Suitcase Life: Conspiracy, Cronuts, & Corn Mazes

Denver International Airport is impressive.

While I was googling for some great exterior shots, I realized it had quite the controversial history…

It is considered (by some) to be the site of the Illuminati headquarters in the event of a nuclear war. The conspiracy is pretty intense. I’m not saying I believe it, but there are a few weird shenanigans going on.
But as LeVar used to say, Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself!

Had I known this while I was there hours early for my flight (I always do this, I’m uber-paranoid about missing flights or being late in general), I would’ve paid more attention to the creepy murals.

Instead, I nearly had a heart attack walking by the airport bookshop, seeing this on the shelf.

I love Stieg Larsson’s work. Lisbeth Salander is one of my all time favorite anti-heroines. Imagine my surprise to see a fourth installment in the Millennium series, which was cut short due to the untimely death of the author. I was very skeptical in the beginning. Before reading anything I looked up the new author and their  connection to Larsson.

It was a let down. On the one hand, I loved jumping back into the world of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, but I guess my expectations were too high. It was the dialogue. That will kill a book for me. If the conversations aren’t believable, the whole book is lost on me. I still read it, but I wasn’t happy about it.

So, back to D.C. one final time. I had already said my goodbyes once back in August since I didn’t think I’d make it back before I left the country. Lucky me, I had a weekend off and took the metro into the city just in time for the H Street Festival.

I love H Street NE. I was fortunate enough to have lived a block away from it. It has all you need: beer, coffee, tea, and Giant.

It took some serious self-control not to buy all the DC swag. I loved walking those 12 boozy blocks one last time with two of my favorite people. Megan and Kelley were my DC parents. Meaning, I went to their house almost every Sunday for dinner and a show, spent the night when I got drunk on my birthday, and binge-watched True Detective for an entire day on their couch. They may only be a few years older than me, but I adopted them.

Meet Rex. Megan and I met him on our way to Union Market for breakfast. Look at those wrinkles!!!

Should you find yourself in Northeast DC on a Saturday morning in need of a delicious brunch, go to Union Market and get a knish at Buffalo & Bergen with their bacon bloody Mary (ask for a pickle). It is so bad for you, but so good.

Megan bought Cronuts. I was a bundle of health that weekend, I know.

As a thank you for hosting me for the weekend, I made a house pumpkin for them as it was too early for a ‘halloween’ pumpkin.

With barely a week’s rest, staying in Leesburg, Virginia, we were off for one last trip before Korea, back up to Wisconsin.

The lifeblood of all writers. Yes, I am a caffeine addict. I used to be all snobby about coffee, coming from the great state of Oregon (the haven of the almighty bean). But, I’ll take just about anything as long as I’ve got milk n’ sugar. I did realize that I need a coffee press. I think it would help curb my cup limit, being such a hassle n’ all (cue eye rolling from non-lazy people).

As Milwaukee showed its true colors, rather its icy winds, I hunkered down inside and began another book; the long anticipated Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I read The Hobbit years ago, but hadn’t ever made the commitment to the massive sequel. I figured since I had a 15+ hour flight over the Pacific ahead of me, Tolkien wasn’t such a bad idea.

This is Deuce. He hates everyone.

We went to an apple orchard to soak up the fall colors. Corn mazes, haystack towers, and fresh cider really made me feel at home.

This sent me over the edge though. This thing was incredible. Disney had some good ones, but there’s nothing like a home grown apple with freshly made caramel.

The day was coming closer. We would be flying to Detroit soon, and then the long trek up and over Alaska and back down to Seoul, South Korea. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t looking forward to flying over an ocean. (I was an avid LOST fan…) I resorted to Tolkien therapy for comfort.

I had my final trip to Target, the love of my life (you could not buy a better supporter,patron, and obsessive admirer, please, for the love of the dollar spot, sponsor me), where I bought these. The shoes I would stare at, wishing I could pull them off, but forlornly pass by.
I decided if I could wear them anywhere, it would be Korea.

So there you have it. Mid June to roughly the first week of October living out of a suitcase, fueled by the love of friends, family, and books.

Suitcase Life: Arches & Airways

Before leaving Utah, we wanted to make a quick stop in Arches National Park. I could’ve spent a week in Moab just to hike and see as many arches as I could, but alas, we had but a few hours, I was hungover, and there are over 2,000 of them.

We decided to pick the few that were very short distances from the parking lots. It was super hot guys.

From afar, in the center you can see Delicate Arch which is considered the most famous natural stone arch in the world.

Our next arch was in a random patch of sandy dunes, a natural choice for those seeking a pretty easy trail for the already light-headed.

Sand Dune Arch

Some of us were not as excited about the sand.

I wish I would have been more energetic that day, the landscape was incredible.

A little further down the trail was Broken Arch, my favorite.

This thing was steep. Sarah is basically a spider monkey and practically walked right up. Me, being the unsteady photographer, had to grit my teeth and hope I didn’t die running upwards.

What was even more terrifying was letting a complete stranger hold my very expensive camera to take this photo. If they ran away with it, there was no way I’d catch them from up here.

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In spite of the heat and the complete lack of electrolytes, I was quite proud to witness such a beautiful piece of nature.

And we were off, waving goodbye to the strange rocks of Utah and Eastwards to Colorado…

By far, the cutest thing we saw on the very long, boring drive to Castle Rock, CO.

We stopped in Vail for dinner and leg-stretching. Truffle fries, while delicious, were a terrible choice.

Sarah and I had worked together, but never got on the friend-level at Disney, so it was nice to get to know her better on this mini-trip. She made me want to re-think my career goals, owning a beautiful home at 26, but I could never be a dental hygienist…

After a fun day of shopping, I was back in the air and back to my home-ish area in D.C.