Homecoming

I have to say one of my favorite events that occurs in Columbia is Mizzou Homecoming. I love all of the traditions. Not to mention all of the friends and alumni that come back into town. Looking back on all of the memories of previous homecomings I realize that I was the most excited about this year. The whole group was back together in Columbia. Bree came into town from DC, Sally from Lansing, Michigan. Tim drove up from Destin, FL and picked up Brian in StL along the way. Danielle drove her boyfriend Brett, Sally, and Bree in from KC. Chris Rehagen drove in from DC too. I think it had been about 3 years since we were all in the same city.

I cooked up a Mexican fiesta including some tasty margaritas. We all hung out until we walked to Deja Vu for Rally Night. I have to say I’m just not that impressed with Rally Night anymore. I enjoyed the band but after that all I wanted to do was go to a low key place to sit and have some drinks.

I think I got maybe 4 hours of sleep Friday night and made it to the parade. Then the rain started. Tim, Bree, and Brian had already left before we went to lunch. Danielle and Brett left after lunch. Sally went back to KC with her parents after the game. I felt pretty worthless the rest of the weekend. I think I spent maybe 3 hours total out of bed for the rest of the weekend. Once again I didn't take any pictures... I know Danielle and Bree did. I think they'll be posted eventually.

One last thing... GO Cardinals!

Vacation... finally

I have been back for almost a week. That means i am long over due to tell the tale of my 12 day break from Missouri. Nick and I spent 5 days with his sister in Kissimmee and 7 days in Miami. Kissimmee was just very relaxing. Neither of us felt the need to go to any of the tourist attractions... well we went to Old Town and played some Ski Ball. The rest of the time was spent sleeping and hanging out with his sister and brother in law. I must also throw in there that Orlando has some crazy awesome malls. It was great to finally meet Nick's sister. He has mentioned her numerous times in the classic family stories. I was also pleased to meet Beta.

Miami was great too. I was exposed to tons of new tasty foods. Tostones are quickly becoming something that i am missing. I was also introduced to Nick's dad, younger sister, step mom, numerous cousins, and many many other family members. We spent a couple of days at south beach, walked calle ocho (8th street in the heart of Little Havana), and spent Friday night out at Mango's (on South Beach). We also took a tour of the law school i had previously been accepted to. I am really looking forward to potentially going to this school in 2007.

I realize this is a super short post about 12 days. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera because it was in my car (which was in the shop) but, here are some pictures from the internet.

This is the outside of Mango's. Inside there are waitresses and bartenders dancing coreographed routines on the bar in next to nothing.

Old Town Kissimmee. Tons of little shops... and Ski ball!

Apples, Wine, and the Duncans

The weekend in review:

Friday night Nick took me to Osaka for dinner. Tasty as always; minus the fact that the first round of chicken wasn't fully cooked. I had my first taste of sake. That stuff tastes pretty potent. I don't really recall what we did after Osaka... I think we just hung out.

Saturday we got up early and drove to Hermann! On the way my car started to act up again. It's getting rather frustrating. Currently it is in the shop and they aren't exactly sure what is going wrong with the throttle positioning sensor... wiring perhaps?

Anyway, Chris and Sara Duncan picked us up in Hermann. We took some windy back roads to Marthasville to go apple picking. Sara took tons of pictures... I didn't because I am the moron who forgot her camera in the broken car. Any who we picked tons of apples... There were some goats for petting, cider to be drunk, and a kid who got slapped across the face for hocking a loogie into the goat's water.

Wineries! I love Hermann wine. We first stopped at Adam Puchta's winery and had ourselves a bottle of Vidal Blanc. I personally go for a sweeter Puchta wine but, the company I was keeping preferred a more dry wine. Next we drove out to Bias. Apparently Bias was the place to be that weekend. Tons of people had come out for their chili cook off. Sara and I even sung karaoke, "Build Me up Buttercup".

After all of the winery excitement we checked into our "bed and breakfast". In all reality it was more like a cheap motel. For shame, we were really looking forward to something nicer. We then walked to the Concert Hall and played a couple rounds of Cranium (yes, I realize Cranium at a bar is rather... well you fill that blank in however you like). I was the big looser. I lost with Nick as my partner and then with Sara. El Ranchito was our dinner stop. It was ok. The salsa was the best part about the place. Best part about our Bed and Breakfast was hands down the breakfast. Other than that the place was pretty bad.

On Sunday Nick and I drove back to Columbia. We stopped at the humane society and adopted a 6 month old black and white spaniel mix that we named Toby. He's really a good dog and has already learned how to sit in one day. Not to mention he is well on his way to being potty trained. I'll be sure to post pictures of him as soon as I get my car out of the shop. :)