Closed monday...

Today I was harshly reminded of an important lesson: when you are driving an hour to Cleveland, check ahead of time to make sure the place you are going to is actually going to be open when you get there.

Such as the Botanical Gardens. Apparently they are closed on mondays. Whether this is a regular thing or just a plot to embarrass me in front of my girlfriend, I can't say, but it was not very cool.

Instead we drove to Whipp Ledges in Hinckley, OH and hiked around for a bit. Afterwards we watched the M. Night Shamaylan film "Signs". I always thought it was scary but every other person on this earth thinks it is lame... whatever. You're lame.

In other news I ran the Deadmines with my Paladin in World of Warcraft after getting to level 18. I had to leave just as our group was getting to the end of the adventure, so I didn't actually complete it, but later I was able to hit lvl 19. Some guy from my guild (The Gods of War) told me that the guid needed an Alchemist, so I spent some time leveling up my herbalism and alchemy skills. I don't know why you have to have a certain skill level to pick Bruiseweed when you can pick the Earthroot that is growing right next to it... but then again I don't know how I haven't been charged with war crimes seeing as I've slaughtered hundreds of people across Azeroth from all walks of life.

Here are a couple pictures for your enjoyment from today's dungeon:

The Goblin Foundry

A massive weapon of mass destruction... looks like the flying ship from Super Mario Bros. 3.

World of Warcraft

One thing that has been consuming much of my free time recently is the game World of Warcraft.

My character is Arkturas, a Human Paladin on Andorhal. Its really a lot of fun playing with several of my friends on that server. As of this post he is close to level 18 and I am exploring the Redridge Mountains after liberating the people of Westfall from the Defias menace and helping the good citizens of Elwynn Forest.

Entering the City of Stormwind

Exploring the Redridge Mountains

I have played a few other characters before but the highest level I've achieved is about 35. That was a Tauren Warrior. I've also played both an orc and an undead rogue and a Night-elf warrior. Class- wise warrior was my least favorite. It was very combat-centric and it was fun to be able to wield the biggest sword and wear cool shiny armor and shields, but there just wasn't any variety. As a warrior you just beat the enemy till they stop moving. Rogues were just more interesting to play. Their elements of stealth and thier abilities were great fun, though they were somewhat limited in combat. Although a Paladin is closer to being a warrior, being able to heal makes combat just that much better. I love not having to worry too much about taking on mulitple enemies at once because I know if I get in trouble I can just heal and keep on fighting. Plus, being able to buff allies with friendly spells and resurrect fallen comrades makes everyone a little more happy to have me in their group.

Arkturas, Paladin of the Light

The storylines for Human quests are so much better for some reason than any other race I've played. Undead was very good too, but Night-elf, Orc and Tauren were all somewhat bland. Perhaps Blizzard made the Human and Undead first and put the most time into them. Maybe I just care more because, well... I'm a human. (As far as YOU know at least)

For example I've noticed some foreshadowing in quests that lead up to others. At the end of a quest in Goldshire, after killing a man known only as "The Collector" I learned that he was part of the Defias brotherhood, a gang of thieves, and that they had control over many mines in Elwynn. He had a symbol on him that identified him as a member of the Stonemason's guild.

As things have progressed, my adventures in Westfall have helped me discover that another member of the Stonemason's Guild, Edwin VanCleef, is heading the gang. The pieces are all coming together now... Why are there so many golems in Westfall attacking the farms? What are the Defias Brotherhood really up to? Who is behind the Orc attacks on Lakeshire? I think I may find out the answers soon...