Good Morning, Baltimore!

This week was my long awaited excursion to Baltimore. The National Aquarium has been high on

my list of things to see ever since I arrived here. I planned out everything, and pretty much had the floor plan memorized before I arrived. We got to see the dolphin show, watch Shallow Seas in the 4-D Theater, and see Dora and Nemo! I think though, my favorite animals were the poisonous frogs. It was like an I Spy Book trying to find the different frogs in their simulated habitats. As we stood there trying to find the frogs, I started saying stuff like, "One drop of poison from this frog is enough to kill an entire frog!" just to see the facial reactions of the people behind us. Hilarious!

Anyway, we hit up Fort McHenry on the way home. That's where we held off the British navy's bombardment during the war of 1812 and where Francis Scott Key was poetically inspired to write the words that would become our national anthem. I liked it! I really love our country.

That was Baltimore. As we walked down the streets towards the Aquarium on such a beautiful day, I couldn't help myself from singing, "Good morning, Baltimore!"

Philly

On Saturday I journeyed to Philadelphia with my friends from DC. We saw Christ Church, the Liberty Bell (it was cracked though, bummer), Independence Hall, and Valley Forge. It was neat to remember that incredible time when men inspired by God discussed and wrote down ideas that would mold our nation and change the shape of the world.

But when my friend asked me what place I had liked the most that day I honestly answered “the car.” I drew greatest enjoyment from the five of us packed into a car laughing together and having Disney sing-alongs. That was the reason I went—for the company, more so even than the sites. Don’t hate me, I like history, but I like people more.

P.S. When we got there I discovered my camera was out of battery. I was totally disappointed, because searching for good pictures is one of the ways I derive enjoyment from an outing. That’s also why I’m not posting pictures.

A Drake By Any Other Name

I've never really had a nickname. I mean, Drake is pretty cool already. :) Thanks, Mom! Still, there are a lot of variations on my name. Let's see...

Draker, Drakey, Drakster, Mr. Drake, Drako, Drakalicious,

Cougar Drake, Dr. D, Drakito, Draké, Drakob, Drakage, D-rake

I know there's more...

You know, a lot of these variations have a story, or there's certain people that call me that and I just love it. Like when I moved into my first apartment post-mish I lived with these five guys who couldn't be more different than me but that I couldn't love more, and from day one I was dubbed "Cougar Drake!" They would always say it with gusto, and it made me feel special. Ah, I love those Mesa kids! Or Mr. Drake--that's from the two most wonderful girls I know from high school, and to hear them say it just makes me happy. My amazing cousin calls me Drakito, which I believe traces back to the fact that she speaks Spanish and I served Portuguese -speaking. Draker pretty much belongs to my sister. It used to bug me when we were squabbling teenagers, but know that we're so close I actually enjoy it just fine.

I like my name. I've never met another first-name Drake, and I like it that way. It's one syllable (my dad insisted that boy names be one syllable), easy to remember, and almost impossible to mess up. It's unique, but not far-out. I'm glad to be Drake!

Dear Parking Services

So last semester I buzzed up to campus one evening and parked near the Tanner Building. It was 4:56pm, but I wasn't worried at all because on-campus lots open to all parking at 4. Anyway, I get back to my car and turns out that that particular lot was enforced until 6:00pm, and I had a ticket. I wrote them the following letter:

Dear Parking Services,

Thank you for your accurate implementation of parking policies. I was indeed parked in a zone during a time slot which was not permitted.

I have abided by the parking rules during my entire residence in Provo. It was my understanding that the lot I was parked in was for faculty from 7am to 4pm, like other faculty lots. By parking there at 4:56, I felt assured in the fact I was being obedient to the parking rules. I admit I was misinformed, as this particular lot had hours extending to 6pm. Because of this citation, I have already had my “knowledge enhanced,” which is part of the mission of the University Police Department.

I am completely willing to pay the citation, as I was in the wrong. However, I believe that the sudden pang of guilt upon seeing the ticket was quite sufficient punishment. Perhaps you’ll agree that the $20.00 fine could be put to better use by staving off Ramen for a few more days, or by brightening the Friday evening of some fine young lady by asking her on a date.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Drake Allsop

I got a response back that while they couldn't repeal the citation, they would drop it to $11.00. Better even than the money I saved were the laughs my friends and I had at my letter. I can't help but think the humor might have also brightened someone's day in Parking Services.

He's a Tramp

This last week I dogsat and catsat for the first time in my life. For those who don't know, I'm not a huge fan of dogs or cats, and I wasn't exactly excited about taking care of Buster and Gracie. Well, after a week of just us in the house, I have to admit, they grew on me a little bit. I kept taking pictures of them, then tried my hand at some filmmaking.

Fourth on the Mall

I spent the entire day of the fourth on the national mall. We went to the parade, visited the museums, and camped out on the lawn until the fireworks.

The trip home was the craziest part. We had to wait like an hour for the metro, and we got in a train that didn't have air conditioning, and was packed full of people. It must have been 120 degrees. It felt like Brazil again!

Me & Monticello

Time to tell of my Monticello adventures! On Saturday some friends and I drove to Thomas Jefferson's home outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. We spent the morning touring Monticello and the plantation. This was my favorite picture of Monticello because of the perspective added by the little boy.

After Monticello, we drove through Shenandoah National Park on our way home. Sky Line Drive is a beautiful 105-mile drive through the Appalachian Mountains. We stopped and hiked to a waterfall, then watched the sunset.