I managed to make it home and through customs unscathed, hints I'm still alive and well. Really the worst part of the whole thing were the goodbyes to my friends. I somehow managed to have a good seat on the plane to Newark. The middle seat was free (with me on the aisle and a Scottish man by the window, who thankfully only needed to use the facilities once) which meant I actually had leg room. The worst part of the ride was that my little tv screen thing froze right in the middle of my movie (which means I didn't get to find out the fate of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in Adjustment Bureau for a few months). But that's all I can really complain about.
Once I was back in Newark, getting through customs was a breeze. (I was slightly nervous about this because I thought they would take away my rock collection....Yes, this sounds stupid but I gathered quit the extensive collection over my 4 months from places all over Scotland and England. And I'm proud of it. But I'm sure everyone will be happy to know that my rocks made it.) From there, I went to Qdoba (there was one conveniently located by my departure gate. I call that I sign of the divine variety). I then realized that food here was SPICY. Eating bland food for 4 months took a tole on my taste buds. Then, I waited it out until my flight back to Louisville. It was another successful flight minus the lady sitting next to me who took up all of my space. But at least it was on the short flight. Once I got back to Louisville, I met my parents and we went to Cheesecake Factory (after reviewing past blogs, I have come to terms with the fact that my world really does revolve around food). After that, we went home. Since then, I have been busy, busy, busy.
After returning to the good 'ol US of A, I started in on Vacation Bible School prep stuff. My mom and I were co-directors of Pandamania at our church this summer. I did most of the graphic stuff while I was still abroad, but we did most of the prep work once I got back. I'm happy to report that it all went really really well. (Even with my brilliant disasters plans of such things as stringing lights and lanterns across the balcony...which worked and looked really awesome thank you very much!) Somewhere around this time my computer died. I'm just glad it made it through Scotland. Because three weeks after getting back it's mother board failed. (I'm just glad I didn't have to make the PC World journey in Scotland.)
Then, I had my 22nd birthday. To celebrate, my parents took me to St. Louis for a shopping (my favorite past time) day at the Galleria. It was a great birthday and my first big shopping day since being back in the US. It was wonderful to say the least.
A few weeks later, my family headed to Florida on vacation. We started our trip in Destin, Flordia (we stayed at the Sandestin resort in case you're interested). We had a great time.
This was the view from my room.
Then, we headed over to Ponte Vedra Beach (it's near Jacksonville) to the Sawgrass hotel (it's a big golfing resort...my mom and I like it for the adult only pool. aka: no kids throwing their toys in your face and yelling). It was awesome too.
About a week after we got back from Florida, my best friend Allison and I headed on a road trip of our own. We started in Evansville and drove to Springfield to visit the Lincoln museum and grave sight.
Here's the museum.
And lincoln's grave.
You have to rub Lincoln's nose for good luck.
After enjoying the sights of Springfield (which there wasn't much of honestly. The museum was really nice and newly renovated, but downtown Springfield is smaller than downtown Evansville). Then, we drove to Moline (part of the quad cities) to spend the night. The next day we drove to Des Moines and went to the Living History Farms, which has an 1800s town (where people dress in costume) and a series of farms from the Indians all the way to the 1900s. It was really cool.
This was the town.
Then, we went to West Des Moines to go to a mall (which was huge!). Afterwards we drove to Owatanna, Minnesota to spend the night. The next day, we drove to Minneapolis (or Farmington to be more exact) to visit my roommate, Lauren (you should all remember her because she came to visit me in Scotland). Basically, the whole point of this trip was to see her, so we were really excited! We stayed there for 2 days with her family (who were nice enough to feed us and let us sleep there. Seriously Lauren, your family is great). The first day, we went into Minneapolis to the sculpture garden, the Basilica, Nicollet mall (don't be fooled, it's a walking mall thing not shopping mall), and the zoo. Here are some pictures from our day!
The big spoon in the sculpture garden.
More of the sculpture garden.
These are all very senior portraits-esque.
The Mary Tyler Moore statue in Nicollet mall (which was conveniently located by a 12 floor Macy's).
The next day, we went to THE mall (of American...but really it's just The mall). It was amazing, but you probably could guess that already. On Sunday, we went to brunch (as in the best meal of life. Seriously, it was that good) in St. Paul and saw some of the sights of the area.
The capital building.
After saying goodbye to Lauren and her family, Allison and I then headed to Baraboo, Wisconsin. In case you were wondering there is absolutely nothing in Baraboo (unless you consider a Sears, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut something. But if you do, let's be honest, you probably aren't reading this blog). Luckily, we only spent the night there, before bidding Baraboo farewell and continuing on our way to the Windy City. Along the way we made an impromptu stop in Edgerton, WI at...
the world's largest Culver's. (Hey, it is from Wisconsin.)
We spent 2 nights in Chicago (and 1 in the burbs). We stayed at the Drake Hotel off of Michigan Avenue. And it was wonderful (and in case you were questions our driving/navigating skills, we had no issues getting into Chicago thank you very much). Here are some pics of the hotel/our room.
The Lobby
The view from our room.
Our room.
The first day that we arrived in Chicago, we spent our time getting acquainted with the shopping along Michigan Avenue. Then, that night we went to Second City, which is a comedy club (where Tiny Fey, Steve Carell, and Steven Colbert all got their start). The next day we went to Millennium Park and the Chicago Institute of Art. Then, we went shopping again (what can I say, we like shopping).
The bean sculpture.
Remember this one from your art classes? Well it's in Chicago.
Another famous one.
Just in case you thought this blog wouldn't involve food (just wait until Fall Festival), we got ice cream at the Ghirardelli store.
The next day, we went to the Field Museum.
The Field (in case you were wondering, it's a natural history museum).
Then, we walked by Lake Michigan back to where we parked the car by the huge Macy's (the original Marshall Fields).
Here is the Macy's.
And the Tiffany glass ceiling.
The next day we drove back to Evansville. (And just in case you were doubting our shopping abilities, we stopped at an outlet mall on the way home.)
After our trip, I had about a week and a half before going back to Butler. So, I basically just enjoyed my time at home before moving back to Butler. My Dad went up to Indy with me and helped move me in. And now, I have officially moved back in. (Classes don't start until the 24th, but since I'm an International Orientation Guide, I have to be back early for orientation stuff and whatnot.) Tomorrow I start my international orientation training stuff. I believe it involves Atherton food, so my hopes aren't too high.
Overall, I had a great summer and I'm excited to be back in Indy and at Butler. It feels like a long time since Christmas (when I moved out). And I'm looking forward to this year, because I'm sure it's going to be a great one!
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