Friday was the first day of the 2011 Kansas State Fair. We gave the locals a day to warm it up, then joined the fun on Day Two. We ate an obscene amount of bad food that tasted good: fried cheese curds, pizza, pronto pups, taffy, funnel cake, and deep-fried spiral potatoes… In between the shoveling of fried food into our mouths, we rode some rides and saw a life-sized butter sculpture of a monkey riding a sheep.
At the end of the night we decided to take a trip on Ye Old Mill. This started as it does every year; we climbed aboard the small boat and entered into the darkness. About two thirds of the way through, lights came on and our boat came to a stop! Apparently it was closing time, and they thought it best to shut down with us inside. We ended up getting out inside the tunnel and had to walk along the edge to the exit. Since we didn’t get to ‘enjoy’ the full ride, we asked for a refund. Our request was denied. Turns out the poorly managed closing time procedures turned the ride into an adventure, and adventures are much more exciting than rides.
Two of our favorite experiences from our week in Oregon were visiting the Chinese Gardens and the International Rose Test Gardens. We went to the the Chinese Gardens first. It was so quiet and serene there, we could have stayed for hours. I think admission cost something like $10 and was a little off the beaten track, but was so very worth it.
The second place we went was to the Rose Gardens. This was just across the way from the Chinese Gardens, and was completely free of charge– it’s a public park! I couldn’t get over how something so gorgeous and scenic could not cost anything at all. We took our time wandering about, and I wouldn’t hesitate to return. This is a must-see if you visit the Portland area.
This was one of many exquisite views from the Chinese Gardens. Truly transporting.
Tanner and I got to travel to Portland, Oregon this summer, and goodness me, I need to move there immediately. These first pictures are from a party we attended (part of the “OSCon” Open Source Conference which was the official reason for the trip). I sort of hate to brag, but I don’t hate it enough to actually refrain: it was awesome, people!
Lots of delectable goodies from the famous Voo Doo Doughnuts
Yes, you see dancers on stilts and crazy marching band music. Descriptions do no justice here.
We decided to honeymoon in Cancun (kind of a random, let’s-just-pick-a-place decision), and we really had a lovely time. Neither of us have traveled to Mexico before, and honestly we mostly stayed on the resort and were absurdly lazy. We stayed at Moon Palace Resort, which was quiet, beautiful, and took great care of us. Actually, talking about it is making me want to plan another trip; this was the perfect place to relax!
There were lizards all over the place here; this was by far the largest we saw.
This was literally our view from the room. It was too. Much.
In our whirlwind tour of New York City, we managed to have ourselves some good fun. The trip included Tanner’s first experience of Nuts4Nuts, which I am happy to say I introduced to him, and my first experience drinking from a large coconut. We saw some shows, did the museum thing, waited in line forever to watch The Roots play, and may have not quite paid for our $12 drinks (scandal!). I did several phone interviews for teaching positions, and all in all, we had fun pretending to be city folk!
"I must know- tell me, do- who are you, New York?"
We traveled to Austin TX for four days of SXSW. This was my fourth SXSW and Ami’s first. We saw The Black Keys, Mariachi El Bronx, Andrew W. K., The Bronx, Sage Francis, Rouge Wave, Alpha Rev, Balkan Beat Box, Lyrics Born, Nicole Atkins, Mishka, Harper Simon, The Antlers, The Mynabirds, Jenny Owen Youngs, French Miami, and others. Lots of driving, friends (including two cousins), drinks, and tex-mex were involved. I’d say the trip was a success.
