Down and out...

I have been down and out on the couch the last few days with one of the worst colds I have ever had in my life!! I think I picked this up on my flight back to Raleigh. I started feeling a little off on Wednesday but I wasn't too concerned. When I woke up on Thursday, however, I knew I was coming down with a cold. My eyes were itchy and watery and I was starting to get really congested. I sucked it up on Friday and went to a work luncheon even though that was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. I was supposed to go out Friday night but I never made it off my couch. I have since spent the rest of my weekend either on the couch or in bed. I have never been so congested before in my life!! And of course I have so much to do with my trip to the Cape this week. I did manage to run a few errands today. And throughout it all Ryne has been wonderful. Even though he's so far away he has checked in on me and kept me entertained. I'm so grateful for all that he has done for me this weekend.

Oh, what a trip!

Sadly I am back in Raleigh and my vacation has come to an end. I had the most amazing time with Ryne the past ten days. We managed to squeeze so much into our time together. It was so nice being able to spend time together and just relax.

After our stay at the cabin in Chadron State Park we spent time in Chadron. We went out to dinner.. Angela's, of course, for mugaritas and nachos! We then saw the new Indiana Jones movie. I was a little disapointed with the whole alien twist. On Thursday night Ryne's Uncle Dale (aka Waldo) joined us for dinner. It was nice being able to cook out with him and hang out. On Friday we went to Historic Fort Robison and saw Oklahoma! at the Post Playhouse. It was opening night and the cast did a fantastic job! The cast is a collection of college students from all over the country. Before the show we had a nice dinner at Fort Robinson. It was such a fun night! After Oklahoma! we hopped in the car and drove up to his parents' house in the Black Hills. It made for a late night but both wanted to be able to wake up there in the morning.

On Saturday we got up and met Ryne's friend Tito (real name Tony) for lunch at the diner in Hill City, SD. Tito is quite the character and there is never a dull (or quiet moment) when he is around! We then went and toured Mt. Rushmore. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we got some fantastic pictures. There is a really nice walking trail that we took that brought us right to the base of Mt. Rushmore. Tito has a really fancy camera and took some fantastic pictures.

After Mt. Rushmore we drove to the Cosmos Mystery Area. I saw a pamphlet for this place the first time I visited Ryne and it kind of became a joke between us. Well we finally decided to go visit this place. All I can say is that is it is BIZARRE!!! Supposedly there is a vortex at the Cosmos which then impacts everything else. At the Cosmos balls roll up hills, you can stand on a wall, your height can change, and you basically feel like you are not even in your body. It is so hard to explain but it was a really fun time. I had a super hard time just being able to stand up and walk -- shocking I know!! Hopefully you can figure out what I am talking about from the pictures -- and note, the pictures are straight!

On Sunday we spent the day with Ryne's mom. Unfortunately his dad had to work. The three of us went to Rapid City and saw a movie together. We then went out to dinner and just had a really good time. It was such a nice and relaxing day. I know it meant a lot to Ryne to be able to spend time with both me and him mom.

It was very, very, very sad leaving! It keep gets harder and harder to say good-bye. Thankfully Ryne will be coming to the Cape for the 4th of July so I will get to see him again in a few weeks. I am really looking forward to showing him around the Cape.

Cabin in the Woods

The last two nights Ryne and I stayed at a cabin in Chadron State Park located a few miles outside of Chadron. It is an absolutely beautiful park. The state park reminded me a lot of Cape Cod (minus the ocean!). Our cabin was very nice and cozy. It had a screened in porch on the front and large deck on the back.
On Monday night Ryne I had a bunch of his friends up to the cabin for a cook-out. The weather was perfect...although it did get a little chilly as the night went on. We cooked brauts and buffalo burgers and had an assortment of pasta and garden salads. Since we were "camping out" I thought it was fitting that we make S'mores for dessert!
As soon as Ryne got off work last night we headed back up to the cabin. Since it was a gorgeous day we went for a walk through the park. We then came back to the cabin and enjoyed a few beers on the back deck. Ryne grilled out for us again and we just spent the night relaxing under the stars on the deck. I slept so well both nights we were there... I think it was all the fresh air! Last night the winds kicked up and at one point I began to wonder if a tornado was in the area! Thankfully it was just really strong winds.
I am having a great time and am looking forward to all of the other things we have lined up for the remainder of my visit.

Weekend in the Black Hills

After a few delays and some bad weather, I finally made it out to Rapid City late Friday night. At one point it was looking like I wasn't going to make it all!! And I am happy to report that my luggage even made it!!!

On Saturday we got up and went into Custer and lunch with Ryne's parents at the Sage Creek Grill. OMG... that food was sooo good!! I had the best BLT sandwich of all time!! After lunch we went to the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. This is the world's largest mammoth research facility and you can tour an active dig site. It was very interesting and neat to see the bones being excavated. Hard to believe that mammoths once roamed the earth! After the Mammoth Site we then went to Edgemont to see the trains--something my dad would have loved! (Ryne's dad is a train engineer.) I have never seen such long trains -- over 7,000 feet!!! And let me tell you, if you get caught at a crossing guard like we did (3x!) you can end up waiting a long time for that train to go by!! We then had dinner with Ryne's parents' friends. It was a great day and a great start to my trip!!

On Sunday Ryne and I got up and cooked breakfast for his parents. After breakfast we out to check on the buffalo. I am on infatuated with them... probably because I didn't have any roaming around my yard in CT! It's calving season and so far 4 of the buffalo have had babies. One calf was born only hours before I arrived on Friday night. The calves are so cute!! They are a cinnamon color and they really don't look like buffalo. I learned, though, that the mothers are quite jumpy when they have their calves and do not like you getting too close. One buffalo in particular, #88, stared me down and kept grunting at me. When I took a few steps she got really agitated and I realized it was my time to exit!

We then spent the afternoon at Jewel Cave. This the 2nd longest cave in the world, at 142 miles. Jewel Cave got its name from the calcite crystals that fill the cave. We took the scenic tour, which is a 1/2 mile trail through the cave. On this tour we climbed 730+ steps!! The temperature in the cave was 46 with 95% humidity! With all of that moisture in the air some of the trail and steps were a little slippery. The crystals were beautiful and pictures do not do it justice. After the cave, Ryne and I then went and go some ice cream. We drove back to Chadron last night and had pizza and watchded a movie. It was a great way to end the weekend!!

Tonight we are staying in a cabin at Chadron State Park. We've invited some of Ryne's friends and family to join us for a cookout tonight at the park. I will be sure to post more pictures!

Writing... and writing

Things haven't been all that exciting here in Raleigh lately. I spent this past weekend at my friend Jane's house taking care of her cats while she was out of town. It was pretty quiet at her house and the cats were well behaved. The only down fall was that a bird had diarrhea all over my car. Let me just tell you... not a pleasant site! I was literally gagging at the site of it!

The past few days I have been busy with my grant, working on publications, and meeting with doc students. Yesterday I met with two of my doc students to work on research projects. Each has some pretty interesting research areas they are exploring so it was fun working with them. Today I have been writing... and writing...and writing. I am working on a journal article on using Web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning. I've actually been in the zone today so I have been able to put a good dent into my writing. I'd love to get a decent draft completed before I head off to see Ryne the end of this week. That way I can send it to my co-author and let her work on it for a bit.

If any of you would like to help me write, you are more than welcome!!