Baltimore to Seattle: The final day!

The majority of Friday was spent on the road and besides our post office stop to mail off some Fort Cloudy goodies, there isn't much to report. So enjoy the photos from our super scenic time of the road!

So, yay! We finally made it! Safe and sound and in Seattle! And who was here to meet us, but:

Baltimore to Seattle: Day 7

Wednesday, Jessica (Aorta) was awesome enough to get up early with Fort, Mama Cloudy, and I to head over to the University of Nebraska to go check out the International Quilt Study Center. We had a bit of a hard time finding it, but I’ve always had a hard time navigating campuses.

We finally found it though and Mama Cloudy got to have a good bit of fun with the volunteer guide. They discussed all sorts of fun quilty world stuff. Since Mama Cloudy had studied for a stint at the University she told us about the AMAZING ice cream that is made and sold on campus. I guess its needless to say that we had ice cream for breakfast that morning.

While we were waiting for them to open for the day (yes, we were there that early), Jessica and I went around to check out the displays littered around the room. One case was filled with what appeared to be various Nebraska food companies. We came across one product in there that was like a steak rub brand called Fat Boy and the name of the product was Butt Rub!!!!! I guess I’m a little juvenile… well I guess I’m not even that yet.. ha!

After leaving Lincoln we headed out to Alliance, Nebraska to go visit Carhenge! Which in Stonehenge but made out of cars instead. I love weird stuff like that so I ate it right up! We got a little lost finding it because of a switch in highway names, but still, really amazing!

Then we headed up to South Dakota to go see the one thing that Fort has always wanted to see, Mount Rushmore. We made really great time getting there and arrived soon after nightfall. The hotel that we registered at told us that the lighting of the monument would be taking place in the next few minutes, but we were famished and went to find food. On the way back to the hotel we saw it clear as day when we pulled into the parking lot. Even from a few miles away it was breath taking! Mama Cloudy suggested that we drive closer for a better night shot that we could send back to the other Cloudies. The closer we got the more awe inspiring it was. I couldn’t believe that we were actually there and that man had actually created that in nature. Absolutely amazing!

Baltimore to Seattle: Day 8

Thursday morning and I met early as I was way too excited to sleep! I jumped on Mama Cloudy a few times to wake her up so we could head over to Mount Rushmore. Fort, however, was much slower to get her head off the pillow. She'd been up pretty late the night before uploading pictures to flickr so I could post blogs. I ran out the door to take a look at our view in the day light. It was breath taking!After we finished munching on some dounuts and juice, we headed up to the monument for a better look. Absolutely beautiful! I can't really describe it properly so here are some photos:

After we saw all of the amazing, amazing sights we headed on to Wyoming to go find a place to stay for the night around Yellowstone, but the closest town had some sort of event going on and the majority of the rooms were booked. So we agreed to skip it on this bout and catch it the next time round. We drove through right as the sun was setting which allowed for some beautiful scenery. But we quickly found that the hi-beams on the Cloudy mobile were adjusted too low and made it very difficult to see very far in front of us. It became pitch black very quickly and it was extremely hard to see what was going on around the car. There were a couple of occasions were I was able to see to off to the side of the road, but there wasn’t anything there.. just a cliff. Fort drove us through the park and I noticed that she remained hunched close to the steering wheel straining to see the entire way through. About 2 hours after our entry we found the end of the park and our entrance into Montana. We drove as far as the rain permitted us but finally stopped due to weariness and the inability to see the road any more. It was a good day and we made great time. I think Fort is hoping that we only have one more day to go, but Mama Cloudy is saying that its probably a 2 day trip… we’ll see.

Baltimore to Seattle: Day 6

We left the house of the Cloudy friends fairly early on Tuesday quite rested and ready to go. There is however one problem with traveling cross-country through Wisconsin with 2 girls.. we found ourselves driving past the Mall of America in Minnesota and naturally had to stop.

That place is crazy!! Not only do they have a plethora of Dairy Queen's and Burger Kings but also 2 Victoria Secrets (which we all now is the perfect place to find my favorite sitting place) AND a Lego store.

Oh! AND there is also an amusement park in the middle of the whole 3-4 story high shopping experience. I wanted to go on a couples of rides, but Fort said we had to get back on the road. Oh yea.. and we also found a severely random gas pump inside the mall.. I have no idea.. don't ask :P
After the mall we continued on down to Lincoln, Nebraska to stay with the fabulous Etsy seller Aorta! She and Fort are both apart of Appliquecore. I know Fort really admires her work.
We arrived fairly late, but Jessica took us to a kick ass burrito restaurant. I got a potato burrito, which are now my favorite variety… ever. Yum!

Baltimore to Seattle: Day 5

Monday was fairly uneventful. We packed up in Chicago and headed up to Western Wisconsin. The drive was pretty nice and it gave me a chance to write out my blog for a bit.It didn't get to it too much since Mama Cloudy has us listening to the Harry Potter books on tape and CD. That ends up capturing the majority of my young concentration. But the drive was beautiful. I very much enjoyed staring out the window, catching the passing scenes. Especially when we passed the giant signs advertising cheese!!We stayed with Mama Cloudy's friends and Fort and I tried to meet up with Lunamom from Etsy, but unfortunately we didn't get the opportunity :( We'll have to try better next time!

Baltimore to Seattle: Renegade Craft Fair!

On days 3 and 4 of our grand adventure we took all the Fort Cloudy goods to Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, Illinois. What a fantastic time!
Saturday morning I think I heard Fort get up around 5am.. She had a lot she still wanted to make before we left for the show. Around 10 or so James (MagnoliaStreet) and her boyfriend came to meet up with us and bring us some scones for breakfast. They pretty much rule! Since we had hardly any room in the Cloudy Mobile they grabbed the bus up while we drove with everything we needed for the show.
While I was helping Fort set up Priscilla from MoxieMadness showed up! We gave her a quick hug but, unfortunately, didn't have a whole lot of time to chat since we were still trying to get everything to look presentable. Fort's been kicking herself about it, but has just been excited for a great reason to go back!The show was AWESOME! We got to meet loads of great people! We were able to meet BoyGirlParty, PeachCake, Lavender Zebra Press, Papered Together, CharlieandSarah, and a slew of other awesome crafters!Some of the cool people from Baltimore were there too! Including: Spaghetti Kiss, Imogene, Red Prairie Press, and Squid Fire.A couple of the cool kids from Etsy were there too! Lauren (Stellaloella) and Julie (YourSecretAdmiral) were there to represent! It was too cool to see them again :)
The show was amazing! And we're all really glad we were able to be apart of it. If you get a chance to check it out next year your should definitely jump on the chance!

We headed off to Wisconsin Monday morning. More on that soon!

Baltimore to Seattle: Day 2

Thursday night at Gemmafactrix's house, Fort discovered that she had managed to leave her sewing machine foot pedal back in Baltimore. So we all woke up semi-early to get back on the road to find a replacement. Mama Cloudy made a few phone calls and located one in Lafayette, Indiana. The owner mentioned to her that they were dropping their Janome line and all the machines were 40% off.
The whole way there (including our Cracker Barrel breakfast, yum!) Mama Cloudy and I worked at convincing Fort that she needed a new sewing machine. Not that there was really any room for one in the Cloudy Mobile, but she really did need a new, heavier-dutier one. They had one that was exactly like Mama's, but even after the discount it was still over $1000. Which would be awesome and all, but Fort felt that it wasn't a practical purchase to make while moving across the country. We looked at a few others and then she saw it! The most perfect Fort Cloudy sewing machine e-v-e-r. It was a small white and green machine right in her price range. Being that green is by far her favorite color she quickly tried it out and snatched it up. The timing was fantastic as well, as her birthday is less than a month away (October 10th - she'll be accepting gifts and cards - email me if you need ideas or our address ;P) it made the perfect self-gift. Fort has always had an air of child-like excitement which came rushing to the surface as she bounced out of the store singing the happy sewing machine song. Before we left the town we made a quick stop for ice cream!
We reached Chicago around 5 or 6 or maybe some other time. I'm not 100% sure.. There was a time change involved in there some where and I still cannot keep track of what time it actually is. Traffic sucked, but it was rush hour. However, after 2 days straight in the car I was itching to get out. They made me sit in the back for a little while and I found myself wedged between a suitcase and the clothing rack Joy gave Fort as a going away present (she rocks hardcore). Our friend, Auriane, had been awesome enough to agree to let us all sleep on her floor. She's a friend of Danger Cloudy and Fort's from Baltimore who recently moved to Chicago. It was awesome to see her again! Her little chihuahua, Sinatra, eagerly greeted us when we arrived. He's teeny-tiny and an absolute blast! Only a little bit bigger than me, actually. I spent the night chasing Sinatra around the house while Fort and Mama Cloudy kicked back and did a little sewing.

Tomorrow is the start of Renegade.. eep!

Baltimore to Seattle: Day 1

So the adventure begins! Mama Cloudy, Fort, and I left this morning to head out west. Before we could get out of town we ran into some of the inevitable traveling problems. Several of the boxes that were necessary to come along were not going to fit in the Cloudy Mobile. So, Papa Cloudy, being the awesome Dad that he is, went out early this morning to pick us up some supplies: ratchets and felt pads.Very quickly this morning, Mama Cloudy and I figured out how to use said ratchets, and successfully did an amazing job securing the precious materials to the roof. Just as we were ready to head out the Littlest Cloudy jumped into the drivers seat and refused to let us go. After a while we convinced her that we needed to leave and we'd be back to visit soon. The Cloudy girls got a photo together and we hit the road!
But not until the Middlest Cloudy helped make sure that everything was going to fit into the back...Before we left Maryland, I insisted that we stop by Sideling Hill. Fort had told me a bunch of stories about her family stopping there when she was little. It was awesome! With a very educations visitors center. If you ever head out I-68 I recommend you make the quick stop.
From there we headed to Morgantown, West Virginia to have lunch with Beth from LemonCadet and her husband. They took us to Black Bear, a really great burrito restaurant. It was really great to hang out with them again and the food was awesome! I admit it.. I ate too much and ended up in a nice food coma for the next leg of the trip.
After a really great visit with them we all got back into the car and headed over to Ohio to stay the night at Gemmafactrix's. She was awesome enough to offer to let us crash! And we got to hang out with Squirtle.. So its pretty much the coolest thing ever. I think he and I are going to have an adventure of our own tomorrow!

Surprise guest!

You'd never guess who made a special trip (according to me) out to Maryland to wish me well and see me off on my great new adventure?! LILY! She came out with her Mom and Dad to send Fort and I off properly. And the best part of all?? She'll be there to greet us when we arrive! I just don't think it gets any better than that! Next time I blog it'll be on the road! Hooray!

The lovely Ms Lily with her proud great-grandfather.

Going Away Party

Last Saturday, Mama and Papa Cloudy threw a kick ass going away party for Fort and I. There was so much super delicious food and so many super awesome people to share it with. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate and say good bye to a bunch of the people we love!
Mama Cloudy got a carrot cake! Yay! The frosting writing on top was supposed to say "Watch out Seattle!" but someone forgot to cross a t and Seattle was told to "Walch Out" instead, hehe. But Fort took charge and crossed the t with one of the almond silvers from the edge.UglyKitty, who made the fantastic invitations for the party, came out to show her love. She is the biggest sweetheart e-v-e-r. She special ordered a really great guest book from Kate Black for everyone to sign! Fort and I are so extremely happy to have it, people wrote really, really nice things. Fort even teared up a little.


After the party a bunch of us went dancing at a Brit Pop style dance night. Unfortunately, we got there after midnight so we didn't have a lot of dance time left, but it was awesome! It was probably the most perfect last Saturday night in Baltimore we could have asked for. Thanks to everyone that came out, and to everyone that wanted to but were unable to.

We're gonna miss the East Coast a lot, but don't worry, we'll be back as frequently as possible!