BOI-IND

Although I did buy chains for my tires in preparation for my trip to the Boise airport, the weather was agreeable, and the 3 mountain passes on I-84 from La Grande to Boise were easily navigated. In Oregon, along with other states, there are zones of highway that require chains to be installed on tires to pass. If there are lights flashing as you enter these areas, it is actually required by law to install chains. These areas have extreme change in elevation and are very remote.

I left for Boise on Monday, although my flight didn't leave until Tuesday. I wanted to give myself time to beat any inclement weather and maybe check out Boise for a bit. On Monday night, I headed downtown to check out a record store. The Record Exchange is the main spot in Boise to pick up the latest releases on vinyl, cd or cassette (largest cassette selection I have seen in probably 15 years). http://therecordexchange.com/mainsite. I picked up a couple CDs (no room for vinyl on the plane). Newest releases by Deer Tick, Matt Pond PA and Frightened Rabbit. Loved Deer Tick's last album and got to see them live on their home turf, Providence, RI, in '09. Still giving all 3 albums a chance.

My arrival to the Boise airport was matched with lots of Boise St. fans heading out to LAS to check out their team take on Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. Here is a picture of a woman with an orange fur coat on with blue sweat pants (Boise St. colors for you non-sports-fans). Classy:

I arranged for my friend Ted to pick me up at IND. It was his birthday. Hated to keep him sober enough to pick me up at 11 p.m., but we anticipated a late night. I finished a bottle of Romana Sambuca that I brought to his house about 3 years ago. He drank bourbon. We listened to music on his heated sun-porch until about 5 a.m. A little mix of tracks from his itunes ranging from Bo Diddley and the original Fleetwood Mac to George Clinton and Midlake. It was a good night.

The next day, I stayed with my friend Adam on the Southside. We have been religiously watching and betting on college football together for over 4 years. We followed our normal Saturday routine of binging on vodka bombs, chain-smoking cigarettes and rooting for the team we foolishly wagered on. This day, it was the previously mentioned Boise St. We won our bet. I got to visit with Adam's neighbor, Larry, also. Great dude. He actually got me a Christmas gift. We both like Ford trucks, and he works at a Ford dealership. The gift was a T-shirt that read: "Ford...Built without your tax dollars". It was classic Larry.

My plan for Thursday was to meet friends at my old home-bar, The Ale Emporium http://ale-emporium.com/. It was a success. All my "Ale" friends came out to say hi, and lots of other friends showed up. Shout out to Todd Brown, Noel, Dan, Fisher, Jeff & Kim (thanks for giving Jeff a chance to come out and play), Mike, Brittany, Kristen, Matt, Ian, Mike Jusko, Jim, Kent and anyone I'm missing. Amazing night...too bad it ended with Mike Jusko and I heading to Joe's at 82nd St. for last call while Jeff and Matt ended up at Joe's at 96th St. Still not sure why we didn't go to Kip's.

After 40 minutes of trying to get me to wake up with calls to my cell phone, my Dad and Brother convinced the associate at the hotel I was staying at to call my room. I finally woke to the hotel phone. It was just after 8:00 a.m., and my Dad was on his way back to Huntington from picking up my brother in Bloomington. I made it.

Spent the next 5 days and 4 nights with my parents in Huntington. We had a great Christmas. My Grandma was there most days, and I got to hang out with my Sister and her family too. I got what I wanted for Christmas:

*Overalls for work

*Z-Place Pizza

I left Huntington Tuesday night (12/28). My Dad dropped me off at April's place so I could spend some time with her and our cats, Nyla and The Pocket Pig.I am sort of obsessed with our cats, and luckily, I get pictures sent to me from April on approximately a daily basis. They got me a picture frame with a picture of each cat laying in the sun. It wouldn't fit in my bag, so April is shipping it to me.

Overall, my time in Indiana was fantastic. It was an odd feeling not knowing when I will be back.

IND-BOI.