Anyways, back to the trip! On Monday evening we arrived at Palo Duro Canyon. It was weird driving up to it because all you pass is flat farmland as far as you can see, then all of a sudden you enter the park and the land becomes a huge canyon! It was beautiful and perfect weather when we arrived.
We set up camp then went back into town to grab some dinner. We got back to the campsite and hiked around a bit then went to sleep. We slept pretty well until sunrise when all the 11 year olds started riding their bikes right next to our tent screaming and yelling about Justin Beiber or something equally annoying. We got up, packed up camp and headed out. Mike really really wanted pancakes so we had to go to Ihop. :) I didn't complain. After our bellies were nice and happy, we drove up to Centennial, CO to see Ruth, his sister. The drive up was beautiful, we drove on the east side of the Rockies all the way up to Ruth's. We got in to Ruth's that evening and had dinner with her friends that had come over to her house. We then went to a ballet recital that a couple of her friends were in. After that we came back to Ruth's and had a fire in the fire pit in her backyard with a lot of her church friends. They were pretty funny. We sat around until late telling stories, eating s'mores and singing (Ruth's request). The next day we got up and went to church and then met Juni to eat lunch.
Mike and his 2nd cousin Addie
Juni was driving through Colorado on his way to California from South Carolina after picking up his new BMW. After lunch we all drove up to Lookout Mt. and hung out for a bit.
Then we went to pick a lady that Ruth knew up at the airport and Mike and I headed to The Garden of the Gods close to Colorado Springs. It is a National Natural Landmark that consists of many formations of sandstone rocks. The sandstone was deposited horizontally, but has been tilted vertically over time due to the mountain building forces nearby (that formed Pikes Peak). It was really pretty. Here is a formation called "The Kissing Camels". The picture below that is this really cute couple we saw that looked like they just belonged together.
We then drove over to Manitou to walk around and have dinner. We ate at this really cool fondue restaurant, Mona Lisa. It was so neat. The next day Ruth, Mike and I decided to go hiking in the mountains. We got there and noticed there was snow on the trail so this made it a little difficult (especially when you fall through a couple feet of snow):
When our stomachs started rumbling, we found a dry place to sit to eat our yummy sandwiches Ruth made us and then headed back down to the car. While we were walking down, I ran ahead and hid behind a tree so I could jump out and scare Mike. Unbeknownst to me, Ruth's shoe got swallowed up by the snow so they were looking for it for a while. I was getting restless, but I stayed put. Finally I heard Mike walking so I started filming on my iPhone. I jumped out and... I don't think I scared him that much. Then he threw a snowball at me. The hike was a good workout and I thought it was really fun (even though that's not the word Mike used to describe it).We got back to Ruth's and Mike was out like a light. After Mike woke up we went over to, their cousin, Meme's house. Her husband is Kevin and their little daughter is Addie. We had a great dinner over at their place and had fun talking with them. The next day Mike and I had to leave Denver. :( It was so nice to meet and get to know Ruth.
We got into Lawrence around dinner time and ate at the house while visiting with his mom, dad and brother. The next day Mike found Issac's old bike rack and decided to see if it would fit on his car. It fit, except he needed a couple new parts. We went to the bike store in Lawrence to find the parts and we only found one part we needed so Mike decided that we had to go to Kansas City to get the other part (as Xienna put it, "Once they have an idea in their head, they aren't going to change their mind!" referring to Issac and Mike). Elijah, Mike and I loaded up and drove to Kansas City. We found the part and then I saw a Michael Kors shop! I stopped in to see if they could get a spot off of my bag (Mike's bike rubbed on it and left a black mark). They were able to get it off, thank goodness. Mike refused to come into the store, I'm not sure why. Maybe he isn't secure with his masculinity or something. ;) (Love you, Mike) Anyways, we went back to Lawrence and put the bike rack together and Mike decided it made too much noise so we took it off. It was still good to have it though, he said. After that, Mike and I walked around downtown Lawrence and just enjoyed the outside and each other (not so much the homeless drunk people). We got back and ate at the house and then his Aunt Michelle and cousin Aaron came over for ice cream. We always laugh until our cheeks hurt with Michelle. She's a character and has the funniest stories. The next day, Thursday, Mike and I went to visit his grandma, Nonny. I love visiting with her. I'm not sure if it's her genuine interest in wanting to know what is going on in our lives, her bragging on Mike or her stories of the olden days that I enjoy most. It's so nice talking with her. After we visited with her, we met Mike's mom for lunch at Pita Pit. Yum. Yum. We headed home and then went shopping for some new shoes for Mike. When we got home Mike's friend, Jeremiah came over and we went to Oklahoma Joe's in Kansas City to eat some great BBQ. After we had our full, we all met Mike's other friend, Tyler, at Harrah's Casino. We played for almost 4 hours there and had a blast. I came out even in the end. 4 hours of fun for free! What could be better?
The next day we had to get up and head East. We drove ALL day. We drove through some pretty heavy fog too, but thanks to Mike's great driving skills we got through just fine. We got up the next day and stopped at the Louisville Slugger factory and museum. It was SO cool. One of my favorite parts of the trips. We got to go on a factory tour and see how all the bats are made and got to walk around the museum and pose for some pretty awesome pictures.
Mike and Ken Griffey Jr. watching the ball leave the park. Babe and I hitting one WAY WAY WAY back.
Oh, good ole Ted Williams kissing his Louisville Slugger. I swung Mickey Mantles bat that he used in actual games!
Mike next to the 120 ft. and 68,000 lbs. bat outside of the factory.
After we bought some Louisville Slugger shirts and received our complimentary mini bat, we got back on the road. We drove and drove and drove. We didn't fight once during the entire trip.
I had a small moment of being annoyed with him, but it was completely his fault and he deserved it. (Nosey!) But overall, it was a wonderful road trip and we got to see so many cool people and things. We finally arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday evening.
His apartment is SO nice. Tyler, his roommate, and Mike are living the good life this summer. We unloaded the car and went to eat at Tony's, a seafood restaurant that was very good. We then headed to Harris Teeters, the grocery store, and bought a ton of groceries. On Sunday we ate lunch with Mike's aunt Susan and her step daughter and step grandchild at P.F. Changs. After that Mike and I walked around the apartment complex to check out the pool and workout room and then went to get his car washed. Knowing my flight would be boarding soon, Mike drove me to the airport. I'm not sure when I started tearing up, I think it was at the apartment when we got all my bags loaded up. It didn't stop until I got through security. Mike walked me in the airport and helped me get checked in. We sat and talked for a bit and then he said I better go through security so I didn't miss my flight. That's when the water works really came to life. I felt horrible, my stomach hurt, my heart hurt and my body wouldn't let go of him. I finally walked away (with his help) and thankfully I had some napkins with me because they were soaked after 2 minutes. I stood in the security line and looked back to see him just staring at me with a smile that was half hurting and half trying to be strong, that really made the tears come down, so I looked away. The next time I looked back, he was gone. I'm glad he didn't stay the entire time because I would have got out of line to go back to him or just start sobbing uncontrollably. I got through the line and made it to my gate. He called to make sure I made it and I heard a couple of sniffles on the other end of the phone. So, Mike is human after all? I'm glad he is because I was doubting he was going to miss me at all. Just kidding!!! I know he misses me. Who else is going to clean his room or watch Fringe with him or cook for him....Oh wait, I don't do that. Maybe he won't miss me that much. :)
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