Back, back to Cali, Cali
Oct 12, 2008
Categories: vacation, travel, photography
I’ve been away for a week on a dual vacation to Oregon and California. Dustin and i stayed at his friend Ryan’s place in Portland for two nights on the weekend. Friday was drunken and crazy–Dustin and i visited two bars and had a couple drinks at Ryan’s place before the three of us headed out again and hit three more bars that night.
The first bar the three of us visited was a piano bar in a high-rise with a spectacular view of the city lights. I had an eight-dollar mojito that really ought to have been my last drink of the night. But…
..We continued on to the Deschutes bar, where i ordered a Jubelale. It wasn’t my taste, so i traded Dust for whatever he was drinking.
The third and final bar we visited was the Blue Moon, where i refrained from partaking in the refreshments.
Saturday i felt pretty awful, and that was the day of Dad’s wedding. He had to get me some nausea medicine so that i would be able to to function as his photographer. It was a nice ceremony, and the Hungarian dinner afterward was delicious.
I had to stay in that night to sleep off my maladies, and the next day Dustin and i hit Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom Rack before heading back to the airport. He flew back to Oklahoma, and i headed to California to visit our grandparents. Dad and Mary joined up with me there on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the three of us headed to Laguna Beach.
We had all sorts of wonderful food and drinks over the course of the week. The Adamo family is pretty small, and all were present except for Dustin for a couple of the feasts. We talked about our ancestors and i wrote down all the dates and names i could glean from the older generation. I’m contemplating going back onto Ancestry.com to try to track down some long-lost cousins so i won’t feel this mild obligation to have children anymore. 
We watched some classic movies and struggled with the new technology, listened to forties music and discussed various physical maladies. The weather was perfect, of course, and yet we never used the patio because it was either “too hot” or “too cold” to do so. Grandma got mad at me once or twice for not saying “goodnight” or “good morning”. It wouldn’t have been a trip to Grandma’s house without that happening. I think i’d better visit more often, for multiple reasons.
Far and Away
Oct 10, 2008
Categories: vacation
I’m in California right now, but i’ll blog all about my adventures in Portland and Corona when i get back in a couple of days. It’s been interesting, for sure!
Vacay
Aug 10, 2008
Categories: family, vacation, iowa floods, art, travel, road trips
Mom and i went on a little vacation last week, which i shall proceed to tell the story of in photos.
The first stop has no photos though, so um, just kidding. We went to Cedar Rapids to spend a night with Tim, Angie and Jamie (my brother & his fam) and stopped to see Nina & Karl’s new place in Coralville along the way. It’s nice, i’m jealous. Tim and Jamie showed us all the flood damage in their neighborhood, which was amazing to see. Almost every house has a big orange X on it, meaning nobody can enter. There’s just stuff all along the curbs in the residential area, and there was even a house that had been carried halfway into the street by the flood waters. WAY worse than the damage in Des Moines.
From there we headed toward Uncle Dave’s house and stopped at a lake on the way out of CR.
I look goofy in this pic. We were afraid the water was contaminated, so we didn’t get in.
We’ve stayed with Dave three times in the last month now, which is probably more than in the past eight years or so. It was good to visit again. From Dave’s place in Long Grove, IA we headed North to the Maquoketa Caves. We only went as far as the mouth of the big one, however, because the lights had been turned off and we had no lamp. Also, it looked extremely muddy and scary.
The mouth of Dancehall CaveWe decided to proceed to Crystal Lake Cave, just south of Dubuque, which is well-lit and clean and illuminated by a young tour guide so disenchanted with his job that he jokes frequently about how lame it is to come all the way to Dubuque, Iowa just to see that particular cave. The “Crystal Lake” was pretty silly; it looked more like a puddle that a few people had chucked coins into like an out-of-service mall fountain. I didn’t bother to try to photograph it.
I don’t remember what the different formations were called. Soda straws, maybe?
Then we went to the Mississippi River historical museum in Dubuque. I liked the animals. I’m still much like a little kid when it comes to museums.
Not doing it, just friendly.
We stayed in a cute little town called Mineral Point, Wisconsin that night at a bed & breakfast that made me wish i had a boyfriend. It was up above a brewery/restaurant which had really nice beer and food. The next morning we went to the Land’s End warehouse clearance event a few miles north. It was huge and crowded and insane, and i didn’t buy anything.
We drove all the way down to Kalona, Iowa that evening and stopped at President Herbert Hoover’s birthplace along the way. Turns out he was only in Iowa until he was eleven, at which point he moved to Oregon. Kinda like my life, but backwards. We had dinner in Iowa City and then headed down to Kalona, and caught an amazing sunset while driving. I couldn’t even begin to capture it, because out there in the country i could see the horizon all the way around us, 360 degrees, and it was all just beautiful.
We walked around Kalona a little the next day but decided against taking a tour of the Amish community there. I probably should have taken it, since i have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to live like that. No internet? Come on. What would i do with my Saturday nights?
Going back through Iowa City the next day, we stopped to see the legendary Black Angel at one of the old cemeteries. Supposedly people tell stories of how a man commissioned the statue for his deceased wife and it turned black in a day because of her infidelity. The truth is that a woman commissioned it for her husband’s grave, refused to pay for it because she thought it was ugly, and was sued by the artist and made to pay $5,000 which back in those days was a lot of money. Her name is on the grave and the birth date is 1830something, but there’s no death date. Like maybe she refused to be buried under that thing.
It’s not nearly as beautiful as the one i photographed in Rome. Few things are, i suppose.
After that we went shopping and headed home. It was nice to go on a little adventure for a while, but i always feel pretty relieved to be home again after a vacation. We’re settling back in now and will probably be heading to the Iowa State Fair before returning to the grind on Monday. Also rooting for Shawn Johnson tomorrow in the women’s gymnastics competition–representing iowa! Go team USA!
Vacation
Aug 04, 2008
Categories: vacation, family, life
I’m on vacation right now, so i probably won’t write a substantial post for another week.
At the moment i’m at my big brother Tim’s house in Cedar Rapids. This was our first stop, and we still haven’t decided where we’re going next.
The apartment is pretty much all put together now, i just need a few more pieces of furniture. I’ve got internet and cable all hooked up and a new air conditioner, and it’s starting to feel like a nice little home.
I can’t wait to have a party, and i think my birthday will be the perfect opportunity…
(it’s on August 13th!)
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I'm Steph Adamo, a professional web designer and experienced photographer. This is where i blog about life in general. Thanks for visiting, and please take a look at my portfolio before you go.
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