Travel: Raleigh, North Carolina

Once upon a time I was in high school and I was obsessed with teen romance novelist Sarah Dessen's books. Well they are all set in North Carolina. Ever since I spent many many hours reading every one of her books I set my heart on going there. I wanted so badly to travel to the beach and eat at a waffle house just like the characters in the books that I grew to love. Thanks to my brother and his wife who just moved there for grad school at NC State University I finally was able to. I also went to their art museum- who knew? But it's one of the best one's I've ever been to. Mostly because of my newfound appreciation of modern and contemporary art, and my other love for art history. More on that later. But for now...Wrightsville beach, hanging with the baby and her parents, waffle houses (ps, they are like Ihop, but cheap, and open 24 hours, and they have reeeeeeeally nice people working there with the greatest accents), and other bits and thoughts I found along the way.

Also...zoie knits now.

Okay. Pay attention. Because you will see. There are trees EVERYWHERE!!!

Went out to catch fireflies. Caught a frog instead.

Everyone has huge lawns. And where there are not houses, there is forest.

Flowers at this beach restaurant called The Mushroom (I'm sure very sober people hang out there).

So many seashells. Take all the orange ones!

My sister's gorgeous red ombre hair.

And then this crazy ivy stuff that grows all over and takes over the trees.

 There are decorated cows everywhere. Artsy.

And this is how we lugged the little child around at the art museum. Closeup. is. hilarious.

So this is a very ugly picture. I know. But a lot of times I would look at the forest and think to myself. What on earth would posses those early colonists to look at this forest and think it was a good idea to try and live in it. Or March through it during a war. It's ridiculous. 

This is the muggy-muggy hot face.

Okay. Last thing. Pretty much the only good part is the first 15 seconds. But. I'm too lazy to edit-shorten it. So. Baby gets scared by the noise on her play chair. But then by the end she gets used to it. Poor child.

Travel: Chicago

Here come a lot of posts about my travels lately and then a post about art from museums I visited- because I'm just a little too obsessed with art.
Part one- I went to Chicago to visit my sister Zoie and her husband Aaron.
First it rained but we went on a walk anyways. Around the beautiful campus of Wheaton college.

And then zoie painted and I attempted. Look how talented she is.

And holy architecture. I wanted to take a million pictures of the beautiful buildings. 

This is a cathedral where we sat in on a mass. The had a copy of Michaelangelo's Pieta inside- faaaancy!

Opera house at Millennium Park- this park is something you absolutely have to see if you ever go. Also- just plain walking around for hours is a must do.

The BEAN!!! This is also at the park.

Random awesome statues

Church singers- I thought they were Amish at first.

Some people try too hard....I don't even know.

This is the Tribute tower. I didn't really spend a lot of time at it, but I wish I did. Gorgeous architecture up top, and on the bottom they have little pieces from buildings throughout history and the world. That one on the left is the world trade center.

See that super tall one? That's the sears tower.

Sears tower skywalk. 110 stories up and stanting on nothing but glass- it's a little scary. But the views up there are incredible! And doesn't Lake Michigan just look like an ocean? I love it.

 Kayaking down the Chicago river- definitely my favorite part. Three hours of straight kayaking makes for soar arms, but awesome avoid-the-tour-boat skills.

Michael Jackson at a stoplight? He just needs a little work on the hat.

Jazz festival in the park! :)