Target Practice

I did some shooting with Sarah's dad whilst we were in Knoxville over the Christmas break. Though the temperature was at or just below freezing, it was still a great time. We shot a number of different rifles (since I prefer rifles to handguns) and Darrell was kind enough to scan a few of the targets from the rounds that I fired. I'm not a superior marksman by any stretch of the imagination, but I was happy with these.

The larger holes on the left are from a Chinese SKS Type 56 firing the same ammo used in the AK-47 and using the standard metal sights. It was fun to shoot and not terribly difficult. The smaller holes on the right are from a scoped 22 rifle (my favorite). Easy to sight and fire. All shots fired from a distance of 42 yards.


More shots from the 22.


Even more shots from the 22.


This is something I enjoy doing with both of my dads, and it's something I'm looking forward to doing with my kids.

Alright! I'm off to the bathroom so that Sarah can cut my hair.

Stay Gold!

MMK

Roast Beef + My Mouth = Taste Explosion

If you'll look back to my posting from November 16th of 2008, you will find listed two things which I count as the ultimate and penultimate negatives of life in New Hampshire. While one can find a good deal of happiness in this state and region of the country, life is still a bit worse with the passing of each day that one spends either having to watch/cheer for the Patriots or not eating Arby's on a regular basis.

We took advantage of the time we had in Iowa to correct both of these things. I don't remember seeing any Patriots jerseys of caps anywhere, nor did I even hear mention of any Patriots related news for nearly two weeks. It was glorious. More glorious, though, was the afternoon of December 31st, 2008, on which Sarah and I found ourselves hungry while driving from Knoxville, IA to Ames, IA. We realized our hunger while motoring along just to the south of Des Moines. Here's how things played out from there*:

Sarah: "I am going to need some food soon."

Me: "Ok, where do you want to stop?"

Sarah: "How about Arby's?"

Me: "Shit yea!"

(*Actual conversation has been paraphrased because, honestly, who remembers anything else when one has Arby's on the brain?)

So, we pulled off near Altoona and drove through the nearest Arby's. I ordered a French Dip combo, whilst Sarah opted for the delicious Reuben combo. We got the food sack from the man working the window and went on our way.

Depending on your opinion of the food they provide, you may consider this next statement to be either positive or negative... Nothing has changed about Arby's in the six months since we at there last. The food was delicious and we walked (technically, we drove) away satisfied. Great job, Arby's!

We took some pictures of the meal since it was one of the vacation's finest.

We had a French Fry toast to the deliciousness:


Holy crap, this thing is huge! (TWSS, for those of you in the know.)


Voracious consumption.


More attractive voracious consumption.


Satisfied belch (not just screaming in the car).


I hope Arby's reads this blog and decides to send us free stuff.

Stay Gold!

MMK

Late 90's Dance Tunes

We are in Chicago just killing time until we get on the train at 10pm to go back to the 'Shire. I'm contemplating making a playlist on my iPod for the 22-hour trip that's to come. If I do, it will mostly just be "Ride the Train" by the Quad-City DJ's on a wicked long loop.

"Come on ride the train, and ride it (choo-chooooo), etc, etc, etc."

We have a lot of pictures and stories to share once we get home. Look forward to it.

Hope the new year is going well for everyone so far. I decided to stop drinking soda again. It's not a resolution, just a choice that happens to correspond with the new year.

More soon.

Stay Gold!

MMK

Photographic Evidence

As discussed in the post from two days ago, here are some photos from our trip to Iowa.

We took a bus from Durham to the train station in Boston.


Then we ate pretzels while we waited for our train to leave from Boston.

Mmm. Delicious.

Then we rode the train for 28 hours in a row. It snowed most of the way.


Then we sat in the train station in Chicago for two hours waiting for my Mom.


And now we're home and it's great. More pictures to come later as the vacation progresses. I hope everyone is having a good time on vacation or doing whatever it is that you all are doing.

Stay Gold,

MMK

The Motherland

It's now the eve of the 24th and the clock will soon tick over into the morning of the 25th. We've been in Iowa for just about 48 hours now and we're finally settled down a bit and enjoying our vacation. The journey here was less than ideal and certainly could have soured the mood of the trip as a whole if we had let it. Here are the details:

Our train left Boston at Noon on Sunday (the 21st). We were supposed to get into Chicago at roughly 10am on Monday the 22nd. Once there, we were to take a bus from Chicago to Iowa City where Sarah's parents would pick us up and take us to her home in Knoxville. We ended up getting into Chicago six hours past our scheduled time. We missed out bus and would have had to spend the night in Chicago had my mother not volunteered to drive the five hours each way to come get us and bring us home to Denver. Sarah was sick on the train and had a wicked stomach ache most of the way, so that certainly didn't help anything. By the time all was said and done, we had spent nearly 28 hours on the train itself and a grand total of 41 hours traveling. We're optimistic that the train ride back to New England will be less taxing on our sanity.

Because of the mix up in traveling plans, we're spending the first half of the trip in Denver and the second half in Knoxville (when we had originally planned it the other way around). This has thrown a wrench on some of the plans we'd made, but it just had to happen this way. Sorry to anyone that this switch impacts. We'll try to make it up to you sometime in the future...

Iowa is still as wonderful and glorious as ever, in case you were wondering. God's country never sours. I do look forward to moving back here one day, though I'm not necessarily ready to quit my job just yet. For as great as it feels to be home, there's something to be said about the life we have in New Hampshire.

We've been taking some pictures along the way on our vacation, though I think we forgot to bring our camera cable to be able to share them with you all before we get home. I'll check and upload some if we remember to pack the cable, otherwise you're just going to have to wait.

Happy birthday, Jesus. Thanks for seeing something in this mess of humanity.

I read this and it sort of sums up why our God is such a wonderful being.

"To think that our gentle king chose the lowly path, that Jesus came not riding dignified on a mighty horse but on a silly little donkey, came not to be served but to serve, not to overpower but to be overpowered, not to judge but to be judged, not to be lifted up in praise but to be lifted up on a cross in humiliation and rejection and failure - I understand nothing about this holy season ... but I am grateful for the kind and backwards foolish wisdom of our God."
- Aaron Weiss, mewithoutYou

I see that it's now officially Christmas morning. Neat.

Enjoy the time with your families and loved ones, eh? Goodwill for all of you.

Stay Gold!

MMK