My Golden Birthday Gift: Cache River-Park One

May 27, 2008

Travelers: My parents, younger brother and sister, and Z.

1-Cache River State Natural Area
Belknap, IL

I bought that shirt to be funny for an interesting history professor with a good sense of humor.
"Pretending to be Interested"-I've never worn it when it fit the situation.

Finally Going Places

            7:13 a.m. Tuesday, May 27, 2008

            After little more than two hours of sleep, three hours of tossing and turning, and one hour of preparation and packing the car we are on our way.  We have a six hour road trip ahead of us with stops only at Denny’s and rest areas.

            We three ‘children’ have our headphones playing different tunes and excited smiles on our faces . . . well my sis and I are smiling.  My parents are still running down the “unplugged curling iron” list and my little brother sits quietly in the back seat.  Suburbans are bad for gas but great for safety and space.  Currently I am most grateful for the latter.

            The fields on either side of the car switch between brown and lightly green.  After a warm early spring it has stayed relatively cool, hindering plant growth.  Only the occasional winter wheat fields are full of anything but weeds.

            We pass the brick house that has a large tree displayed behind its two story bay windows at Christmas time.  It is a sight that I remember fondly from four years ago on our first day’s journey to Disney World.

            We pass the place my brother hopes to work at over the summer, then cut through the town where my three-year-old nephew lives.  I could see myself teaching in this town one day.

            While my ears are listening to my original mixed CD my eyes take in a green and yellow painted car with a racing number painted on the side.  A log house slides past my window and I turn to look out the left side of the car and see a flagpole with a Chicago Cubs flag right below the stars and stripes.  I spot a yellow, flowery parquetry block design on a barn door.  That is something I haven’t seen before.  It reminds me of one of my favorite television shows, when a design was burned into the side of a barn.

            Last night I did my nails for the fist time since senior prom, to ensure my nails’ survival through the trip.  The pungent smell of the polish seems to hover below my nose.

            A small stand of trees looks like the entryway to an enchanted forest depicted in children’s books.  Patches of one-way roads and construction have slowed our way to breakfast. [We'll be eating at Denny's in Tuscola, another memory from our last Disney vacation.

            After breakfast, we continue south and pass the giant cross in Effingham around 11 a.m.  Since there's not much else to see on the highway for a while, I decide to let breakfast draw me into food-induced sleep.]

            I wake up after a short, uncomfortable nap and notice that we have entered the Shawnee National Forest.  The trees line the roads so thickly it’s impossible to see through them.  The land rolls more noticeably and in one particular spot we can see for miles and it’s mostly trees.  An unusual brown bird with white wingtips flies onto a fence post and I stare until it’s out of sight.  The red-winged blackbirds are still around but these new birds are far more interesting to me. 

            As the trees fly past I am glued to my window trying to find strange brown formations among the branches.  It doesn’t take me long to relate them to the infestations of tent worms I’ve seen in trees at home.  But these are different.  Rather than appearing like a holey mess of brown spider webs these look solid.  I can imagine squishing one might feel a little crunchy like hollow freeze-dried food.

            A road sign indicating the Ferne Clyffe exit catches my eye and I know we’re getting close.  I keep my eyes peeled for a brown “Cache River” marker seeing the Illinois map in my mind’s eye.  It must be close.

            Mom and Dad are discussing directions again looking for our exit.  We leave I-24 to get onto 45.  After a few minutes we find ourselves in neighborhoods that Jeff Foxworthy would be very proud of.  A town sign indicates that we found Belknap and my sis comments that she thought it would be fun to be able to say that she lived in Belknap as it is a letter combination we don’t often hear. 

            Dad steers the car up a narrow Sunflower Lane as we search for the park office in hopes of finding a bathroom and map.  The gravel road is steep and as we near the top a truck comes from the opposite direction.  Dad pulls over to let the man past and he smiles and waves us a silent “thank you.”

            After passing a man and his son out mowing who also wave at us, we find our way to the office.  The place feels rather foreboding and the gloomy skies overhead do nothing to improve the ambiance.  We let Dad enter the office as we survey our surroundings.  A house occupies the land to our left, to our right is a small open field before trees.  There are signs on the edge of the road, one is a map of the area.  Beyond the signs appears to be a mechanic shed.

            My curiosity along with the desire to stretch my legs urges me out of the car and to the signs.  My siblings follow suit.  One of the signs warns us not to kill snakes.  My brother suggests we say nothing about that sign because it will only confirm Mom’s fear about the prevalence of snakes in the area.

            Since Dad still has not returned from the office, Mom goes to find him.  We three get a cup of water from the back of the car then get back in the car to start applying sunscreen.  Finally the parents emerge from the office with directions and helpful suggestions of places to visit.  We make our way to the Heron Pond area where Mom is anxious to see a 400-year-old tree.

            Once we’re parked my curiosity is still piqued, but my hopes seem to be dampening as quickly as the humid air.  I don’t see any of the bridges shown in the website’s pictures and I certainly don’t see any of that water that I had imagined the area would be overflowing with.

            As we start down our first trail images from the internet leave my mind and I’m immersed in the woods.

            The trail looks like most parks I’ve seen before with tall trees looming overhead blocking out most of the sun, if there was any sun today, and small plants lining the path.  The air is still and humid but I was too busy trying not to miss a thing that I hardly noticed the sweat already forming a sheen on my skin.  I had my outdoor baseball cap on to keep any sun off my head and ticks out of my hair.  The hat also helped to trap my body heat.

            We pass a wooden sign with a map and information sheets tacked behind glass.  After a very short walk from the car, past the sign, we find a bridge crossing at least fifty feet of swift water.  I watched the weather a few days before our trip so I knew to expect high waters due to the amount of rain this area received the past few days.  Looking overhead I’d guess that the rain still is not over.

            The river is muddy brown and running so fast that foam collects around branches and rocks in the water.  I take a picture looking across the bridge and can’t wait to see if it will look as good on the big screen as it does on the camera’s small screen.  We’ve stopped for a moment as Mom and Dad are discussing, probably trying to figure out where we want to go.  Since the park so far does not look as I expected, I will follow them anywhere.  I just want a good hike.

            I get my wish as the gravel path leads us over streams that are rushing into the river.  Cement blocks sit in a row across the stream with the two-fold purpose of allowing us dry-feet access and preventing erosion of the path.

            The trees are incredibly tall and wide.  Mom tells us that this path takes us to a 400-year-old oak tree.  Most of the trees in my town are new compared with the oak, as most of the old trees were cut to make room for fields.  Any trees that grow in the area were likely planted by people as we arrived in Illinois.

            My sis and I stop at one particularly large tree to scan the branches that appear to reach above its neighbors.  The trunk is what first caught our eyes.  It is easily three times as wide as my sister and I; if we hugged it our arms certainly would not span the circumference. 

            As we move deeper into the woods it is easy to see the effects of the rain.  Several inches of water stand around the tree bases.  I’m not sure, though, if the water is an effect of the rain or if it a permanent puddle, as the trees seem happy to have their roots drowning below the algae and no small plants stick out of most of the water.

            I snap a few more pictures then have to hurry my pace to catch up with my family who leaves me behind.  Thankfully my sister notices that I keep dropping back to snap pictures of flowers or other images that catch my attention.  She drops back to keep me company.

            While I can understand their slight annoyance I keep reminding myself that we are here for me.  Had I not asked for this trip we probably never would have come here.  A plus to my over-watchful eye is that I am the only one to spot the turtle sitting between our path and the river, covered in algae. 

This is actually the second turtle we saw.  His pictures turned out better.

            Now everyone else drops back to take a look.  Naturally a turtle is not a strange thing to see.  I’ve spotted plenty of turtles in and along the Illinois River when my dad and I take our Klepper for a ride.  The difference about this turtle is that it is larger than most we see, just smaller than a football, and it is within reach.

            Making sure to avoid any three-leafed plants, I lean in for a better view.  It’s legs and head are out but surprisingly it does not run from us.  We don’t dare pick it up because you never can tell if you’ll get bitten.  Its claws also make the idea less tempting. [End 2008 Z's words.]

            I notice an odd, pitted, round shape on the ground but I don't recognize it.  All I can assume is that it fell from a tree.  I tend to walk with my eyes to the ground, a habit I probably picked up in 1st and 2nd grade when we were told to stay on the center line when walking from our classroom to art or music.  The good thing about this habit is that it helps me notice small treasures on the ground like turtles, toads, and sometimes even a fallen tuliptree flower.

            The downside is that unless I lift up my head.  I am likely to miss the amazement of a 400 year old cherrybark oak tree.  My mom leads the line as we approach this certificate-winning behemoth.  

            This giant stands 100 feet tall, 22 feet and 6.5 inches around the trunk, a crown spread of 113 feet and 398.75 points!  I wonder if all five of us could reach our arms around it.  Yeah, we should be able to, but my family is already on the move by the time I stop taking pictures.  Only my sister hangs back to get a picture of herself hugging the tree.

            We move on and since we are now away from the swampy looking area, I get into the groove of taking pictures of plants and flowers that I will become very familiar with over the next year, except for the weird slimy, green stuff on the ground that looks a little like smashed brains.  I find a toad and another turtle as we go.  This time they are on the gravel so I can get very close for pictures.  

            I find all sorts of molds and fungi to photograph, more flowers, and a few bugs.  I see a spider in its web but the breeze is blowing strong enough to prevent a clear picture.  I also don't think I used the flash much or at all for these pictures.  A rookie mistake I will hopefully correct before too many more visits.  I have some pictures that would have truly been great with better lighting.  We are now walking alongside railroad tracks that we soon cross.  There should be a fork in the road now, but the fork right is overgrown, and the fork left would only lead us through more 'ordinary' forest.  We decide to turn back and check out the cypress swamp.

            Before we cross the tracks, however, as my parents discuss the dangers of tall grass I chase down the butterflies and large dragonflies I see flitting about and landing on the stones of the path.  I'm lucky and get a few good shots.

            After we turn back, we come across the same turtle again but this time we don't linger (except me for another quick picture or two).  I spot a dead newt, an unusual dragonfly-type bug in a tree, and a snail hiding in a rotten trunk.  It's amazing how we're on the same path but I'm finding new things!

            The trees close in and provide a ceiling for us as we begin hearing distant thunder.  I'm feeling a little nervous, but I try not to let it show because we still haven't seen the best part.  I'm not going to let a little thunder scare me away if I can help it!  I stop very quickly for a picture of a luna moth wing...disembodied, and we make it to Heron Pond!

            This place is amazing!  I have never seen anything like it in real life.  A floating pathway leads far into the cypress trees but there is still so much swamp we can't reach.  If not for the nearing thunder, I could have easily spent at least half an hour just staring and taking it all in.  As it was, we spent a total of 10 minutes walking down and back.  Most of my family prefers the drive by viewing of nature rather than the stop and stare method of enjoyment.  I will have to keep this in mind for future park visits.  These 5 parks will just be at a faster pace, I suppose.

          At the end of the walkway, a surprise is waiting for us, a surprise I know my mom will LOVE.  I'm leaning slightly over the edge of the rail wondering what causes all those strange zigzags in the water when I spot this lovely friend resting on a log within a couple feet of my feet.

            It's a good thing Mom wasn't the one to notice it or she would have run screaming all the way back to the car.  This way I got to warn her that she didn't want to come any nearer.  I think this is the largest wild snake I've ever seen.  I was very pleased.  The only time I usually see snakes, which is still very rare, is dead on the side of the road.  When I was little we had a large one and several small ones visit our yard since our neighborhood was newly built and the snake still hadn't learned the danger of the new locals.  

            I snap a few more quick photos of this paradise and we are on our way.  The thunder is getting closer and it is sprinkling by the time we reach the car.  As we drive to our next location in this park we are hit with a powerful downpour.  It looks like we'll have to get soaked to see the 1000+ year old cypress.  I think that is worth it.  Thankfully though, the rain lets up just a little when we arrive so umbrellas protect us as we venture out for a very brief walk to these two amazing trees.

            If that swamp made me feel out of place, I certainly felt like I'd left the state when I saw these beauties.  How can trees like this exist in Illinois and I not know about it until now?  What else am I missing in this great state of wonders?  I guess I will learn about some of those other amazing things this year, but how many more amazing things will I still miss?  If you know of some amazing Illinois locations I should check-out, please tell me about them in the comments.  As we go on this adventure together you might see that I discover them myself, but just in case I don't, please share!  As long as I live in this state I want to continue exploring the magic of it.

    

The dotted yellow line is where we explored with a mystery path in the middle.

            The weather made up our mind about calling it a night and we headed to McDonald's to pick up dinner before checking into our hotel.  We couldn't eat in the restaurant being covered in sweat, mud, and sunscreen; Mom wouldn't allow us to offend the unsuspecting public that way.  So we ate in the Harrah's hotel in Metropolis, and you didn't hear us complaining.  We took off our shoes, showered, and enjoyed the rain from indoors.

            It is time to sleep and get ready for even more adventures tomorrow!

Rating for Park 1: Definitely visit again if I'm ever in the area.  Maybe plan on being in the area again.

D's Breakfast Bagel

          During one of D's visits he introduced me to an amazing treat: the breakfast bagel.  I know I mentioned it before, but it is so good that this masterpiece is worth its own post.

          The first thing you need to do is get the bagels out of the freezer and open one up with a knife. Be careful not to break it since it's frozen still.  What?  You don't keep bagels in the freezer?  You must eat bagels really fast.

          Next, get out that lovely artery clogging butter and add a thin coating to both halves while freezing your hands on the cold bagels.  You don't need a generous layer, although go ahead and do your own thing. I love butter but I think a thinner layer will help with the frying.

          Third, place your bagel halves on a hot frying pan and enjoy that sizzling butter sound. Yes, you must enjoy it or they won't turn out right!  Trust me, you don't want to mess with this.

          Your goal is to get both halves evenly slightly brown.  I think I needed to press mine down against the pan to get the even browning.  Make sure to throw some meat in the pan as well and enjoy that sizzling sound, too.  I added two slices of honey ham, two is not nearly enough. What was I thinking?

          Now add a generous helping of butter to the hot pan and notice the difference in sizzling sounds between this, the bagels, and the meat.  Don't let it burn!  I'd recommend not trying to take pictures of it while it is on the hot pan. Instead, move that pan around to get the butter to move all over it to be ready for the egg (s).

          Here comes more breakfast for this bagel!  Fry at least one egg on there.  Now if you're really, really hungry you can try frying more than one, but remember, no matter how hungry you are the size of your stomach doesn't change.  So if you have a small stomach like me, that stinks.  Stick with one egg.  But if you're luckier, add another or more so you'll have a bigger bagel.

          After you let that egg cook a little, go ahead and break the yolk and push it around.  So it's not quite a scrambled egg because it has larger chunks of whites and yolks.  Of course, that's also your preference you should listen to.  Look, I made egg art!

          Now if you're like me, make sure you don't forget this next step: add salt and pepper.  I always forget about that.  Once the egg is cooked go ahead and push it towards the center, keeping the heat up, into one bagel sized blob.  The higher heat will cook your egg faster and make this next step easier.

          Put a slice of cheese on top of the pile, and if the heat is high enough it should start melting right away. I wouldn't recommend using a high heat while taking pictures, though, unless you have an assistant or the eggs might get brown and I hate brown eggs.

          If you aren't photographing while cooking your cheese should be a lot meltier than mine is right now.  Next is the fun part.

          In a fantastical display of your amazing frying pan dexterity, slide that mass of egg and cheese right off the pan onto the bottom bagel half.

          Add the meat and the top half of the bagel and you are ready for my favorite step.

 ENJOY!

Celebrating 100 Dates

          I don't know if all bloggers started out as writers of "Dear diary"s or journals, but I know that I did.  In 3rd grade my teacher, Mrs. Varness, introduced her class to writing in a journal.  Three days a week we would have a writing prompt on the board and we had to write at least 3 complete sentences on topics ranging from what we did over the weekend and what we hope to do when we grow up to what we would do if we were president.  I loved writing in that journal and, believe it or not, I still have it and love rereading my 3rd grader self's thoughts (10/9/96  I wonder if my parents give me money when I lose a tooth.) and feelings (10/17/96 If I was the principal at [school] I would make it so that kids wouldn’t have to take shots. Then I’d make a teachers day off. Then I would quit.).  Sadly I don't have a record of the writing prompt, so sometimes it's a game trying to guess what I'm responding to (11/22/96 I would be s[h]ocked.  I would cry. My eyes would pop out of the sockets.).

          Ever since then I've periodically kept journals, sometimes hand-written and sometimes electronic.  In 2010 I saw people making facebook photo albums called 365 Challenge where they would take a picture each day to post and write a little about what happened that day.  I loved that idea but even though I almost always have my camera with me that doesn't mean I remember to use it, so that would not work.  Instead I challenged myself at the start of 2011 to write at least a few words each day before bed that summed up some part of the day even if was just "2/9/2011 is over." or very slightly expanded thoughts on the day "4/23/2011 You know something is wrong when smiling and laughing cause your muscles to be sore within a few short minutes. Random thought of the night."

          I like keeping a journal because it is fun to look back and see what I was up to and how I was feeling through the years.  I like reflecting on parts of my life and seeing how they shaped me into who I am today.  I never dreamed that 2011 would be such a pivotal year for me.  My goals for the year were simply "to get a job for the fall, to be less stressed, and rediscover myself and be happy with what I find.  Maybe I’ll actually get in shape this year ;)  Yeah, that’s a joke.  My big hope for the summer (we’ll see if it happens) is to take a stunt driving lesson.  I’ve been toying with the idea of becoming a stunt coordinator.  It isn’t useful in the grand scheme of life, but it would work my brain and might make me happy.  Here’s to the New Year!" (1/2/2011).

          At the beginning of 2011 I was in the middle of my second year of teaching with only a yearly contract, so I didn't know if my classroom would still be there for me in the fall.  I also did not know that nearly all of my plans would change within a few months, nor did I know that I actually would get into shape by that summer and happily postpone my plans for stunt driving school.  That was the year I quit teaching, went back to school, and met D.

          I am SO happy that I chose 2011 to keep a daily journal because that allowed me to record my thoughts and feelings through the beginning of our relationship.  It also allowed me to keep track of our dates which is how I know that last Saturday, January 19, 2013 was our 100th date!  

Maybe we can keep this balloon to refill when we hit 1000!

          I consider a date any day that we spend time together.  Since our schools are 3 hours apart and even our parents' homes are 45 minutes away from each other, we don't get to see each other as often as most couples do.  There is no chance of us randomly running into each other to get to spend time together.  So each day that I spend with D, whether it is a relaxing day playing video games side by side and watching shows, or a day of adventure and going places, to me, each time I get to see D is special and therefor a date.

          For our 100th, we took my aunt out to lunch, although she generously refused to let us pay (we'll be faster at grabbing the check next time, hehe), went to church with D's family, enjoyed a family dinner together, and watched Robot Chicken.  His parents were nice enough to let me stay the night so we could share our 101st day together right away and it was the perfect start to our next 100 dates.  D's mom made us an egg scramble to go with coffee cake for breakfast, yum! Then, we got to look at puppies and other cute, and some less-cuddly animals, and he helped me try to adjust the focus on my camera to take pictures of all the amazing plants the store was also selling.  When we got back we had dinner with his family and watched Resident Evil 5 and The Lorax with them.  With such a fantastic weekend it was really hard to return to school.  At least I know that I get to see D again next weekend!

Here's to the next 100 dates!

My Golden Birthday Gift: Preparing Our First Trip

Illinois got blanketed in ice on Saturday night.

Preparing Our First Trip

            Once again I found myself on the Exploring Illinois website, but rather than searching by name, I was searching by region.  The southeast region to be exact.  My heart raced when I saw the list of over a dozen parks appear for the region.  I needed to look at each park, locate it on the map, and then determine which ones I wanted to visit most, how long to stay at each one, and where we should sleep while down there. 

            I remembered one park that had a pool and a lodge.  The combination sounded promising to me so I checked my notes and found pool listed under Dixon Springs, a part-day park with two trails and locations with funny names.  Keeping this location in mind I started down the list of southeast region parks.

            I already had notes on a few of these parks, and some of them with strike-through indicating that previously I didn’t think the park was worth the trip.  Now that we were going to be here a couple days I didn’t want to rule any place out without a second look.

            The southwest region covers a lot of area.  Using my fingers to mark the distance between my house and the University of Illinois I marked off two hours of distance from Dixon Springs.  Most likely we would want to pick our parks from this radius so we wouldn’t spend too much time in the car while on our mini-vacation.

            Delighted, I saw that Cache River state park fit.  It is a marshy area unlike anything I’ve seen in Illinois before, with 18 miles of trails mostly over water.  My only concern is rain; if it rains too much here before we arrive there won’t be much for us to see and some trails may be closed.  My notes label this as an all day park.

            Since we are spending two nights down south our first and last days will have to be part day parks giving us one day to spend at an all day.  The trouble arises when I take another look at Ferne Clyffe, a park that grabs my attention since I added ‘fun’ in its description.  Which park should I choose for our all day?  I decided to think about that later and went back to looking at the other parks in the area.

            I quickly scratch off three in a row as they are for hunting and boating.  When my list is finished I have seven parks on my list.  There are a couple I had to ignore because they were too far away.  I highlight three in blue, and two in yellow.  I have my five parks.

            Naturally Ferne Clyffe is in blue, and Dixon Springs since it will be our main base.  My third is Fort Massac.  Apparently I had skipped over this name in my earlier search because I became very excited when I looked at its description.  Not only is it a historical site with replicas of old barracks and nice short strolls along the Ohio River but it’s right on the edge of a very special city.

            Unless you know the history of how superheroes have affected my life it will be hard to understand my excitement at knowing that we will be within minutes of Metropolis and the Superman Museum rumored to have a large statue of the man of steel himself nearby.  Giddy with excitement I made sure to record the museum’s hours of operation with a plan to get us there at any cost.  Even if I have to beg, I will get a picture of myself flying beside the man of steel.

            Surprisingly, Cache River earned yellow.  While I would love to visit and capture images of all the shimmering water, I don’t know if we will have time, and I really want to make Ferne Clyffe our full day.  Cave-In-Rock got the second yellow vote since my sister was obviously excited upon hearing about it.  This park is also smaller and the farthest away, so I couldn’t make it blue and get my hopes up.

            We ended up waiting until the next day to talk about the parks.  I had already told my mom, but now I told Dad.  He heard all five names; I described their locations and told him about the lodge.  He quickly ruled out the lodge for expense reasons but he agreed to all five parks.  Smiling, we ended the conversation.  I got all five parks when I was only bargaining for three.

            With less than a week to prepare we needed to find a hotel and directions to all of the parks.  It was decided that we would leave on Tuesday, May 27 and stay two nights to return on Thursday.

            When Dad got home the next day he pulled out the road map to double check which parks I wanted, and once again I took him through the list, pointing out the parks as I described them.  He talked about hitting Ferne Clyffe on our way down there and my heart sank.  I explained that I wanted to make that our full day, he understood and agreed.  We would stop at Cache River on Tuesday instead.

            Dad informed me that we could leave home before breakfast and catch something to eat on the way down so that we could have more time to spend there since he knew I also wanted ample time to explore Cache River.  Thinking about it now makes me very excited at the prospect of getting pictures of the sunset reflecting on the watery paths.

            What he said next had me bouncing in my seat.  He is looking for a hotel in Metropolis.  This will give us plenty of time to explore the city!  Wednesday will be spent at Ferne Clyffe, and if we have time we might visit either Dixon Springs or Fort Massac so that on Thursday we can visit the remaining two parks.

            Dad pointed out other parks on the map asking me why I didn’t choose them and I gave him my reasoning why I didn’t like them or told him that they hadn’t been listed on the website.  I then pointed out Forbes Lake which was northward.  I told him it had a beach and looked interesting.  He thought about it and said that we could try to hit it on our way home if we had time.

            Now I have less than twenty-four hours to prepare to visit six parks in three days and sleep in the city of Superman.  I could not be more excited!

            Mom spent today looking through the descriptions of the parks and the type of wildlife we can expect.  She is excited about the cypress trees in Cache River, but she is not at all thrilled with the idea of all the snakes that live down south.  Already she is chiding us about staying on the marked paths and wearing bug repellent.  This is my adventure therefore I plan to disregard all of her warnings and worry.  I will wear sunscreen, I will drench myself in repellent, I will pack a bathing suit, and I will explore nature’s wonders to my heart’s content.

My Golden Birthday Gift: The Planning Process

          Hello my dear readers.  Once again I will be lazy and let my younger self do all the talking.  You will notice that while I was somewhat Internet savvy then, Google maps was not my go-to as it is now.

The Planning Process 

            As a test run to get a feel for how well accomplishing my dream may go I began talking about my idea to my family and friends.  I told my friends first, knowing that I would not meet any resistance here.  Proving me right my best friend not only said that she would go with me to these parks, but she invited me along for a trip she was already planning.  She mentioned a huge state park down south that her father visited.  Excitedly I warned her that I’ll take her up on that offer.

            At home I was slightly hesitant.  To meet my goal I need my family’s support because I know that they are the ones who are always available when needed.  As such, they will help me reach these places and make the trips more fun.  I am not visiting 21 state parks on my own.

            I mentioned it first to my mom who matched my hesitation when considering my goal.  Not encouraged, I moved to my sister.  I can always rely on my little sister, so I hope she isn’t about to make me a liar.  Finding her working on homework at the computer I stop a few feet away, testing the water.  If she glares at me then this is not the best time to approach her.  With a smile she turns to me and excitedly asks me first, “Can I come, too?”  Now I have one on board, I can probably expect my little brother to join us on at least a few trips, he isn’t back from college yet.  Then my dad will be the last one to ask, but knowing him, he’ll want in on the plan, too.

            With a guaranteed team, even if it is only myself and one other, I am on my way.  I know what I want and I have people who will help me get it.

            Knowing what I want, however, is far from actually achieving what I want.  I was not aware, at the time of my mental planning, of the amount of time and effort that meeting this goal would take.  I got my first taste when I started scoping out state parks.

            The Illinois state parks website has a nice list of all the state parks.  I can search by name or region. 

            I started with Anderson Lake. 

            Located in or near Astoria, Illinois, I still had no idea where it was.  Thank goodness for a creation called Google Earth.  After typing “Astoria, IL” into the search box I now knew where Anderson Lake is and got to see just how large the lake really is.  Seeing the size of the lake, and reading that it is six feet at its deepest, I was inspired to add one more goal to my list.  I now want to take our new Klepper, a small two-man collapsible boat, to at least one of these state parks and go for a little ride.  When I pitched this idea to my father today, he did not shoot it down.  I take this as a good sign, but I’m not foolish enough to see it as a guarantee.

            I suddenly remembered a suggestion a good friend of mine gave me last fall that brought my Illinois search to a halt.  I was spinning my Google globe toward Indiana.  My friend had told me of a great state park that is as beautiful, if not more so, as Starved Rock.  I recalled, thankfully, that the name is Turkey Run.  We had planned to visit it over our fall break but those plans fell through leaving me all the more curious about what I missed.

            Using that trusty tool at our fingertips I found the Turkey Run website and noticed that the posted images did indeed remind me of Starved Rock’s landscape.  Finding the park on Google Earth I was pleased to see the many blue dots indicating pictures of the region.  Fate must have moved my hand to find the most awe-inspiring winter images.  I am a sucker for fresh snow.  Seeing the frozen waterfalls, snowy rocks, and numerous icicles I knew that ideally I would visit this park over Christmas break.  For some reason I cannot see my mom going for this idea so I may have to drag my friends along for this trip.

            I am not a fan of wasted time and Turkey Run is certainly a location that would require a sleepover.  A few weeks prior to my planning, shortly after I’d decided that visiting state parks is what I really want, my dad had told me that it would be okay if we had to stay overnight in a hotel a few nights to see some state parks that are too far away.  Getting approval of Turkey Run from my dad now should be easy; I’ll just need to work on convincing Mom.  To not waste time in Indiana I zoomed away from the park to see what else is nearby and I was very pleased to find two more large areas outlined in green indicating a state park.  Both are within miles of Turkey Run, so before we go home we could possibly see two or three state parks.

            Pleased with my discovery I jotted down a few notes and returned to my virtual exploration of the alphabetized state parks.  I made it halfway through before I had to take a break. 

            I had started a list of all the parks that were possibilities.  I left several parks off that were only meant for hunting and fishing, and I excluded parks that were too small or too far away to be worth the gas.  My main focus is on length and number of trails.  After that I look for pictures of the park and find its location on the map.  The map also helps me to see how large the park is and to get an idea of what sort of terrain we’d be exploring.  My favorite state parks are the ones similar to Starved Rock with large rock formations, mini canyons, waterways, history, and paths that lead far from civilization.

            Using blue, I highlight the parks that I am certain need to go on my list, and I use yellow to mark places of interest that I hope to visit, if luck permits.  One such yellow highlighted park is Cave-in-Rock.  Two details peak my curiosity when reading about this park. 

            First, the hiking description calls for marked and un-marked trails.  I have never heard of visitors being able to wander on un-marked trails at a park.  Thoughts of adventure and exploration lit a fire in my mind probably not unlike that which the pioneers felt many years ago. 

            Second, as its name implies, there is a cave.  The pictures show a small, above ground, rock cave that overlooks water.  Caves are a thrill for me because while I am so very intrigued by their cool, damp interior, I am also terrified that it may come crashing down on me at any moment.  So, like riding a roller-coaster, I get a bit of an adrenaline rush exploring caves.  

            The location was the only major drawback for this park.

            One park on my search had me very excited with thoughts of caves.  It had an underground cave on its land, or rather below it called the Illinois Caverns.  My excitement did not last when I read that I would need a permit to explore the cave.  Still, I was not completely disappointed.  Before this day I did not even realize Illinois had any underground caves.  I did an internet search for caves in Illinois and I was told that are a few underground caves here but the only one I found any visitor webpages for is the Illinois Caverns in Monroe County.  With a sigh I ended that search and vowed to one day visit Mammoth Cave in Kentucky to make up for missing caves this year.

            Having tired of reading description after description of Illinois state parks I minimized the search windows and studied the short version of the afternoon’s work: my notes.  I noted general locations of the parks such as “On the Mississippi River” or “South of U of I” for quick reference.  Then I used basic descriptions of points of interest or things to remember about each park.  Some parks are labeled as “lots of marsh, picturesque, part-day” or “cliffs, stairs, covered bridges” and even “18 hiking trails, all day, cliffs, cave, fun.” 

            I also noted places of historical significance or specific things that might interest my Mom such as a tour of a grain mill.  I want these trips to be fun for everyone and Mom is the first person who I imagine will grow tired of walking through trees and creeks.

            I ended my first day’s study slightly disappointed because many of the parks that interest me most are at the opposite end of the state and I don’t imagine anyone wanting to spend so many hours in the car traveling first, there and back, and then possibly making another equally long trip to hit a few more ever so slightly closer to home. 

            Fortunately these worries were for naught.

            Later that day I spoke with my mother about the parks I was looking at down south and apparently she picked up on my excitement.  Within two days we had checked the calendar and found that everyone had a week off very soon.  Mom assured me that if we were able to make this trip it would only be for a couple nights and not the entire week.  If she thought that would disappoint me she was wrong.  I was just so grateful that my dream and desires were being taken so seriously!

            A few more days passed and I was trying very hard not to get my hopes up too high.  Mom had said we ‘might’ be able to go over that week but she and Dad still hadn’t been able to talk about it in depth.  As the week progressed with nothing said I grew continually more aggravated.  I began to believe that I had only imagined their interest in my dream and that as time passed with less of it to use for planning, the likelihood of our journey was shriveling away.

            Imagine my shock when the next day Mom approached me and informed me that when Dad arrived home from work that day I was to be prepared to pitch my park ideas to him.  I needed to choose five or six parks that I wanted to see most over a two-night stay, look for lodging, and know locations. 

            Caught off guard I sputtered, trying to separate my thoughts and emotions.  I was initially excited, but then I realized I had only six hours to completely prepare a trip to southern Illinois when I still hadn’t finished looking at all of the state parks.  After asking exactly when I needed to be prepared for Dad to arrive home, I practically ran to my room to start my computer.

My Golden Birthday Gift

Photo record of Z's past month's adventures:  D and Z explored campus to celebrate the end of the semester.
D wanted me to get this shot.

          Every year most people celebrate that one unique day that means they survived another year.  Usually on this day the one turning a year older receives gifts and/or well wishes from loved ones.  When you're 18 or younger these celebrations usually hold more meaning.  If someone doesn't show up to the birthday bash or forgets to wish us a happy birthday it might be very devastating and ruin our day.  As we get older our birthday might seem less important as we hope simply to hear a few well wishes and maybe get something from our parents or those closest to us.  I know there are even some people would rather let their day pass unnoticed.

We got a little snow at home so I made sure to take advantage and get pictures.

          I am not one of the overly dramatic types nor am I one who prefers to ignore my birthday.  I like to celebrate, and every well wish and birthday hug means a lot to me, it means I matter to the giver.  Gifts are always fun, too, of course.  As I grew up, though, my birthday focus switched from the gifts I got to the people present at my birthday dinner.  It means more to me to have my family around me on my birthday than it does to get a gift.  Most gifts are usually consumables such as sweets, or clothes.  I enjoy both of those things very much, as the givers know or they wouldn't be giving them to me.  But, for my golden birthday I decided that I didn't want any tangible gifts, no money, no sweets, nothing that comes from a store.

Sadly, the second day we got a decent amount of snow was also the day I got really sick.  I'm almost all better now.

          This is all I will tell you now, though.  I could continue typing and recount the events by memory, but wouldn't it be even better to hear about the adventure from the Czarina who was living it?  How about I let my 21 year old self tell you the beginning of this tale straight from my journal:

Guidelines 

            Today is my 21^st birthday.  Not an ordinary birthday, however, but today is my golden birthday.  As May neared I realized that I needed to decide what I wanted for this day.  For my brother’s golden birthday he received 13 candy bars on the 13^th.  I don’t want candy bars, I am trying to eat less sugar.  And I cannot think of anything that I would want 21 of them.  After mulling over a few ideas it came to me.  I do not want 21 anything, but I want to visit 21 state parks.

            Accomplishing this is easy when stated so simply.  Unfortunately for my family and friends who will be dragged along to these parks, I upped the ante by adding stipulations. 

            First, I must visit 21 state parks.  We already know that.  They cannot only be Illinois parks though, I prefer to see the world a little broader.  The second rule is a time restraint.  I’ve learned that if your goals don’t have ‘due dates’ so to speak, they will probably never get reached.  I am giving myself one full year.  I like this rule, too, because it will give me a chance to see state parks in all seasons.  Thought of seasons causes me to add a third must.  I must take pictures at each of these parks, meaning we cannot forget the cameras or it is almost a wasted trip.  It would not be a completely wasted trip because I will still have fun and enjoy the experience, but the park cannot be added to my list of 21.

            Look at a map of Illinois and you might scoff saying that I still haven’t made my goal any more difficult.  There are many dozens of state parks in Illinois so it would be nearly impossible not to visit 21 in one year.  My friend pointed this out when she started suggesting parks within five miles of my house.  I realized that this will not do.  I have probably visited over a dozen state parks during my life simply by picnicking or going for a drive.  Many of the Illinois state parks are small, without trails or much to see.  These won’t satisfy me.  I want to hike, see interesting natural formations, and get away from home.  So my final rule is that I get to choose the 21 state parks, and any that I visit outside of my choosing are just for fun.  Of course, all of my visits are for fun but the ones I choose will be special.

            Having my guidelines set up I am going to visit and photograph 21 state parks of my choice through the seasons before I turn 22.  Since I have already written this much, I may as well also record my experiences to share with others, mostly my future students.  This summer is for you as much as it is for me, my family, and my friends.  

          So there you can see 21 year old Czarina's goals and hopes for the year.  Which ones came true or not you will have to wait and see just like I did.  The anticipation is so much fun!  Since this is a very long adventure by its very nature, I'm going to try to keep the posts from becoming overwhelmingly long.  My next two posts will also be from 21 year old me about the Planning Process, and Preparing Our First Trip.  At the time my dad suggested keeping a journal of all the parks and our experiences as a resource for me to use for myself or to share.  Unfortunately that turned into an overwhelming task that I simply didn't have the time or patience for when we actually started visiting parks.  Sitting down and reflecting also took a bit of the fun out of the adventure; it felt like homework.  But I promise to share everything that I did write.

D and Z had a fun Xmas 1 with friends, Xmas 2 with Z's Dad's whole family  united for a first and amazing time, Xmas 3 with Z's family, and Xmas 4 with D's family.  Pictured: Elfonso is from Xmas 1, and Y Ddraig Goch got left behind at Xmas 2 and stayed with us until the new year.

          Come along with me on this journey and I promise you will not be disappointed.  At the very least you might have already started thinking about alternative gift ideas for you or someone else when that special day comes around.  I hope you all had a joyous holiday season and I hope the new year brings you and your loved ones much happiness and keeps you  healthy.  I had a fantastic winter break as the above pictures hopefully showed.  Oh yeah, and I only got 1 B, the rest of my grades were As!!! So yes, I celebrated.  Next semester won't be as easy.  Onward to adventure!

The two buddies enjoyed celebrating New Year's eve with D's family, so did I! They're acting like D and Z.

4 Down, 2 to Go: How ter Keep Yer Wits About Ye Durin' Exams

          Whew!  What a week.  I can honestly say I have never studied as much as I have in the past two weeks, and I'm not done yet.  All semester I've managed to stay on or near the A side of the grade borderline in my classes and I'm fighting hard to keep it that way.  Ever since my high school geometry teacher taught me how to calculate needed scores to get my desired grade I've made sure to keep track of my grades throughout the semesters so by finals I know exactly what I need to get.

My yard didn't have much left blooming by Thanksgiving break,
but I'm glad to see we'll have plenty of milkweed growing again next year.

          This semester I started my last two years of my chemistry degree at my first away-from-home university.  This is actually the third college I've attended in the past 7 years.  I got a Bachelor of Arts degree from my first university, used it for a couple of years and then realized my passion lies in science.  So the next year I started my chemistry degree at a junior college before transferring here.  Excluding this semester (scores aren't in, yet) I have always gotten As since high school.  Believe me when I say admitting that is not bragging.  None of the classes I took during my first degree challenged me nearly as much as the classes this semester, and my calculus classes last year have.  I don't feel any pride in the 4.0 I have with my degree.  Does that seem weird?

          Here's why.  It was easy!  I barely had to put any effort into those classes to "excel" in them.  I have to thank my parents for giving me the winning genetic lottery ticket when it comes to my brain power, because I was born lucky.  I learn a bit faster than a lot of my classmates and I don't need to study as much as them to do just as well or even better.  I can't stand up and brag about my ease of learning because I have no control over that; those are just the genetic cards I was dealt and I am very, very grateful for that!  I would feel like I have the right to brag if my effort was reflected by my grades, but it isn't.  As I said, in getting that first degree I didn't need to put in much effort so I put effort in the classes that I liked and wanted to work harder in, just for me.  But for other classes that I wasn't interested in, I put in the minimal amount of effort necessary to get the A and spent the rest of the class doodling cartoons about professors I didn't like, or fictional characters I invented.

          If I get straight As this semester, though, I will be able to stand tall and say with a smile, "Yes, I earned those."  And if I get a couple Bs, guess what, I sure as heck earned those, too!  During my two years out of school I realized that the effort, and not the letter, is what really matters.  I have seen students struggle and work very hard to get a C or even a D in a class and look at it with pride, because they know that they worked hard for that grade.  They did not win the genetic lottery, and so they fight and struggle with academic material to do the best that they can, and that hard work is what matters.  Well I have worked hard this semester.  I am reading the textbooks, doing the homework even if it isn't graded, studying and staying on top of everything that needs to get done.  Sometimes I struggle, sometimes I don't do as well as I would hope, but I know that this time I am putting the effort into my work and I am proud of myself.

Christmas tree hunting with D's family.
It's a family tradition I was invited to participate in this year. :)

          On Tuesday I had two lab exams.  I expected the biology lab exam to be pretty easy, and it was.  I didn't slack in studying for it, though.  I went through all of the available Power Point presentations and notes available, I looked over my graded homework, and reread parts of the lab manual.  The lab counts as part of the lecture grade and I was just at the A so I knew I needed as many points as I could get, so I wanted to get 20/20 since just a few points could be the determining factor between two letter grades.  This is a freshman level class so I would feel pretty disappointed if I got a B.

          The second lab exam was in physical chemistry, the math course of chemistry.  I liked the math parts of general chemistry last year, but boy, p.chem is a different animal.  Throw in a healthy dose of calculus and statistics along with plenty of formulas and concepts to understand and you've got yourself a none-too-easy class.  I got a C on my first lab exam and I knew that I needed at least a high C on this one to keep the A that my lab reports earned me.  I spent most of last Sunday and Monday writing up my last lab report and studying for this exam.  I broke this up with studying for organic chemistry and my bio lab exam.

I saw my first snowflakes the day after Thanksgiving at D's house.
It was so cold icicles formed on the net over the pond.

          Wednesday was my last organic chem. exam before the final.  It was mostly reactions: knowing the mechanism, reagents, or products of reactions.  I had planned to get a jump-start studying for this over Thanksgiving break but I thankfully ended up far too busy spending time with loved ones and relaxing.  But that meant I still had a lot of work to do.  Last Thursday (not yesterday) I had the organic chem. lab exam.  The lab for organic and p.chem are separate from the lecture portions of the classes so they get their own grades.  After I studied my butt off making sure I could interpret and analyze IR and HNMR readings, I had to buckle down and start studying for the lecture portion of the class.  I read the chapter and worked the problems as the book presented them checking my answers in the manual.  I made a guide sheet for each new type of mechanism illustrated and wrote down as many examples and key points as I could find about each mechanism on this sheet.  I then listened to the recorded lectures and followed along as the professor went through each mechanism.  This exam was over four chapters, and by the exam I had only had only thoroughly go through two of them.  I quickly went over the last two in the two hours before the exam, taking notes, and watching the sped up lectures.  Thankfully I knew that even if I did poorly on this exam, my performance on the final could replace this score if I did better.

          Wednesday evening I took a reward break to play my favorite video game before a p.chem review session.  The organic exam went much better than I expected and I knew that I got at least a 60%, which I would happily accept after running out of study time.  Thursday I slept in to make up for some lost sleep during the beginning of the week, and then I studied for today's biology exam.  The final exam is optional because we only get to keep our 4 best exam scores and today was Exam 4.  The final is scheduled for the same day as the organic chem. final and I really want to be able to spend studying time completely focused on getting those mechanisms learned solidly.  That said, I had to do GREAT on today's exam.  I studied for multiple hours and went to review sessions to get a mid to low A on the first exam.  I studied less hard and went to fewer review sessions to get a low B on the second exam.  I studied even less and went to no review sessions to get a very low B on the third exam.  I've done great in the lab, but that only counts for 27% of the final grade so I knew that I had to kick today's exam's butt to get the A and avoid taking next week's final.  So yes, I studied until 5 a.m. this morning, took a short nap, and took the exam.  There were 3/50 that I wasn't sure I got right so I had high hopes that I'd reached my goal.

          Before I give away any results, although I do not yet have official results, I would like to share:

A few flowers were still blooming at my aunt's house. We went out for lunch and back to her place for cake!

Final Exam Survival Strategies

          To do our best on days that a lot is expected from us, there are good things we should all make sure to do ahead of time in order to be ready to face the day.  The following are strategies that I followed when studying for the 5 exams I took in the past week and a half.  And guess what? After 5 tasking exams I'm still sane!

Sleep!  Yes, that's right, our brains need sleep. No matter how much we study, if we do not get sleep our brain won't be able to retain it all.  Sleep helps turn short-term memory into long-term memory.  I didn't make that up.  So if you have 5 hours before that exam and you are fighting to keep your eyes open and focused, or your head keeps nodding on its own, you need a nap.  I've read that 20 minute power naps are supposed to work great.  I much prefer taking at least 2 hours to snooze.  I put on my pjs, crawl under the covers and let myself sleep.  Yes, you are losing study time, but you are creating long-term memory that might end up being more valuable in 5 hours.

Eat.  I doubt anyone starves themselves during exam week, but make sure you're feeding your whole body. Stress can take a  huge toll on our body even if it is just attacking us for a few days.  Food is a great way to help fight it.  I know that stress kills my immune system and I usually end up very sick around exam time every year.  To fight that, this semester I made sure to add some variety to my diet.  I ate an orange, yogurt, celery with ranch dressing, banana ice cream, cheese, banana bread, oatmeal with chopped up strawberries, strawberry banana ice cream, drank lots of water, orange juice, milk, and ate plenty of carbs and fats.  I don't know the best diet for someone under stress, but when I know the stress is short-term, I eat what my body requests and throw in what I think it is lacking.  I always crave carbs, fats, and sweets when I'm stressed.  I don't overindulge, and I don't have to worry about overeating in these categories because my stomach is very small.  So if giving your body everything that it wants won't work for you, that's ok.  You know your body best.  But don't be afraid to indulge a little during this stressful time as long as you mix in fruits and veggies.  Look at it as a reward for working so hard.

Vitamins are also important.  I know that the limited fruits and veggies I get into my diet won't help my body fight off a germ very well, so during exams I take a daily multivitamin to give my body a little extra backup.  Water is another ally for your health.

Know what you know.  If you already know it solidly, don't waste time studying it again.

Know what you don't know.  This is where you should focus.

Prioritize.  Know what is most important, what will take the most time, and the areas it is ok to not do your very best on.  I knew that the biology lecture exam was very important so I made it a priority to be well-rested and well-fed before I studied for it.  I knew I could mess up in organic and make up for it next week so when I ran out of time to study for it, I went to bed to get a few hours of sleep before the test.

Don't sweat the small stuff.  One concept is really stumping you again and again.  Once you realize this is something you just might not be able to fully understand before the exam, move on.  Let those points go, wave at them and smile, or if you really feel the need you can apologize to them or give them a solemn mental funeral ceremony.  Study other things that will help you earn more points in other areas.  It is much better to lose a few hopeless points willingly than to accidentally lose points in areas you understand but ran out of time to refresh.  Trust me, you'll kick yourself over the points you should have known.

Keep it real/grounded.  Step back and look at your life, all of it, past, present and future.  Is your grade on this exam big stuff or small stuff?  Is it going to hugely impact the rest of your life?  Probably not.  A bad grade will not prevent you from getting a good job.  So right now is it more important to freak out about this exam and frantically read more notes, or would it be better to breathe and remember that this one grade will not define you?

Take a breather.  Along with food and sleep, our brains need oxygen.  Sometimes we study for too long and we don't let our brain get that important air in large quantities.  After I've been sitting too long I need to get up.  I'll go refill my water glass, take a shower, organize my work space, or do the dishes.  I find that I get the most housework done when I am procrastinating doing school work.  You could also take a walk.  I find that after walking to class I feel refreshed and more alert than after sitting for many hours.  Just do something to get the blood flowing a bit so your brain can feast on needed oxygen.  I've seen this advice in many places, so I think other people have found this to be beneficial.

Take small mental breaks.  I frequently take breaks from studying.  Sometimes I can get on a roll and study for several hours without stopping.  But usually I need to get away from the material for a few minutes just to let my eyes relax so they can focus on the pages again.  So I study a section until I notice that I keep getting distracted, then I hop on facebook or skype for a quick chat.  Surf the web, read a news story, check out some recent pins on Pinterest, see what's on the news feed.  No, this time isn't productive in my studying, but it makes me more willing to refocus after I've taken a break.  Sometimes a break can even be a change in my study method.  Instead of reading from the book maybe I can work some problems or listen to an audio of a lecture or watch a lecture online or video reinforcing a concept.  So your mental breaks can be productive.

Reward yourself!  This is last, but certainly not least on my list.  If I've been doing great studying, I will reward myself by watching an episode of my favorite show, then get right back to work.  This way I'm not distracted by wondering what happened to Sam and Dean this week or Oliver or Dexter.  I also gave myself a video game break after my exam and that got my creative juices flowing and that night's sleep was full of vivid dreams that had me waking in a good, thoughtful mood.  Food is also a reward.  Sugar is a known evil to me, but I love it so much.  So when I am stressed and working I will indulge my sweet tooth in the refined artery scratchers.

Another set of flowers still alive at my aunt's house.

Results Are In

          While I have not had my final scores affirmed, yet, I am confident that I can predict the outcomes of 3 of my 5 classes based on my performance from the rest of the semester.  First, organic chemistry lab: I had a 97% going into the exam, I loved the class and loved the material.  It was fun to study and the exam felt very manageable.  I predict an A.  Second, p.chem lab: I got my lab notebook back with full points and my lab exam with a B.  So with the A my lab reports got me, I should have maintained an A in this class.  Hard work definitely earned that A!  Third, biology, molecular and cellular basis of life: I got a high A on the lecture exam!! My studying paid off and with my strong lab score I definitely got the A and do not need to take the final next week.  (EDIT: I also got a 20/20 on my lab exam!)  I am very happy with these scores.  My organic chem. exam also came back with an A so I improved in organic, p.chem, and biology and I am very proud of myself.  All of that studying paid off.  I even got back a p.chem lecture homework assignment with the highest score I've gotten all semester that would have been a 100% if I had figured out one more little thing.

          I am very happy with the way these past two weeks have gone.  I have one week left with two more exams and I plan on aiming for As in both.  If I get them, I will be very proud of myself, and if I earn Bs instead, I will still be pleased because these were not easy courses and I no longer expect perfection in my grades.  My goal in school is to learn the material and understand it.  So if I get a B, that just means I need to study a bit longer to really understand it.

          If you have something big coming up soon I wish you the best of luck!

D and I saw this on our way to our friends' Thanksgiving party.