Part 1 is just about over. We arrived home around 11 last night, leaving me with today to cool down before flying back to LA tomorrow. Since I'm sure no one wants to read a "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay, here are the highlights:

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia:
The first night we were there, I made the mistake of ordering a glass of water at the tavern we chose for dinner. The waiter asked whether I'd like my water from the "trough, bucket, or well." However, my choice didn't seem to matter much, as he continued with, "Whichever one you pick, you will get dysentery and you *will* die." Needless to say, dysentery became the running joke for the entire trip.

Busch Gardens:
After forcing Marc onto a 3D ride that he absolutely did not want any part of, Marc later admitted that he really liked it. Oh, and it's really weird being in a theme park aimed at a young audience that is very obviously owned by a "beer" company. Though I have to admit, it is the nicest looking theme park that I've ever been to.

Washington, DC:
This time I actually made it inside the International Spy Museum. The second night we had dinner at The Fish Market with two cousins, Scott and Eric; Eric's fiancee; Eric's friend; and my friend, Naomi. Yay dinner.

Lancaster, PA:
By this point I'm absolutely sick of heavy meals, but my parents want to go to Good and Plenty. Considering the name of the place, the food leaves something to be desired. I was, however, quite impressed that the restaurant easily sits ~750 at once.

Herhsey Park:
Within its barbed wire fence are two of the best wooden rollercoasters that I have ever been on. There are a bunch of metal ones as well, some of which weren't too shabby either.

Of course, we also got lost on a daily basis. The directions my parents printed were absolute crap, at best. The distances for travel had no correlation with the real world, not to mention the turns and exits that didn't exist.

After everything, I am quite content to be both alive and inert for the next 20 hours or so.

I just saw a tv ad for The Transporter 2. On top the general another-freaking-sequel nausea, there was a heavy dose of product-placement nausea. IN THE AD. It started with a shot of an Audi, placed front and center so the emblem was more than prominent. Cut to the normal action movie commercial. Insert car again, this time doing cool stunts. Back to normal commercial. One last car shot, and done. I understand the concept behind cross-promotions, but at the same time, such a high degree of product placement does nothing but detract from the movie. Therefore, this ad, which had otherwise made a sequel look somewhat promising, has had the opposite effect. Good job Hollywood!

And will be so until the 30th, not including family vacation from the 21st through the 28th.

That is all.

Oh, and Marc won a pink pony for me at the county fair. And Phoenix, the FireFox, *finally* arrived a couple days ago.

Now that is really all.

For the geek who has everything?

Link provided by Skarfin.

Tawny (Matt's dog) has decided that I am her personal source of food. Every time I walk into the kitchen, she follows and sits next to the counter where her bones are kept. As I walk around the kitchen, she turns so that she is always facing me. Of course, Tawny knows she will only be given food if she is sitting, so she is never standing for longer than it takes to walk over to the counter. I hearby declare that it is not my fault if Tawny gets fat.