Thursday, June 28, 2012

On the road again….


Two weekends ago, Scope, Wednesday, and I loaded up our car with as much as it could hold and we hit the road for Ohio.  You recall how much we enjoy summer road trips, right?….  Like last August when we drove from Seattle to Chicago in four and a half days with our pet frogs belted in the back seat. Remember that?…. Total splendiferousness with THIS FREAKIN’ ROCKS!!!! sauce is what it was. (Need a refresher? Click HERE.)


Scope’s family had been planning a big eight day family vacation in a rental house on Lake Erie for nearly a year now. Ten of us were able to make it and we had an amazing time.


Here’s what it all looked like….


DAY #1:

We crammed ourselves and all our crap into our PT Cruiser like clowns in a circus car and headed out of the city. The typical sloth-like and headachy Chicago traffic was surprisingly light and delightfully non-existent—*insert the sound of angels singing “laaaaaaaaaaaaa”*—so, we made great time.




Aerosmith serenaded us on the stereo as we started out. I tried to convince Wednesday that the roly poly dude on the back of the CD was Steven Tyler in his earlier years.




And she SO wished that were true!


*snicker*


But anyway….


Soon we were zooming through Indiana.




We made a quick stop at the University of Notre Dame.




Wednesday and I had never been there before, so the three of us walked around for awhile checking the campus out.




(Awwwww, I know. Aren’t Scope and Wednesday CUTE?!?!)  :-)


We saw Touchdown Jesus….




….and a gorgeous war memorial fountain….




….and a pair of cutsie hugging statues….




….and this funny and fearless little fella.




After leaving Notre Dame, we made a two second hop over the border into Michigan so Wednesday and I could pick up another state. We opened our car doors, poked our toes out, touched the ground, and then—*whoosh!*—we were back on our way.         




Not too long after that, we crossed into Ohio.




In Ohio, we saw Batman running his Bat-errands with his Bat-kids in his Bat-SUV.




(Who knew, right?!)


And then about six hours after we began our journey, we arrived in Erie County.




We stayed with my in-laws in the “Buster Brown Shoe House” in Huron.




The Buster Brown Shoe House is this cute three story house just a hop, skip and a cartwheel away from the lake. All the way there I had been wondering why it’s called the Buster Brown house—????—but once we walked in, it clicked. Inside the house, the walls are covered with framed old retro Buster Brown ads, which was kind of cool.




There was plenty of room for all ten of us…. well, most of the time anyway. Unless we were all in the kitchen at once, in which case it was pretty much a claustrophobic fright fest. (Yeesh.) But otherwise, it was perfect. There was even enough room for Wednesday to have a big bedroom all to herself, and she was thrilled.


But even more thrilling?….


All the shy wee itty bitty baby ducks that kept walking through our garden!




*Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!*


After looking around the house, we went out to the lake in the backyard.




The lake was absolutely stunning. I couldn’t believe it—we even had a gorgeous view of Cedar Point Amusement Park! (You might want to click this pic to enlarge it to get the better view.)





DAY #2:


Our second day in Ohio started with Wednesday and Scope getting their ping pong on in one of the sunrooms.




After all the ping pong-ing, the three of us broke off from the rest of the group for a couple of hours. It was important to everyone to make sure that everybody got to do the things they most wanted to do during our stay, and the thing that Wednesday most wanted to do was visit Ghostly Manor Thrill Center, a year-round haunted house which was voted one of the scariest in the country. No-one else was in a get-your-pants-frightened-off kind of mood, so off we ventured as a trio looking f-f-f-for t-t-t-terror.


This is what Ghostly Manor looked like on the outside when we arrived.




The dragon outside the building was spectacular! We spent a lot of time squealing, jumping around, and taking a zillion pictures of the dragon before actually setting foot inside the manor.








We missed getting a picture of the dragon spewing steam out of his nose though, unfortunately—*sniff*—so I borrowed one from Google for you.




(You’re welcome.)


A talking skeleton inside Ghostly Manor told me I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in there, so all I have to show you is this shot of a massive, creepy, black-lit eye from the lobby. CreeEEeeEEeepy.




Our run through the haunted house was sheer bad*ss awesomeness! Like A LOT!! There was blood, gore, demons, monsters, horrors leaping out of the shadows, vibrating floors, flashing lights, a maze of grody body bags, and—most surprising of all—inflating walls which rapidly pressed in on us from all sides at once and tried to crush us as we ran screaming through the hallways.


Wow.


Just WOW.


I loved it. LOVED!!!! IT!!!! It was phenomenal and, hands down, the best haunted house I have ever been in. I just couldn’t stop laughing our entire way through. Laughing, screaming, and running through the dark—what bliss! I felt utterly exhilarated at the end of it. It was so much fun!


Or at least I thought so.


As for my darling Wednesday? Well…. the haunted house turned out to be a bit too intense for the poor girl, who had been hoping to see something more along the lines of the cutsie Haunted Mansion in Disneyland, not something straight out of a horror film. She’s still glad she saw it, but she has no plans to set foot in Ghostly Manor again.


Ever.


She still loved the dragon though and was perfectly happy to pose with Scope for a mock screaming picture as we left the manor.




(Hee hee hee.)


Once we got back to the rental house, Wednesday and I went looking around the place at all the knickknacks on display. We found a super-snazzy pair of old binoculars.




(God, I love that picture!  *giggle*)


And—hey, looky!—we also found a Harry Potter-ish cupboard under the stairs! AWESOME!!!!




That is sooooooooooo going to be my new Facebook profile, by the way. :-)


And then we relaxed on the swing in the backyard for awhile, whilst plotting our plans for Day 3.





[….to be continued….]





© Coracabana 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Hold me closer, tiny dancer


Aaaaaaaand now for another update on this year’s Project 365….


Day 154 (2012-06-02) ~ Okay, so was there a girl who did NOT have a jewelry box with a little twirling ballerina inside back in the 70's? I think every girl I knew had one. I suppose I don't really have a need for it now, but couldn't resist picking this up when I saw it on eBay.





Day 155 (2012-06-03)
~ Just a quick macro of the inside of a cracked red glass candle holder I keep on the mantle. I love how it looks like splattered paint when magnified like this.





Day 156 (2012-06-04)
~ Wednesday spent ALL WEEKEND LONG creating a model of a warrior for an English class assignment. (And she loved every minute of it too!!) Our living room was covered with clay, beads, ribbon, yarn, feathers, and all kinds of crafty things once she was through. I think it is incredible how it turned out. She's such a creative soul! (And, yes, this picture is a cheat. I took it on the 3rd, not the 4th. Somehow I got my days mixed up a bit. Whoopsie!)





Day 157 (2012-06-05)
~ Completely out of time, I quickly shot a macro of the hem of my skirt the evening of Day 157. I wish the sequin was actually in focus (d'oh!) but oh well. It will have to do.





Day 158 (2012-06-06)
~ So, not only do we have strawberries growing on our deck, but our carrots have started sprouting too. Maybe next year we will try to grow some lettuce as well!





Day 159 (2012-06-07)
~ Wednesday is in beginners French this year. There was a voluntary nation-wide test a month or so ago which she took part in and last week she brought home a medal for placing in the top 15%. (Dang. That kid makes me look like a slacker.) It's so cute though watching her strut around wearing it on her school lanyard. :-)





Day 160 (2012-06-08)
~ I met Scope for lunch in The Loop this day and he showed me "Color Jam", an artsy explosion that popped up in the intersection of State and Adams. The crosswalks and corners of the buildings are all painted in primary colors so bold they practically poke your eyes out. It was actually kind of fun. I felt like I was walking through a cartoon. (More info on Color Jam, if you're interested: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-04/entertainment/ct-ent-0605-color-jam-loop-20120604_1_state-street-building-art-loop-installation-city-intersection.)





And now we are approximately 42% of the way through the project. More will be updated soon.





© Coracabana

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Welcome to the jungle


Aaaaaaaand now for another update on this year’s Project 365….


Day 141 (2012-05-20)
~ A shortcake in the making: DONE! Taa-daa! Our first strawberry shortcake of the year from our little garden on our city deck! :-) Okay, okay, the strawberries were so itty bitty that we had to add blueberries just to make it appear less pitiful, but we're still excited. And most importantly: Mm-mm-mmmm, that shortcake was delicious. So, yay!





Day 142 (2012-05-21)
~ Okay, so remember that wall where they painted "The Dynamic Elders" a month or so ago? Well, they repainted it this week and now it's Kaa from The Jungle Book.





Day 143 (2012-05-22)
~ Looky what I found in the parking lot! A carnival was coming to town for Memorial Day weekend. They were busy setting up for about a week. Personally, I like this little fella who was waiting his turn to be assembled. Cute!





Day 144 (2012-05-23)
~ The carnival was still setting up. Somehow the Ferris wheel just looks so sad without anyone on it, doesn't it?





Day 145 (2012-05-24)
~ Check out this suit my hubby found at Target. Wow. Excuse me while I go bleach my eyes now. (Sorry. I cheated. This pic was taken on the 23rd, not the 24th. But it was just too good not to use!)





Day 146 (2012-05-25)
~ Scope and I took the kiddo and one of her friends to the carnival this particular evening. And a fun time was had by all. :-)





Day 147 (2012-05-26)
~ We spent the weekend in Kewanee, IL visiting my in-laws. In the backyard we all saw this cute baby blue jay learning how to fly. He wasn't too skilled at flying yet, but he sure had some impressive brick wall-climbing skills down pat!





Day 148 (2012-05-27)
~ Our Sunday in Kewanee, we visited and toured the "Woodland Palace". The house was really quite amazing. It was built by one incredibly creative man, Fred Francis, in 1889. (For more info: http://voices.yahoo.com/francis-park-woodland-palace-worth-stop-anywhere-4126859.html) Fred built a solarium in the house for his sick wife so she would have fresh air and sunlight. This is what the solarium roof looks like from below, like a giant eye in the sky.





Day 149 (2012-05-28)
~ A cemetery road which I thought was really pretty.





Day 150 (2012-05-29)
~ The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades. Ha! I couldn't resist. ;-)





Day 151 (2012-05-30)
~ Very, very busy with eBay listings this day, so a shot of some old stamps felt fitting.





Day 152 (2012-05-31)
~ What the street outside my condo looks like in bokeh. (Yeah, yeah. I was out of ideas for the day.)





Day 153 (2012-06-01)
~ I took a whack at the "camera toss" experiment out on my deck at night. Basically, I just kinda flung my camera through the air during the exposure, not knowing what kind of image I would end up with. I really like how this one turned out as it captured the street lights through the deck railing! Pretty cool. (Btw, it was my ratty, old camera, and it was tied to my wrist the whole time and was never in danger of falling three stories down or anything, swearsies.)





So, now we are 30-something% of the way through this project. Woot! More to come soon…. like probably tomorrow, when we will hopefully finally be all caught up.





© Coracabana