Statue of Paul Revere.
Old North Church.
USS Constitution- the oldest active warship in the US Navy.
Fermentation tanks at Sam Adams Brewhouse.
4.20.2008
The week in Boston
This past week I flew to Boston to present some research at the annual conference of The Association of American Geographers. It was great fun! We had, or rather will have, all expenses paid by the school and our $300/night hotel was just the beginning! It turns out, Boston is EXPENSIVE! Literally everything costs twice as much as here in Springfield. The food was great and I ate lots of it though I didn't have the guts to try oysters (maybe next time). I did a little bit of the tourist thing off and on during the week with a couple of the other people from school. We walked the "Freedom Trail" which is a guided walk through Boston to places of importance during the Revolution in the 1770s such as the burial ground that has Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and others; Paul Reveres house, the USS Constitution, Old North Church, and the Bunker Hill monument, went to Cheers, and Harvard Square. I ended off the week with a tour of the Samuel Adams Brewhouse which was really cool and Saturday Derek, Amanda, and I just relaxed in Boston Commons park and people watched before getting on the T to go to the airport. Oh yeah- I presented the poster Friday morning. :-)
Statue of Paul Revere.
Old North Church.
USS Constitution- the oldest active warship in the US Navy.
Fermentation tanks at Sam Adams Brewhouse.
Statue of Paul Revere.Old North Church.USS Constitution- the oldest active warship in the US Navy.Fermentation tanks at Sam Adams Brewhouse.
4.19.2008
The past 10 days
Hey everybody- sorry for the delay in blogging! The past 10 days have been a bit busy! The week before last, Patrick and our friends were staying at school late every night to get their posters done for a graduate forum on campus, and for an AAG conference in Boston. A couple of nights I visited them and brought food, and stayed for moral support until midnight or a little later. Friday night before the forum, we were there until 4:30 in the morning because the printer was absolutely stupid, and we only got 3.5 hours of sleep since the forum was in the morning.
The nice thing was, Patrick's parents came Friday night, so they were able to see Patrick's research and poster. It looked fabulous and he was one of the 6 finalists (and Kat got 2nd place, so they both did very well!) We were also spoiled (going out to eat, filling up the gas tank, etc), as is the fashion when we are around family members older than ourselves. :D
Everybody got up super early this past Monday morning since Patrick's parents were headed back to Michigan, and Patrick met up w/ some of our friends at school to carpool to St. Louis for their flight to Boston. Consequently, I've been alone all week!
Actually, it wasn't too bad though. Patrick's kept me informed over the phone and it sounds like he's been having a fun time and seeing a lot of the city (and some of the Missouri State people there received awards so the conference was a success too!) As for me, Kat and I were the only ones not in Boston so we hung out almost every night- dinner, shopping, and the movie theatre kept us quite busy!
Patrick is coming home late tonight though, so despite the week not being too treacherous, we're happy to be back together again!
The nice thing was, Patrick's parents came Friday night, so they were able to see Patrick's research and poster. It looked fabulous and he was one of the 6 finalists (and Kat got 2nd place, so they both did very well!) We were also spoiled (going out to eat, filling up the gas tank, etc), as is the fashion when we are around family members older than ourselves. :D
Everybody got up super early this past Monday morning since Patrick's parents were headed back to Michigan, and Patrick met up w/ some of our friends at school to carpool to St. Louis for their flight to Boston. Consequently, I've been alone all week!
Actually, it wasn't too bad though. Patrick's kept me informed over the phone and it sounds like he's been having a fun time and seeing a lot of the city (and some of the Missouri State people there received awards so the conference was a success too!) As for me, Kat and I were the only ones not in Boston so we hung out almost every night- dinner, shopping, and the movie theatre kept us quite busy!
Patrick is coming home late tonight though, so despite the week not being too treacherous, we're happy to be back together again!
4.09.2008
Wine Tasting Tour!
This past Saturday, Patrick & I explored our refined side. :)
Our friend Kat is doing her thesis on mapping the soil, elevation, etc. of a boundary of wineries and vineyards in the Ozark area, so some of her field work involves visiting those locations and asking questions. We accompanied her on the 3 hour drive to Augusta (a little west of St. Louis) and on a mini-tour of 6 different wineries along Augusta's main road.
We kept our purchases light, only making off with bottles of a rose and a seyval, and a yummy mixture to make a wine based ice slushie, but we had to use some self control not to buy a few other unique and tasty types! I saved my notes I wrote down during each tasting though, so we might order some more online in the future.
In any case, it was a long day, but a fun one and the weather was gorgeous- perfect for driving with the windows down through wine country!
Our friend Kat is doing her thesis on mapping the soil, elevation, etc. of a boundary of wineries and vineyards in the Ozark area, so some of her field work involves visiting those locations and asking questions. We accompanied her on the 3 hour drive to Augusta (a little west of St. Louis) and on a mini-tour of 6 different wineries along Augusta's main road.
We kept our purchases light, only making off with bottles of a rose and a seyval, and a yummy mixture to make a wine based ice slushie, but we had to use some self control not to buy a few other unique and tasty types! I saved my notes I wrote down during each tasting though, so we might order some more online in the future.
In any case, it was a long day, but a fun one and the weather was gorgeous- perfect for driving with the windows down through wine country!
4.01.2008
Field Assistant
I'm currently trying to get some field work in for my thesis project in order to have some data to present at a meeting in Boston in two weeks and I've been in the field several times in the past 1.5 weeks. I went out today, but it was a little different: Atalie tagged along. She portrayed perfectly the role of the "unlucky field assistant." Her first misfortune came when the person that used the waders previously didn't hang them up to dry when finished, never mind the fact that the waders leaked (which we found out later). Getting the waders passed her knees seemed to be a feat in and of itself, cue misfortune number 2. It turns out that it is nearly impossible for a woman possessing a bit more rump than the average woman to pull on a pair of youth-sized waders (again, which we found out later). After some tugging, she squeezed in only to find that she couldn't bend her knees or lift her feet more than a foot off of the ground: misfortune number 3. At this point it was getting comical. To make matters worse, as she was slowly hobbling over some vines I turned around and just about stabbed her with the GPS pole, luckily, the waders absorbed the impact. She's tough, that's for sure!
We went on anyway and managed to get some work done. Atalie's principle role was photographer, which she did well (as you can see) and I used a GPS to map some landforms and survey points. She put up with a lot and didn't whine at all and even though it wasn't the most productive field day (mostly because I still don't really know what I'm doing) it was still fun!
We went on anyway and managed to get some work done. Atalie's principle role was photographer, which she did well (as you can see) and I used a GPS to map some landforms and survey points. She put up with a lot and didn't whine at all and even though it wasn't the most productive field day (mostly because I still don't really know what I'm doing) it was still fun!
3.30.2008
Fun Weekend!
We had a busy, but fun weekend! Friday we went to dinner at Applebee's, one of our favorite spots, so we had some yummy food. Our waitress seemed rather new, since we had a few problems that stressed me out a bit, but it was still nice to go out. Afterward we made it to Juanita K. Hammons performance hall just in time to meet Kat and Lucas for a New Orleans jazz concert by Dr. John and his band. It was very chill, interesting music! When the concert ended, we were lucky enough to walk outside as a fireworks show started in the sky, following the Springfield Cardinals vs. the St. Louis Cardinals pre-season baseball game. They were beautiful and we had a great view!
The next morning we didn't get to sleep in because we picked up Kat and met our friend Dave and his parents (visiting him from Wisconsin) to drive to Arkansas for a leisurely, but stimulating hike along a trail in Lost Valley near the Buffalo River. The weather was a little rainy on the way there, but the temperature and air was very refreshing when we arrived. The sites along the trail were gorgeous- a waterfall!- and at the end of the trail we had fun exploring a small cave with another waterfall in the back of it. Patrick and Dave had been to this site before, but they still seemed to enjoy themselves just as much as the rest of us.
Later that night, Patrick, Kat & I watched some stupid movies while eating some pizza she picked up, and we repaid her today by cooking breakfast burritos for after-church-brunch and going thrift store shopping with her. Sadly, it's back to work and school for us tomorrow, but at least we can look back on the weekend with fondness!
That's me peaking out from the center of a hollowed out tree I'm standing in the middle of!
Patrick and Dave near the base of the waterfall.
Me, in the back of the cave, near the waterfall, examining some rocks in the stream.
Kat, on her way out of the cave.
The next morning we didn't get to sleep in because we picked up Kat and met our friend Dave and his parents (visiting him from Wisconsin) to drive to Arkansas for a leisurely, but stimulating hike along a trail in Lost Valley near the Buffalo River. The weather was a little rainy on the way there, but the temperature and air was very refreshing when we arrived. The sites along the trail were gorgeous- a waterfall!- and at the end of the trail we had fun exploring a small cave with another waterfall in the back of it. Patrick and Dave had been to this site before, but they still seemed to enjoy themselves just as much as the rest of us.
Later that night, Patrick, Kat & I watched some stupid movies while eating some pizza she picked up, and we repaid her today by cooking breakfast burritos for after-church-brunch and going thrift store shopping with her. Sadly, it's back to work and school for us tomorrow, but at least we can look back on the weekend with fondness!
That's me peaking out from the center of a hollowed out tree I'm standing in the middle of!
Patrick and Dave near the base of the waterfall.
Me, in the back of the cave, near the waterfall, examining some rocks in the stream.
Kat, on her way out of the cave.3.28.2008
The date...
We've finally chosen a date...
August 8, 2009!
The ceremony will be in the Cook-Dewitt Center at Grand Valley in Allendale and the reception will be at the Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. We wanted to do it earlier (like early-mid July) but EC wasn't available until August. We thought about it a little more and thought that August would be better because our lease is up August 1, which means that July would be hectic. This way, we can move out in the beginning of July and camp out in Michigan afterwards.
More details to come soon! See you on 8/8/09!
August 8, 2009!
The ceremony will be in the Cook-Dewitt Center at Grand Valley in Allendale and the reception will be at the Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. We wanted to do it earlier (like early-mid July) but EC wasn't available until August. We thought about it a little more and thought that August would be better because our lease is up August 1, which means that July would be hectic. This way, we can move out in the beginning of July and camp out in Michigan afterwards.
More details to come soon! See you on 8/8/09!
3.25.2008
The Easter whirlwind trip and a Mouse
The last week and a half has been quite busy. I got to go out in the field and finally get some data for my Thesis, worked all week, it rained 5.5 inches in 36 hours, a mouse scared the crap out of Atalie, and we went up to Michigan for Easter weekend.
The rain put a damper on just about everything around here and flooded more than 50 roads and countless houses. Some of the photos are amazing. Water was up 10 feet in some places within Springfield City limits (not on the big rivers). The big river south of the city was super flooded and overtopped the dam, flooding a bunch of (expensive) houses downstream.
As for the mouse- it really was uneventful. It darted across the hallway in front of her and she jumped about a mile. The mouse then retreated to behind the fridge and Atalie sent me after to find it. It was hiding in the baseboard in a crack and was absolutely terrified as I stood over it with a very bright flashlight. We were planning on the "flush and trap" move, which involves a broom a box and two people. Atalie botched the whole thing when she spooked the mouse by bumping a plastic bag near it. We couldn't find it anywhere in the house after that and of course Atalie was not happy. :-) Maintenance was called the next day and when we returned home Sunday night there was a trap set up (no mouse present, however). A maintenance person showed up Monday morning and said he'd come back in the afternoon and fill the holes in the floor through which the mouse likely entered.
We buzzed up to Michigan Wednesday after Atalie got out of work and pulled in at a sleepy 1:45am. We got up the next morning for an appointment at the Eberhard Center, lunch with Cassandra, and then an appointment at Frederik Meijer Gardens in the afternoon. Both places are nice and would make for a nice reception. We capped the night with Brad and Mike and then headed to bed, which we were looking forward to. Friday was an early morning; I met up with a professor at GVSU and Atalie headed over to the Cook-Dewitt Center to see how it would work out for a ceremony site.
Choppy and disconnected (gotta love it)... must go to bed...
The rain put a damper on just about everything around here and flooded more than 50 roads and countless houses. Some of the photos are amazing. Water was up 10 feet in some places within Springfield City limits (not on the big rivers). The big river south of the city was super flooded and overtopped the dam, flooding a bunch of (expensive) houses downstream.
As for the mouse- it really was uneventful. It darted across the hallway in front of her and she jumped about a mile. The mouse then retreated to behind the fridge and Atalie sent me after to find it. It was hiding in the baseboard in a crack and was absolutely terrified as I stood over it with a very bright flashlight. We were planning on the "flush and trap" move, which involves a broom a box and two people. Atalie botched the whole thing when she spooked the mouse by bumping a plastic bag near it. We couldn't find it anywhere in the house after that and of course Atalie was not happy. :-) Maintenance was called the next day and when we returned home Sunday night there was a trap set up (no mouse present, however). A maintenance person showed up Monday morning and said he'd come back in the afternoon and fill the holes in the floor through which the mouse likely entered.
We buzzed up to Michigan Wednesday after Atalie got out of work and pulled in at a sleepy 1:45am. We got up the next morning for an appointment at the Eberhard Center, lunch with Cassandra, and then an appointment at Frederik Meijer Gardens in the afternoon. Both places are nice and would make for a nice reception. We capped the night with Brad and Mike and then headed to bed, which we were looking forward to. Friday was an early morning; I met up with a professor at GVSU and Atalie headed over to the Cook-Dewitt Center to see how it would work out for a ceremony site.
Choppy and disconnected (gotta love it)... must go to bed...
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