PART 2: The Magical Mystery Interview Tour, OR 7 States in 7 Days

June 27-30, 2010Zach and I went downtown to the Dickson Street Bookstore on Sunday. It is amazing, and you should check it out if you are ever in the Fayetteville area. I'm talking floor-to-ceiling bookshelves winding throughout the building. Even though I struggled to find the Dickens section which lacked the edition of Our Mutual Friend I wanted, I still got some goodies and saw even more!

After a chocolate and caramel concrete from Shake's, we headed next door for a Thanksgiving dinner with Nancy, Becky, and Lou who we had dinner with Friday night (angel hair pasta with shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts). We had never had blueberry ice cream, but that is how I will take my blueberries from now on!

This is Nancy's new ragdoll kitten Cat Cat. She is such a sweet cat, all soft and gentle. I loved her fur and her blue eyes especially. We loved watching her and playing with her. I think Hobie needs a little brother or sister like this one...

Monday, Zach interviewed at Jefferson College, a community college in Hillsboro, MO (our SECOND state), which is outside of STL. :) Doesn't he look dapper?

entering Illinois (our THIRD state)

As soon as it was over, we hopped in Don and drove to Terre Haute, IN (our FOURTH state), for the night because it is halfway between STL and Dayton, OH (our FIFTH state), where his next interview is.

Time changes are not fun. No me gusta. I repeat: Time changes are not fun. No me gusta.

We set our alarms for 7 in order to leave at 8:30. I decided to leave my phone on Central Standard Time, so we would know what time it really was. This meant my phone was technically set for 6 since we are an hour behind.

Too bad I didn't know the iPhone would change time zones in the night! Sneaky "smart" phone...you MUST be smarter than the technology you use. *lol* My alarm thus went off at 6 in Eastern Time. I was really confused when I looked at the clock in the room, and it now matched the time on my phone. I was still half-asleep, so when I asked Zach what was going on, he mumbled something at me I didn't understand. I was so worried about waking up late that I never really fell back asleep...

Then the real fun began. I was driving along toward Dayton when we got outside of Indianapolis and were surrounded by lots and lots of 18-wheelers. The law requires that they only go 65 m.p.h., so I had to keep turning the cruise control on and off as I would inevitably land behind a slow mover. The highway was lined with signs reading, "Speeding $1000 fine" or some such business. So I made damn sure I wasn't speeding.

I was waiting for several cars and 18-wheelers to move on in the left lane, preparing to change lanes and pass yet another 18-wheeler, when a policeman behind us turned his lights on. Now I have been pulled over just a handful of times, so I was stunned. I immediately asked Zach if the cop is pulling ME over. I assured him I had NOT been speeding.

And I hadn't. No, I was going eight (8!) miles under the speed limit, and to quote the police officer, "is not against the law," but he thought I was following the 18-wheeler too close. He wanted to make sure I was okay having observed I was from out-of-state, so he says he'll just take a look at my license, give me a warning, and send me on my way.

"Your license is expired."
WHAT?!
Yep. My license expired on my birthday, and I had no idea. This shocks me so much, I start to tear up because I think that I--the girl who never leaves home without her license and always knows keeps up with it--am in BIG trouble now.

The police officer was really nice and only gave me a warning, but Zach had to drive. I get so nervous when I get pulled over that my back starts having spasms and I cry. At that point, it was probably best that Zach drove.

Anyway, as I don't remember the procedure from when I got my license renewed the first time, I asked Zach if he got a reminder, which he assumed he did. (The police officer also said that most states do send out reminders.)

So I called my mom and asked her about it, assuming she had forgotten to give me my reminder since it is mailed to her address. She says she has NEVER gotten a reminder for hers, much less for mine this past year. But she said she would call the Revenue Office to check. They tell her that indeed they do send out reminders, but it may have gotten lost in the mail. So much for that reminder...

I guess it's a good thing I found out this way?

Since Zach usually drives anyway, we're probably going to wait to renew it after we hear how his interviews went. Speaking of interviews, he made it to Wright State--and in plenty of time!

I loved the interiors of their buildings, but I was disappointed by their lack of flowers, benches, and old buildings with characters. (Of course the campus has only been around since 1967.) The lack of flowers and benches was especially surprising considering how nice the weather was and how busy campus was despite it being summer.

However, they do have a tunnel system that connects all of the buildings together, which is pretty cool, if you ask me. The tunnels themselves weren't that cool, but I'm really not sure what I was expecting. (The Underground, maybe? *lol*) This means that, theoretically, you could go through your entire academic career without stepping outside. I think UCA should have implemented something like this a LONG time ago since we had to canoe to class. ;)We drove around Fairborn and Dayton a bit. Even though it was a charming city--about the size of Little Rock with lovelier architecture and attractions--I started tearing up when I realized I might have to miss my best niece's third birthday if Zach gets this job. :(

We didn't do much else but head to the hotel after we had spaghetti bolognese at Meadowlark Restaurant in Miamisburg. I was surprised I had never tried it before, but this was definitely the place to try it. We couldn't believe this cute little place was in a strip mall. I love pasta, so I will definitely be making this in the future. :)

Zach really wanted to try White Castle and eat at Steak 'n Shake once while we were on the road to home.This is him at White Castle in Louisville, Kentucky (our SIXTH state).

You'd never guess he liked it by looking at this picture. At least we (especially I) got a history lesson out of lunch...

Thank heavens we had this Steak 'n Shake turtle milkshake at dinner in Memphis, TN (our SEVENTH state!).

And this is Boogie's street!

L-O-N-G Weekend in Oxford, or Yoknapatawpha County

June 4-8, 2010

I got bored with my "Mint to Be" mints in Memphis traffic.

We left out Friday afternoon (June 4) for Oxford, Mississippi, to visit Kevin and Bree. It wasn't that long of a trip, except when we hit rush-hour traffic outside of Memphis and puttered along for awhile.

Oxford is definitely not what I expected. :) Mississippi is a scary place. :( But we met lots of their friends and gorged ourselves on grilled steaks, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade strawberry ice cream, beer, and cheap wine. It was a great dinner and a great first night in Oxford!

Lafayette County Courthouse

Saturday we woke up late, ate lunch, and headed to the Oxford Square, where I imagined it from the last page of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.

There, we explored Square Books (with its "Faulkner" section), shared a sundae at Holli's Sweet Tooth, tried pecan beer at The Blind Pig, drifted through Lily Pad, and loaded up on booze to head to Taylor Grocery.
Wow.
We drove out past Oxford into the boonies, getting lost and turning around at a possibly crazed man's house...all the while learning how to pronounce Lafayette (as in, Lafayette County).

Taylor Grocery was even more intriguing. According to one website, it is "the place to see and be seen." First of all, a "grocery" refers to a restaurant, the term seeming to originate from general stores and grocery stores that served meals on the side. As these businesses transitioned to full restaurants, the term stuck. Now I would say it is trendy to call your restaurant a "grocery," as in City Grocery, which we are visiting on Monday. But Taylor Grocery was once a general store and is housed in its original building. It is a "dry" part of earth, so you have to brown bag it--that is, bring your own liquor. (Hence why we loaded up on booze beforehand.) But you can't bring the bottles inside. Oh, no. You mix your drinks and pour your wine in the parking lot. The alcohol rules and regulations are interesting in these here parts. You cannot buy cold beer in (actual) grocery stores or mini-marts--only warm beer--and beer is not sold in liquor stores (wine and hard liquor only). You can get cold beer in town, as beer is legal in the town of Oxford though illegal in the county of Lafayette. Yep. The county is dry in beer, but the city is not while you can get liquor and brown-bag it at least three restaurants.

Nuts, I say.

So many levels of irony in this photo of my wine at Taylor Grocery.

It was a wonderful meal, and if I could make a comparison between Taylor Grocery and any other restaurant, it would be Toad Suck Buck's, which is also in the woods and makes great use of plasticky tablecloths. Ah, but the best steaks are found there, just as great catfish was found here. The house salad with vidalia onion dressing lived up to its reputation (although I wouldn't have minded some onion in the salad itself). I liked the French fries with Rotel (which is actually cheese dip with Rotel), but it wasn't novel to me. The place, with its graffiti and corner musician singing Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, also reminded me of White Water Tavern. It was like coming home. :)

We topped the night off with a mini-tour of campus and played Puerto Rico, which was a fun game of producing coffee and indigo, even if I came in last.

(See the corkscrews on the wall? If you forget yours, you can always come in and borrow one!)

We had breakfast from Honest Abe's doughnuts and BBQ, which used to be a drive-thru liquor store. Classy, I say.
And the biggest bear claws I've ever seen!

These babies are the most precious jewels. :)
pearl onions = a delish dish
Onions are my favorite. And I could just pop these in my mouth whole and let them melt.
Bree and Ashley Taylor made boeuf bourguignon with garlic bread on Sunday. It truly takes all day to make, but it is not impossible. Kevin, Zach, and I went shopping for the ingredients; Melissa and I chopped and prepped ingredients. Those ladies know how to cook up a good meal. :)

We went to The Grove and played bocce and took in a concert.

Sunset in The Grove

And Zach and I explored Ventress Hall, the administrative offices for the College of Liberal Arts. It reminds me of Hogwarts.

This Tiffany Stained Glass commemorates the University Grays, a Confederate unit of Ole Miss students who had a 100% fatality rate. (The only survivor never returned to school, so he's not counted.)

There are hydrangeas EVERYWHERE! We found these in the kids bookstore, Square Books Jr. on Monday.


After lunch at Newk's, we finally made it to the famed City Grocery that night.

After a farewell breakfast with the Gates' at Bottletree Bakery on Tuesday, where I had this deliciously crispy chocolate croissant, Zach and I headed to Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's Oxford home. : )Once there, I proceeded to take too many out-of-focus photos because I did not want to be caught looking like a nerd who has to photograph EVERYTHING in William Faulkner's Oxford home. ; )I enjoyed listening to one visitor attempt to explain to an older couple, who had never read Faulkner (except for possibly a few short stories), who Quentin Compson was (including clarifying that he was not a real person who lived at Rowan Oak), why he is important, when he died (including the side note that the 100th anniversary of his death was on June 2), and how and why emos are drawn to him--and what an "emo" is. Our tour guide, who appeared younger than the visitor himself, just stood by quietly and smirked.

(I did, however, have to acknowledge and applaud how much of a nerd this visitor was because he asked the older couple to take a picture of him on the porch so he would have proof he had been there.)

The house was nice, but the grounds were gorgeous and fragrant. I wish I knew what those yellow and white flowers were off to the right of the house. I wanted to gallop across the grounds while wishing I had a real camera to take more professional pictures.

Zach and I at Rowan Oak

But I did take this one of Zach crossing the grounds. I think it has become one of my favorites! : )O

The Jones-Francis Nuptials

May 21, 2010

the couple at our reception right after they got engaged :)

I couldn't pass up commemorating the Jones-Francis nuptials with a couple of photos. Friday night we sent them off in style at The Saucer.

It truly was the highlight of our week. :)

Zach took this photo of me with the now newly-married couple on our Spring Break trip to Memphis in 2009. Such a crazy trip--we couldn't communicate with anyone. This is at Silky's, not The Saucer, where we celebrated last night, but it will do.

(Like Friday night, sometimes I'm not in the mood to take photos...)

Zach and Whitney creeping behind Brian at our pre-wedding celebration at The Saucer (Sept. 18, 2009)

Brian and Zach's bromance at The Saucer in Memphis Spring Break 09

Whitney and I at what now could be called the Jones-Francis, Holland-Solomon, Byrd-Pharr cookout July 09

You guys have been great friends to us, and, if it had not been for the two of you meeting, Zach and I may have never met either. You definitely are a match made in England (which, we might as well face it, is HEAVEN on Earth). :) We are just tickled pink that you two are now married!!

(We can't wait to see you again. We will miss you guys so much, but we promise to come conquer another town's Saucer near you!!!)

Zach's really going to miss doing this!