Man Yogurt

Like the smart travelers on a budget that we were, and because they summarize the Character of a Nation, we (Rachel and I) made sure to hit up the New Zealand grocery stores for supplies!  Our goal was to acquire suitable breakfast materials.  Neither of us favor large breakfasts on a daily basis, and the price wasn't it worth it for us to eat toast and tea (the breakfast of champions!) of the hotel buffet in the mornings.

Both of us bee-lined for this yogurt because of it's yummy flavor combinations and the promise of fruit, seeds, grains, and barley together.  Look closer.  

"This is men's yoghurt and you are a man.  Now find a spoon, fork, or spade and dig in."

The man theme continues.

Tips.

"A man must not own more than one aftershave at any one time."

"It is acceptable to eat yoghurt - when it's Mammoth yoghurt and it's thick and chunky and it's made for men."

Turns out that all of the other American conservators, most of whom are ladies, hit up the New Zealand grocery stores as well.  All were attracted to the Man Yogurt as well, based upon the promise of fruit, seeds, grains, and barley, only realizing that it was for men much later.

We figured, hey, the American Woman is a tough broad.  If she wants to eat the Man Yogurt, she's gonna eat the Man Yogurt.  Nobody can stop her.

West Nile: This is Apparently Where You Get It

Phyllis and I wanted to chill out after our last day working, decompressing a bit before she had to catch her flight home.  I had poked around the internet, and since we had such a nice time touring the Huntsville Botanical Garden, I hoped to find something similar in Jackson.

This was more difficult, but I ended up finding a little garden, the former grounds of a 19th-century mansion.

We told our university clients that we would be garden-visiting, and they were all, "Don't.  You'll get the West Nile.  It's here now.  Did you know that a baby died from it?"

Me saying, "Oh yes, we've had West Nile in Pennsylvania for aaaaaages.  I'm not worried, I don't know anyone who has had it," had absolutely no effect on them.  We would willfully go, get West Nile, and then die just like that baby.

The garden was little and pretty, but jam-packed full of standing water and mosquitoes.  I thought Mississippians knew about mosquitoes... so why all the standing water?  Shouldn't they know better?

Those mosquitoes were everywhere, and I got a zillion bites.  Even still I wasn't too concerned about getting West Nile.  Liang and Dara came to Philly the day I arrived back, for our Regularly Scheduled Roomie Weekend (of Eating).  And I kept telling them that I had West Nile, that I could feel it, but that it got better.

Back to Jackson

So, I was back again to Jackson, Mississippi, at the end of the summer.  Downtown Jackson, with wonderful fifties shopfronts, is still generally a crumbling mess and (from what the locals said) not overly safe.

The hotel was fabulous and beautiful, but observe the downtown outside of my hotel window.  All of those shops are closed, and the second building from the left, the entire roof has collapsed.

My assistant Phyllis from the Huntsville, Alabama, trip was able to come with me to Jackson as well, which was fantastic.  Not only calm and level-headed, she was also ready to do some Mississippi food-exploring!

First stop: the Mayflower Cafe.  Used as a location for some scene in "The Help" but also Jackson's longest running diner.  We got huge plates full of red snapper, recommended as the best local speciality by the waitress, which was fab.  Brockway folks - it reminded me so much of JJs, back in the day when everyone in town would go for the Friday fish specials.

Beat down after the first day, we ended up having dinner in the hotel restaurant with one of my coworkers who was in town.  (We actually shouldn't have been there at the same time, but our client's mistake resulted in our schedules improperly overlapping.)

Final dinner out: Phyllis and I drove out of the downtown to the busier (and less crumbly) northeast section of Jackson, to a new joint called Julip.  You guys: if you're ever in Jackson, get yourself to Julip.

Phyllis' choice: fried chicken on waffles.

Shrimp and Grits.  No kidding, this may have been the best thing I've ever eaten.

Airport Literature, Billings, Montana

Yes, I did flip through it.  Yes, its as horrid as it looks.  I wanted to buy it sooooo bad... and then gift it to Mark.

Driving through Montana

Out the window of my rental car, heading from Yellowstone back to Billings, Montana.

Speed limit 75 mph!  Which means people will happily go, like, 90 mph!  Only in a state with long long flat roads can this fly: Pennsylvanian roads are far too hilly and twisty for a speed limit like that...

Other Geysers

After Old Faithful did its thing, I took my buffalo jerky and headed off across the Yellowstone boardwalks to see more geysers.  It was ridiculously cold, so few people were out with me.  Along with the cold came sporadic driving snow.

Mineral build-up around a geyser in the foreground, old Teddy Roosevelt-era hotels in the background.

Walking around the thermal features at Yellowstone is awesome, because you're constantly on wooden boardwalks.  This is for your own protection, as the water is extremely hot and the earth only looks like solid ground.

Like I'd want to mark them.  Bacterial flats?  Ugh.  But they're pretty.

The steam did smell sulfury, but not that sulfury.  Not nearly as bad as riding in a car with Dad and one of the cannons, at the end of the day on 4 July.

What did the first pioneers here think?  I kept wondering if they were missionaries or other god-fearing folks, because if so, they probably though they'd wandered into some terrifying hell-vestibule.

These signs are everywhere.  Sure, it looks like normal dirt/plants, but you'll probably end up, like, sinking into boiling mud up to your thigh, which will then have to be amputated, Civil War-style.

This is actively geysering.  Not all of them shoot out water like Old Faithful.

The hottest parts of the thermal pools are the blue areas (if I'm remembering right) and are blue because they are populated by cyanobacteria.  As you move from the center towards the edge of the pool, the colors change as the water cools and the types of bacteria present change.  Sure, the water cools, but its still wicked hot.

Yellowstone, East Gate

Immediately in Yellowstone, like barely a couple yards.  Notice: minimal snow.

Heading into higher elevations.

Snow, through some very high pass.  I had doubted about the gate being closed, thinking all, "Whateves, I've driven several times on Interstate 81 through blizzards on the way to Canada."  This was a similar snow-situation, though I-81 is not on the edge of a mountain, which does add a bit more interest to the drive.  And instead of my trusty Green Car, I had some sort of weak-engined rental Dodge-thing.

To the right, you can kind of see the edge of the snow drift that needed to be cleared in order for cars to drive through.  It was Death-Star trench quality.

Ordinary Time

So so so, most of March and the whole of April were rather ordinary.  Going to work, coming home, etc. But also months of getting ready for all the business in May, which involves the following:
1). Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
2). AIC Annual Meeting in New Mexico
3). a visit from Mum & Auntie Rita
4). attending a wedding in Wyoming
5). Liang & Michael coming to Philly for a few days.

All of which will have photos coming soon!

Punxsutawney Phil

So my friend Val is an avid fan of nature, especially bugs, turtles, and fluffy animals.  I usually explain to people about where I'm from using Punxsutawney as a landmark, and when Val heard this, she began plotting to convince me to go to Groundhog Day with her.

I'm not a big fan of Punxy, because all of the roads to get there will make you carsick at the end. And if you don't actually throw up, you'll be all pasty and sweaty and have to lie down and think stationary thoughts for a good fifteen minutes before you can function even at a low level.

In the end, Val's convincing, and the possibility of getting some of the World's Best Pizza, meant that we rented a car and headed off for the Wilds of Pennsylvania.  Here she is, at Sheetz (amazing, and sadly unavailable in Philadelphia), with an MTO and a Groundhog Day card my Mum sent.

We arrived at the family homestead before midnight.  I slept wonderfully, despite Mum's weirdly shaped pillow (or perhaps because of).  But Val, who stayed in my old room, was freaked out by the dark and quiet of the county, had an apparently uneasy night.  City folk.

Up and about around 5:00, tea and groundhog cookies consumed shortly afterwards, we bundled up and headed to Punxy.

I was (and am) super proud of myself for getting to Punxy without directions, not having been for probably over ten years!  That's what happens when your Mum drags you and the Lil'Bro there every week of every summer for years and years.  Apart from never getting over the carsickness, the route does get impressed upon you.

We parked downtown next to the McDonalds and hopped a school bus shuttle up the Gobbler's Knob.

Approaching Gobbler's Knob, around 7:00 in the morning.

Bonfire, on the outskirts of the crowd.

No idea where this dude came from.

Apparently security was extra-tight this year, because PA Governor Tom Corbet (Space Cadet) was coming to Punxy for the event.  I did see a man dressed inappropriately in a gray suit, but it wasn't him.

All of my photos of the actual extraction are really blurry because it was dark and I refuse to use a flash.  And there was some lady directly in my way to was taking picture with what I swear was an entire iPad.

The proclamation:

Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this magnificent Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2012, Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, was summoned from his burrow in the old oak stump by the tap of President Bill Deeley.

At 7:25 a.m. he greeted his handlers, John Griffiths and Ron Ploucha. After casting an appreciative glance toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed:

As I look at the crowd on Gobbler's Knob,
Many shadows do I see
So six more weeks of winter it must be!

It was actually really nice, for the crack of dawn in February in Western PA.  Not freezing, not snowing, and minimal drunk college kids in for the day.

After the forecast, and after the news teams get photos of Phil and the Inner Circle, Phil gets put in a large plastic cylinder and people process up onto the stage to get their photos taken with him.

This Phil seems to be a relatively newer reincarnation.  He's little and busy, he was jumping up in the Groundhog Cylinder and scrabbling around in the wood shavings.  My favorite part of this photo is the dude with the giant-eyed groundhog hat in the background.

The sign to Gobbler's Knob, after the sun had risen.

Only a fraction of the buses used to shuttle people.  This is why the Punxy school district has the day off: the kids couldn't be shipped to school in the morning.

Downtown Punxy.  Also - I was disparing of seeing anyone I knew in Punxy, because people who are local are kind of 'whatever' about it.  However!  I did run into the Foulkrods (being parents of Amberly and Mr. F. being my old French/English teacher).  So I was super-excited about that.

Pancake breakfast at the Punxy Salvation Army, souvenirs purchased, we headed to the little square by the library.  

There is a groundhog habitat in the library, in case you didn't already know where Phil lives during the off-season.  (It's pictured in the back, behind Val).

And Barney and Philomena were out and busy, walking around and eating vegetables!  They both looked so nice and fluffy.

Val was like, "Barney and Philomena?"  And I was all, "Philomena is Phil's wife, and Barney is Phil's cousin.  It's all in the book.  I grew up around here, trust me."

This more sinister Groundhog was lurking outside the library. 

This was one of the most interesting things going on in the park: the welding classes from Jeff Tech were having a metal sculpture competition!  (I know these things because I talked to an adjunct faculty member about it, who was supervising.)  It was really cool.  The students are split into two teams, they pick a team leader, and start designing their sculpture in the fall.  After the design is finalized and various schematics made, they have to present everything to the school board.  Supposing the board approves the plan, they start gathering materials and assembling smaller components.  On February 2nd, the get to Punxy and start building!

The sculptures are judged by the Inner Circle, and (the winner or both, this was unclear) are later placed in a growing sculpture garden up at Gobbler's Knob!

Three kettle corn trucks in the park, with nary a funnel cake truck in sight.  I opted for the haluski.  My familys' ethnic background does not include haluski, so it's always a treat to eat some (and it's always better from a truck)!

Chainsaw Sculpture - This is Man's Art.  And Western Pennsylvania is know for its chainsaw sculptors.  All groundhogs, in the spirit of the day.

This is how you color the groundhogs, by toasting their outsides with a giant torch.  And no, it's not actually so cold that you can see the guy's breath.  He's smoking while running the giant torch.

Ice sculpting groundhogs too.

Val was all about this burn-down building, because prior to our visit, she was on some website - the Chamber of Commerce or the Punxy Spirit - and was amazing that an article said, "The Punxy Hotel burned down to the ground!"  Apparently she is unused to such dramatic news.  It was an accurate assessment though.  

I told Mum about it over the phone and she solemnly replied, "Punxy has a history of arson.  Be careful, there are a bunch of weirdos in that town."

Miss Havisham lives here.  Next to the bowling alley.