Trip back East

Guys, remember the GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN in DC in a few weeks ago??  Yeah, I'm with you... who wants to remember that?  Well, my Pops was kind enough to fly me back East for a quick 3 day trip.  The ticket was purchased before all of this was an issue and I was SO EXCITED to finally go to some of the Smithsonian museums.  I've already been to DC twice-- the first time passing through as a family after my brother got home from his mission in NYC and the second, when applying to PA school.  When I realized I'd be there during the shutdown, I thought that was the end.  No Smithsonian.  Yet again.

After flying in, we went straight back to Frostburg, Maryland to spend a day or two there before planning to spend some time in DC.  It is such a cute little town!  While my Pops was teaching some classes, I explored a small bookstore and bakery on main street (my favorites!).  

We also took a drive over into Pennsylvania to check out Amish country.  I don't know why I was so fascinated by what I saw!  A young girl in a dress and bonnet riding in this carriage.  Men with beards and straw hats.  How on earth could you live like that (and without electricity?!) in this day and age??

The following day we went to Gettysburg on the way back to DC.  I had no idea there was an actual town there!  And a university.  Who knew?  I loved Gettysburg right from the start.  I also had no idea how big it was.  We spent a few hours driving around to all the monuments, but there are so many of them!  You could easily spend a full day there.  Lincoln is one of my favorite people in history and I got to actually stand where he delivered the Gettysburg Address!  That was a good day.  Who knew it was so short?  Just a few paragraphs?

Ok, this is where things get interesting.... THE DAY WE DROVE BACK TO DC WAS THE DAY THE SHUTDOWN ENDED!!!  So I finally got to go to the Smithsonian museums!  We checked out the Air & Space Museum, the Natural History Museum (my favorite-- gems, mummies, and forensics exhibits), and the National Gallery of Art.  My Pops made us walk through all the early European art before getting to our favorite-- the Impressionist works.  And as soon as we got there, the dude standing in the door said, "We close in 30 seconds."  Um gee.  Thanks for the warning.  Never have I sped through Monet's paintings so quickly.  Never again.

The next day we rode bikes (Bike Share) all over the National Mall to check out all the major monuments.  And we didn't even have to trespass.  Although, I would have had it come down to that.  This was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.  If you have not done this, it's a MUST.  Just make sure to get it to the next station within 30 minutes!

I think my Pop's favorite part was eating fresh seafood at Captain Whites....

Ghost Towns

A few Sundays ago, my friend, Craig, and I drove south about an hour to explore some old ghost and mining towns-- Eureka and Etleta.  Kind of reminded me of Morenci for those of you from the AZ.  It was a perfect Sunday activity and there were tons of fabulous photo opportunities.  I was also pleasantly surprised... we got to see much more than I had anticipated.  Good thing we wandered behind the Tintic Mining Museum or we wouldn't have seen half of this stuff, like the old jail and Porter Rockwell's cabin.  And... I borrowed my sister's fancy camera so this was my first experiment with a real camera.  Not too bad, right?

Utah State Fair

Oh by the way... I moved to Utah after graduating.  I love Portland, but just wanted to be closer to family, friends, and the great outdoors while I studied for my Boards (which I PASSED!!!).  But I'll get to all the fun I've been having in Utah later... I know, I know, sorry to keep you on the edge of your seat, cause I know you're literally about to fall off with excitement to hear all about it...

On the dawning of a bright beautiful blue day back in September sometime, my sister and her family and I all went to the Utah State Fair together.  I've always wanted to go and hadn't yet had the privilege so we made it happen.  I was impressed with how clean the fair park was, MUCH more so than the Arizona State Fair or various county fairs I've been to.  We spent the morning wandering through the exhibits and contemplating why someone would spend so much time on a hobby-- a giant butter sculpture for example.  Impressive, but how much did they win at the fair??  50 bucks.  Tops.  The butter alone cost triple that, not to mention the hours of time and AC bill to keep it from melting.  Thank goodness for hobbies, though, or we'd probably go crazy.

After watching some barrel racing (perfect! cause I missed going to a rodeo this year), we wandered over to the livestock and saw various types of cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, and birds.  And probably stepped in that many types of animal poo too.  Except my niece.  She had the good fortune of being wheeled everywhere.  Do they make adult strollers for the non-handicapped?  I should look into that, especially for fair exhibits.

FINALLY.  At the end of our delightful fair wanderings we each ate our deep fried delicious corn dog with cotton candy for dessert.  Almost gave in to some kettle corn too.  And how did I get away with not even riding one ride?  Oh yeah, they look sketch.

Denver

Wow, where did September go??  I have some catching up to do!  For Labor Day weekend, the WHOLE family got together for the baby blessing of the newest little Anderson boy.  And what a cutie he is!  Where did all that hair come from??  So far all the Anderson babies have been born with a bushy head, hopefully my own will someday live up to that.  Why, you ask?  Because bald babies look like aliens.  Ok, so maybe that's a little harsh, but you know it's true.

We had a grand few days there lounging about, sharing memories, making new memories, and of course eating.  Everything revolves around food in our family.  Take for instance my list of places to eat this week before leaving Utah: J'Dawgs, Cubbys, Slab Pizza, Guru's, Cafe Rio, and The Happy Sumo.  There's not even enough days left in the week to make that happen, but I'm sure gonna try!  Just try and stop me.

I really like Denver and love its concrete skyline.  One day I aspire to live in a downtown somewhere-- you're close to all the action and the good food of course (see, what did I tell you??).  Plus, more people tend to be out and about downtown and I like that.  I like being outside.  Which is also why I like baseball so much.  I convinced my parents and brother to go the Rockies vs. Dodgers game and oh, what a game!!  There was hit after hit, such a high scoring game.  I couldn't be happier for my first MLB game of the season.  The seeds, peanuts, and 7th inning stretch sealed the deal.

Can't wait to see this little dude again!!