Things Kentucky and the East Has that Utah Doesn’t

After spending the last week out in Kentucky and North Carolina, I found a lot of things that are just not available in Utah. Having lived in only Idaho and Utah since coming to the United States, it’s safe to say that I haven’t had much exposure to the many wonderful things this country has to offer. So without further ado, here’s what I found out East that Utah is lacking.

 

Humidity

From the moment I stepped off the airplane I felt as if I was drowning. The aid was so thick with moisture that I felt like I should wear one of those Jedi breathing apparatuses. Unfortunately I left mine at home, so I just had to make dew do.

Then it rained.

The rain itself wasn’t bad. It was when it stopped and the sun came out that I nearly died. I was honestly surprised to find that people out East hadn’t developed gills to counter the insane humidity. They’re certainly a special breed to be able to put up with it day in and day out.

In other news, my cracked skin disappeared whilst out there. Interesting.

 

Fireflies

Glow bugs, lightning bugs…whatever you call them, they’re the little critters that have the glowing butt.  We were staying with my wife’s family out in Kentucky, and they live in a nice little subdivision that’s secluded from light pollution. When we went outside at night, it was like the stars had descended to our level, flitting through the darkness like tiny shooting stars. It was magical. And we caught one. That was pretty neat.

Out here in Utah, the only glowing specs in the light-polluted night sky are the bugs reflecting off headlights, smashing into windshields in a horrible display of death. Not as magical as fireflies.

 

Community Fireworks Shows

My wife is from a smaller city in Kentucky, and yet the fireworks show there was sooooo much better than anything I’ve seen in Utah. Of course, that’s probably because the only major firework show where we live is inside of a stadium, so if you want to see it, you have to climb a nearby mountain. Otherwise it’s just not as impressive.

Actually, we tried that once. Instead of seeing a grand show, we saw a bunch of little ones as put on by the regular Joe’s throughout the entire valley. So that was pretty neat, even though it wasn’t a city sponsored event. Still, the one in Kentucky was awesome.

 

The Atlantic Ocean

To be fair, the West Coast also has an ocean, but the one we went to in North Carolina was warm, not crowded, and beautiful. We also got to see a school of fish inside a wave as it crested. While we were in the water as well, I saw a fin break through the water to the surface.

Uhhhh….time to backtrack.

I kept my eyes on the thing as I slowly made my way back to the beach. But then I got a better look. It was a dolphin! So cool! Dolphins have always been one of my favorite animals. And it just so happened that we were there on my birthday. So happy birthday to me!

Also, I caught a Magikarp on the newly release Pokemon Go app, so that was pretty neat.

 

Southern Accents

Yup. That’s a thing.

 

All in all, I had a blast out East. It was a way to force me to take a break from my writing (which, let’s be honest, is quite alright). Best of all, I got to spend eight days with my wife and kid without having to go into work or deal with other distractions. But now that the trip is done, it’s back to the grind. I’ll be back  at my writing again this week. At least, as long as Pokemon Go doesn’t distract me too much. And with that, I’m…

Oh look! An Eevee! Gotta go!