Disc golfing

On Monday, we went disc golfing with Davis and Linda. Neither of them had gone before, so Matt thought he'd show them how it's done. The course had a lot of standing water which we weren't prepared for. The mesquitos were eating us alive. There were also some frogs that sounded like a tight guitar string when they croaked. Here are pictures of the small frogs that were on the trail.
The biggest challenge of this course was all the trees. Many of the holes were par 4 and the last was a par 5. Matt kicked all our butts, but it was fun. Unfortunately the camera batteries ran out so we didn't get very many pictures.

Our Apartment

In all the excitement of moving and getting settled I forgot to include pictures of our new apartment. With the help of many trips to Walmart it is finally starting to feel more like our own.
The Den

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Bedrooms

Cami's Photography

Cami has gotten into editing her own photography and printing them. She is still discovering all the editing tools that Picasa has. Here are some of her latest pictures.

Antique Auctions

We have gone to a few antique auctions while we've been in Richmond. The first time we went we couldn't even understand the auctioneer. When our item came up for bid our hearts were racing and we almost didn't bid. We got overbid on both of the things we wanted-- by the same couple. I guess they have good taste :)
Here is a video of the auctioneer. It will sound a little "scratchy" but that's just how fast the auctioneer was talking.

As each thing is being auctioned off, there are employees carrying them up in the air for the audience to get a better look. The employees have to carry practically everything. The only thing we haven't seen them hold up is large stone urns. But they lift up dressers, chests, bookcases, desks, armoires. We were wondering if the employees have to take a weight-lifing test to be hired.

There are a few terms and gestures we had to learn in the auction business. Here are some of the lingo at what it means:
"That's no money" - The bid is too low
"All one money" - All the items in a set are all for one price
"Three times the money" - Each item in the set is sold separately and you pay the whole multiplied price
Hand swept across horizontally - Tells the auctioneer to go half (ie. the auctioneer is bidding something by going up $50 each time. A person gives them the "sign" and he drops it down by half ($25))
Hold up fingers to show a certain number - The auctioneer will start the bid at that number

We have been able to get two things that we wanted. We were pretty excited. We got a marble-top plant stand and a sofa table.

Fireflies in West Virginia

Here are some videos of the fireflies in Beckley, West Virginia.
This video is really dark. But if you look really hard you can see some flickering lights. That's the fireflies.

Matt is holding a firefly in his hand.

Matt decided he didn't need the firefly anymore, so he smashed it with his shoe.

The Drive: Part 2

While driving through Nebraska and Missouri we saw lots and lots and lots of corn fields. We stopped in Mound City in hopes of seeing the remains of the temple mounds built by the Mound Indians. We were a little disappointed that upon further investigation there were no mounds in our near Mound City. It should be renamed "No Mound City." Jason, who had driven the rental truck for the entire time, loved the lack of mounds. The truck got "great" gas mileage through this part of the trip (a whopping 9 miles to the gallon). Cami's car got up to 35 miles to the gallon at one time. Eat that truck!
Our plan was to stop in St Louis and see the arch. Our plans quickly changed when we realized there was no where to park a massive truck on the narrow streets of St Louis. We tried to turn around because of a closed road and almost jack-knifed the truck. We promptly drove out of St Louis. The pictures we got from the car were good enough. That night we stayed just over the border into Illinois.
On the third day we drove through Illinois, Kentucky, and stopped in Beckley, West Virginia. While in West Virginia, we went on the Cass Scenic Railroad. An old logging coal train that is only used for tourism now. We also stopped at the National Radio Astrology Observatory The observatory had a really neat section of the visitor's center with all kinds of simulations and fun activities.
In Beckley, we went to Tamarack an arts gallery and gift shop. There was some of the most amazing glass blown, wood carved, and weaved art we'd ever seen. That night Tom discovered fireflies at a nearby cemetary. We got some pretty good video clips of them.
We made it to Richmond on the 4th of July and had to stay in a hotel a few miles from our apartment because the apartment management offices were closed for the holiday. We went with Tom and Jason to the movies and saw Superman Returns.

Coming to Virginia

This is a little story about a boy and girl that move across the country in search of higher education. The adventures they have in Virginia are what this blog is all about.

We started packing early so it would not be so overwhelming since a lot of our help was preoccupied with a wedding coming up:)

On Thursday, June 29th, we packed all of our things into the rental truck. We had the help of Cami's parents, Curtis, Justin, Bucky, and Brian. (Thanks everyone)
We stayed at Matt's parent's house until moving day.
We left Utah on July 1st with a 16 foot Budget rental truck, a trailer carrying Matt's truck, and Cami's car.
Tom and Jason came with us. We said farewell to everyone in Utah and began our trek east. Most of the first day was spent driving through Wyoming.
The most interesting thing in Wyoming was the hundreds of Little America billboard signs. In the middle of no where Wyoming, we stopped at a lone gas station/ Inn because of a potty emergency. We don’t know the name of the place, but Dumpsville would have fit perfectly. This place was downright scary, but Cami’s bulging bladder pushed her beyond any fear of the scary yellow-toothed old man sitting on a lawn chair next to the pumps. He handed her a token (which we had to fill the tank with his ancient gas to receive) to be used in the sad excuse for a bathroom. While Cami was in the bathroom, which seemed to last forever, Jason, Tom and Matt had to make small talk with the grumpy old man who owns and runs the place. The conversation consisted of him telling them about the downfall of the area after the oil dried up. They all bought nearly expired sodas and after Cami finally came out of the bathroom we left. In the car, Cami explained why it took her so long in the bathroom. She said it was the most interesting bathroom experience she’s ever had. Besides the fact that you had to use a token or a quarter to get into the bathroom, there was no toilet paper or paper towel in sight (which is why it took her so long…think drip dry). And the sink and faucet was too rusted to even attempt to use. That night we stayed in North Platte, Nebraska.