What Else Would I Blog About?

Mark saw this really big spider building his web in a tree outside. He is a fast spinner. Really amazing. And gross. Click on it for a bigger picture. You know you want to.

Chicago

We just got back from Chicago a few days ago. The purpose of our trip was to attend Mark's cousin's wedding, but we stayed a few days to enjoy the city. We went to the Chicago Art Institute, Sears Tower (no one pays attention to the building's name change), took a architectural boat tour, went to a cubs game, and went to to the Field Museum. Transformers 3 was filming, and even though it was inconvenient to be blocked off from some of the bridges, we enjoyed seeing the movie magic. We loved staying at the historical Whitehall Hotel (even though the decor reminded us of 1408 and The Shining) and eating pizza and hot dogs. Thanks Sue and Brian for coordinating everything. Lots of love to my "sis" Marti!

I can't post all of my favorite pictures, here are just a few:

Happy 2140 Days

(Engagement Photo 2004)

A few months after we were married, we bought our Altima. At the dealership, the salesman suggested red because it was already on the lot. I thought back to the conversations Mark and I had about cars and remembered Mark saying that he liked red cars and so I said that I liked red. Mark was happy with the choice and so we drove the car home.

Not long after, Grandpa bought an Altima, except his was a charcoal gray.
"I love that color!" I said.
"Me too."
"How did we end up with red?"
"I thought you wanted it."

Now, occasionally we have to ask each other, "This isn't another red car, is it?" Our communication has improved but our sentiment remains the same. Happy 6th Anniversary, Mark.

"Yes, I'll Finally Take You to the Haw River"

It started with a coupon I found in the weekly mailer. It was from a local business offering $10 bucks off rental of a canoe that you can use to float down the Haw River. I first saw it in January, when it was way too cold to even consider going outside, let alone renting a canoe and floating down the river. But ever since then, when Mark asks me what I want to do on the weekend, it has become a longstanding request (and now a joke) that we go to the Haw River. Suprisingly we ended up actually going to the river last weekend. We didn't float down it in a canoe (need to leave something to do this summer) but we hiked alongside the river.




This is the same dog that won't go to the bathroom on the grass if its wet.







A picture for Mom so that she'll recognize me when she picks me up at the airport :)

Good, Bad, and Ugly

The Good:



The Bad:



And the "Holy Crap!" Ugly:





LOTS of bugs out here.

R.O.U.S. Roadkill

The other day I was walking around my neighborhood with Dori and noticed a little brown thing in a pond. It was brown, about the size of a cat, and it was swimming. I've been going through the list of swimming brown things that I know of, and all I could think of is a beaver, an otter, and a Rodent Of Unusual Size. None of which seem to really fit. But this is the area it was swimming in:






The sad part, depending on what this little creature is, is that I saw its carcass on the road yesterday. I tried to take a picture so that it could be properly identified, but it was kind of missing its head. This is how close I got:



But I imagine, that if I got closer, it would've looked like this:





So, if anyone knows what kind of animal this is, please let me know. Its bugging me.

Waiter, There is a Crab on my Sandwich

Mark and I went to coastal NC for a few days. We stayed at the Blockade Runner named after the Confederate ships (runners) that would sneak supplies past the Union blockades and to the Confederate armies. Just a fun fact. North Carolina is big on their history, especially their role in the Civil War.

We decided to eat as much sea food as possible, which we rarely do. At one resteraunt we ordered Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches, picturing a yummy sandwhich with crab meat, alfalfa, lettuce and pickles...all on a bun. When the waiter brought out our plates we were suprised to see a whole deep-fried crab, shell and all, sitting on the bun. Mark was a trooper and just tucked its little legs under the bun and ate it. I ate mine too, since we were there to try new things, but it was hard to get past the presentation... and the shell. It only tasted okay. Skip that one if you ever see it on the menu.






We also toured the Battleship North Carolina which was used in WWII. It took us two hours to view the whole thing. There were a lot of ladders to climb, a lot of doors to stoop through, and plenty of things to bonk your head on or stub your toe. It was really interesting to see how tightly everyone shared the space from the beds stacked 4 high and several people sharing one locker. They had a lost and found closet and if you left an item out, it was picked up and locked in this closet. You would have to do extra work to get your item back. Someone must have learned that trick from their mother and thought it would be a good idea to incorporate it into the Navy's rules.







The battleship is on the left across the waterway.

View of Wrightsville from the battleship.