Back on the East Coast baby!

Hooray! Angie and I finally made it home safe and sound. We had an AWESOME trip across the country, and missed LaceFace every step of the way. My last post ended with some photos of the drive into Montana. Big Sky Country is absolutely beautiful, and I can totally see why people go there to get away. We spent a very long day in Yellowstone, and enjoyed every second of it. As with everything I've seen on these cross-country road trips, if you ever get a chance to visit Yellowstone, YOU SHOULD. Here's why:

Kepler Cascades

Buffalo friends

Old Faithful erupting

The end of a rainbow!!!

These are just a few of the many photos we took at Yellowstone. The scenery just kept getting better and better, and therefore I will post the pics on Facebook as well :)

After Montana and Yellowstone we continued east into South Dakota and found this!:

It's Mount Rushmore! We had an awesome time visiting with the presidents and eating some ridiculously good soft-serve. We had a lovely night in Rapid City, SD and promptly drove to Minneapolis the next day. One night there and we left for Indiana! One night in Indiana and we made it back home late on Friday night. Whew! Long drive. But so worth it. Go HERE to see everywhere we stopped. ALSO, look at this (green is with Lacy and orange is with Angie!) :


Angie flies back to Florida on Wednesday morning :( and till then we are hanging around MoCo. It feels awesome to be home, but I didn't realize how much I'd miss San Diego! If you are around town this summer, I would LOVE to see you. Please call!

Happy Summer and GO TERPS.

Love, Shub :)

Road trip home!

So Angie made it safely to San Diego and we are successfully on the road! After a day of visiting the city of SD, and saying some very hard goodbyes, we made a short 6 hour drive to San Luis Obispo, on the central coast, where I go just about every other weekend. Totally knowing my way around, I took Angie to my favorite place, Montana de Oro, where we hiked the cliffs and enjoyed the waves one last time.

After a busy day in the tidepools, we returned to clean the car and say goodbye to my little cousins. It was really tough saying goodbye to them, even though I know I will see them in October. Here's one final picture of my beautiful AJ showing me how much she loves me:

After a final night in SLO town, we drove to Fair Oaks, CA, outside Sacramento (where Aunt Susie and Uncle George live) for the night. Bot going in that direction I had to visit Google one last time, so that's where we made our lunch stop.

Next day we finally hit the road out of California, and made our way into Boise, ID, with some beautiful scenery through Lake Tahoe:


and some not-so-beautiful scenery through all of Nevada:


Today we got up and drove another 9 hours to our current location, Bozeman, Montana, known for Montana State University and it's big-horned sheep (which we saw at a rest stop). Driving through the mountains of Montana is one of the most gorgeous and scenic places I've ever been, and though the towns may be small and often abandoned, they don't take away from the views out here.

Tomorrow we are off to Yellowstone for the day. We can't wait for more picture-worthy scenes, and are confident that tomorrow will have plenty.

I hope everyone is doing well! I am going to be home uber-soon and can't wait to see people :) Miss you!

Love, Shub :) (and Angie!)

PS, the guy we are staying with here in Bozeman was in the Peace Corps! Hooray!!!

Homecoming.

The time has come, the walrus said, for Shub to come home.

Yup! After a very fast, very busy, and VERY happy year in California, I'm heading back home in two weeks. Two weeks! Yikes! It seems like yesterday I was packing the car in my front driveway and saying goodbye to my mailbox and my tire swing and stuff.

Here's why I'm comin' home: The job I have, though wonderful, is not enough to support me, and the people I live with need to have less of a burden; My parents' new boat needs lots of work, and who better to help than their soon-to-be unemployed daughter?; I would regret more than anything not being able to go to church camp this summer :); OH, and that whole Peace Corps thing.

At first I was unsure about how certain a "nomination" for the Peace Corps is, rather than an "invitation." I only have the former so far. I have been cleared legally, and my dental forms have passed. They told me my medical forms will not be reviewed until August, and since my potential date of departure is November, I'm supposed to hear by September about whether it's a done deal. They tell you not to make any rash decisions before getting an official invitation, such as quitting your job or moving, but I plan on doing both. If there is a chance I am going to be in Africa for the next two years, I want to spend summer at home with Mom and Dad, and my friends. As much as I love San Diego, I'm a Maryland girl, and always will be.

But WHO KNOWS, maybe after Africa I'll come back to SD for grad school or something :)

SO, AngiePants flies into SD on June 1st, and we drive out on June 2nd. Two weeks and a few thousand miles later (assuming leetle Saturn can handle the Rockies), we'll be back in MoCo. Instead of the southern route we took out west, we are going north to get back east. I'm thinking of keeping daily posts like LaceFace and I did on the way out here, just because it will probably be an interesting trip.

I can't wait to see everyone again, and I just can't wait to be home.

See you soon! (Eek!)

Love, Shub :)