Sunday, June 24, 2007

Grand Canyon Trip Detour: White Sands, NM


Here we are in White Sands, New Mexico. It is totally silent there, which if you're not accustomed to, is very unsettling.



The visitor center has sleds you can rent to go down the dunes. It is bloody hot there, but the white gypsum sand is cool to the touch.




We had a fine time and headed back to the car, only to discover the tiny gnats that were dancing in the sweat under our clothes.


Grand Canyon Trip


A long time ago, Brick decided that we should all go to the Grand Canyon. It was 3,932 miles round trip, over one week.






The ugliest, most boring states were Missouri and Oklahoma-- nothing but churches and Pizza Huts, and we all felt and looked pretty tired:









But we carried on.




In Amarillo, Texas we stopped for dinner.





This man tried to eat 72 ounces of steak in an hour. He failed.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Summer Trips: London and Prague - Subways

Prague Metro:



London Underground:




I do have a quick Prague Metro story. Upon arriving in Prague, Matt explains to me that the Prague Metro does not check tickets and that it essentially operates on the honor system. The tickets are rather cheap though--about 50 cents--so we buy them anyways. When we get to the ticket machine, there are 10 different ticket options. Since we were only going 2 stops we figure the cheapest ticket would be sufficient. We ride in a similar fashion for the first day or so.

The next night as we're exiting one of the metro stops a man approaches Matt and starts saying something. Now, I should mention that being approached by random people in Prague is not an unusual thing. While walking around town, people would come up to me and ask or tell me all sorts of things: "we have the best beer!" or "a new stripclub just opened up", etc. So when this guy approached Matt, Matt just kept right on walking. Finally, the guy corners Matt and whips out this little keychain fob badge. Turns out he was a Metro official and wanted to see Matt's ticket. Thinking nothing of it, he shows the official his ticket. The official looks at it, then looks at Matt, and it's at that point that I walk up to them with a confused look on my face. Seeing me, the official asks for my ticket as well. I present it to him and then he proceeds to explain to both of us that we had purchased incorrect tickets and that we were both required to pay 500 Krowns immediately.

500 Krowns is about 25 dollars.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Summer Trips: London and Prague - Prague

The lovely cobblestone streets. Matt tells me that walking on cobblestone is better for your feet because the stones hit your pressure points better than flat pavement.

And the equally lovely sidewalks.

Matt thinks about beer.

Authentic Czech cuisine; nothing to write home about.


Matt finds his favorite brand of absinthe.


Synagogue.
Just walking around random Prague streets is an amazing and beautiful experience.


Those pretzels are not free. I learned that the hard way.



It felt great to give $1oo and get 2000 Krowns back.


Saturday, June 09, 2007

The Sound of Nicky

Happy Birthday Kent



Brick, Fair White, and Heath wish you a happy happy birthday.

Lice Pzza




Hey come on! It's only 99 cents!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Summer Trips: London and Prague - London (Part 2)

We explored London by getting off at random Tube stops. One of those stops included Camden Town, which had all sorts of interesting shops and restaurants. It was filled with all sorts of hipsters and malcontents; I liked it. Ran into a Woolworths while walking around. Not sure if this is related to the famous American store or not. (Update: Apparently it is!)
On our last night, we walked around Picadilly Circus, which is London's version of Times Square.

We visited the Kew Royal Gardens on our last day. Did you know that palm trees can grow in England?
This is the London Stone. It's essentially the State and Madison of London--all distances are measured from this stone. Although, the stone has been moved multiple times, and is now in the basement of a Puma Sports store.
Our last stop was the Maritime Museum. There's a nice observation deck at the top of a huge hill. I ran up it; Matt walked. We both ran down. To the right is the London financial district and to the left is the old part of the city.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Cicada Action

The 17-year cicadas have arrived.

These are the holes the cicadas use to crawl to the surface.

My sister graduated!

Congratulations!