ki' come?

so I guess my genre for the time being is travel blogs. This past weekend I drove to Lebanon, TN, which is EAST of Nashville about 20+ miles...this trip takes about 3.15 hours traveling at a good rate of 83+ mph and stopping only once for gas/potty break.

the reason why I was in Lebanon is unimportant at the moment (USSF 'D' Coaching License course), as I want to focus on annoying driving habits of my fellow americans. again, these will be random, unoriginal, and somewhat scatter-brained
(which sums up my existence right now as well):

-when renting a car specifically for the purpose of going on a longer trip, specify that you want CRUISE CONTROL...I found out about 20 miles outside of memphis that the car I rented specifically for the purpose of added luxury did NOT in fact have many added luxuries.

-when renting a car specifically for the purpose of going on a longer trip, specify that you want a NON-SMOKING car...this I discovered as soon as I got in to drive...however, I was short on time, they were short on available cars, and I figured my olfactory senses would numb quickly (which they did)...Nurse Racher, that is the proper word right, olfactory?

-ENTERPRISE rental car WILL IN FACT pick you up and drop you off when renting cars from them...they aren't lying in the advertisements.

-People in the south like to speed. well, SOME people in the south like to speed. the others in the south like to go 5 mph UNDER the speed limit. but the SPEEDERS are serious speeders. I'm talking 95+ on the highways. people speed everywhere I know, but down here I think NASCAR is in the genes/blood or something because people drive fast fast. this phenomenon has also been observed by other readers/writers of this blog while traversing the atlanta speedway being passed by 85 year old grandmas...I'm just saying. I am not alone here...

-improper merging tactics seem to be rampant everywhere...not just the north. what is so difficult about getting up to the ACTUAL speed limit while one merges? why do we merge at 10-15 BELOW the speed limit?

-truck stop restaurants/gas stations down here are little mini-walmarts. you can get ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! seriously. and the food smells and looks legit. like good home-cooking.

-even without cruise control, it really isn't THAT difficult to keep a consistent speed. come on people! one of my pet peeves is inconsistent speed drivers. seriously. I just passed you like 45 seconds ago when you were going 64 mph. now you're doing 85 flying by me...oh wait...here I am passing you again. I haven't touch my speed, but you are going MUCH slower again..why? I don't get it.

-alone in the fast lane drivers??? = get over. the LEFT lane is for passing and for people ACTUALLY going OVER the speed limit.

-talk radio = good for road trips. time flies when listening to people ramble.

-cell phones = also good for time flying, but sometimes inconvenient to talk on...

alright...that is enough for now. the tragic part is that I have to go back again this upcoming weekend. anybody want to join me?

Lots of Things

Ok, so i've neglected the blog long enough. Lots of stuff has happened since the last time I blogged but I will try to hit all the highlights and post some pics.

First of all, and most importantly I guess, I went to Hawaii and got married. I don't know if I really have the words to adequately describe how great the trip was. Hawaii is a really cool place and I'm glad we did what we did. I definitely did not want to do the whole big wedding thing, and it was awesome to get married on the beach. It was weird because the whole wedding only took like 10 minutes, when we started our vows was when it really hit me that yeah, this is actually happening. But it was exactly the way Johanna and I wanted it to be and the whole trip was better than I could have imagined.

^Waialae Beach Park was a really pretty beach. We didn't really care what beach we got married on, we just asked Matt (the pastor who married us) to pick one he thought was good. That lei I was wearing was really itchy by the way. But still way more comfortable than a tux, and I didn't have to wear shoes. Johanna didn't like that the wind was blowing her hair all over the place but I really like it when she just leaves it down and it is all wavy and natural looking.

As for my thoughts on being married after one month, our lives are not all that different and I'm really used to wearing my ring now. I'm really not used to calling her "my wife" though. It's just weird. I'm guessing at some point you get used to saying it.

^Surfing at Waikiki was just one of those things I had to do. It's the birthplace of surfing and probably the easiest place to surf there is. Of course that means that the place is always super crowded but I managed to get out there with 200 other people, dodge outrigger canoes and beginners on huge longboards and catch a few waves. It was really fun. I loved the fact that almost everything "to do" in Hawaii involved the ocean. Surfing, snorkeling at Shark's Cove, and hanging out on the North Shore were my favorite things about Hawaii. Other than getting married and other wedding related "activities" of course.

^This is me and my Goddaughter Sydney. She's super cute, I definitely need to get to Columbia soon to see her again. I suppose I would like to hang out with her parents too.

^This is me and my new friend Donovan. We hung out alot when Johanna and I went to Chicago for her friend Chrissy's wedding.

Oh yeah, our new apartment is cool too. You can see some pictures over on Johanna's Blog but I'll post some once we finally have everything unpacked, and once we get our couch. New Town is an interesting place, but all in all I like it. I really like being able to ride my bike to the pool, or being able to walk to the market or coffee shop. It is really quiet though and sometimes I miss the hubbub of the Iwaszkowiec house. Speaking of which; Brazil 3, Argentina 0. "Yes! In the face!" I can't believe that my dad and I both weren't home to watch that today.

Of course I want that fried....

Vacations are nice. My favorite part is not having to set the alarm clock. It's nice to be able to get up whenever I want. Also nice is eating lots of seafood and hanging out on the beach all day. I almost put myself into a food coma tonight though due to Tapas Night at Tamara's in Apalach. Lots of good stuff. We have definitely seen lots of wildlife on this trip too. But if you want details you should check out Johanna's Blog.


^This picture is me and my dolphin friends, they were pretty close and the gulf was pretty much a lake that day. But we see dolphins so much it's no big deal at this point.

^This was yesterday morning, pretty fun shorebreak. The waves actually got better throughout the day and The Dolphin Whisperer (joff) and I had a fun little sundown session. We went out to the sandbar and were having a good time trading waves until the Whisperer saw a large shape in the wave we were about to take off on. We figured out later that it was a ray (we saw another one this afternoon) but at that point we weren't taking any chances. Especially after the alligator incident a couple nights ago.

^This is me and Jo at Harry A's on St. George Island. There's not really much of a story behind this picture, I just liked it. There was some funny karaoke going on at this place though. And some line dancing. But I was just there to eat shrimp.

Other things I am enjoying about this trip, in no particular order: having nothing to do besides sit on the beach, reading books, skittles, cold gatorades after being in the ocean, eating shrimp, aloe vera, and not wearing shoes. Unfortunately, there have not been any gummy bear throwing contests or zub-zub games on this trip.