Hopefully, I’ll find some sort of job in the area soon. In the mean time, there’s always temp jobs that I can use to pay the bills until something better comes along.

On Saturday we got up and drove to Delaware. We read through and signed the lease, and then took a look at the apartment (we could only see the outside). After that, we drove down the main road near our place to see what’s around it. Then we headed into downtown Wilmington, toward the Bowlerama. We stopped to eat, bowled a few games, and then drove back to TB’s.

On our way back we decided that we would go out and take pictures of post offices for Postal Gallery. We had actually talked about it the last time I was in MD but we never got around to doing it. When we got to TB’s, we found the nearest post offices and headed out to take pictures. We were able to get pictures of seven in just a couple hours.

When we got back we talked talked about all of the other cool stuff you could do with the website and then noticed that Postal Gallery hadn’t been updated since 04/29/03. At this point we decided that we could make a much better postal photo tracking system ourselves. Immediately, TB started working on a Perl script to get a comprehensive list of all of the post office locations in the US from the USPS website. As of now, it’s searched about half of the country. I’ll give more details as the project progresses.

Our first stop was one of the townhouse developments in Wilmington. The area looked really nice but the rent there is a little more expensive than I’d like to pay. The next stops were two more townhouse developments, each one being just a couple hundred yards on either side of the Delaware-Pennsylvania border. The one on the Delaware side has nicer surroundings, it’s hilly with lots of trees, and the floorplans are cooler. The model we’re looking at there is a three floor townhouse.

After that we drove to an apartment complex in Drexel Hill and then got lost trying to find one in Upper Darby. We just decided that since we liked the first couple that we saw, we’d head downtown.

Once downtown we tried to find parking near Monk’s Cafe (they supposedly have the most awesome pommes frites) but there was nothing close so we decided to head to South Street.

We parked at the end of South street and walked to Jim’s Steaks. Megan and I each got a Cheese Steak, TB got two. After that we walked further down South Street and checked out a couple shops. Around 8:30 we headed back to TB’s.

When we got back we played pool and pinball for a while and then watched American Gladiators. We went to sleep at 2:30 and I just got up at 11:30.

Today we’re going to call the first couple places that we liked to arrange tours. Hopefully we’ll like the places so that we won’t have to try to find someplace else. We’re also going to try to squeeze in some bowling at some point.

In my idle time at work today I’ve been searching for apartments online. While searching, I’ve notice my standards for a place to live have really risen over the past two years.

When we were searching for our first apartment, we really had no idea what to look for and we needed a place that was close to the CWRU campus. That’s how we ended up choosing out first apartment. While we were searching for a new place last year, we knew to look for some of the features that our old place was missing, the most important being a garbage disposal and exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom (the bathroom in our old place never dried out therefore there was always mold on the ceiling).

Our current apartment has a garbage disposal, exhaust fans, and 1-1/2 baths. I don’t really see us moving into a new place that doesn’t have these features, especially the 1-1/2 baths. I don’t know how we ever got along without them.

Now as I search, I find myself interested mainly in places that have even more features, like in-unit washer and dryer, and air conditioning. At first I thought I was being too picky but now I think it’s proabaly a good thing. Having high expectations and modest budget has been a good way to shorten an otherwise long list of apartments to about eight places.

The museum is divided into different gallaries based on the era of flight: early years, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, modern flight, and space flight. Unfortuantely, some parts of the galleries are closed for renovations. There was still pleanty to look at to take up an entire day. Best of all, admission is free.

I’d like to go back some time when it’s a little warmer so I can walk around all of the aircraft they have outdoors in their airpark.

I picked Megan up around 3:45 and we finally headed back home.

The flight from Portland to Cincinnati wasn’t nearly as interesting as the one from Dallas to Portland. There were overcast skies all the way from Oregon until around the Illinois-Indiana border. All I could see was square plots of land continuing in all directions. It’s got to be boring living in rural Indiana.

Rural Indiana From The Air

When we arrived at the airport in Cincinnati (actually northern-Kentucky) we immediately went to our gate to find out what was up with our boarding passes. It turned out that the flight was overbooked and if everyone showed up, we would be bumped. Our options were to either take ground-transportation to Indianapolis, or take a later flight at 7:50pm. If we opted for the later flight and they couldn’t fit us on the original flight, we would be given a $200 voucher for each ticket, so we chose to go with the later flight.

About ten minutes after the flight was supposed to depart, two people still had not shown up, so we were given the last two seats on the plane. For making us wait around they did give us two $25 vouchers so that was cool.

We arrived in Indianapolis at about 4:00 and we drove straight to the school Dayton. It’s amazing how short a three hour drive seems now. We found the building Megan had to be at in the morning and then found a nearby motel.

Last time we were in Portland we ended up spending most of our time in the Southern half of downtown so this time we mostly walked around the Northern side. Afer a while we headed toward the river and took a few pictures.

The Hawthorne Bridge
The Morrison Bridge
The Burnside Bridge
SW Jefferson St
SW Morrison St

A couple hours later we took the bus back to Megan’s sister’s house and and went out to a really good Vietnamese restaurant for dinner.

When we got to the coast, Canon Beach specifically, the light rain that we had been getting stopped. We walked down to the beach (which was nearly empty) and then we walked along the beach for a while, taking pictures and enjoying the cool refreshing air.

The ‘Haystack’ at Canon Beach

We headed back downtown so Megan could go to a tour of the school’s clinic. While she was there we headed over to Powells and she met us back there a little later.

That night we went out to the Kennedy School which is an actual 1915 school house that’s been turned into a restaurant & bar. It was a pretty neat place that I’d suggest to anyone visiting Portland.

When we arrived at the airport we couldn’t find the long-term parking at first. Luckily Megan spotted a different long-term lot that actually ended up costing less. When we got to the baggage check, there was a really long line. By the time we got to the front, we were told that it was too late to check baggage and that we’d have to check in at a kiosk and then carry our bags on (no big deal). When we went to the kiosk, it said it was too late to check in. While I was playing with the kiosk, Megan grabbed a Delta employee and he said he’d take care of it.

We got our borading passes, went through security and made it to the gate about five minutes before our plane was supposed to depart. Luckily, it hadn’t arrived from it’s earlier flight so we had about 15 minutes to spare.

That flight took us to Dallas Fort-Worth, where we got on a larger plane to Portland.

Along the way Megan and I took a few pictures with my camera:

Filght to Portland 1
Filght to Portland 2
Filght to Portland 3

Megan’s sister picked us up from the airport. We went out to eat and then went to sleep pretty early.

I just wish I was still there.

Unfortunately, I have yet to finish packing. Then I have to get some sleep, get up at 5:00, and drive to freaking Indianapolis (wasn’t I just there?).

Oh well, I’m still excited.

Ohio uses “watch for ice on bridge” with the “ice” being in a larger font in the center of the sign. Indiana uses the same sign, but with the word bridge pluralized: “watch for ice on bridges.” Pennsylvania gets right to the point by having signs that read “bridges may be icy.” Virginia gets the hard to read at 75MPH award with “bridges freeze before roadway.”

Searching around the internet revealed that there’s no national standard for the icy bridge warning signs, though there appears to be a standard for just about everything else. The only ice warning sign in the PA code is “watch for ice.”

If you’re interested in the national sign standards, check out the Standard Highway Signs publication at the Federal Highway Administration’s website.

Since I had a few hours to kill, I opened up Streets & Trips on my laptop and looked for anything interesting in the area. I found Shakamak State Park about 40 minutes South-East of Terre Haute.

The park was very quiet and peaceful. I only saw two other people during the four hours I was walking around there. I saw a lot of woodpeckers and cardinals but I couldn’t get close enough to take any good pictures. The couple good pictures I did take were of the lake.

A Frozen Lake Shakamak

I picked Megan up and we headed straight for Indianapolis. We checked in at our motel and then drove around the University of Indianapolis campus for a while.

The next morning I dropped Megan off at the interview and then drove around downtown Indianapolis. Again it was extremely foggy so I couldn’t get any good pictures downtown. I drove to Riverside Park and relaxed for a while. Before I knew it, it was nearly 4:00, time to pick Megan up.

We left Indianapolis and headed home, stopping at my new favorite restaurant, Waffle House just inside the Ohio border. We finally got home around 10:30 on Saturday night.

As much as I wasn’t looking forward to the possibility of living in Indiana, I was encouraged by the number of bowling alleys in the area. I must have driven past four in Terre Haute and at least six in Indianapolis, one of them had eighty lanes! Many of them also had a neon sign, similar to the ‘no vacancies’ signs on motels, that indicated whether or not the alley currently had open bowling. That’s a good idea.

On Saturday Megan had her interview at Xavier. During the interview I drove around Cincinnati. They have purple “Queen City Tour” signs that you can follow around the city past a lof of historical buildings and landmarks. It was pretty foggy for most of the morning and then by early afternoon it was raining pretty hard. I did get a chance to take a couple pictures before it was raining too hard.

The Ohio River and Kentucky viewed from Eden Park
The I-471 Bridge Over the Ohio River

That evening we looked around for a good used book store or thrift shop but couldn’t find anything good (we probably should have checked the phone book first).

On Sunday morning we ate at a Waffle House and then left for Indiana, PA. On our way there we decided to drive through Pittsburgh since neither of us had been there since we were very young. We arrived in Indiana, PA in the evening and checked in at the motel. We then drove to the campus and the surrounding area so we know were I could pick Megan up from in the morning.

I was surprised at how large Indiana actually was. It was obvious that most of the businesses in the area grew up to support the university, but it was still much more city-like than I had imagined. One thing I did notice was the wealth of Christian-oriented radio stations.

On Monday, I picked Megan up from her interview around two and we immediately headed toward Norfolk. On the way we got slowed down by some snow and high winds in the hills of PA. The drive around DC sucked because we got there right a rush hour but after we got south of the city we stopped for dinner at IHOP. By the time we were done, much of the traffic had dissipated and the rest of the drive was pretty smooth. The motel we stayed in seemed more like a place to have a cheap party rather than a place to sleep, but it was only for one night.

Tuesday morning I dropped Megan off at the Old Dominion campus. I drove around the city looking for things to do but a lot of stuff was closed and I didin’t really feel like leaving my computer in the car in a city garage while I went into a museum. The one thing I did was to do, a tour of the Navy base, was closed temporarily (possible due to our orange terror alert status?). Norfolk had tour signs similar to Cincinnati’s so I followed them until it was time to pick Megan up at three.

From there we left, this time avoiding DC by taking I-64 West to I-81 North. We got stuck in some accident traffic in Richmond, VA putting us about an hour behind schedule. On our way through the hills we saw some neat side-marker lights in the highway in a couple areas that have heavy fog. They’re these bright orangish-yellow lights that are in the roadway where there’s usually reflectors. The lights emit a beam of light directly upward. It was really neat driving between the beams of light in all the fog and snow.

Just south of the Maryland border we stopped at another Waffle House. There’s something magically satisfying about their food. Megan and I are going to make sure we stop at a Waffle House location whenever we travel south of Cleveland. From there I got back on the road and continued, getting more tired yet more determined to make it home every minute. A couple coffee stops and a few hours later we made it home around 4:45.

Because I wasn’t really thinking ahead while I was driving around Norfolk all day, I ended up spending about eighteen hours behind the wheel. I’m proud of being able to do it but I have to say I’d never want to drive that much again.

Quick recap of the rest of our Chicago visit:

On Tuesday Megan had her second interview. After I left her I headed to the Field Museum of Natural History. I had planned on taking pictures along the way but it was too foggy to get anything good. I spent about four hours in the museum. Some of it was pretty child-oreinted but the mammal and bird collections we absolutely amazing. I couldn’t believe how those exhibit halls just kept going. Afterward I met Megan back at the building she was interviewing at and we walked back to Union Station. We were both exhausted so we just took the train back to the house we were staying at and relaxed. That evening we got some really good deep-dish pizza (feeling obligated while in Chicago) and went to sleep early.

On Wednesday while Megan was in her third interview I walked up Michigan Ave along the “Magnificent Mile” to the John Hancock Building. On my way back I crossed Michigan every couple blocks and took some pictures. After I met Megan back at her interview building we walked down Michigan and across Grant Park to the lake. From there we wandered back to Union Station, got lunch and headed back. We packed up our things and loaded up the car, getting out of town just early enough to beat the afternoon rush.

As far as the interviews go, one went very well, one was okay, and one was a little weird. I’ll let Megan elaborate if she wants.

Here’s a small selection of my photos from Wednesday:

John Hancock Building From Up-Close
Looking South Down Michigan Ave
Looking East Down E Grand Ave
Chicago River and Buildings on E Wacker

This morning we took the Metra downtown and then walked to the place Megan was interviewing at. After parting with her I just wandered around the city for a few hours. I eventually ended up at The Art Institute of Chicago and spent a couple of hours there. Their collection seemed pretty comprable to Cleveland’s.

After that I remembered that I had my camera so I started taking pictures as I walked around. I walked around the Lakefront parks taking pictures until I was scheduled to meet up with Megan at 1:20. We then walked over to the number one place to visit on my list, the Shedd Aquarium.

This time of the year, basic admission is free and admission to the oceanarium and special exhibits is $7. The main hall was filled with tons of kids, but was enjoyable none-the-less. The oceanarium was almost empty, and that was great. I tried to take a lot of pictures but none of the underwater ones came out that well. I think my camera was having trouble focusing in the lower light. I did get a good shot of the penguins.

We returned to Megan’s brother’s girlfriend’s house, where were staying, and shortly after we left for IKEA. I bought a couple random things (a coffee mug, a skimmer, and a picture frame) and then we finally came back here.

Starting at about 12:30 today my legs started to hurt, especially my shins. I plotted out my walking around the city for today and it came out to a total of 12.5 miles, not including all of the walking around in the museums. I think it’s probably the most I’ve walked in one day since I went backpacking when I was seventeen. I just hope my legs are still operable tomorrow, because if everything goes according to plans, I’ll walk at least another ten miles tomorrow.

Here’s a copule pictures from today:

Looking down Adams St from Michigan Ave
The Metra
The Skyline From Shedd Aquarium
The Penguins at Shedd Aquarium

There’ll be more when I return to broadband.