His name is Mudd

Whether the expression came from Dr. Mudd aiding John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Lincoln (did he or didn't he?!) or if it means "a stupid twaddling fellow" like etymonline.com says, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I went to a historical landmark today and now I'm teaching you about it. Scholars maintain that the literal translation has been lost for centuries. Dr. Mudd's home is about 2 miles from my new place in Waldorf, and since I have nothing better to do now that I'm a geographical bachelorette, I went for a drive today.

After Dr. Mudd's house, I just drove until I got to the end of the road. I saw on the map that there was a national park on the beach so I checked it out. Not as pretty as I was expecting but the east coast beaches always do that to me. It was about 12 degrees cooler and I love the salty sea smell so I can get over the black water and small beaches.

Point Lookout State Park

Notice any safety hazards? Oh, I don't know, fishing where your children are swimming...

I guess I've been missing my old commute and had to get in the car and drive for a while. Haha. No, I do not miss that commute. I love getting to work in 20 minutes. I love owning a Prius and being able to enjoy not filling up every week. Again, I love not driving 130 miles a day! I'm very excited about this.

Corey is gone...to Arizona

So our road trip was awesome and I didn't think leaving Corey in AZ was going to be a big deal since I can go visit whenever I want and he's still in America, but I'm still pretty sad about it and it's been 4 days. What has happened to me?! I used to be so independent and never felt any sense of loss when my living situations changed but I guess I'm just jealous that he gets a 3 bedroom house with a jacuzzi all to himself and I'm sleeping on a squeaky twin bed. No, I really miss him and kind of hate that I'm turning into a bigger wuss every year. Please tell me that all of you tough ladies have now become big sissies and cry way more often than you think you should.
Ok, well we got to Colo Springs and had so much fun with my sister, Dave, their kids, and my parents. We jumped on the trampoline a lot, went to the Rockies game with Amy and Dave and ate a ton of mama's home cooked food, which is always the best. We had to leave way too soon but got to see my Grandparents and more family in Tucson, then Corey went to Sierra Vista and I went to Phoenix to see some of my favorite people in the world, the Stansfields :) Or LJ and the fam. I finally got to meet Lindsay's youngest, Dylan, who is the handsomest little man and gave the best hugs and kisses. Once again, our visit was way too short but definitely better than nothing.
I hate missing such good friends and family all the time. I hope they all come visit me in Germany ;)
***I did a terrible job at getting pictures at the end of our trip so not everyone I wanted to show pictures of are posted. Sorry Linds!!! Please see the Stansfields' blog for pictures of their ADORABLE children.

Sweet little Annie

Corey and his cactus

Amy & Dave at the Rockies game

Me & Corey at the game

Kansas City

Kansas City was the last short drive we had. It was about 5 hours from St. Louis. I just kept thinking how easy and quick our road trip had been...I had forgotten what the real west was like. After we left KC it was all 10 and 14 hour drives to our next destinations. I also hadn't been watching any news and didn't realize the midwest was in the middle of a terrible heat wave. Don't worry,  I found out at the Royals game where we were sitting in direct sunlight for most of the game. I honestly don't know why I sweat like a 400 lb man in a sauna, but it is uncomfortable! We left after the 7th inning stretch and I was a sticky mess until we got to Colorado Springs. It motivated me to push through the fatigue and get to my parents house without any stops.

We made it to a Man vs Food BBQ joint in Kansas City

The ribs were awesome!

So was the pulled pork :)

Corey wasn't as sweaty as me

Probably one of my favorite stadiums of all time

Louisville & St. Louis

So far, so good. The driving hasn't been too bad because we're making a lot of stops...and because Corey is doing most of it. We went to Louisville and stopped by Churchill Downs and then did a tour at the Louisville Slugger factory. I thought Louisville was so pretty and it seemed like a fun place to live. We kind of hurried out of there so we could get to St. Louis in time for dinner at Pappy's (Man vs. Food restaurant) but they close early on Sunday.
Upon first arrival I thought that St. Louis was quite charming as well. Then we opened our car doors and the weather was less than charming. St. Louis is hot and nasty! We got some quick pictures under the arch and attempted to find another BBQ joint that was open on Sunday. Nothing was open and we ended up driving around the hood for about 20 minutes. I'm not just calling it hood 'cause I'm a white girl from a middle class suburban home. This place reminded me of favelas in Brazil and made Corey homesick for Iraq. Holy S*** St. Louis! Get your crap together and clean up your streets.
If you're looking for a nice family trip, I would recommend Louisville. If you want to get mugged or see some real life adventure on the streets, St. Louis is your city.

One day we'll go to the Kentucky Derby

Awkward alone picture. What do you do with your hands?!

They give you free bats after the tour...

Cincinnati Reds

Corey and I are on the road to Ft. Huachuca, AZ and are taking advantage of the ridiculously long drive by hitting up a few ball games and doing some sightseeing. First we stopped in Pittsburgh to see our beautiful goddaughter, Camille. Then we drove to Cincinnati and got some cheap seats to the Reds vs. Cardinals game. The stadium is huge and pretty and right on the Ohio river. We didn't walk around downtown but there were a lot of beautiful buildings and it was a lot nicer than I expected. We're taking off this morning and will be stopping in a couple of cities today that I'm really excited about!