How I spent my summer vacation

Aka: Using all my free Southwest flights to do fun things with Todd instead of sitting at home waiting for Todd while HE does fun things

Thanks to Southwest's awesome rewards program and my job that makes me travel a lot, I had a really fun past couple of weeks.

On August 2 Todd and I drove home from San Antonio. We (i.e. Todd) drove nine hours both days, but it actually didn't feel as long as it was. Road trips are fun. Especially with Dramamine. I had never been to non-San Antonio Texas, or New Mexico, or that area of Arizona, and I actually really enjoyed the sights. I thought it was pretty, especially the Texas part.

In New Mexico we saw the prettiest flowers blooming along the side of the road. I loved it. I took all our pictures through the window of the car, so they're not perfect. But if we had stopped for every picture I wanted to take, the trip would've been twice as long.

Arizona had tons of saguaro cacti. Like, a forest of them (we in the desert get our forests however we can). We also got to pass "nothing" in Arizona. Which some would say sums up a trip through the high desert. But it didn't. It was just hilarious.

And I was, of course, happy to pass back into Nevada via Hoover Dam. I love the Dam. It's also been fun to watch the progression of the bridge that will bypass the Dam.

When we got home I saw my tomato plants, which looked like this when I left, looked like this merely two days later, because of about eight of these guys. They're tomato caterpillars (with nasty horns) and were each about the size of my pinky. Maybe my ring finger. Stupid caterpillars eating my tomato plants that have struggled all summer. I got too much pleasure out of putting the bugs and my now-only-sticks plants into a bag and out in the sun.

This last weekend Todd and I flew to Baltimore so he could interview at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. That's our other choice for his residency, and his interview went well. Now we just wait until December to find out where we'll go.

We also got to spend time in Maryland with Todd's brother's family. I had only met them once, the week of our wedding, so we were so lucky to spend an entire extended weekend with them. We had a blast. Greg and Nicole were great hosts, and we had a great time with them and their kids. The entire weekend we had great weather. It wasn't too muggy, and the temperature was very pleasant. We got so lucky. I'd heard Maryland has really good crab and crab cakes, and Saturday I learned it was true--I had the yummiest crab cake ever. That alone wins me over for that residency.

We went to DC on Saturday and spent a few hours at the mall, which was fun. I love being a cheesy photo-taking tourist. We cooled off in this neat fountain by the National Archives, we saw the Washington Monument, and we took pictures of the Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial, and the White House. I've been to DC before so I was ok not going to every building, I just wanted to spend a little bit of time in DC while we were so close.

I let Sadie and Micah take a few pictures, and they did a great job. Before we left for DC I let Sadie take a picture of whatever she wanted, so she gathered her new cute shoes and took this picture. I love it. Yea for shoes.

Am I destined for fatitude when the main highlight of my trip is a BBQ restaurant?

I went to San Antonio last weekend and the weekend of July 12. It was so fun to spend time with Todd. "Fun" doesn't even begin to describe it, but no words really do so we're going with that. I'm going again this Friday (I'm getting to know that 8:20 Vegas to San Antonio flight really well) and then we're going to drive home together. I am so excited for the road trip, and to be able to see Todd every day again.

The first weekend we went to the Riverwalk. It's basically a canal that runs through downtown, and there are shops and restaurants on a walkway along the canal. It is really pretty. And muggy. Oh my humid. I don't know how I'm going to live outside of Nevada's dry heat for eight years. Luckily there was shade, and the Riverwalk is pretty enough to be worth me sweating buckets.

We parked near this hotel, which has air conditioning (always a plus) and is named after a confederate general. I love the near-south.

It was so interesting being in Texas because I recognized a ton of the surrounding city names only because of country songs. That cracked me up. Poor Texas being known through country songs. But there is one Texas stereotype we found to be true: BBQ. We went to Rudy's one Saturday night, and it was amazing food. It had such a fun atmosphere and was incredibly laid back. It didn't look like anything spectacular--people sit out front or inside this mess-hall type room with lots of metal folding chairs and tables. But the seating arrangements just add to the great experience. We got the best ribs I've ever had, a half rack for $8. I was floored to get such good food for so cheap. The employees were really nice, and when they found out Todd's in the Army they were genuinely appreciative. I love that about Texas.

Another true Texas stereotype is drinking. We saw "The Dark Knight" on Saturday (what a great movie) and we tried to see it in this huge nice IMAX theater, but the remaining eight shows that night were already sold out. So we saw it in a regular theater, and waited an hour in line. I can't believe the hype for this movie. Anyway, we finally took our seats, and the people next to us had glasses of a cocktail and the guy in front of us had a small bucket of ice and beer. Like what you'd see at a 4th of July BBQ in your backyard. It was insane. And people think Las Vegas is the place to party. Apparently it's a nice IMAX theater in a ritzy area of San Antonio.

We also toured Fort Sam Houston (and I went to my first PX, the Post Exchange, which is basically a huge one-stop mall for Army personnel and their families and it rocks) and he showed me some areas of Brooke Army Medical Center, where he has been spending all his time. It's a huge impressive building. I also learned the Air Force has bases and the Army has posts. And now you know.

All in all, I really enjoyed San Antone. The people are pretty nice, the freeway entrances were designed by dunces, trees grow all by themselves, and there are several Rudy's BBQs. And Todd was there.

Growing pains

I was chatting with a friend about getting married and how that affects friendships. Being married has been a comprehensive friend sifter (not that I intentionally sifted, but it seems people sifted themselves). I'm amazed at the friendships that easily survive marriage, the people who try hard to still be my friends, and the friendships that aren't strong enough to withstand major life changes but that I thought could. It's so interesting.

Girl time is important for women, and I think time away from your spouse is good for your marriage, too. So why do some people have such a hard time with it? I don't know if people assume newlyweds are too busy for girl time; if it's just a good excuse to sever ties; or if we've all had a friend or two who disappeared the moment she became a "Mrs." and we became jaded, so we automatically assume all married women will disappear.

How do you know when to cut a friendship loose? How often do you try to keep a friendship going before you're allowed to stop trying and still feel good about yourself (the guilt complex hard-wired into us is a tough thing to defy, huh)? Married women losing friends is such a pervasive phenomenon, something I have been thinking about for a while but haven't voiced until now. Is it the married woman's fault and primary responsibility, the friends', or a little bit of both? Or should we thank the friendship gods for letting us have friends in all stages of our lives--some who have a place and impact in specific seasons, and the very few who adapt and last? Do we then keep friendships in their proper seasons and look back with fond memories, and look forward to the future of others who will be in and out of our lives but whose presence has an effect nonetheless?

Mountain sheep are wild animals

There is a park at the base of the mountains that separate us from Las Vegas. It has a great view of the lake, a nice large grassy area, and a fun renovated play area. It also has another, unique, perk--big horn sheep come down from the mountain to graze on the grass. Lots of big horn sheep. I've never been lucky in my timing of finding the animals--you seem to have to get there when the sun is behind the mountain but before dusk.

Yesterday Todd and I saw 65 of them at the park. It was the coolest thing. We were mesmerized. And neither of us had our phones, and we didn't have a camera. We went home to get it, and by the time we got back to the park the sheep were in the hills. So we went back today, because we're dorks and because large wild animals with awesome horns are spectacular.

It's such a dichotomy to see these animals among children's toys, sidewalks, and a chain-link fence. Tonight we were there for nearly an hour, and as time wore on a few sheep would leave the park and go up a bit into the hill, then just wait or rub their horns on the trees. Then more would move to the hill. And then, for whatever reason, at about 7:45 the 15 or so remaining sheep left the park at the same time and headed for the hill. In single file. I don't know if they knew dusk was almost done or what, but it was an interesting phenomenon.

Big horn sheep at the park are a usual occurence, and sometimes people are stupid and try to pet them, so the city installed a sign on their behalf.

And also, here's Army Todd without his facial hair. We're standing on the jungle gym (is it called that any more?), close enough to the sheep but far and high enough away that they can't ram us. Rebels.