Visiting Dad

This July, Rob and I flew down to Texas to spend a few days with my dad. I wish I could have stayed longer and yet I was so relieved to come home. That trip was so hard on me. I love my dad and I've stood by him through so much but seeing my dad is hard. I can read how he is feeling even if he isn't saying much. It's like his emotions vibrate off of him and I happen to be on the same wavelength they are on and pick them up. It kind of sucks because I can't pretend that I don't know, I do know. I hope that I do get to visit with him again this year, just maybe not in Texas in the middle of summer. That was just too warm for me. 

We had a barbecue one of the nights we were there. At this barbecue we did not eat your regular, old food. Instead my cousin Tyler and my dad's friend Toni had a seasoning contest for the alligator we were going to eat. Tyler has his own style of Cajun but Toni is from Louisiana and whipped up some outstanding Cajun flavoring for her alligator. Either way, both were fantastic in their own way.

We also had frog legs that were good, but chewy and tasted very fishy. I don't know that I would ever order these or eat them again. 

Besides alligator and frog legs, we had bacon wrapped asparagus and stuffed jalapenos which I could eat that stuff every day. Yum yum in my tum tum!

Frog Legs

Tyler's Seasoned Alligator Strips

Toni's Traditional Cajun Spiced Alligator Strips

Stuffed Jalapenos and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

We also went around downtown Galveston to check stuff out. We went to The Elissa and toured that boat. 

Here's a link to Wikipedia about the ship:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elissa_(ship) 

The museum next to the ship was nice, but that was because it was air conditioned. It was just too hot, we were soaked with sweat after taking the quick tour of the ship. 

We also walked all around downtown, which I had talked about previously. Let me just post some pictures and then I'll wrap this post up. 

Streets of Galveston, Texas 

Sidewalk Chess Game in Action

Sidewalk Chess Board Up Close

Inside the Pirate Museum

Pirates!

A Clothing Store and Bar Combined. What the...???

Inside the Moody Mansion

Inside Bishop's Palace

Bishop's Palace

My Dad's Dog - Konk! 

This last picture I'm posting is one that I will have to keep forever. It's my dad and I at the beach looking happy. I think this was a bittersweet moment for us. We both know how much things have changed, and yet we are both still trying so hard to be strong for each other. I've tried to stay strong for my dad, to be his support system when it seemed like he had no one to lean on. He's still trying to be the strong dad for me. I think we are forgetting to just let things be and let go of the things that have hurt us. They will only keep hurting us if we continue letting them. 

One thing though, we both loved the beach that day and it was hard to leave. 

Rob and I came home that the next morning feeling completely exhausted. The trip had highs and lows and it's always hard to say goodbye to your parents. I hope that I can see my dad again soon and hope that he will be feeling better too. 

Pumpkin Decorating Contest

I just wanted to post really fast about the pumpkin decorating contest that the University Credit Union hosted. 

A colleague and I joined the contest in hopes of winning the $100 grand prize. We were sad to find out that we were sweeping the ballot box until the last day of voting. Another competitor had all their friends at PCMC stuff the ballot box with votes for their pumpkin. Not that their pumpkin wasn't cute, but it wasn't as elaborate and halloweenish as ours. We were slightly disappointed. 

We did win 1st in the scariest pumpkin category and 3rd in the most creative category. We can feel good about this because these were honest votes, no one stuffed the ballot box on our behalf. 

Here is the pumpkin before taking it down to the credit union.

Here is the baby that we used it's arms for the pumpkin's arms.

Amber and I posing with our pumpkin as WINNERS!

And then I put the baby's arms back on because a lot of people said the armless baby was creepy. I'm saving this for next year as a decorative item. 

That was the highlight of Halloween at work this year. We are already brainstorming what we're going to do for next year's pumpkin contest. If you have ideas, let me know!

Virginia Trip

This year Rob and I went to Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to watch a rocket launch to the space station. This is one of those things that is a once in a life time experience. I've attached a link that will give you more information about the rocket if you're interested. 

http://www.orbital.com/antares-cygnus/ 

The reason why we were invited by Orbital to attend this history making event is because Rob happens to be an engineer on the Antares rocket motor at his work, ATK. He didn't specifically work on the stage 2 motor of the rocket that launched in September but he has been working on the motor that will launch in December. This rocket is a cargo rocket that takes supplies to the space station and it is the first time in the history of NASA that they would pay an outside company to do this. It was truly and incredible experience to watch this launch. 

So to our trip....

It was a long day of flying to get to Norfolk, Virginia but once we got there it was pretty nice. We picked up our rental car then headed to Chincoteague Island where we stayed for several days, hoping that the rocket launch would take place. 

We drove through a modern marvel, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge / Tunnel. I did a Google search for some pictures to show you. I highly recommend doing a search yourself. 

But before we got to the bridge, I have to tell you this. We just left the toll gate, it was dark already and I wasn't paying attention. All of a sudden Rob swerved our car to the right. I seriously thought we were going to crash, but then he swerved back straight. Apparently we hit a possum or a raccoon. Whatever it was, it went right underneath the tire. I didn't see it, I didn't feel it, and I didn't hear it. The car handled like a champion. Rob said he heard it and felt it. Either I need glasses, a hearing aid, some new nerves, or the Nissan we were in is built to be like a luxury car. I will add that some of the people on the trip with us saw the dead animal lying on the side of the road after they went through the toll gate. 

Moving on. The pictures below are from the Google search I did. I will not take any credit for them as I have copied them from the internet. The first once has some interesting facts about the bridge and the second picture is a sky view of part of the bridge/tunnel. I was not able to take any of our own pictures because the first time over it was dark, and the second time over we were in a rush to get to the airport. 

It was a really neat drive and I'm thankful I got to experience it. It is an amazing bridge/tunnel, a true engineering marvel that gets your brain turning, asking questions you don't normally think about. 

After we got over the bridge, we drove for probably another hour, maybe longer to get to Chincoteague Island. It is very remote on the eastern shore of Virginia; I'm talking 2 radio stations that definitely do not play any music anyone would ever like and there were a ton of gas stations. It looked almost creepy driving through at night with nothing but trees and highway. Chincoteague Island is very cute though. Again, here is a picture from Google so you can see just where this island is. 

 Once we got checked into the hotel, we were starving. We went to our room, called for pizza (but it was closed), then lounged around for a second trying to decide what to do. We opened the balcony door and there was a band playing at the bar right next to the hotel. We were literally on the water and it was so nice to sit there for 5 minutes enjoying the peacefulness of the ocean as well as the live music that was entertaining several people. But food is important, so we went on the hunt. It was late and just about everything but the bar was closed. We drove around and found a gas station that also had a little deli. That was authentic Italian food, I can say that honestly because I've been to Italy, I know. It was damn good! After that, it was bed time. 

Here is a morning view from our hotel room. 

Here are the ducks coming to get food from me. They were on a mission! 

The next morning we went to a meeting about the rocket. The majority of the people at this meeting were people who had worked on the motor and were familiar with it, but I found it really interesting because I knew nothing about the motor and honestly didn't know that much about Rob's job. He doesn't really talk about work at home. After the meeting, Rob went on a tour of the flight facility and I stayed in the room doing homework. That evening we had a nice dinner with the ATK people. 

The day after that was about as eventful. Actually it was really eventful. Rob went to a meeting in the morning while I slept in. He picked me up around lunch and we went to get our visitor passes for the launch. We did a little shopping and went to the NASA museum. After that, we met up with everyone at the hotel to go on a tour of the Orbital hangar bay and go take pictures with the rocket (from a distance of course). 

Going into the giant Orbital hangar bay was incredible! It was fascinating to see an entire rocket laid out before they put it together. We were able to see the stage 1 rocket which was built by a Russian facility. It was the size of a bus, maybe bigger. Then we saw the stage 2, which is the one Rob's work does. And then we saw the cargo case that Orbital makes. The engineering is outstanding to me and it really is inspiring. To see something like this that men think up and then build is what makes me feel ambitious to do something great with my life. I love science!

We all loaded back into the shuttle and went as close as we were allowed to take pictures with the rocket. I zoomed in a bit with my camera and snapped this. The rocket is gigantic! 

We skipped the fancy reception that night and went to a nice restaurant on the shore. We had the best seafood and nice conversation with some of the other engineers. East coast seafood is the best! 

The following day was launch day. We were all so relieved that the launch was going to happen and the weather was behaving to make this possible. We packed our stuff and checked out of the hotel because right after the launch we would have to book it to the airport so we wouldn't miss our flight. We all met at the Chincoteague Community Center and loaded the buses to Wallops Flight Facility. Once we got off the bus, we walked over to the tents to grab snacks, use the "facilities," and spray on bug spray. I took some pictures while we waited for the launch. The energy in this area is pretty easy to explain. The anticipation of the launch was high as well as the worry that there is always a possibility that something could go wrong. After the launch, the tension and relief that it was a success could be felt vibrating through the crowd. 

Here we are in front of the countdown clock. 

One of the many televisions under the tent.

Rob looking good in his NASA shirt. 

Here is the YouTube link to watch the launch. OPEN IT ALREADY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwvz7WRL1hU&feature=youtu.be

And now the launch.

After the launch, everyone migrated under the tent to share a champagne toast and cake pops in celebration of the successful launch. A few people spoke and the general air of excitement was not dissipating at all. Shortly after though, we all loaded the buses and headed back to the community center. Rob and I hopped in the car and drove back to the airport in Norfolk. The highway was not as scary in the daylight and seeing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the daylight was beautiful. 

  The launch was AWESOME! I'm so glad I was there to experience this. The sound, vibration, the power of watching this man-made marvel was fantastic and I hope that we are invited to see another one in our lifetime again. I'm so proud of Rob and feel very lucky to be married to someone who enjoys science the way I do. It always leaves room for a good conversation. I hope you enjoyed the post and I'll post again soon.

Yellowstone is Incredible!

To be completely honest with you, I wasn't that excited to go to Yellowstone National Park. I like some forms of camping, but I'm kind of prissy. I like to have certain things available to me at all times, like a shower, a toilet, water to wash my face; you know the basic essentials. But we stayed in West Yellowstone in some what of a ghetto spot - a motel parking lot's RV hookup area. We had showers, and bathrooms, and running water. As odd as that sounds, that was very pleasing and I didn't complain.

Another reason I wasn't thrilled about going to Yellowstone was because it's Yellowstone, I live close, and I could go anytime. I like to go on vacations some place far and see new things. After getting there though, my mind changed and I kind of felt like an ass for thinking that. Yellowstone is worth a trip, anytime. It is one of those places I could go to more than once. We saw so many things while we were there that (from what I hear) not many people get to see. 

This first picture is Old Faithful. We sat and waited for probably 30 minutes for this big geyser to go off and when it did, we were NOT disappointed. I've heard that the size of the eruption isn't what it used to be but I will tell you this, it is still impressive! I took about 100 pictures of the eruption and I think we deleted half. I went snap crazy! 

While we were there, there was a meteor shower. So Rob and I decided we would go see if we could get some rad pictures. Well, this is quite the story. We loaded up the car with the camera, our guns, and some very warm clothes. We drove down the highway and pulled off on a dirt road. We drove down the dirt road for about 1/2 mile and saw what looked like a power building, electric building. I'm not really sure what to describe it as other than a big building with a chain link fence the size they put around prisons with barbed wire on top around the building. Here we decided to turn left. We drove down this road, Power Line Road, for about a mile and decided to park. 

It was definitely in the middle of the forest! It was pitch black when we got out of the car. We put a blanket on the hood of the car and then Rob pulled the camera out and started changing the settings to take pictures of the shooting stars. 

About 20 minutes later, the camera was all set up, taking pictures for 30 seconds every 30 seconds, and I thought I heard leaves crunching nearby; so I asked "Did you hear that?" He had not heard it but asked if I wanted to get in the car and I said no. We're sitting there, watching the shooting stars, hoping the camera is capturing some of what we could see and then I heard it again. I repeated my question, "Did you hear that this time?" Rob said, "Yeah, should we get in the car?" I said, "Hell yeah." So we threw everything in the car except for the camera and we're sitting there listening to the sounds around us and we heard footsteps louder and closer. 

Rob pulled the camera in the car and he realized we forgot a flashlight, so we couldn't see where the noise was coming from, we could only hear it, and we both knew it was a big, hungry animal (or maybe a serial killer). All we had was our guns to shoot at whatever it was and that was too risky. So I stated the obvious, "We should leave." 

We drove back down Power Line Road and parked in front of the fenced off building trying to decide whether or not we're going to set up shop here. Well, we had not even turned the car off and we heard loud, stomping steps on the dirt somewhere around the car. "We should probably get out of here. That could have been a moose or big foot." So we turned the car around and headed for the highway.

After all of this, we did drive around for a bit trying to find a spot to set the camera up to get the meteor shower, but we weren't successful. We found the airport in West Yellowstone and probably saw Dee Snider's jet there. We saw him the next morning at a restaurant; he was sitting 2 tables away having breakfast with his family. But back to the story I was on. After not finding a good location, we went back to camp. Here is a picture of the Big Dipper that we captured. Or I should said Rob captured. 

Oh buffalo, they roam...and they stampede...and they cause road blocks. And yet, even though they are silly  and stupid, I still find them cute. After our trip, Rob said he hates buffalo and hopes to never see another one again. We were stuck in two traffic jams that were directed by the buffalo. They acted as if they were in charge, and they were. 

We went to Earthquake Lake which is west of Yellowstone. The next few pictures are from this place. I believe it was in the 1960s, people were camping down in this valley, which is a gorgeous area. At 11 PM, there was an earthquake, and shortly after, all the water from the lake above the valley came rushing through the area and drowned the people camping below. It's a tragic story and one that would make a person sad to visit this place. But it was beautiful and was really interesting to see what Mother Earth does. 

One day we were gone for a very long time. We drove to Cody, Wyoming then up to Cooke City, Montana, and back down to West Yellowstone. Getting up ridiculously early on my vacation made me very grumpy, but we did get some cool pictures. Can you see the wolf in this picture? 

Everyone needs a pictures with the Yellowstone sign. This was my attempt at planking but as you can tell, I was not successful. 

On our way back into the park, I spotted these bears and told Rob to pull over. He thought I was nuts because you couldn't really tell from a distance what the animals were, but there are definitely black bears. 

Here is a pretty coyote. 

We drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs. The town was really cute. Whether it was the heat or being tired, we weren't that impressed with the area. It was very crowded and very hot, so that could have played a factor in our feelings for this place. 

After Mammoth, we went to Norris. Norris was awesome. I think we were there for several hours and we still didn't see everything there. This place was like visiting another planet, it was unreal and incredible. 

We did go to Upper Falls but didn't realize we were there. When we went to the Lower Falls on the last day of our trip, we realized we had went to Upper Falls on our first full day in Yellowstone. But to be honest Lower Falls is WAY more impressive. This was such a beautiful area. We did a strenuous hike down 300 or something stairs to get close to the Falls and one of the pictures below is us on the stairs near the Falls. A true beauty of nature. 

We went to Biscuit Basin twice. This was a neat area and the walk around the geysers and pools is very short. The reason why we went back is there is a hike to Mystic Falls behind the Biscuit Basin area and the first time we went here I had sandals on which are not hiking shoes, so I made it a point to stress I wanted to go back to do the hike. We completed this short hike to see the waterfall and I think we felt like this was a great way to end the trip. It was a nice hike and if we go back, I would love to do more hiking to places like Mystic Falls. 

This about sums up our trip. We saw so much and we did a lot. I think we probably have 500+ pictures and there are more stories I could have shared but didn't for the sake of space. I highly recommend taking a trip to Yellowstone at least once in your life. It is one of those places that reminds you of the beauty of nature and why it's important to take care of our planet. I love it here and hope we do return in the future. 

Whoa! Now that was a time out!

It has been way too long since my last post. I think I just got sucked up by life and forgot how much I enjoy sharing here. My dear friends Ferren and Natalie brought me back with the slightest encouragement. 

Since last winter, not much has changed in my life, at least not my daily routines. But I have done a lot. I graduated from SLCC in May with an AS in Sociology. I was accepted at the University of Utah and started there in August. Starting school at the U was very intimidating. As I got going into the Fall semester I found that it was very enjoyable, the professors are so full of knowledge and they don't lecture straight from the book. Hence, it is very important to be there for every single class or you miss valuable information. I was worried I was going to struggle too. SLCC  was my comfort zone. I had it all figured out there. I knew how their systems worked and I knew what was expected of me as a student there. It isn't like that for me yet at the U, but I'm sure in time it will be. I'm going to be dead honest though, the U of U is harder, takes a lot more time, can be frustrating, but the education is very good. I'm happy to be attending school there even though I'm kind of burned out. Oh well, only 2 more years after this semester and I'll be done...maybe.

When I graduated in May, I felt very bored at first. I didn't know what to do with myself. Cleaning really didn't sound all that entertaining and so I decided to start reading books I love again. Since I started school a few years ago, I find it very hard to make time to read the things I enjoy reading. I found this website called Goodreads.com and signed up; it's basically social networking for readers. I really like this site. I challenged myself to read 10 books by the time summer was over. And you know what...I DID IT! It was nice to set that challenge for myself, then complete it, and it reignited my fire for reading all over again. I'm a bookworm at heart. If I could read books all day, every day I think I would be very satisfied with life. 

Another thing we did this summer was finish our patio. Okay, it's still not 100% done but we're close. I would say 95% done. I really should post pictures, and maybe I will tomorrow. This was so much work and it's such a relief to have it done. Some might ask why we didn't finish the bathroom first. But my response to this is this, "I like barbecues, I like sitting outside reading books and drinking wine, I like having an escape from the world; and having the patio done creates an oasis for me to enjoy the things I love and get a piece of mind." It's simple really. And now I won't have to clean Moose's paws every time I let him in from the winter cold this year. Thank goodness to no more mud being tracked everywhere! Hopefully we will finish the bathroom this Christmas break. It's been a year and a half since we ripped it out and it is time we get it done. Cross your fingers for us! 

Trips this year! ...

We went to Texas to visit my dad in July. That trip was very hard. It is always good to see your parents after a long time. You don't realize the value of the relationship in your life until it's not there on a daily basis. I haven't really had either of my parents 100% present in my life since I was 17 or so and I think not having them being an active part of my life forced me to grow up and view relationships differently. But I'm biased to my own views, so what do I know. Anyway back to Texas. We were only there a few days but we did drive down by the coast, which was nice, especially because the breeze was so welcomed. One day, we went to downtown Galveston to see an old ship which also had a museum about the area; the museum was mostly nice because it was air conditioned and allowed us to escape sweating profusely and stinking like transients. We then walked around, found some ice cream which melted way faster than we would have liked. We also found a Wiccan store...I think that's what it was. Basically it has essential oils, natural remedies, witchcraft stuff, religion stuff, and the like. It smelled really good in there, I can still smell the incense of the store, a musky but sweet scent, probably had some rosemary mixed in with lavender. I know it's not something my readers are interested in, but I found this store to be very interesting. It's a totally different perspective on the mundane beliefs of typical society. Then we walked further down the street and saw a street chessboard, which was really cool. If I knew how to play chess I would've made Rob play with me, but I don't and neither does he. Next we went to the pirate museum and a silly haunted house about the hurricane that swept through in the early 1900s. Another day we barbecued frog legs, alligator, and stuffed jalapenos. I really love food. And on the last day, we went to the beach. The water was so warm I didn't want to get out. I really love going to the beach, I feel so connected with everything when I'm there. I don't know how to explain it. Besides the things we did there, the trip had an emotional side to it. Maybe I'll post that another time because this is already a very lonnnnnng post. 

In August, we went to Yellowstone. I had never been to Yellowstone before but I was really looking forward to this. It was a fantastic trip. I think this is also another trip that deserves its own post not just because I want to elaborate about the things we did there, but I want to show you some of the pictures. Yellowstone is truly one of the most beautiful places I've been. It's very peaceful and I definitely want to go back. Maybe not for a whole week, but at least 4 days.

In September, we went to Virginia to watch the Antares rocket launch. This was for Rob's work and I'm so proud of him. He didn't work on this particular rocket, but the next one launching in December he worked on the stage 2 rocket motor part of the rocket. Is it safe to say I married a rocket scientist? Anyway, this launch was incredible. It's difficult for me to explain the excitement and the feelings I have about it because I don't know what to compare it to. I'm definitely proud but I'm in awe that man has envisioned something so great and then made it happen. Science is cool. I don't care what you think, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. This is also another trip worthy of it's own post so I can share the video and some pictures. 

It is now October and we are in the middle of the semester. Our time is spent working, going to class, doing homework, and then hitting repeat. My daily life is a little different from Rob's but for the most part, we are very boring right now. We do have another weekend trip planned though. We will be going to Flaming Gorge again this winter and I'm so looking forward to this. I love going up there in the winter because it's very peaceful and serene, I highly recommend this place for romantic getaways.

Other awesome things I did this year: Our Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure team raised over $4,000 this year and had 30 members. This was so satisfying and I feel the 5K was a success! Hopefully we can keep up the momentum next year. I did a 5K with one of my besties, Ferren, in June. The Color Me Rad was very rad and I hope we do it again next year. Ferren could run the whole race but she's so nice, she slowed her pace to help me out. I completed 3 more 5Ks since then - The Glo Run, The Electric Run, and The Witches Brew HaHa. I think it's safe to say I'm hooked on 5Ks. I'm not a strong runner but these events are very gratifying. Maybe next year I can do a 10K. Guess I better make time for exercising this winter. 

Alright, I think this is a long enough post for now. I gave you a brief run down of the year so far and it's not over yet. I think that some of the events listed deserve their own posts, but that will take me a little time to do. I have missed you all and hope to be back more frequently. 

XOXO, 
Miss Lissa