Wanderlust

The Community Environmental Fair is an annual event, and it was actually wonderful weather, despite the weatherman's threats. Mom figures that she gave out 200+ kites over the period of five hours, which is one hour over the event. By the time we lifted our heads, all the other vendors were gone - who knows who they were - we never had the time to wander around. But we did have a great after-lunch with Joan and Duane.

While I painted, I learned just how disappointing radio has gotten - no wonder why people are paying monthly subscriptions for music! What used to be a local station was now canned and broadcast from a very ambiguous place that had the same tagline as hundreds others out there in this country, along with the same contests and call in questions - what a joke. Just for curiosity's sake, I left it on for a couple days - and yes, the same songs were played about every three hours like clockwork. Tom Petty was right. Oh - and even more sad - since when did songs from my high school days become RETRO HOUR??? Radio BITES.

Now I just have the floor to do - and it's really not as bright as the picture, promise. And I don't think I will paint again for as long as my memory can remind me how tedious it is.

For the squeamish or weak of stomach, or those who think that I am just disgusting or mean - don't look at the picture below of Charlie. Poor thing, on our *super quick* trip home (read 2200 in 2 days) she was a sick puppy. Literally. Not sure what she got into - cat food perhaps (which is ironic, because I truly believe she is part cat) that upset her digestion - and she had to pull over almost every hour. Thankfully, she was humble enough to request the pullover, and we always pulled over just in time. No cleanups involved. Okay, enough gross talk. And no more gross pictures that only I think are funny.

We were welcomed graciously home - by mom first which was all good, but then the RV water heater which was not good. In fact, it split in half and had to be welded back together by the industrious man I call Cujo. The only trick was "How did these wires go again?" because the foresight-thinking pictures of exactly how those wires go weren't quite distinguishable suddenly.

While we were home, Charlie discovered mountain biking - she doesn't seem to wear out - but this one came real close to doing the trick.

On our way to Spokane, we drove through Boise to drop Cujo off, and finally met Cody! He was even cuter in person than in his lovely pictures. Poor little guy was tired and had been up waiting for us all morning, but was still quite the hospitable host. Can't wait to spend more time together. And next time see Jamie, too!

Year TWO of our trip to Spokane, Washington Race for the Cure - Uncle Mart started it, and we are trying to continue the tradition. Crossing our fingers, we made it there. This year was a little different from last - it SNOWED! Funny thing is it actually waited until we crossed the finish line, by mere minutes. This year they also have the group survivor pictures up free from Moxie Images, which is very nice. While we were looking through this year's program, we spotted Mom, who is also on the front page of their website, and also on the business cards!

We luckily got in on celebrating Aunt Naomi's birthday which was the week before.
And of course, keeping with tradition, there was kite making!
Some of the Hughes pets:

Food highlights - I (actually) made a great bowl of Mongolian noodles thanks to Steph, had wonderful sushi and gyoza at Sushi.com, and a great fresh brewed (the blonde) beer from Shenanigans.

Coming home through Montana was a bit hairy, but we made it without issues and with a belly full of a mediocre meal at a cafe in Superior. As Mom puts it "That fake Swiss they call Swiss but it's just American that's white!" hehe
And we made it home in time for the *early* morning promo piece for the Pocatello Environmental Fair this weekend on our local NBC affiliate!

It's been a while since I've been to a ball game - years, perhaps? Sheesh. Seems more recent - sitting in Safeco Field with most admitted priority to the garlic fries, then secondly Ichiro. Anyway, back to the Yankees... well, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, that is. Even with the opening pitch thrown by George Steinbrenner's daughter.

It was the opening (little cold for outside stadium seating still) game, which they celebrated with fireworks and a fly-by. However, the fireworks were pre-game - so even though you could barely see the sparks - you *could* hear the bang, so the effect was (mostly) there. The fly-by was timed perfectly, right on the heels of the groovy brass version of the Star Spangled Banner. They were fairly quiet too, which was the absolute opposite of my second most horrific fly-by down Main Street in Sturgis last year. Just for kicks, my most horrific fly-by ever was in George, Washington at the Gorge where Karen I swore a passenger plane was hijacked and going to crash into the music crowd. Seriously - we were shaking and sweating for an hour - very very freaky. Words just can't transcend here, sorry.

I digress, back to the game... we thought we'd see a no-hitter, which would be super cool - alas, twasn't meant to be. They took out the pitcher in the 6th. Apparently this is normal, but I would think a possibility of a no-hitter would be worth it? Nope. Not that night. There was a guy sitting near us in an Idaho State sweatshirt - I ran over to him and hurriedly asked "Are you from Pocatello?!" to which he looked at me confused and said "Wha...?" like I was speaking a different language. I said again, with a point to his shirt "Are you from Po-ca-tello?" and he said "Oh, no - sorry" and turned around. That's it - no explanation, no story of how he'd gotten the shirt, no questioning me on why I knew it. Quite anticlimactic, no? Tell me about it.

Back to the event at hand, they won! And I don't know if it's the minors or if it's the location, but they are great hecklers here! Some of the crowd was relentlessly yelling, and the rest of the crowd was laughing - even the left fielder had to wave and haphazardly smile at one point. On the other team. The field is great - nestled in some rocky cliffs, close to the interstate, smack in between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Just a sidenote, example of some great building structures here in the area - this one is a brewery. Tried one of their Stegmaiers but I prefer the Lionshead.

The best restaurant so far here in the NEPA area is (according to me) Mirakuya - it's a Japanese restaurant with teppanyaki or table seating that serves sushi and Sapporo. We had a grill to ourselves one day and it was the best meal. Teppanyaki places are usually pretty similar in the jokes and knife skill display - this is no different, and that's why I dig 'em so much. The veggies and rice and meat are so good and this place had some of the best fried rice ever. Mmmmm.

Pocono Downs opened their live racing season April 1st. So now, four times a week they have live harness racing along with simulcast and traditional casino gambling. There is a restaurant to watch from within glass windows with individual tvs for simulcast views, or you can brave the elements and watch outside. I thought I was just making some incredible bets and winning big, but I would claim my $0.50 win sheepishly each time. I guess it's true, you have to bet big to win big.

Staying in a hotel for a day or two, even a week is a fun vacation, and you tend to only notice that you are in a new place that seems clean and functioning. Staying in a hotel for longer than a month is still great, but different. Things you wouldn't have noticed in a day's time, you now notice. We've had some crazy experiences with fire alarms, alarm clocks, ambulances, and vacuums. The hotel is like a little interworking society within society (of the country or city). There are similarities between life and hotels.

-> We are all here for a reason and don't necessarily care about the other guests; however for the most part we are polite or friendly to others.
-> We find things to occupy our time here onsite - like movie rentals and a gym.
-> There is a caste system in the staff as well as the guests - some people staying there are used to better, some are used to worse.
-> We each have our own little private area among a bigger block but we meet in the same hallways and paths.
-> We ask for things we think we deserve and complain freely when we don't get want we want for a multitude of reasons such as...we paid for it, it's owed to us, we deserve it, it's fair...
-> There are outside influences which we cannot control (such as an alarm clock next door when there are no occupants)
-> We are all trying to get our bearings, and we are all just here temporarily.
-> Everyone is dependent upon everyone here (staff and guests), but we are also independent and private of each other.

The good part about hotel living is that you are never alone and the lights are never off. The bad part about hotel living is that you are never alone and the lights are never off.

Great news - we have a new addition to the family - welcome to the world Hailey Adrienne! Can't wait to meet you this summer.

Spring is finally starting to come into fruition, I think - at least on some days. It's beautiful.

Charlie has taken on a new hobby - licking feet - if you let her, she'll go on forever. She's indiscriminate but prefers fresh outta the shower toes. Also started giving massages. Or rather, nail digging into skin. Is this a sign of dominance or love? hehe.

We surely didn't have a traditional big Easter supper, but we celebrated Easter by eating peanut butter chocolate eggs for the last two weeks and coloring eggs.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are doing really well - they've won both games we've attended. It's great that they are on a home game kick while we're here and we've been able to go. Get this - at the merchandise store they were selling Omaha Knights pucks - what are the odds?! These games remind me of when we'd go to Phoenix every year so Cujo could play tournament hockey with the Pink Piranhas. Well, not the crazy debauchery pre and post games, but the all around theme was hockey.

Oh, and a side note - I'm not a rodeo person but the DNCFR is held in Pocatello each year, and this year Matt won! Very cool - video and finals standings.

Well, it would be a mass understatement to say that this area likes St. Patrick's Day. The entire weekend and day of are hugely celebrated here, in lavish excess.

Jules was able to escape Mechanicsburg for the weekend, and we tried to fit some fun in. At dinner that night at Patte's, the place was packed with green-garbed folks complete with a bagpipe band that wandered through the dining areas. Is it called a band? Anyway, a group of Irish musicians, you know what I mean. The food was great - I ordered a sandwich that was an entire french loaf of bread smeared with scampi sauce and toasted, then filled with meat and cheese and onions and peppers. Seriously, a loaf of french bread. No, I did not eat it all.

After dinner was dessert, the Chippendales were in town! It was in a great ballroom in a nice resort that also had a huge danceclub and low key glass walled bar. The show is a racket! Not complaining, but just be forewarned - you need more than single ones for this show. You need $10s to sit on a chair on the stage for 5 seconds of flesh in your face. Hey, might be worth it to some, but not this cheap Chaz. Optional, yes, but it took the majority of the showtime because they kept repeating it. Of course there were many women willing to give away their cash. And yeah, it was entertaining... for the first 20 minutes maybe. And the raffle was fixed too, which we saw with our very own eyes from 5 feet away. Okay, enough of that - we went to the bar afterward and saw a couple of them there that just got mobbed. What a life for a man. A straight man, at least. And I didn't notice the finger pointing in this picture - I'm sure it's a 'Not supposed to take a free picture of us, missy!'. Ha. And no... Cujo did not go with us. teehee.

Scranton's St. Patrick's Day Parade is the fourth largest in the nation and had 100,000+ attendees with 9,000 participants, and lasts 4 HOURS. Yes, four h-o-u-r-s. In the damp cold.

There's a vast range of people - from families to bar flies, and most of them are drinking. Lots of them are smoking. It's like going out, but instead of starting around 8 or 9PM, you start at 8 or 9AM. Which of course leads to drunks, fights, arrests, and the occasional horizontal person with friends and police peering down at them. There were police with someone in the back of their car, or walking towards one with someone in handcuffs. They seem to go by the credo of Michael Scott on The Office who said, 'Ain't no party like a Scranton party, cuz a Scranton party never stops' and they have shirts that say so. I just can't compete anymore, unfortunately! My recovery time has doubled in the past few years, hehe. I haven't been in a state for a while where smoking is still allowed in restaurants - and the ask the smoking or non question. Given the number of smokers here, I wonder how long it'll take for that to pass into law. Back to the parade... It's in the downtown area which has that great old architecture of the east coast. Big dogs are prevalent here - saw a huge one at Pattes and saw huge ones as spectators of the parade, as well as in the parade. I'm talking big - like St. Bernards, newfoundlands, and wolfhounds. Not sure why, but they seem to like big dogs here. The bars in the area were packed at 10AM, and had lines to pay the $10 cover to get in. Sure hope beer was cheap then, but I doubt it. Others chose to bring their own and drink (somewhat) discretely on the street. It took about two hours for us to see Hillary, which was one of my main drives to go. She was walking behind a trailer bed holding mass media and was surrounded by security. She wandered from one side of the street to the other, shaking hands and signing autographs. I have to say, she is much prettier in person. The entries ranged from beer companies to high school clubs to Cujo's union to Irish clubs to politicians, pretty much ran the gamut. After we saw Senator Clinton, we ducked into a store, which led to a mall, where we wandered for a while to warm up. When we exited, the parade was still. going. on. Die hards, I tell ya.