Good Eats

One of my favorite things to do is to try new restaurants. Because this can be detrimental to the pocket book and diet, it's good to only try it once in a while. But, in case you have a hankerin' for something new and you happen to have one of these near by, I thought I'd post a list of our favorite eats.

#1 Costa Vida: We can't wait to get back in a state where they have these. I really think we've been going through withdrawals all summer. But if you're not near one like we've been, we've got some killer recipes that are pretty darn close to the original and they may satisfy your craving for a little while.

#2 Chili's: One of the most popular chains anywhere I think, but a regular on our list of good eats. (And one other tip: order the bottomless chips and salsa but ask for some of their avacado ranch dressing as well. It tastes so good on their tortilla chips!)

#3 Panera Bread: Yummy, yummy, yummy! This is one we discovered this summer and are very upset that they haven't opened one back home yet. (I hear they have one in CA though!) ;)

#4 O Charlie's: Also a discovery this summer, they have possibly the best rolls ever and their ribs are a close second! If you're thinking about going, you absolutely must try the loaded potato soup. It's to die for!

#5 Panda Express: Fast, easy, yummy. We already have two meals planned for the first week we get back: Costa Vida first and Panda Express second. Their Orange Chicken is one of my favorite things to eat of all time.

#6 Red Robin: Their Crispy Chicken Salad is awesome and I know the Cobb Salad is on Nancy's list of favorites. If you're wanting a burger though, you really can't get much better!

#7 Famous Dave's: I've only tried their catering and they're already on my list of faves! If you can't make it to the restaurant, try picking up a bottle of their bbq sauce at the grocery store. I followed Nancy's recommendation to try it and I'm hooked!

Well, I'm getting hungry already! And if you have any on your lists of good eats that I haven't included, let us know! We love to try new things and look forward to maybe trying a few new ones with you guys back home! We miss you all!

We're Comin' Home!

I've been singing a certain song lately...



"I'm sitting in the railway station.
Got a ticket for my destination.
On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And ev'ry stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Ev'ry day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories
And ev'ry stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Silently for me."



ANNOUNCING OUR RETURN HOME!!! WE WILL OFFICIALLY BE LEAVING ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 25!!! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL!!!

Mammoth Caves

So we finally made it to Mammoth Cave! On Saturday Nancy, Katie, Adria and I headed out to visit the longest known cave in the world. We learned that they have discovered 350 miles of the cave so far! It was pretty amazing being that far below ground and it was interesting noticing the differences between this cave and Timpanogas Cave. You'll see in the pictures above that while there were some stallagmites and stallagtites (I have no idea how to spell that...) the cave was generally just interesting rock formations. It was amazing to see the incredibly flat rock that made up the ceiling. We had a blast taking the tour and learning about the history of the cave and checking out all of the amazing sights. It was also crazy that when you first enter the cave you have to walk down 300 steps right off the bat to get down to where the cave is level. (Luckily we didn't have to walk up 300 steps at the end to make it back out!) We had a great visit and can now check off one more thing from our list of "Kentucky To Do's". The only drawback to our visit was that the boys couldn't come too. Maybe next time!