Friday, April 30, 2010

I'm Ready For My Close Up


Many of you have commented on how much you enjoy our pictures (thanks guys!). Part of that is talent, and part of that is the iPhone application, CrossProcess, that Chunk's friend, Nick Campbell, made. By adding the look of cross processed film to our photos, we've managed to make them look even better.

So go and have and adventure, and don't forget your camera!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

What a Fortunate Wheel

Yesterday's adventure included scoping out the Indiana Live! casino and trying out for Wheel of Fortune. Unfortunately, we got there late and it seemed pretty busy so we skipped tryouts and headed to the casino. Too bad because Chunk is pretty good at that game, and we were hoping to use his winnings for a tropical vacation adventure!




Regardless, we headed into the casino, and signed up for reward cards (you know- those things those die hard people have stuck into the machines?). Neat tip that Chunk learned while in Vegas once- if you sign up for those cards, they preload them with anywhere from $5-$20! Cha-ching!

We then took our cards and headed to the penny slots. The outcome? KJ played $2 (not including the free $5 on her card) and didn't win anything, but Chunk played $1 (not including the free $5) and won $62!

Keep adventuring!

Friday, April 23, 2010

I'll Print Your Pancakes

Our Friday night adventure took us to the West side of town to pick up Chunk's new screen press. He got it, brand new, for very cheap from this guy on Craigslist. Unsure of what we'd find, we were pleasantly surprised to find the unused, half-price screen press to be in awesome condition.



Afterward, we decided to head to IHOP. Because really, what better way to follow up your first investment into your screen printing business than breakfast foods?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day: Adventures in Gardening

Happy Earth Day! Hoping that everyone's adventures lead them do something good for the planet today!

For our Earth Day adventure, we continued planting fruits and veggies in our garden. Now, we've had a garden for a couple of years now, and it's been pretty awesome seeing things grow. Tomatoes and cucumbers seem to do well here (can we say salsa and cucumber salad galore?). We've also got a green pepper (0nly one, since year after year they seem to be anti-growing here), oregano, and mint (mojito's here we come!).



So today we decided to add garden beans and watermelon to the garden...we'll see how they grow! Oh, and don't forget to get your pets involved- mostly good for laying around and lending moral support. :)



Happy adventuring!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hump Day Adventure

Today we decided to check out a Russian and Eastern European store we'd heard about- Babushkas Deli. A bit nervous about entering the tiny store (you never know- it could have been shady), we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. Full from our Thai lunch (green curry chicken and lad nar) and on a mission to find Latvian goodies, we scoured the store until we found Aldaris (Latvian beer), Gotiņas (Latvian candy), and Kārums (Latvian ice cream confections).




Success! Plus, all of it was fairly cheap and left us in a good mood. We then traveled to the IMA (free by the way) to check out some art, and saw the Tara Donovan exhibit. Chunk was really inspired by her work, and left with a smile on his face. Our mini adventure ended up being a great success!



Keep on adventuring!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Invert Your What??

Before we left on our East Coast adventure, we purchased a power inverter for the car. While KJ didn't really understand what the benefits would be, Chunk praised the use of one of these. As it turns out, Chunk was right. Power inverters are a lifesaver. You can not only charge things in the car using the regular car chargers, but the power inverter also has a regular plug on it. This was especially helpful in keeping Chunk's iPhone up and running.
We bought the Black & Decker 200w power inverter (shout out to KJs dad's company!). It works pretty well, and while not aesthetically that appealing it's definitely a useful gadget. So if you're going on a long trip, get one of these things. You'll thank us later!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Dlugach at Bat

Yesterday we joined our friends S and R, along with some youngins for another trip to the Indy Zoo. Good times- we even saw the dolphin show this time. Good show, and not cheesy like some we've seen (read: Shed Aquarium Fantasea show...what's up with the crazy ladies in colorful toilet paper style outfits...good, but truly cheesy).

We did however see some more stupidity...


We then headed to and Indianapolis Indians game where we met up with A. KJ hadn't been to a game since she was 12 or so, and so unsure of what to expect, we were pleasantly surprise. Yeah, the Indians are minor league, but the stadium is pretty nice and our seats we close to the players.

And get this- the most expensive ticket is $14. That's awesome if you're looking for something cheap to do. The beers are pricier, but that's to be expected at a baseball game. As Cubs fans, we still thought it was all a good deal.

We were also entertained by the enormous amount of mascots that were there. Not only was the Indians mascot, Rowdy (a giant red bear), there, but there were about 12 others that ranged from a giant Dunkin Donuts donut to Chester Cheetah to a giant gumby/gingerbread man. Yes! Nothing like a giant onslaught of mascots to make a night fun!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Lions, Tigers, and Bears...

Yesterday we had a mini adventure to the Indianapolis Zoo. We'd been there before, but since the weather has been amazing we decided that it'd be a great time to go. What's really cool about the Indy Zoo is that it's run 100% on green power. That, and the fact that it's a nice zoo, made us feel good about signing up for the year long membership (which, after 3 visits, pays for itself).



We've never had a membership like this, so that's pretty exciting. Plus, the Zoo is always trying to get new animals and make itself better. For instance, Memorial Day Weekend, they'll be opening the new Cheetah exhibit. Rawr! They even half a tank where you can pet dog sharks - which KJ did (Chunk has also done it, but decided to not this time). Sharks don't feel like one might think. You'll just have to have you own adventure to experience it yourself.



So while it seemed like the parents at the Indy Zoo were smarter than those we saw at the National Zoo, we did observe some obnoxious things...

  • When entering the underwater Dolphin dome, there's a sign on the doors that says no strollers- obviously, we saw multiple mom's taking their SUV strollers into it.
  • A woman decided to hold her child over the railing of the brown bear exhibit. Ok lady, that's why people get attacked at zoos. Genius.
  • We passed by a younger dad who proclaimed he, "ain't giving one more dollar to this place", because he felt, "ripped off. There ain't even any animals out". First of all, yes there were- you were just standing in front of 5 giraffes. Second of all, they aren't going to shock the animals into standing in a crate so that your stupid face can look at them.

We're not exaggerating. Next time you have your own adventure, check out the people around you. We had a great time though (those people were just amusement we could use for our blog).

We also stopped over at the White River Gardens (included with you Zoo entrance). Pretty neat!



We even took a train ride around the plains area of the zoo (fun, even though the train seats are made for kids), and we saw baby lemurs! Super cute, and one of Chunk's favorites!



Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Don't Forget The...


While on our East Coast adventure we both ended up getting sinus colds, and had to spend some of our budgeted vacation money on meds. It then occurred to us that we should come up with a list of things to bring on your adventures, so that you don't have to spend your fun money on something so mundane as cough medicine.

Here are a few things you'll be happy to remember on your next trip (trust us, it's worth it):

  • cough medicine - it might be bulky, but you'll be happy to have it with you
  • cough drops
  • Emergen-C - one of our favorites and a true life saver
  • Airborne - great for when you feel like you might get sick
  • pain killers - we prefer ibuprofen
  • Band Aids - for pesky blisters that might pop up
  • antacids
  • A + D Ointment - everyone can get chafed, not just babies
Healthy adventures to all!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Love Your Driving Music


Good music is essential to a good road trip. Without it, one might go nuts. It's also key to mix it up, so that you don't end up getting sick of your favorite driving songs. Here is a partial list of the driving music we listened to on our East Coast adventure:

Lady Gaga
Owl City
Dropkick Murphys - especially while driving to Boston
David Bowie
Coheed and Cambria
Muse
Julian Casablancas
Lily Allen
Me First and the Gimmee Gimmees
Lucky Boys Confusion
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kanye West

Obviously there were various other artists, but really, who has time to list them all on such a gorgeous day!

Go have a music adventure!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The State(s) of the Union


When we set out on our East Coast adventure, we decided to see how many different state license plates we could spot. Surprisingly, we saw quite a few...

Texas
Indiana
Nebraska
Illinois
Ohio
Maryland
Minnesota
Colorado
Missouri
Kentucky
Tennessee
New York
Kansas
Ontario
Quebec
Massachusetts
Vermont
New Jersey
Iowa
Maine
Rhode Island
Georgia
Pennsylvania
Connecticut
Florida
California
US Government
Mississippi
Arkansas
Delaware
Oregon
Nevada
Diplomatic
Washington DC
New Mexico
Wisconsin
North Carolina
Michigan
West Virginia
South Carolina

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

How Far is Far?

Sorry about our hiatus from the blog- recouping from the trip has taken a few days! So, some of you might be wondering how far we traveled, so check out the map to see how our trip looked to us.


View Larger Map

Total miles driven: aprox. 2,332
Total hours driven: aprox. 1 day 17 hours

No wonder we're tired!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

And We're Back!


After a long drive, we're back home. Not to worry! More blog posts to come!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Half Way There

Happy to say that we're in Ohio and halfway home! Only 290 miles to go! We still plan on having a new entry at least once a day, following our adventures, tips, dos and don'ts, planning, and more. So stay tuned kiddies- there's stll more Chunk and KJ to keep you entertained!

Take Me Home, Country Roads


Leaving for home today. Sad, but we're kind of ready for it. We miss our cats!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Peking Duck



On our last night, our gracious hosts took us out to the Peking Gourmet Inn. Well known for their Peking Duck and their many famous fans (George Bush Sr. and Norman Schwarzkopf), it was definitely a good time. We had the Peking duck, which was carved at the table, as well as ginger beef and beef supreme, as well as some appetizers. A great way to end a great visit to DC.



Oh, and check out our little buddy Collin! He's been a true friend during our visit to DC!


How Long is Your Line?

Today was absolutely gorgeous, and we took advantage of the weather by visiting Mount Vernon- George Washington's home on the Potomac River. With over 500 acres (he once had 8,000!), it's really a nice place to visit. Note to those using a GPS to find it- get the coordinates, since the street address is not recognized and shows some funky place. And actually on our way to Mount Vernon, we saw an LV sticker on a car, and it turned out to be someone that Chunk knew. However, said Latvian did not see us and turned before we could get his attention. (And of course, as mentioned in the previous entry, we met an LV family too!)

To start off the tour of the grounds we took a 40-minute sightseeing cruise of the Potomac that left from the wharf just below the mansion. Absolutely awesome, and at just $9 extra, it was well worth it.



We then stopped by Washington's tomb (which also includes 25 family members), and the slave memorial, and then walked up to wait in the hour long line to get into the mansion. It was such a nice day that we didn't mine waiting, and the people around us kept us entertained. The mansion itself has more bedrooms than anything else, and is kept as it was in 1799 when Washington passed away. Most of the rooms are painted bright blue and green, a stylish and expensive decor choice back then. One third of the furniture, and half of the paintings are the original pieces that were there when Washington lived there. They're still working on finding everything, which is pretty awesome.

There's even a key to the Bastille that was given to Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette. We also stood in the room where they celebrated Washington becoming president, and saw the bedroom where he died. While we were excited to see all of this history, we did notice an unappreciative teen who was with his grandparents, and continuously was texting on his phone while inside the mansion. Interesting, since the two girls in front of us, maybe 10 and 7, really enjoyed it). *Side note: They even have Mount Vernon SPs- with a Gator and light green shirts! (see photo below)



So after spending most of the day there, we hurried to the Udvar-Hazy Center (the addition to the Air and Space Museum). Tons of planes, space transportation, and other flight apparatuses, the Center was even featured in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. There's even a first generation Optimus Prime Transformers figure in a case at the Center, along with an original script from the second movie and a plate from the plane used in the movie with the Decepticon logo. Chunk's favorite plane, the SR-71 Blackbird, was even there and he was like a kid in a candy shop walking around seeing planes that he recognized. We also saw the Enola Gay, the Concorde, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise (huge!).

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