I recently visited the House on the Rock after seeing it on the Travel Channel. This guy was either a genius or a mad man, either way the house is much more that I expected. It’s not just a house but also an entire compound of buildings and exhibits. I lost count how many rooms there were but it takes hours to explore the entire property.

If you are interested in history, neat/weird architecture, and collections of stuff - go here!

I really didn't think I would like it as much as I did but it had everything for me - a weird sense of style, freaky things, huge collections of "stuff", etc. It was so much more fun and interesting than I would have thought.

The house has a 70's feel to it but it's been preserved that way and everything is still right there. The second and third parts of the tour - you just have to be interested in the stuff or you won't be.

Probably not the best for small children...some of the exhibits are very, very creepy.

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Another place I visited recently was The Cave of the Mounds.

I went here today for the first time. It was 93 degree outside and a cool 52 inside! You cannot wander through the cave on your own, probably because you'd kill yourself. So everyone goes on a 1-hour guided tour. If you have little kids, don't take them on the tour unless they are really well-behaved. We saw a lot of young children who were frightened by the strange colors and shapes illuminated by spotlights. If I were them, I would probably have been imagining that at any moment a dragon would appear, and my mother would be throwing me in its hungry jaws. Noooooo!!!

People in wheelchairs need not apply I'm sorry to say. While everything is paved, and lit up, there are also lots of staircases, and narrow passage ways. There is one area in particular that is super unfriendly to anyone carrying a child, large purse, or backpack. I'd imagine very large persons both in height and width would be freaking the hell out right about then.

You have to step sideways and bend down as you squeeze through. Since you're rubbing along the rocks both front and back in this tight area, the whole "DO NOT TOUCH" thing goes right out the window.

I got a couple pretty decent photos.




They also have a cool little gift shop for souvenirs to remind you of your fun time underground! I ended up buying a shirt, I'll have to model it for you guys sometime.

Next weekend I'll be in Chicago for a 1 day Music Festival with my new boyfriend and some of our friends. The ex-boyfriend Brent and I were having issues but we're still friends, so its all good. Adam is a great guy, a year older than me and goes to the same college that I do. We are neighbors and didn't even know it! He's a business major. We've got a lot in common...we're both nerdy gay boys who like video games, similar music and Harry Potter books. I'll definitely share pictures from the music festival,too.

The construction job is going great (finally!) and I have been really enjoying summer a lot. The breakup with Brent was rough for the first 2 weeks, but I met Adam soon afterward and he helped me through it. I'm a lucky guy!