in ohio for the fourth

i keep swearing that i will be caught up in my postings by the time i leave for california. it seems like since that happens on sunday, i should get moving on my post re: our last trip to ohio. we spent the 4th of july weekend at matt's home in southeastern ohio.


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really, that whole map should be green with little hills on it, because that's exactly what the landscape looks like. it's really beautiful and things were really lush while we were there.

matt had always told me that he lived in the "middle of nowhere," but i don't think i ever actually got it until i saw it. (i suppose the lack of cell phone reception should have been some indication:) this photo is taken from the road in front of his house. you don't get the full effect here, but it's kind of a mini valley from which you can see about as many neighbors and other houses as you can see here. i keep saying that it feels a bit like the midwest in that in the country, neighbors can be a fair distance apart. i think the distinction for me, though, is that the hills don't just make you feel "away," they also make you feel "apart." we actually might have seen more deer and rabbits in the yard than we did people. it's a peaceful remoteness, though, to be sure and an extra-nice escape from graduate school madness.

the main focus of the first part of the move was the arrival of matt's things from missouri (yes, finally) at the hand of a single man from columbus with a diesel truck and unmarked trailer. yup, it was as weird as it sounds. he worked pretty quickly, though, and left us time to go golfing at the golf club of west virginia. the pictures essentially speak for themselves - have you ever seen hills like this on a golf course?! i think i might have died if we tried to walk it. instead we used a cart and got in 18 holes. we both played a surprising mix of really well and really awfully. one has to keep it interesting, you know!

the good news is that i finally got a little bit of sun. you can see that by the end of the day, both of our freckles had really begun to come out :)

the next two days were kind of a mix of work and play. we both had things that we needed to get done to feel like we're still contributing to either someday finishing graduate school (me) or to the start of a career (matt). we did take one day and go to athens, oh, where the professorship will be starting in the fall. it was SO hot out, but nice to see the school's campus, matt's apartment for next year, and some of the places that we're already planning on going to eat and/or exploring in athens. we also went to a 3D movie - my first, i think. we saw the last airbender, which left a bit to be desired acting-wise, but was essentially good and worth seeing. i was expecting a weird m. night shyamalan twist at the end which didn't happen, though. probably for the better.

i also went on my first 4-wheeler ride through the foothills of appalachia. the main tour was on a gravel road which may be a main road for the township, given the degree to which it was well-labeled, if not well-traveled. it kind of made me laugh in spite of myself. certainly, i am nothing if not familiar with rural areas.

we also had the ever-popular fourth of july picnic, complete with the all-American (and yummy yummy) apple pie, good southern sweat tea, and food hot off the grill. this - of course - was followed by several games of bean bags. it was a great time, great food, and great company all around. it was such an shockingly fast trip that i can hardly believe how much we packed into a few days. i haven't even mentioned all the driving time, the stopping at the tanger outlets in washington, pa, or the lunch we had on the banks of the ohio river with our new friends - about 500 ducks and geese (who, it turns out, don't really like to eat lettuce. go figure).

AND i took one picture especially for my mom, because i knew she would appreciate it.

is this a rickety old barn, mom? :)