Today was what we considered a driving day, and so we left Mitchell with the idea of getting to Rapid City and getting work done there before seeing the new sights further west. Clouds hovered over Mitchell and Rapid City, but the roads drained well—but I wasn't about to go the speed limit of 80 until we got to a dry spot. Most of the road across South Dakota was indeed dry. There was little to report until crossing the mighty Missouri River, and we got a sense of how the car handled at high s
by Sumiki's Dad "A twerked naval never exits." "Nasal passages: what a concept!" "Jello shoes: squishy and delicious." "I like botulism - especially in a six-pack."
We left for the Mall of America at 12:20 and arrived a few minutes later. It's strange seeing the place - there's really nothing quite like it. It's not because of the shops. It's because they have roller coasters inside. Roller coasters. Inside. We walked through this gigantic area en route to the LEGO store, but had enough time to get all-day wristband passes to (nearly) all the rides. The kiddie rides are mixed in with the larger ones and the larger ones were built over, around, and o
We set our alarms for an alarming 7:00 AM. My mom had already woken up and was busy packing things. We left just a little after 8:00 and went south to Wind Cave National Park. Upon our arrival at Wind Cave, we encountered a herd of buffalo making their way across the road. The great beasts were shedding their winter coats, and two of them did so partially by rubbing their bellies along the stones which hold up information signs along the pullouts. One, to which we were able to get fairly close
Probably something that has been previously (and, might I add, duly) noted, but I just found this odd easter egg/coincidence from looking at the map of the Matoran Universe: Tren Krom's island is the southernmost island in the chain leading down from the left side of Mata Nui - his right, our left. Since it's the southernmost island, I'm thinking that this would correspond into being inside/near the hand. Tren Krom was in Mata Nui's right hand. He was his right-hand gelatin monster freak t
We slept in today a little bit and ate our last meal at Hometown Kitchen, where we said our goodbyes to the waitresses. Dad went down the street a few times to check on the status of the part. James, the man at the service station, said that the part was in Sydney, the largest city on Cape Breton Island. However, there was a serious breakdown in communication between dealerships elsewhere in the Maritimes, and by midday we learned that the Sydney dealership didn't even have it. After deliberat
Why do people use NMQ&A for BS01 questions a lot nowadays? HOW HARD IS IT for members to understand that forum is for BZP questions only?
I dunno, it just kind of irks me that so many people can't seem to read the rules.
-=< >=-
Have you ever noticed that staff birthday topics are always a hot topic after they're closed?
IMO, the Admins should remove closed topics from the Hot Topics list.
-=< >=-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeFMztwJpKk Catoire is a highly neglected composer, but his works are steadily gaining their due recognition - in no small part due to the CD of his piano works released by super-virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin. Russian and French, both influences are heard in his music, although in his best works, he takes French fluidity to new heights. The second Prelude from his collection "Cinq Morceaux" is one of the best things he ever wrote. Catoire's music exhibits plenty
Our first stop of the day was the Archway Monument, a building that Interstate 80 goes directly under. It is at - or at the very least, near - the geographic center of the United States. It opened in 2000 and had to be lifted over the highway in one piece, shutting down I-80 for eight hours as they used specialized equipment to place it in its proper location. Its interior is a well-done museum dedicated to the pioneers going west, from the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails, to the Pony Expr
BrickFair is coming up soon, and this year we're leaving early in order to go out to the Outer Banks and the Delmarva Peninsula. As per our usual trip routine, our job in the days before departure is to eat every perishable item in the house. So today, I looked and saw that we had a few spaghetti noodles as well as the ingredients for a quick jalapeño cream sauce. The meal came together quickly, but after tasting it, something was missing. After a few bites, I realized that it was cheese, as I
We got on the road before 10:00 and headed west on Trans-Canadian Highway 1. The first stop of the day was Medicine Hat, which, aside from its strange and awesome name, is the first major city after crossing into Alberta. We saw a donut-shaped cloud and large eastbound trucks - probably the most traffic we've seen on Highway 1 since we got on it in Brandon. We continued the pattern of gaining altitude and plateauing. This became much more pronounced today; we were most definitely in the foothill
Full entry on all that happened at the highly awesome Bricks Cascade is coming later tonight, but this deserves its own entry: Kakaru is awesome. I got seven collectible minifigures, a LEGO shirt, and a light blue noble Komau from him - completely for free. He even tried to give me one of the sets that he got from winning an award, though I refused to accept that one. So yeah. Kakaru = awesome. B)
-----Sleeping in in St. Cloud was a great help, and we got up at 8:00 and left by 10:00. We took I-94 westbound and traveled to the Fargo metropolitan area. Our return to Fargo was marked with a return to a Jimmy John's at which we'd eaten on our second trip in 2013. It was not raining this time, which made for an easier journey, and we were able to go the speed limit, which was a whopping 75 MPH. -----We continued on I-94 due west until we reached the city of Jamestown, where we split nort
