Birthday Vacation

Don't worry, this isn't a "my vacation was SO awesome" post.  Part of my displeasure at facebook recently is that the micro blog format doesn't provide real estate for the whole truth.  People post about their vacations and you get the watered down "look at me and all the fun I am having, aren't you jealous" version.  The whole truth is that even the funnest (most fun?) vacations are peppered with complicated and sometimes comically shitty moments.

Don't get me wrong.  I had a great time.  We went to some spectacular museums, and immensly enjoyed the concerts that we went to see; however, the retelling of only the great things makes for dishonest storytelling.  I have no desire for this to become a whiney "Fail" blog but in the intrest of honesty I'll discuss the bumps in the road before I bore you with any of the awesomeness. 

Just to catch you up:  Me, Amy, and Ross went to Raleigh and Winston-Salem, NC. Our reason for this adventure was to celebrate my birthday with a pair of concerts by our favorite band, The 2 Skinnee J's.

Dreary weather plagued us the whole trip

First failure of the trip: weather.

"Dismal" is the only word to describe about 90 percent of the entire trip.  When it wasn't simply overcast and gray, it was raining.  It was a cold and dreary rain that we Floridians only recieve once or twice a year in the winter.  Ross was the only one of us to bring a jacket. Me and Amy just got wet and cold.  Amy also stepped in a puddle and had a wet foot for an evening.  The Sun did come out for a few minutes but we were inside buildings for most of it.  How do people in Seattle live?

Second failure of the trip: minor injury.

I bashed the shit out of my toe on some bricks.

Even after reading this sign.

This happend the first damn day we were in Raleigh so I spent the entire trip limping around North Carolina.

Third failure of the trip:  pancakes.

The challenge.

For my birthday Ross promised to win me a "Big Ed's Diner" t-shirt.  The challenge is to eat three pancakes and get a free t-shirt.  Three pancakes does NOT seem like a challenge but aparently "Ed" got "big" by eating them three at a time. 

Here is a short photo essay of how it went down:

Ross has got this.  No problem.

uh-oh.

FAIL.

There were other minor things that went wrong on the trip.  Nothing serious.  Irritating things like iphones in my face at the concert, shitty people fighting, gps systems leading us into dagerous neighborhoods, hotel not having HBO, etc. 

I suppose in the interest of balanced scales I should show you a few pictures of us having a good time or you might get the impression I am miserable person. 

Alex and Amy participate in a North Carolina tradition: getting fat.

Oh like YOU've never made out with Ross in a hot tub.

 

Ross and Amy are weird.