straw poll: part one

A few weeks ago, I became a Republican.

Actually, I have no idea what "party" I am, but my dad told me that if I would become a Republican, than I could go up to the up and coming Straw Poll with him. I was feeling a little bit down about my decision to home school, simply because I worried that I wouldn't be doing enough with my time, so I quickly converted. After a sewing lesson on Friday, I quickly grabbed some clothes and hopped into the car to go to an event that I dreaded would be filled with crazies that would sense my previous Obama support.

Before we left though, we had to drop off my kitten, CharlieTu, at the Howell's house from whence he came. When did I get a kitten you ask? Last week I went on a date with my friends and we washed cars. After this date I went with my date to take my friend, Lilli, home. She had a cat that recently had babies, I fell in love, and I took one home without warning my parents.

To make a long story short, my parents were not ready to have a cat in the house, and after procrastinating for a week, we finally had to give my baby back (I have some serious cat-lady potential here). I didn't cry as much as I expected to, but I still expect him to crawl up my legs as I type.

Sooooooooob.

Anywho, after about four hours of driving, Savannah and I realized that in our hurry to leave, we not only forgot to pack deodorant, but also our toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. Of course, we couldn't be presentable to the future presidents without these essential items, so a trip to Wal-mart was required.

My dad is thrifty. We spent under 11 dollars, but I didn't know whether to laugh or cry the entire shopping trip. Like I said, my dad loves to get a bargain. Since Ames was swamped with tourists, the cheapest hotel was $200, and my dad thought it would be a lovely idea to stay in the car for the night. We didn't pack any blankets or pillows, either, so that was on the shopping list as well.

Our final purchases: deodorant, hairspray, comb, and two table cloths (1.50 each).

Do you understand why I wanted to cry?
Can you understand the agony that roughing it in a car can stir a poor city girl's soul?

The car camping wasn't terrible. I was a little crumpled the whole time, but the table cloths were actually pretty swell protection from the harsh Iowa nights. After a little freshening up, we packed up our items again and headed off to Ames.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but there sure were a lot of Ron Paul posters around.

I guessed that my aforementioned idea that there would be a lot of crazies there would be absolutely accurate.