On Monday evening, I rolled into Charlottesville, Virginia - the home of the University of Virginia. For the first time on my trip, I got to experience what college life is REALLY all about. Like every other school I walked around campus, saw the bell tower, etc.... but Charlottesville was special because I got to stay in the dorms!
When was the last time you were in the dorms? For me it had been awhile, not counting my dreams, where I find myself back in the dorms quite often - psychoanalysis anyone? I stayed with my friend Miriam (you may remember her from her starring role in Argentina blog entries). Miriam is essentially living for free - she only has to watch over a couple of students in exchange for free rent. Not a bad gig...... except for the "having to live with a bunch of kids in the dorms" part. Ah, it wasn't that bad.......
That night, we met up for dinner with friends made in Argentina, Gloria and Marcel. It was AWESOME to catch up with everyone and for once I did not have to feel guilty about not being able to speak Spanish! We had our reunion dinner at this Asian (I think it was billed as Thai?) place that served pizza, nachos, and I think hot dogs. Ok, maybe not hot dogs, but it was definitely an interesting form of Asian fusion. Here are the scores: Grub (4 out of 5 : believe it or not, their combos worked... best was the tuna tartare pizza); Beck (4 out of 5: cool spot, red lighting); Deluise (3 out of 5: nowhere near the BBQ, but not the healthiest Asian food I have ever eaten). The next day while Miriam was teaching class, I either (choose your own adventure):
a) conned my way into the UVA student exercise facility and played basketball, ran, lifted weights OR
b) hung out with the other residents in the dorm, playing Xbox and poker while polishing off a case of beer and talking about the hot girls on the floor OR
c) robbed a liquor store, shot up some smack and beat up a bunch of tobacco plantation owners
Tuesday evening, Miriam cooked us all a delicious pasta meal at Gloria's groovy retro pad. Much to my chagrin, I had to say adios to the lovely Miriam on Wednesday and start the long painful drive back to Kansas. Here was a quick summary of my trip:
- West Virginia: much prettier than I thought it would be. I can also happily report that I had no 'Deliverance/Ned Beatty' incidents. Standout billboard seen: Picture of a dude in a hard hat with the saying "Coal, it's what for dinner" (or something like that... like Coal, heats our homes or something). Had a late lunch at a West Virginia staple, 'Tudor's Biscuit World'. The bacon I had in my biscuit was crisp, delicious and I'm pretty sure it was fat free.
- Kentucky: been here before and don't need to go back anytime soon. No mint juleps consumed.
- Ohio: Ate dinner in Cincinnati at Zip's Cafe, supposedly the 'best burger place in town' and one of the best 'cheap eats'. I say, 'mediocre burger' and 'might as well just eat at Wendys'. Overall, Cincinnati looked like a pretty cool town - kind of like a poor man's Chicago.
- Indiana: Stayed the night at the dumpiest Ramada Inn hotel in the tri-state area. Had breakfast at a chain called Bob Evans, where the baked goods and sausage were stupid good. Indiana overall reminded me of Kansas - flat, barren, farms, everything revolves around basketball, etc.
- Southern Illinois/Missouruh: Drove as fast as I could through these dumpy states.
And after 18 hours of driving in two days, I was back where I started.....in good ole Topeka, Kansas. Final trip stats:
- New states visited: 8 (this means I have now seen 45 of the 50 states with only Alaska, Maine, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana left!)
- Number of miles driven: 3,295 (total spent on gas $318)
- Best barbeque consumed: Memphis
- Least favorite state: Mississippi
- Total pounds gained: 5ish (would have been higher if I didn't get the flu)
- Total basketball games watched: 5
My last couple of days in Kansas were spent catching up with family and catching up on some zs. Oh, and of course I had to see ONE MORE basketball game! Saturday night, I hit up the nationally televised/hyped interstate battle between the K-State Wildcats and KU Jayhawks at MY favorite place to see a basketball game, Allen Fieldhouse. The place was electric and LOUD and revenge was definitely on the Jayhawk fans' minds as our rivals had beaten us for the first time in 23 years on their home floor a month ago. The Jayhawks did not disappoint and played one of their best games of the year, winning 88-74, despite 39 points by the Wildcats' player of the year candidate, Michael Beasley. I was extremely lucky to get into the game and I made sure that I yelled enough that I would be hoarse for the next 2 days. Post-game festivities were held at an old college haunt, Louise's Downtown with my buds Ashley and Marc. Too much fun.
Sunday, I flew into Oakland and was instantly reminded why I live in the Bay Area. 65 degrees and sunny. And then this crazy guy started chirping like a bird and looked at me like I had stolen his child or something. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, home.
Good news blog fans, until I get a job, the bloggity blogs5......must......go.....on...... more to follow soon. Word.
1 comment:
bloggity blog for 4 life bro!
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