Elsewhere, 1000 miles later...

SO. we've been driving . lots. and, as you will soon observe for yourself, we are kind of dirty and gross and awesome. This is a little of what we've been into .

This, everyone, is Capitol Hill. It is where - if I remember my American Heritage class correctly - where some red-hot legislating is goin on. While there we found a lonely Bill sitting on the steps. We struck up a melodic conversation that turned out to be both fun and educational and - you can watch the actual footage that April shot below:



If you want to take part you'll most likely need to come to Washington D.C. I think there might be a dress code of a suit and tie and white and man and money. But still normal people make it in too. D.C. is both impressive and depressing. We wanted to feel like Mr. Smith going to Washington, but the out-skirts are really run-down and poor and the in-skirts are flowerless and littered. C'mon leader people, it's the capitol of the richest nation in the world - water the grass. But very cool, greek looking buildings.


So, my whole life I have been waiting to meet a panda and now I have met three. At the D.C. zoo when I first spotted little the baby I cried! Seriously- my love for pandas is that deep. It was a very happy magical day.
LUNCH!!!!

Two very dedicated missionaries with two very different ideas on how to solve the world's problems. The guy on the left has been camping outside the whitehouse back lawn since 1981. Dedication.

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This is Georgetown University. A beautiful campus up the Potomac from downtown DC. We stopped by to visit April's favorite anthropology professor Dr. Olsen who now teaches here. Georgetown is one of the countries oldest universities, founded by Jesuits in 17-something, and home of the first African-American president of any educational institution, Dr. Patrick Francis Healy, 1886.

These are revolutionary era houses in Georgetown. Miguel was inspired to do the Can Can.
If you have some spare change, in your underwear drawer or wherever, and you want to build an impressive looking church, ,this is a good template. Duke university is very hard to locate, immersed in Hemlock trees in Northern Carolina. When you do find it, its a treat.

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Chapel Hill in North Carolina is a potential home for my brain, it looked good to me. Also, we saw Tony Tost hanging out at the local co-op wearing a Charlie Brown shirt. Read his poetry, miguel says.


ok, finally a little bathroom graffitti that everyone can enjoy. Miguel is obssessed with the idea of grafitti (especially in the privacy of the toilet stall) as a conversation stage. The most intelligent and witty scribblings encountered so far were in the bathrooms of Ashville, NC a progressive little city in western North Carolina. While we were there the Smashing Pumpkins were doing a 9 day artist's residency at a venue/art house called the Orange Peel. Pretty fun. The whole town was into it.


Ashville TN is the cutest, hippest little town, just East of the Smokey Mountains. We had the best lunch at the Laughing Seed Cafe... ALL VEGETARIAN and so delicious. The town was filled with other vegan and veggie places and loads of darling shops.

Into the Old Smokies. There are lots of these 50's style hotels on the Cherokee reservation on the way into Smokey Mountain National park.

The Smokey Mountains.
Are you ready for this???
BAM!!! The actual General Lee at Cooter's Dukes of Hazard museum in Gatlinburg, TN. yee. haw.
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For Real!!

A soaked couple of critters at the end of a fun, hot day at Dollywood. We saved the water rides until the very end of the day, after the sun had started to set and were the wettest people in the park. It was a long, stiff walk to the car. We heart Dollywood.

Replica of Dolly Parton's childhood school house. so cute!
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So that's all for now. Next we're off to Nashville and Memphis, TN for our 3RD marriage celebration. Every year we can either agree or disagree to get married again. This year we both said 'i do' so it's off to the heartbreak hotel and graceland and the little chapel in the woods.