We finally built our bed yesterday. Sure, it sounds easy – but it wasn’t one of those unfold-snap-together metal bed frames that just hold up the box spring and mattress. This Ikea bed had the bazillion screws/bolts/pegs and the awesome instructions with Swedish drawings of clunky builder men. After putting several sections together backwards and then disassembling and flipping them over – we eventually finished! Still. It’s a much nicer bed frame than we could have gotten most other places for the same price.
Break:
We missed the first episode of No Reservations (with Anthony Bourdain) this season, but we saw Columbia and Laos. The episodes so far this season more than make up for nearly all of last season. For some reason, we just weren’t as interested in the places he went to last year. The episodes weren’t as good as they were during the previous years. Whereas last year I thought the show ‘jumped the shark’ – this year, it’s right on track and back to going to places unfamiliar and with less of the contrived and set up shows that they produced last year. But that may just be us – because we like it when he goes to far off locations and meets up with villagers and eats with them on their bare floors – embodying a sort of ‘traveler’ lifestyle where you are invited into people’s homes – and not just showing us the places that tourists will inevitably flock to after seeing it on the show.
We went to China with the intention of getting reasonably lost enough to find things that we wouldn’t have found otherwise – this show was a big inspiration and motivation. Heck, we even decided to take a road trip down to Charleston after seeing it on No Reservations – and although we did eat at two of the restaurants shown on the show – there was no shame since they really were as good as advertised. (Jestine’s & Hominy Grill)
20 minutes after we arrived into town, we found ourselves at the farmer’s market, eating shrimp & grits. Seriously, what other type of first meal would you ask for after a 4 hour drive to Charleston?
And while this entry has gone wildly off track – what I realize now – and as Leah has mentioned to me lately – we need to go on another road trip. Someplace just beyond reach, and someplace different. When we lived in Arizona, we would drive to one corner and keep on going. At one point, we even came across some wild horses. THAT was pretty awesome. Hidden lakes, rarely driven roads, and wide open spaces and sky.
And now I have the hint of an idea.
Have a great night. Here comes the week.
7 Comments
OMG. You two are the perfect next spokespersons for carnival cruise lines with that last shot.
And Road trips rock. Too bad gas is so $$$. We never explored ANY where in Texas. Sad huh? 13
years there and no adventures. Oregon is a whole new (old?) ballgame though. Helps that going *anywhere*
is less than 5 hours and anywhere is 100,000,00,00,00 thousandy bajillion times more pretty than Texas.
Ha. I think I agree with you about Texas – while I can’t say I’ve seen most of it – I’ve driven across that whole state and man… it’s pretty on a certain level – but I’m sure NOTHING compared to Oregon. Plus there is that whole distance factor – Texas is just TOO BIG.
Gas IS expensive!… but I try to rationalize it by saying things like, “We can either spend the money on things to entertain ourselves like movies or buying stuff – or we can go on a road trip and spend it on gas and see new things!”
I lovelovelove the picture of you guys at the beach. So happy.
This makes my day-before-my-birthday even though I probably broke my finger yesterday. 
wow you 2 sure travel and move around. lol the sound of road trip makes me sick, sitting in that passengers seat for even 4hrs (lol i’m obviously not driving). but however I once want to do a road trip to about 6 states (^_^)
u guys look so cute, and ps: building a bed or anything doesnt sound easy lol
We also got/assembled an IKEA bed, and it was pretty tricky. I think we the only indoor furniture assembly where we argued more was the first time we built one of those cube bookcases.
Ahhhhh! Those darn bookcases! I posted a whole entry in LiveJournal last year about our frustration with trying to get that thing put together. I still have a scar on my arm from it collapsing on us… and it took a chunk out of Mark’s toe. Darn bookshelf. But we reassembled it at our new place without nearly the amount of difficulty or injury.
I love the last picture of you guys. Perfect.
I also love “No Reservation”, and “A Cook’s Tour”, and basically all things Anthony Bourdain, even though he despises vegetarians and vegans with a bizarre sort of passion. I loved him while I was still an omnivore, so he has yet to fall out of favor with me. I agree about the best of his travels – when he sits with the families and is humbled by their generosity in welcoming him into their homes, that is the best.