Our Oregon Trail - Part 2

Our trip continues!

On Wednesday night, after the long drive through Minnesota and South Dakota, we reached Hill City in the Black Hills and stayed at the Super 8 there. When we got there, we hit the pool right away!

Ready to head down to the pool! (No, we didn't bring Drake)

In the pool - probably one of my favorite photos of us ever.

Hot Tub!

It was great to relax a little after that long drive. We stayed the night at the Super 8, had breakfast the next morning, and headed for Mt. Rushmore!

 

Heading through the Black Hills...

The view from the Mt. Rushmore parking structure!

Heading to the monument!

The guys. :)

The state flags on display.

My beloved MITTEN

Our new home

Us @ Mount Rushmore!

Happy camper!

Heading down the Hills

Then, we drove through Deadwood and took a quick look....

Didn't see Bill & Calam though :/

On our way to our next stop, Cody, Wyoming!

We made it to Wyoming!

Our Thursday drive through Wyoming.

Driving through Wyoming

Right behind me, all the way. <3 

Scenic overlook we stopped at.

Enjoying the sights together!

My handsome man.

My handsome boy.

It gets cold up in the mountains!

Drake has his baby & is ready to roll!

Another scenic overlook

Taking more photos of his car & stuff.

We made it to our next checkpoint!

Thursday night, we stayed at another Super 8 in Cody, Wyoming; Cody is named for Buffalo Bill Cody, legend of the old West! We went out for dinner at Buffalo Bill's Restaurant at the historic Irma Hotel. It was amazing! The hotel was stunning - a completely preserved interior - and the food was incredible. We each had a Buffalo Bill beer, prime rib, twice baked potato, and salad bar, and our bill was under $40. So not only was it a fantastic meal in a historic & beautiful place, it was also the best deal we've ever found on a date!

Buffalo Bill's Restaurant in the Irma Hotel

Our big dinner date on the trip!

We may like them cooked totally different, but we agreed it was the best prime we'd ever had!

lubblesyous

Proof of the outrageously good deal dinner was!

Full & happy.

Having a blast!!!

Well, that takes us through Thursday night. I'll pick up on Friday morning in the next post, when we head to Montana!

. . . to be continued . . .

Our Oregon Trail - Part 1

So, our trip! 

I kept a journal the first few days, then was too tired to the last few days of the journey, so I have journal entries and photos for the first few days, then I will have brief captions and photos for the rest. I'm just posting the start of the trip for now.

First, we left Holland on Saturday, February 25 around 8am for West Bloomfield. Mark's parents threw us a goodbye luncheon, and my mom & her boyfriend came to it! It was great. Here's us and our parents:

L to R: My mom Marybeth, Mark, me, Mark's dad Greg, and Mark's mom Geneva.

Mom & her boyfriend Duce - such a great guy!

The night before we left West Bloomfield :)

Monday 2-27-12

“Left Mom & Dad Karlichek’s house in West Bloomfield at 6:30am. Geneva was a mess, cry so hard! We gassed up & hit the road by 6:45am. By 10:30am local time we were in Chicago! We made great time - the weather was beautiful & we had no traffic problems - but we got to our intended Chiacgo-style-pizza-joint, Lou Malnati’s, before they opened! :( But, we had an Arch Card for $10 to McDonald’s from a lady I worked with at HPS, so we stopped at the Oasis rest stop on the west side of Chicago, & then got on our way.

We headed for Minnesota at 11:45am, & with a TON of gas stops (for Mark) & rest stops (for me), we arrived in White Bear Lake, MN around 6:30pm, just in time to get dinner at Applebee’s with Jake & Nick! Both of us are so exhausted from the drive & the weeks of preparation, but we’re having fun. The walkie talkies are a blast! :) Drake & Isis are traveling well & are enjoying the break here at the Love’s. A storm is brewing for tomorrow though... Could get 8 to 12 inches of snow?!?”

Hitting the road!

No pizza for us :(

McDonald's will have to do!

We took a short walk at a rest stop with hiking trails. Handsome boy!

Sitting pretty in his co-pilot seat.

Sun setting as we enter MN. 

Tuesday 2-28-12

“Woke up around 7:15am - cuddled with Mark & Drake until about 8. There is snow outside, but not a lot; the big storm is supposed to really hit later today. Drake & Isis are doing well; I don’t think Isis has eaten or pooped since we left, but Drake is doing enough of that for both of them. :) She is sleeping in her pet carrier and being very lovey - these are very good signs!

The pups playing - Bailey & Drake

Bailey Bop!

Latin Kisses ( bacon-wrapped jalepeno popper) and Spam Bites

We’ve decided to stay another night here - the storm, a free stay, and cutting time off our drive made it tough not to - & Jake took the day off today to hang out with us. Nick will be home from school on his lunch break soon. :)

10pm- Jake, Mark & I went to lunch in St. Paul at the Blue Door Pub, a hole-in-the-wall with great microbrews and amazing “trash” food. :) We hadtheir famous Blucy, a burger with a bun as usual, but with 2 patties made into a pocket filled with the toppings! I had the Merriam Park (for the neighborhood in St. Paul where the pub is), Mark had the Frenchie (a French Dip, essentially), and Jake had the Cajun. We all got tots - the boys, cajun - & had Spam Bites & Latin Kisses as appetizers. 

Mark thoroughly enjoying his Blucy!

My Blucy & tots!

We went to the Mall of America - Jake, Mark & I - & saw the Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium, which was awesome! Mark especially had a blast. He got to pet a sea urchin & a chocolate chip starfish! :) Then the 3 of us walked a loop of the mall and window shopped. We headed home after about 2  hours.

Mark petting the urchins!

Jellies!

Near the amusement park in the mall

The Lego Store

The Lego Store

Horsing around before heading to dinner.

Then, for dinner, the 4 of us went to Osaka for hibachi! It was so much fun! The chef squirted sake into our mouths from a squirt bottle at the table, and did amazing stunts with the food & utensils. He was super funny, making dirty jokes & mocking me (which the boys enjoyed). 

Osaka Hibachi Dinner

We were all full & tired when we got home, so we crashed early-ish.” 

Wednesday 2-29-12

“Got up at 7:15am, packed up, gave the boys some love, & headed out in the slush and ice. We didn’t quite get the 8 to 12 inches, but it still wasn’t a fun drive. We had to go really slow until we got outside the Twin Cities/Suburbs, & even then, the roads were an awful combination of wet, dry, icy (like rumble strips, chunks of ice), & slushy patches.

Took the highway into southern MN - aka purgatory - for a couple hours, then turned west onto I-90. Took us a couple more hours to reach South Dakota, but we made it, & had an indoor picnic at a rest area in Aurora, SD around 3:15pm Central time.

Lunch time!

We had fun going back & forth  on the walkies - the billboards were funny. :) We pulled off at a scenic overlook and took a few photos as the sun was setting. Driving west feels like a mad dash to chase the sun.

Chasing the sun.

We hit Rapid City, SD as it got really dark - the Black Hills look amazing at night, so we can’t wait to see them with the sun up tomorrow!

Hill City is very appropriately named. Mark loved the up & down, twisting mountain drive in the dark. I was freaked out, as I’ve been driving point & navigating the entire trip. We got to the Super 8 Hill City around 8pm Mountain time, which means we drove about 11 hours today. Man oh man, are we feeling it too!

We made it to the first checkpoint!

We went for a swim & sat in the hot tub, took showers, & are now relaxing in our hotel room. Drake is out like a light, even though he slept almost the entire ride in the TA! But, the roads were terribly bumpy & you feel everything in that car, so I think it took a lot out of both of my boys.

Tomorrow: Continental breakfast, Mount Rushmore, & Deadwood!”

. . . to be continued . . .

About to Hit the Oregon Trail!

Ok, we are 4 days away from the start of our journey on the Oregon Trail. We will obviously not have internet access while on the road, but once we are settled in OR, we will be updating more often - I promise!

I start my new job as the executive director of the Sherman County Historical Society on my 25th birthday, March 5th, which feels like such an amazing accomplishment. Please keep the love coming - it'll be tough for a while, but we know this is an incredible opportunity and we can't wait to start a new life!

Here's my address in case anyone wants a new (or re-vamped) pen pal....

*EDIT!*

Emily Apple
PO Box 64
203 First Street
Moro, OR 97039

XOXO Em

This is the Columbia River Gorge, the northern border of our county. OR is on the right (south), WA is on the left (north). This is God's country!

Jumping back in the swing of blogging... I've had on & off internet access for the past few months, but I have it regularly now, so I will be posting again soon. This weekend will be my catch-up blogging weekend!

Thanks to my friend Jilly Bean at work, who reminded me to blog it up :)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

Well, life was very dull, and all of a sudden very eventful lately!

I interviewed for 2 jobs last week, and after being offered both, I took a job with Holland Public Schools. I am now a front office and special ed. office secretary/student aide with Holland Public Schools at the Maplewood Early Childhood Center! I'll be in the front office half the day and the special ed. office the other half, and patrolling the school, helping out in classrooms, and generally LOVING being around 5 year olds. This is a great foot in the door with the school district; I plan on starting my masters in education next year, so that I can use it for museum education or to teach high school history. The normal school schedule will be great if I start school again too! I'm so happy.

Packing up and having my last 2 days with Elena today and tomorrow, then heading to Holland Wednesday night to live with grandpa for a while and start full-time on Thursday!

Keeping hope alive...

For right now, I'm doing my best to stay hopeful about the job outlook. I work at the deli - unhappily, but I do it - 5 days a week and babysit little princess Elena the other two days, sometimes more (making it 2 jobs in a day). Babysitting is more like a treat than a job - I love taking care of her. She's such a wonderful baby, and her parents are awesome people; they pay me well, are flexible, and are so warm and welcoming. So, I work 6-7 days a week, but it's worth it to save up money & get out of the house.

I've applied for about 30 jobs in the Holland/Grand Rapids area, and although I've received 4 "position has been filled" emails, I'm staying positive and hoping for the best. We aren't moving to West MI for sure, but since we have a place to live there already (renting a family house) and lots of family support, it's a great option if we get jobs there.

I miss my friends so much. I got to see Stephie the other day; she was in Dearborn visiting her parents, so we met up in Novi at the mall and had a date. :) It was a very much needed break from work. I also got to have breakfast with Rachel, my roommate freshman year at WMU, a few weeks ago; it wasn't nearly enough time to catch up, but it was wonderful seeing her, and the crepes were wonderful. :)

Mark has been working for his dad at the shop, so he's doing a lot to help us save up some money too. I'm just hoping that something happens soon for us, because this time is frustrating... I feel like we're running in place, not moving forward at all, but still exhausting ourselves. And we need our own space again - we are just the kind of people who need to have our own nest and own space. We are both missing that.

Monday was my last day off for the next couple weeks, so Mark took me to the Detroit Zoo! We packed lunch and spent the day wandering the zoo together. We went to the Dinosauria exhibit, saw Mark's lemurs (his favorite), and had so much fun in the sun together.

So, that's basically it right now. Just trying to push through until something bigger and better happens. Staying as positive as possible. Working my tail off. Speaking of which, I'm down almost 15 pounds on South Beach! I'm wearing a loose size 14 now :) Feels good to be making progress!

-Emily

Movie Suggestion: "The King's Speech," (2010) Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush.  AMAZING movie about the Duke of York (who becomes King George VI after his older brother renounces the throne to marry a twice-divorced commoner) and the man who helps him overcome his speech impediment to lead England as World War II is beginning. This film was brilliantly made; funny, moving, and with some of the highest quality acting I have ever seen, especially out of Colin Firth.  (info from IMDB)

Music Suggestion: John Legend, "Once Again" (2006. The big single off this CD was "Save Room," which is a beautiful song, but my favorite is "Slow Dance." Great album to groove slow to, and remember the little things that make life worthwhile.

Lyrics, "Slow Dance" by John Legend.

Can we wait just a minute

Slow it down for a minute now baby
You're talkin loud
You're wilding out
Don't seem like my old lady
-
Lets go and play the song we used to play
Can we reignite the flame
Cause things just ain't the same
We can talk about the baby
We can talk until we're crazy
We can focus on it now
Or we can focus on it later
-
We can start another fight
We can argue and fuss all night
But I propose that we go to floor and we slow dance
Tonight I wanna dance
Can you do that with your man yea
Tonight I wanna groove
And let the music make you move
-
Move yea
Can we wait just a minute
Turn that tv off for a minute
Now politics and talkin' shit ain't really none of my buisness
Lets go and play the songs we used to play
On that old school radio
Let the music soothe your soul
-
Forget about the world
I'm groovin' with my girl
Forget about the news
Let's put on our dancin' shoes
Let's not talk about the war
Do we know what they fightin' for
I propose that we go to the floor and we slow dance
-
Tonight I wanna dance
Can you do that with your man yea
Tonight I wanna groove
And let the music make you move
Move yea yea
Move yea yea
-

I love it
I love it
I love it we're slow dancin together
-
I love it
I love it
I love it we're slow dancin together
-
I love it
I love it
I love it we're slow dancin together
-
I love it
I love it
I propose that we go to floor and we slow dance
-
Tonight I wanna dance
Can you do that with your man yea
Tonight I wanna groove
Let the music make you move

(from www.elyrics.net)