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missroseroseAs (I hope) I mentioned previously, Brian and I have been in Kennewick, at his mother's house, for the holidays. I've had regular computer access; however, in the tradition of the best vacations, this one's been rather uneventful, so I figure there isn't a whole lot to talk about. We've been around a bit here and there; we drove to Walla Walla today, which is probably the most interesting part of the trip so far. We stopped at a couple of winery tasting rooms along the way, and I spent $63 at L'Ecole Winery on an excellent Cabernet, a bottle of their Semillon ice wine from this year (both of which we tasted prior to buying and agreed were fabulous), and a bottle of chocolate merlot sauce that just sounded way too good to leave on the shelf. (The woman at the counter didn't have any available to taste but she said they hadn't had any complaints yet.) I could really get into this whole "taste before you buy" bit - it's much easier to plonk down $30 for a bottle of wine when you know it's going to be good enough for a special occasion.
As for my views on this part of the world...to be honest, I don't think I'm here at the right time to judge. It being winter and all, the trees are all bare and the fields are brown and everything looks kind of bleak (although the 50 degree weather is nice, I have to admit). Kennewick and the Tri-Cities in general are okay, but I think they remind me way too much of Colorado Springs - too much of the endless suburban sprawl, with no mountain or ocean views (though the Columbia River is pretty, and probably looks really nice in the summer). Maybe I'm just spoiled, having lived in Alaska all my life, but I rather like having beautiful scenery wherever I live, rather than just fields and rooftops.
On the other hand, Walla Walla actually struck me as having a lot more personality. It's probably a combination of the fact that they haven't been malled over by WalMart and whatnot yet so they still have a lot of cool little shops open downtown and the fact that they're just not big enough yet to need all that homogeneous sprawl, but as a town it seemed to have a lot more personality. (Though come to think of it, any place that's famous almost solely for wine and onions probably does.) The political climate is supposed to be much more liberal there too, being mostly a college town, and it's all of 45 minutes away from the Tricities if you want to hit the megaplex. Brian really wants to move somewhere in this area in the next five years or so, since most of his family are here and the housing prices are much more reasonable than they are in Juneau (or most places in AK); I think I could consider living there, though I don't think it's where I'd want to end up permanently.
I dunno. Plans for the future are still very much in flux; it'd probably be better at this point to take things one step at a time. It's not something we're going to have to worry about for a good few years yet, anyway. Maybe by then it'll be time for a change.
And on a completely unrelated but very cute note, there was a thrift store in Walla Walla that was connected to a humane society there, and they had the most adorable gray kitten with blue-green eyes for people to look at. Obviously I couldn't take him home, but the cage bars were pretty wide and he let me scratch behind his ears some and then licked my hand in thanks. I really hope he goes to a good home with people who'll give him love and affection, even when he grows into a bigger cat...it just really makes me sad sometimes that I can't give all the cats in the world a good home.
ME TOO.
But...you do, don't you? Eventually?
I'M NOT SURE PEOPLE WOULD CALL MY HOME FOR THEM "GOOD". BUT PLEASE, CARRY ON.
Erm.
Meantime, aside from the wine, I found some pretty silk roses that I thought would match our living room nicely, and Brian bought an entrance mat that has a silhouette of a cat and reads "The Cat and its housekeeping staff reside here." I've been spending most of my time playing on the Nintendo DS I got for Christmas, and I have to say that I recommend it over the PSP - although the latter's hardware capabilities are much better, there just isn't that much in the way of a game library for it, unless you like sports games (which I don't, particularly). The DS, in addition to being able to play everything in the huge GBA library, has some really well-thought-out-and-executed games. I especially recommend "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time", which is a really fun (and amusingly-written) RPG that makes really good use of the DS's capabilities. I also am enjoying "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney", which is a first-person crime-solving thriller-type adventure that is also very well done; although extremely linear (I can't see it having much replay value) it requires enough interaction and has an interesting enough storyline to be well worth the time. "Nintendogs" is also an oddly endearing game - it's like those Tamagotchi toys that were so popular when I was in 9th grade, taken to the nth degree. And I haven't even gotten a chance to check out some of the other highly-recommended games out there.
In any case, I suppose I should see if I can find something more substantial than wine and chocolate for dinner...:)
As for my views on this part of the world...to be honest, I don't think I'm here at the right time to judge. It being winter and all, the trees are all bare and the fields are brown and everything looks kind of bleak (although the 50 degree weather is nice, I have to admit). Kennewick and the Tri-Cities in general are okay, but I think they remind me way too much of Colorado Springs - too much of the endless suburban sprawl, with no mountain or ocean views (though the Columbia River is pretty, and probably looks really nice in the summer). Maybe I'm just spoiled, having lived in Alaska all my life, but I rather like having beautiful scenery wherever I live, rather than just fields and rooftops.
On the other hand, Walla Walla actually struck me as having a lot more personality. It's probably a combination of the fact that they haven't been malled over by WalMart and whatnot yet so they still have a lot of cool little shops open downtown and the fact that they're just not big enough yet to need all that homogeneous sprawl, but as a town it seemed to have a lot more personality. (Though come to think of it, any place that's famous almost solely for wine and onions probably does.) The political climate is supposed to be much more liberal there too, being mostly a college town, and it's all of 45 minutes away from the Tricities if you want to hit the megaplex. Brian really wants to move somewhere in this area in the next five years or so, since most of his family are here and the housing prices are much more reasonable than they are in Juneau (or most places in AK); I think I could consider living there, though I don't think it's where I'd want to end up permanently.
I dunno. Plans for the future are still very much in flux; it'd probably be better at this point to take things one step at a time. It's not something we're going to have to worry about for a good few years yet, anyway. Maybe by then it'll be time for a change.
And on a completely unrelated but very cute note, there was a thrift store in Walla Walla that was connected to a humane society there, and they had the most adorable gray kitten with blue-green eyes for people to look at. Obviously I couldn't take him home, but the cage bars were pretty wide and he let me scratch behind his ears some and then licked my hand in thanks. I really hope he goes to a good home with people who'll give him love and affection, even when he grows into a bigger cat...it just really makes me sad sometimes that I can't give all the cats in the world a good home.
ME TOO.
But...you do, don't you? Eventually?
I'M NOT SURE PEOPLE WOULD CALL MY HOME FOR THEM "GOOD". BUT PLEASE, CARRY ON.
Erm.
Meantime, aside from the wine, I found some pretty silk roses that I thought would match our living room nicely, and Brian bought an entrance mat that has a silhouette of a cat and reads "The Cat and its housekeeping staff reside here." I've been spending most of my time playing on the Nintendo DS I got for Christmas, and I have to say that I recommend it over the PSP - although the latter's hardware capabilities are much better, there just isn't that much in the way of a game library for it, unless you like sports games (which I don't, particularly). The DS, in addition to being able to play everything in the huge GBA library, has some really well-thought-out-and-executed games. I especially recommend "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time", which is a really fun (and amusingly-written) RPG that makes really good use of the DS's capabilities. I also am enjoying "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney", which is a first-person crime-solving thriller-type adventure that is also very well done; although extremely linear (I can't see it having much replay value) it requires enough interaction and has an interesting enough storyline to be well worth the time. "Nintendogs" is also an oddly endearing game - it's like those Tamagotchi toys that were so popular when I was in 9th grade, taken to the nth degree. And I haven't even gotten a chance to check out some of the other highly-recommended games out there.
In any case, I suppose I should see if I can find something more substantial than wine and chocolate for dinner...:)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-30 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-31 03:14 am (UTC)As far as liberal, you may want to delve into that further! Most of the area is HIGHLY conservative Republican and highly Seventh Day Adventist, nothing against either!!!
And if you like summers that range in the 110 to 113 degree range, that's great! We about melted being used to AK and all~!!!
HOWEVER, IT is a most friendly place, with good, honest people!
Onion harvest time is fun, you can smell them everywhere, and the Onion Festival is quite an experience shall we say?> LOL.
The Blue Mountain Humane Societ store IS indeed awesome! As are the Blue Mountains themselves!!!
IF, you have NOT been yet to a place called Mary Hill or Merry Hill, GO! They have an AWESOME museum and a complete life sized replica of Stonehenge!! Try to get there, you won't be sorry!!!
And check out the Bruce Lee Memorial Chapel and Mini Storage at Pasco in TriCities, LMAO.
Have fun kids!