Apple Pickin'

It's been a long time since we have posted a blog. We have been busy workin our asses off, tryin to buy a house, visiting friends and family, and playin a few games of flip cup. The autum season is arriving, and the leaves are beginning to change. It is so beautiful, just as Pete told me it would be, but the weather has been in the 80s

*Apple Pickin at Knights Orchard in Scituate Rhode Island. Yummy, red delicious*

*Yes, I am actually drinking a Corona, but don't worry, it's with a lime*

*Poppin bubbles at a backyard BBQ that my co-workers threw*

*So serious*

Holy Shit

Pete- WOW, It's been two weeks since we arrived in Rhode Island. I'm just realizing now that we never even posted that we had arrived safe and sound in RI. We have been in touch with most of you since arriving and apologize to anyone who we haven't. It's been a rollcoaster of emotion. We have enjoyed discovering and rediscovering all the things about RI that make it unique i.e. Del's Lemonade, coffee milk, cold pizza, and the beautiful beaches and meeting and reconnecting with friends and family. At the same time we miss Portland dearly. We are settling in nicely though. Aidan is really enjoying having tons of playmates, Jamie found a job at another Banfield and bought a new Jeep Cherokee and I have simply been enjoying the company of all my old friends and family. Anyone need a photographer? So thank you for following us on are journey. Although I will be posting some personal images on this blog, I will primarily be using it to post current photography projects that I am working on as a supplement to my website. I hope both are family and friends from both coasts will continue to visit the blog and maybe we can get Jamie to start a "how big is Aidan now" blog.

Jamie- Of course Aidan is getting bigger, and he is starting to expand his vocabulary quite a bit. His new favorite word is "race", but it sounds more like "wace". He is also sleeping in a big-boy bed now, and he has done very well every night he has slept in it. We are adjusting well to the Rhode Island way of life, and I really think I'm gonna love it here. Just like there is a Starbucks on every corner in Portland, there is a Dunkin Donuts on every one here. I simply CANNOT wait to begin my new job! It's like a drug for me being around animals and helping people take care of their pets. I have such a positive feeling about this new Banfield, and think I will really fit right in. Below are some pictures of what we have been up to the past couple weeks...



We went to Water-Fire in downtown Providence and these are the cauldrons they light on fire in the middle of the canal. They go up and down the canal in boats through the evening with more wood to put on them. It was beautiful and defintely something I would like to experience again and again.





This is some of the live entertainment we enjoyed the night of Water-Fire. My favorite is the man dressed as a tree.





And last but not least, this is us at Buttonwoods Beach. Aidan enjoyed the sand and especially the water as you can see. The giant thing I am holding is a Horseshoe Crab (no worries, it's dead), and man did that thing stink!

LAST LEG

This is it! Today we begin the last leg of our journey. Last night we stayed in Danville, Penn (where we almost didn't get a room because there was a monster truck show going on, needless to say there was a lot of hootn' and hollerin' going on all night and alot of empty keystone light beer cans scattered in the parking lot. my theory is the bigger the truck the lower the IQ) and today we hope to make it the rest of the way to Lil'Rhody. The weather has been nice since it cooled off and I had almost forgotten how beautiful the forests of the east coast where, it is nice to see large forest areas without any clear cuts (sorry Orygun). It has been a long trip and I'm looking forward to not living out of a bag after two weeks.

STATE BY STATE

IOWA- CORN, CORN, CORN, AND SCARY PLACES. OH, AND MORE CORN.-nothing worth getting off the highway for. We did stay in a hotel in the town of Williamsburg that was right out off a horror flick. The main lobby was clean and neat but as you ventured toward the back it got creepier and creepier. The building was shaped like the letter T with two floors. The bottom had the main office and the back or top section was closed off because of a fire/killing. Apparently there was a guy radomly killing people off of I-80 and he murdered someone in one of the rooms there. We went in the closed off section to take some pictures and we were totally freaked-out. The lighting or lack there of was so spooky, the rooms were filled with odd things like: cribs, peoples personal belongings, old couches, piles upon piles of chairs, cleaning supplies, and mattresses. Not only was every room filled with random stuff, but it was scattered and stacked all over the place. Also all of the rooms were randomly numbered, it would go from 217 to 220 then 218. It was just super scary, and just knowing that someone was murdered there and that there was a fire made it really hard for us to fall asleep. Then I mentioned to Pete: "Good thing it's not Friday the 13th", and he pointed to the clock and it was 12:01am, aaah! On a good note, we did have a nice lunch at The Pickle Barrel Deli in the town of Walnut.

ILLINOIS- Drove straight through.

INDIANA- Drove straight through, except for all the toll booth stops.

OHIO- We stopped off for the night just outside of Toledo. Wow, 4 states in one day, we think it's pretty impressive. It has been a little bit of a stressful evening for us so we have decided to just try and relax tonight. Tomorrow morning we will try to find a decent cup of coffee (not likely), and then head off to Cleveland to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame baby!!! It doesn't look like it's possible to make it all the way to Rhode Island tomorrow, so we are going to shoot for New York, and then make it home for Sunday. Are you ready for us Rhode Island? It's been a long time coming for Aidan and I and we are very excited to meet all of you. Oh yeah, if any of you girls know a good place to get my hair cut I am in desperate need, any suggestions?

P.S. I hate toll booths!
P.S.S. Happy Birthday Kori, miss you all at Banfield.


Oh, one last thing. This is how we have been spending all of our nights. We put Aidan to bed in one bed, put up a blanket in between the beds, put a towel over the light we turn on, keep Ele quiet, turn on the TV, snuggle, then on of us (who's ever turn it is) will quietly crawl into bed with Aidan and go to sleep while the other gets to sleep with Ele (they are both the worst bed-hogs). We have tried multiple ways of hanging the blanket: tacs and chairs, but we finally found a way by tieing a knot onto one of the lamps against the wall and tieing the other end to a standing lamp and poking a hole in it and screwing the top on. It's been interesting.


P.S.S.S I apologize for the bad photos, I have many reasons, none worth stating. So Roland please goes easy on the critiques.

MT. RUSHMORE/SOUTH DAKOTA BADLANDS

Jamie at Mt. Rushmore


Aidan and Pete at Mt. Rushmore


Aidan on safari looking for rocks.

Ele enjoying the badlands even though she got stuck by a cactus.

A quick update.
-10 days
-4 states
-1800 miles
-4 national parks
-one engagement
-one fuel pump
-one cold
-one soiled pool(Aidan)
-10 showings of "Finding Nemo"
-100 dirty diapers
-20 bad coffees
-7 bad beers

Jamie- I don't think it's been 10 showings, but pretty darn close. We drove over 470 miles yesterday...whew! I was so glad for that to be over, even though it was great to see Mt. Rushmore, and have a delicious picnic in the Badlands. Today we are going to conquer Iowa, and I have a feeling we probably won't see much while we're there. No major stops today, just potty breaks and diaper changings. Speaking of diaper changings, there is something we forgot to mention. Pete and I made a bet on how late one of the shops was open till in Yellowstone. I said it was 8:30 and he said 9:30. The bet was whoever was right didn't have to change any diapers for the rest of the trip...I lost. Never again will I make a bet like that, and I advise all the mothers and mothers-to-be that I know to never make a bet like that. Okay, that's all for now. It's time to hit the road and naptime for Aidan. Bye!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Our little tree hugger.

Pete- FINALLY, WE ARE BACK ON THE ROAD! We have left Sheridan, WY after spending six long days there. The Jeep needed a new fuel pump and we were on our way late Tuesday evening. Sheridan wasn't all that bad actually. The town had a cool historic district with a decent coffee shop, the Java Moon, a lot of little shops and some interesting landmarks. They had a whole Buffalo Bill rodeo thing going on. Jaime will fill you in on the massive storm that ripped through town leaving hundreds of trees downed (Jamie- It started around 8pm on the 7th. Pete had just taken Aidan swimming and gave him a bath and he was all snuggled in Pete's arms asleep when the lightning started. I have seen some pretty cool lightning storms in New Mexico, but this one takes the cake. It was going off by the minute and it was very bright and very close. I decided to go outside and take a look and the wind was really starting to pick up (70 mph to be exact), and it was dusty and burned my eyes so I ran inside to get sunglasses. Pete asked me if when i went back out if I would roll the windows up in the Jeep because it looked like it was going to rain soon. By the time I got downstairs it had started to rain and picked up very quickly. I hopped in the Jeep to roll up the windows and by the time I was done I was afraid to get out of the car. The wind was blowing so hard that is was shaking the Jeep around, and by that time the lightning was right on top of me and the rain and quarter size hail were coming down so hard. I finally got the courage to get out and run to the safety of the hotel (which was about ten minutes later), and by the time I got there I was completely drenched from head to toe. The next morning Pete and I took Aidan to the park and there were tree branches all over the place and even a few trees. The people of Sheridan said that the storm was not normal for them. Now back to Pete). There was also a great public water park that Aidan and Jamie enjoyed, mostly Jamie who went down the slide six times (Jamie- It was pretty sweet!). So I wouldn't advise vacationing there, but if you do drive by it it's not a bad place to stay for a night. Presently we are in Spearfish, SD at the Belle's Motor Lodge. Tommorrow we are heading to Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands, I hope to have more pictures to post.

Jamie- I'm sorry that I am not going to write very much this time around, I have been under the weather for the past couple days with a nasty cold. Right now we just pulled into Spearfish, and all I want to do is eat and pass out. I am excited to be back on the road and can't wait to start again early tomorrow morning. We are hoping to be in Rhode Island by Friday. Hope everyone we know around the world is doing well. Till tomorrow...Peace, Love, and Rock n Roll!

Day 2-5

Pete- Our second day began with a long and boring drive across Idaho. It was worth the wait as we slowly left behind the dry barren nothingness of Idaho for the lush alpine forest of Yellowstone. While at Yellowstone we stayed at Old Faithful in these great little cabins.I'll let Jamie fill in all the details.



Jamie- It has been nothing less than a rollercoaster ride. These past few days have been good, good/bad, and pretty bad. Let's begin with the good stuff: Leaving Idaho was a releif especially when we entered Wyoming. Even though I have been before, it is really one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, even more beautiful than I remeber. The water in the lakes and rivers is crystal blue, and the greenery is gorgeous. When we arrived at our adorable little cabin, I couldn't wait to go watch Old Faithful erupt. Each day was hotter than hell, but the nights were cool and comfortable. On the second night Pete and I put Aidan to bed and snuck off to see Old Faithful one last time (don't worry, Aidan was only about 200 yds away and we made our cell phones into little baby moniters. We're not that horrible). We waited and waited for about an hour. During that hour we talked, laughed, and just enjoyed each others company. It seemed like she was never going to go off so I kept saying we should go back, but Pete wanted to wait. Just as we were slowly walking away she started erupting bigger than I have ever seen. Pete and I put our arms around each other, and then he turned to me and...(this is how it went down):

Pete: Jamie?
Jamie: Peter?
Pete: Will you marry me?
Jamie: Are you serious? (very confused, and thought he may be joking)
Pete put up his index finger and on it was a ring.
Jamie: Are you really serious? (getting teary-eyed)
Pete: Yes, of course I am serious.
Jamie: Yes!
We hugged, kissed, and all that gushy stuff. It was very romantic, and I was very surprised. Okay, now on to the good/bad stuff. Pete lost his way a couple times, but nothing too far out of our way (Pete-thanks to my non-mapping-reading car sick co-pilot). One of the times if we had gone the right way we wouldn't have seen hundreds of buffalo (even little baby buffalo which were really cute). Some were crossing rivers and roads right in front of us, even taking large poops about the size of a dinner plate. Aidan slept well, but Ele was a complete pain in the rear, because she stepped on Aidan while he was in his car seat not once, but twice. Needless to say she was on our naughty list for the rest of the day. Now comes the pretty bad stuff. As we headed away from Yellowstone we came to The Big Horn Mountain Range, a rocky pass that went up to 10,000 ft in elevation (keep in mind that the temp got up to 116 degrees). The higher we got the worse the pressure got, and I could feel it in my head. Then I started to get a strong smell of gasoline. I asked Pete, "Is that our car?" he said, "I hope not!", but unfortunately it was. We pulled to the side of the road immediately and when Pete unscrewed the gas cap you could hear the pressure build up coming out. It sounded worse that when you open a bottle of soda that has been shaken a few dozen times. We didn't know what to do, because we were in the middle of nowhere. The Jeep was driving fine, but we couldn't have Aidan in the car with all of the gas fumes. While stuck on the side of the road two couples on motorcycles stopped to see if they could give us a hand. All they could really do was give some friendly advice, and they so kindly offered to follow us to the next town to make sure we got there okay. We ended up opening the back window, rolling both front windows down all the way, and driving about 50 miles to the town of Sheridan. Now we are stuck here most likely until Monday morning when Pete will hopefully be able to get the Jeep looked at, and most likely a new gas tank. (Pete-the bikers found us in Sheridan to ask "our you kids alright and do you need anything like money ect." faith in humanity is restored) Luckily the hotel we are staying in has a pool, and right down the street is an awesome health food store that offers just about everything we eat (you all now how picky we are). I think that about sums it up for me. All I have left to say is that I have an even bigger appreciation for ice cold water, and showers for both me and Pete (he wore the same shirt for three days in a row...peew!). Talk to you all soon. I can't wait to get to Rhode Island and meet all of you.