all the beautiful little unexpected stops along the way. And don't even get me started on the food! Clam chowder, REAL crabcakes, salmon jerky, the rocket fuel at dutch bros coffee, in & out burger, and of course beer beer beer beer BEER. I personally have also discovered the healing power of Denny's $2 breakfast menu, realizing that I can fill up on a plate of hash browns and biscuits and gravy for two dollars. TWO DOLLARS, people! Am I in heaven? Nope, I'm at...Denny's.
And so, we bid you adieu as we wrap up the west coast portion of the circus. Have no fear, we will be posting our adventures SOON in the new locale: Denver, Colorado! See ya'll on the flip side. --HJ
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Mount Shasta. Finally.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Castle Crags State Park?
Question: what does one do when one encounters a giant bear in the campsite that he or she just checked in to?
Answer: get the fuck out of there and head to FINLANDIA!
(no, seriously, we pulled into our wet and rainy campsite late Thursday night near Mount Shasta only to find a bear rummaging through the fire pit. Suffice to say, we hightailed it out of there and found a nice lil' no-tell mo-tel a few miles away with a community sauna, 60s decor, and vintage yellow chairs in the 'lounge'. Thank GOD we had a case of Coors and bottle of Jagermeister in the trunk to get us through the night.)
Mount Shasta, HO!
Yosemite National Park (Part I)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Joyful Gusts: Wiggin' Out in Oakhurst
A real, actual conversation snippet:
Gus: "yes, well, I had to give up most of my costumes when we moved to California. I had to get rid of my red sparkly dress AND my black dress!"
Melanie: "you mean...you have a costume supply too?"
Gus: "yes, but all I have now is a small box of costumes; it's very sad"
Melanie: "wow, so...this must be a Northland thing? Heidi is making SO much more sense now..."
PS a very BIG mahalo to Gus and Joy for hosting us and making a delicious dinner! We had SO much fun; it was great catching up with you two! xo
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
On the Road to Oakhurst
Wiggin' Out at Big Sur
After a long, 7 hour day driving (er...riding, in my case) we pulled into Big Sur, and the amazing Kirk Creek Campground...and of course the wigs had to come out to play. It was COLD out, I tell you! We needed them for warmth. I'm pretty sure we scared the shit out of our neighbors at the next campsite. Mission accomplished!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)