Last Weekend

This is the Bavarian Inn and Restaurant where I are lunch. I do believe that I had the best fried chicken ever in my life. The meat and skin dissolved in your mouth. They put some very interesting spices on top. The only bad part was that one of the waitresses was carry a very full tray of dirty dishes. Which she dropped right near me and old food flew on to me. Not that pleasant. The whole town was really cute, with all these old fashion shops. Definitely recommend others to visit here.

Here is Silent Night in sign language. All around the chapel they have the first verse written a over 100 hundred languages. There is even a sign asking for four more languages that they do not have translated. They also played Silent Night over the loud speaker.

So this past weekend, I went to Frankenmouth to see the World's Biggest Christmas store and a Bavarian Village. This is the Silent Night Chapel that was built and dedicated in memory of one that was built in Europe. The original was destroyed by a flood.

What A Day

SO let me first tell you about how my day started. I have not told anyone, but my washing machine that was provided has not been working correctly. The maintenance man has come every day to work on it some way. Yesterday, he left me note stating that he brought me a different washing machine. Last night, while lying in bed, I noticed some bugs crawling on the wall. Which I did not care for. They looked like fleas to me, so I was up half the night trying to kill enough so I could go to sleep without thinking that they were all over me. This morning I decided that I would be demanding for them to come and spray, so I should put my sheets in the washing machine before they spray. I put them in, got in the shower and did not worry. As I was brushing my teeth, I noticed that the washer was still running lots of water, so I went to check and what did I fine. I found a half and inch of water standing on the floor with water gushing out the bottom of the washer. I ran around crazy looking for the emergency phone number that I am supposed to call to get the maintenance guy over to the apartment. Finally took care of that and had to hurried to get ready for work. Does that sound like I had fun or not.

Some Work Pictures

Here are some pictures from inside the clinic. This is the part of the main therapy area and then there are two speech rooms, plus a computer room for us to use. Everything has been very nicely layed out for therapy to be completed.

So I have the wonderful pleasure of going by Tim Hortons everyday on my way to work. Today was the first day that I stopped and got something to start my morning. Almost feels like home.

A Warm Welcome

So this is my second post tonight, my first one went into cyberspace oblivion. This was the greeting that was waiting for me at my desk when I arrived yesterday. As you can see from the previous post that the outside of the building is really nice. The inside is just as great, very appropriate for a therapy building. The other therapists that I work with are all really great. They work really well as a team. The all enjoy having a good time while they are working. The other SLP that is there is really great and we are already bouncing ideas off each other about the kids. Things are kind of slow for me, because I am having to building up the caseload. This means that I am having to do a lot of evaluations for kids to begin their services. Some of these kids having been waiting since last summer for their services to begin. When the next two weeks are completed, I will have done 10 evaluations, that is as long as no one else gets added to my caseload. Well it is only a little past 7 and the weather is really nice right now, so I thought that I would go for a Rollerblade around the complex.

Not To Bad

So I went sightseeing today, mostly to find where I will be working and to see how long it takes to get there. The center looks really nice, at least from the outside. On the phone the director told me the building was ten years old, but that they have been trying to keep it look new. The facility was designed by therapists, so it will definitely be nice.

Finally Here

Well I made it. Only a couple of hours drive today and changing one more time zone, I finally reached my destination. I went to get the key to the apartment and the lady asked me to wait for 30 minutes so she could go and get her lunch. Of course I said no, which shocked her. I explained that I just drove 7 days and over 3,000 miles, sitting in may car for 30 minutes was not something that I really wanted to do. I also had the wonderful pleasure of going grocery shopping. That first time out after settling into a new apartment is never fun, especially for the bank account. I got to shop at Wal-mart though, felt so good to be home. Tomorrow I plan on doing some exploring, mostly to find out where I go to work on Tuesday. Well thanks for following me across the country. I will try to put up some posts every so often, especially if I go sight seeing.

Another Long Day

So while I was driving into Indiana, I was dealing with a very long phone call plus bumper to bumper traffic. If there was a sign, I did not see it. So dinner tonight was at a long ago restaurant called Chili's. I even got to see a Wal-mart and Cracker Barrel today. Feels good to see some familiar items today. The only problem is that I am having terrible times at restaurants lately. The other night the girl that would not stop staring and tonight two very whiny kids. I love kids, don't get me wrong, but when they are throwing food and silverware at people for no reason, it is a little annoying. Well tomorrow I should be at my new home for the next three months, but don't worry I will put up some more pictures.

The last state sign that I was able to get.

I crossed the Mississippi River today when I was going from Iowa to Illinois.

Well there are not a lot of pictures from today because there was not a lot to see. I did no sight seeing today. I left Omaha this morning and I am now in Michigan City, Indiana. I cannot believe how hot it is on the east coast. I was thinking the last time that I saw my car thermometer go towards 90 was last summer when living in North Carolina. Oh for the cool west coast weather.

One Very Long Day

And then I drove into Nebraska, and what do you think I saw there....corn fields. I am staying the night outside of Omaha, Nebraska. I was supposed to be here yesterday, but because of those few days of bad weather I got held up. I barely could find a hotel here, the college baseball world series starts tomorrow in Omaha and all the hotels are full. This was not fun. Once again the spots on the picture are dead bugs. I have not killed almost all the bugs in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Iowa.

And then came Iowa. Mom was talking to me at this point and asked what I was seeing. I looked to the right and saw corn fields. I looked to the left and what do you think I saw......corn fields.

Okay, so I did one crazy thing today. I drove past the exit I needed so I could get a shot of the Minnesota sign. So I can technically say that I was also in Minnesota.

On the farm were all these old pieces of farm equipment. I think that this one is for planting. Aren't I so insightful.

I needed to go, but thought better of it.

I then went to a sod prairie home. It was a dugout house that was built in 1909. I think that is what the brochure said.

Here are a couple of pictures from within the Badlands. It reminded me of the Painted Desert within the Petrified Forest in Arizona. The only difference was that the Badlands are not as colorful.

So, today started out pretty well. The picture is a little fuzzy, because of all the dead bugs on the window. I have probably washed the window ten times over the past three days. The day maybe started well, but did not end well, because it took forever to get out of South Dakota.

Dinner

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!. I got to eat at Outback. Most of you would probably not think that this is very exciting, but when you got without for so long it takes a toll one you. Eureka did not have many chain resturants, so this was a welcome blessing. A couple of odd things though. There was this little girl at the table across from me, and she just kept on staring at me. She would not quit, then I looked and her little brother was staring at me. I thought, do I have something on my face. Nope. Then she came over to my table and just watched me eat. It was very unerving. This little girl is about 6 or 7 years old and she is having her mother feed her. She holds the fork to her mouth and even brings the glass to her mouth. I could not believe it. I think that I need to get back to the east coast. ASAP

Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota

Here is Mt. Rushmore. Who are the presidents?? What a day it has been. I was able to get a good hotel, so hopefully I will be sleeping well tonight. Something that has nothing to do with the monument, was quit funny today. As I was leaving, there was thsi old man who wanted to have his picture taken with his wife. He asked a soldier to take their picture. While she was getting ready to take the picture, his cell phone started ringing. He could not figure out how to unhook the phone from his pants, so he tried to answer it while still hooked to the belt. It looked very funny.

Here is Crazy Horse in the Black Hills National Park. The guy started this back in 1948 and the face was finished in 1988. The guy who started this has passed, but his ten kids have taken over to finish and their children. This is not being funded by the federal government, only by payments to get into the park and contributions to help with the completion. What they have proposed is very eloborate.

Here are two of the tombstones that were for the Native Americans that died during the battle.

The grave marker is for General Custer. On the paper they gave us, they said that only part of him is left here, they have moved the other part of him to West Point, NY. Kind of sad, that he is in two seperate places. The also said that is wife remained in the area for sometime after he died and then returned to NY. She passed in 1933. In this cemetery, he was the only one with a flag marker. There were also a number of tomb stones with unknown soldier written on the stone.

So today I went to Little Big Horn Monument. This picture is of the memorial for all who were killed there, indians and soldiers. Also throughout the field, you can see other headstones for where they found bodies.

Okay, so yesterday I said that I was wanting to have a good nigth sleep, well it never happened. When I checked out in the morning, they asked me if I had a good night and I said no. When I told the guy why, he just laughed and said that is what happens sometimes. I could not believe it.

This is supposed to work for putting up videos

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

I thought this was cool. You never know what you will see while on the road. I am staying the night in Billings, Montana and have more sight seeing planned for tomorrow. That is, only if the people above me in the hotel quit walking around and I can fall asleep. We will see.

Obviously this was when I entered Montana, though I was still in the park.

I thought this was cool, literally. Snow in the month of June. There was quite a bit of snow around actually, mostly on top of the mountains. This video below is a buffalo herding. They stopped us on the road and said that we had to wait, well that ended up being 45 minutes of waiting. This is of the second herd that came through. The first was really small, the last was huge and were brushing up against the car and two even got in a fight beside my car. Plus I had the pleasure of three buffalo relieving themselves right beside my car, not so pleasant. They were a lot closer than they look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kre5D-Jyc80

This was inside Yellowstone National Park. When I went to California I saw the sign for the Continental Divide in New Mexico, so it was cool to see one again. This was on my way to see old faithful. The video clip below is of Old Faithful from the very beginning. It kept teasing us by spitting out some water and then stopping. I had to wait one hour for the show to begin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHQHgwLwBo

Today was a good day for sight seeing. First stop today was Grand Teton National Park. This area is surrounded by the mountains, but not a lot that you have to pass over. This picture is of Grand Teton (the middle peak), I cannot remember the other to peaks names. I have the brochures out in the car and don't feel like going and getting the. I took tones of pictures, but could not put them all up, so only a few really neat ones. Plus, hopefully the videos that I took are also up, I don't know if I did it correctly or not, we will see.

A Much Better Day

So this is entering Wyoming and I hit a bump, which explains why the picture is blurry. Leading up to the sign, I took a picture of this beautiful mountain. I then laughed and said would it not be funny if I have to go over that mountain to got to Jackson, Wyoming. Guess what?? It was the mountain that I had to go up and around. My poor car probably thinks that I am torturing it. Going down the 10% grade I had to stand on the brakes. Very fun. So tonight I am staying to Jackson, Wyoming, and will be spending tomorrow in Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

So I saw this in a town after I left the monument. On the side of the mountain was all these different numbers. I have no idea why the numbers are even there. Any ideas??

So this a hill that I decided to climb. I got to the top of this hill, which was a chore, and realized that there was another hill to climb to the top. Needless to say, I did not start the second hill.

This was taken at Craters of the Moon National Monument. There is no volcano around, but the lava seeped out from the gaps in the earth. What was interesting, was to see the trees and shrubs still grow in the lava.

So this is the Shoshone Falls, supposedly the "Niagara of the West." There is not a lot of water that is going over, they claim that it stand 50 feet taller than the real Niagara. The one lady at the gate told me that they have not had water coming over in big rushes for over ten years, until last year. I think that the real falls is better.

Okay, so this was a much better day. The sun was shining. Yeah!!!. This picture was taken at Three Island Crossing in Idaho. This is part of the Oregon Trial, you can see the trail on the side of the one hill. Farther up the snake river you are able to see the three islands where people crossed to get to Boise.

Rain Again!!!

As you can see, my windshield wiper is going across the picture, due to the rain that was falling. Plus, the bridge to drive across was under construction, so this was not the easiest picture to get. I also went into Oregon again, but since it rained the entire time, I did not take pictures. I am typing tonight sitting in my hotel is Meridan, Idaho. It was raining so bad, that I was not going to be able to do my planned sight seeing. So I have now set myself back one day in traveling. Everybody better be praying that the weather is good tomorrow, or I will be very difficult to deal with.

If you look very far in the back of the picture, you can see a small spot of snow, which is Mt. Rainer. This is unfortunately the closes that I was able to get to the mountain. On the previous day I was supposed to be able to see the mountain, but because of rain, it never happened. If you look on a map of Washington, I was in the town of Selah, the far side of the state, but you are still able to see the mountain, the is amazing.

Okay, if someone can tell me why there are pigs all over Seattle, I would appreciate it. This is the one that I saw across the street from my hotel. I have pictures of four others and each shop dress them to fit their shop theme. This is outside a bank.

Okay, so waking up this morning, I was a little excited because there was blue skies.

By the time I took a shower and got ready, the clouds came. I decided to walk down to see the Space Needle anyway, hoping that it would not rain. The walk was about a mile both ways and it was very windy. It was nice to see the Space Needle. I did not go up, mostly because I have been to the top of other towers, they can't be that much different.

A Very Wet Day

This is my view out my hotel room. So now, since I was up before it was light out, I am completely exhausted and ready to go to sleep.

I was given a request to purchase some mugs at the original Starbucks. Here are some key facts: first store was established in 1971, the market was established in 1907, and this is the only Starbucks that offers their own blend of coffee special for them.

Okay, mental note to everyone out there. If you do not like the smell of fish, then my advice is to not walk in the market place. I thought that I would not be able to breathe again. So this picture is down at Pike Place Market, which is right along the water. I got to see the ferry coming in and way to many fish.

Entering a very wet Washington State. I was not really impressed with Portland.

I had a stare down with a deer today. He just stood there and would not move until I got really close. After I passed by, I looked back and he was back in the street staring at me again.

Obviously this was entering Oregon on 199. I have found one thing that I miss from the east coast, especially Florida, the rest areas. I cannot tell you how terrible they are out here. I thought that I would leave early in the morning, I was up at 5:15, so I could get a lot of driving done today and get in some sight seeing. But my plans did not work out.

Packed and Ready to Go

Okay, so the truck is packed, just one more suitcase to put in (plus all electronics). The electronics do not go in until tomorrow, not the most trusting neighbors. Now that I am leaving, allow me to explain some of what Eureka is like. It has the highest Hep C in all of California, high drug use, biggest marijuna growers, and the biggest amount of homeless in the state. So it definitely has been interesting. Don't get me wrong, the scenery outside of the town is amazing, the Redwoods are breathtaking. But it is now time for the next adventure