Vacation, all I ever wanted...vacation, had to get away

Late entry:

I meant to make this post on Friday, but I got home late and ended up going out to eat. I'm on vacation for a week and it's just what the doctor ordered. This Saturday we went to Jade's folks house in Jonesburo, Arkansas. We got to drive 6 hours through hilly southern Missouri in the middle of fall....it was fantastic. Oh yeah, did I mention we drove 6 hours? That pretty much blew ass. I figured out why they called it Arkansas....it's just as flat and boring as Kansas. It was quite a shock to see how deep in the bible belt we got. About an hour or two into the journey we started seeing billboards guilt-tripping you into being pro-life. That, and there was an antique store/flea market and church every 10 feet. There were at least 5 churches in a town of 200. As for the antiques...what's up with that? There aren't that many tourists in that part of the country....so, I figure every person in town has owned the same antique at one point in time. There was a cool shop that sold lawn ornaments. I meant to stop on the way back and look for a garden gnome, but I must have missed it. There was also a confederate souvenier shop that I thought about stopping at...but I didn't have the balls. As for Arkansas, they had some pretty cool neighboorhoods. Jade's parents live in one right near a golf course and all the yards are filled with great aged trees. There is nothing more I hate than a lot with one or two very young trees. It's so barren. The problem with Jonesburo is that it's a dry county....yeah, how fucked up is that....completely dry, can't buy beer anywhere.....not even in most restaurants. Luckily, we went to a private club for dinner. Since they were a private club, they could serve alchohol. It was a sweet, artsy place with a kick-ass menu. On Sunday, her parents showed me around town and we went to a wildlife sanctuary/museum. The museum was pretty cool. They had an educational movie about the geological history of the area. The theatre was designed to be "multi-sensory". It was hokey, but fun at the same time. There were floodlights that simulated being underwater, sunsets, fire, etc. There was also several high power fans located in different directions to simulate wind. When it was raining a bit of mist would blow out over the audience. During the explanation of the 1812 earthquake, the seats actually rumbled. I thought it was pretty cool for such a small, state funded sanctuary. They also had a standard museum of missouri wildlife. They also had a kick ass nature trail that had an observatory that overlooked a canyon of sorts.....a cleaned up trash pit. I got some good pictures, but they are on this weird stuff called "film", so I will have to wait until I get a "photo cd" before I can post them. It was most impressive in real life, I hope the pictures turn out well. We came back today and I had to drive a u-haul truck full of furniture for 6 hours. I spent 90 bucks in gas alone on the trip back. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....the truck was actually more comfortable than a car. It was liking sitting on my living room couch for 6 hours. Plus, kick ass scenery in partly cloudy skies for most of the journey. It was very relaxing. The good news is that Jade and I now have a completley new bedroom and dining room set. I'm glad to be home and am looking forward to coming up to kc on Wednesday night. By the way, these posts should have "drunk check"....I spent way too much time correcting my typing.

Laters-
-J