Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Driving
I have my first drivers lesson with my grandpa's standard car. We drove in fist gear around in a circle at the campsite. The hardest thing for me so far is letting the clutch out slow enough, but even in that short time I could tell I improved a little when the stones didn't get kicked up. He said for my first lesson I did good and apparently better than my dad's first lesson.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Salt Lake
On our way from Yosemite to Yellowstone, we stopped midway in Syracuse, Utah at the Antelope Federal Park. It looked like no one knew it was there, just like another federal park we’ve stayed at a few times in Maryland called Asetique Island. The town of Syracuse, Utah got it’s name because Syracuse, New York was a huge salt producer city and when they started producing the salt there, they named it after that. So we went from Hannibal and Syracuse in different states. Our campsite was a short bike ride up from the “beach” where there’s an entrance to the Salt Lake. The reason I say “beach” is because no one lays out there in the sun or even stays down there too long. There’s billions of microscopic shrimp in the lake, therefore the smell is unbearable in some spots. Grandpa says it’s the smell of life…then life stinks. When we went down I noticed no one had towels or anything in their hand that were headed down there. I decided not to bring my towel and book because we forgot sunscreen so I couldn’t lie out there anyways. The sand looked like it got darker the farther out, and it did unfortunately. The shrimp flies swarm the area because they eat the tiny shrimp. They are blown around because they’re so small and you walk through a layer of them while the others are going around the rest of your body. If you ever go down there run to it water and back, but keep your mouth shut so they don’t fly into it. I’m the one that is afraid of bugs, but Amelia was freaking out about it. I found it funny that we had no idea this is a regular thing here. As soon as you stand still or set anything down they cover it. Once we got in the water they thinned out, and even more when we splashed around. Despite how disgusting the flies are, it is worth it to go in the water. Someone asked us if we were on inner tubes because everyone floats. It’s indescribable and an experience that a lot of people wont have, so if you ever get the chance take it. To top it all off we met the parents of an editor to the new show on MTV called “16 and Pregnant”. Their son’s name is Rob Hales.
Our camper wouldn’t start along with many other issues we’ve been having with it like the AC breaking. So when the smell came in last night, and my bed being the couch near the two biggest windows, I couldn’t shut the windows because it was too hot. I tried sleeping on the floor, spraying perfume on my pillow, and putting blankets over my head. Nothing worked and then I heard footsteps near the camper and a man talking. It freaked me out so much that I woke up my grandparents. My grandpa went to check it out and there were two tenters having a conversation at 2:00am near us. The footstep noise was actually the awning shaking from the smelly breeze. The breeze died down shortly and we took the binoculars outside to look at the stars. The big dipper and the cancer formations were so clear. I saw two shooting stars and wished for the camper to start the next morning on both stars. And sure enough the mechanic came and solved the problem. One of the fuses was blown. The AC still doesn’t work, but we don’t need it where we are now. We’re staying in Idaho about forty minutes away from Montana, and then from there twenty minutes away from Yellowstone.
Our camper wouldn’t start along with many other issues we’ve been having with it like the AC breaking. So when the smell came in last night, and my bed being the couch near the two biggest windows, I couldn’t shut the windows because it was too hot. I tried sleeping on the floor, spraying perfume on my pillow, and putting blankets over my head. Nothing worked and then I heard footsteps near the camper and a man talking. It freaked me out so much that I woke up my grandparents. My grandpa went to check it out and there were two tenters having a conversation at 2:00am near us. The footstep noise was actually the awning shaking from the smelly breeze. The breeze died down shortly and we took the binoculars outside to look at the stars. The big dipper and the cancer formations were so clear. I saw two shooting stars and wished for the camper to start the next morning on both stars. And sure enough the mechanic came and solved the problem. One of the fuses was blown. The AC still doesn’t work, but we don’t need it where we are now. We’re staying in Idaho about forty minutes away from Montana, and then from there twenty minutes away from Yellowstone.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Yosemite
When we got to our campsite in Oakhurst near Yosemite, we went down to a stream with some waterfalls. I found a rope with a bar that swings over a little waterfall into a deep spot. We have one like that at our camp, but it has a platform built below it. To get to this one you have to climb up a series of rocks, then across a tiny waterfall (while avoiding a pricker-bush), and then you get on a larger rock and jump off. Amelia convinced me to go first and I ended up getting an audience from the other kids swimming there. Once I jumped everyone was lining up to take their turn jumping. Later on we went to the new Harry Potter movie while my grandpa was doing something for work. The movie was good in my opinion, but the ending was disappointing.
The next day we had a late start to Yosemite. I never thought a national park would have traffic jams. The roads are no where’s near as bad as they were in the Sequoias. We saw the Half Dome and various waterfalls. There are a lot of spots you can climb on rocks and soak your feet in the water. Bridalveil was my favorite waterfall because it looked like it was in slow motion. It looks like it doesn't turn to water until it hits the rocks. The next morning we went back to Yosemite, but we left much earlier than the day before. This time we looked at a set up of an old town that was there a long time ago and a hotel that looks like a miniature version of the one from the movie "Somewhere in Time". Later on we went to see the Upper and Lower Falls. You can't see the Upper Falls when you get to the viewing spot because it's so tall. Pictures can't give you the same experience because you don't feel the mist, hear the thundering water, or smell the forest.
Our air-conditioner is broken which is death in the Dakota Bad Lands. So we went to a little town to get it fixed, but the parts weren't going to come in for another five days. We did finally find a car wash though. That car was covered in dirt from towing it all this way. Unfortunately my grandpa drove over the bump and it started spraying the car, but we were trying to get out of it because we didn't have five dollars in quarters. So he went into the store very upset and gave the man a five-dollar bill. The man looked at him and said, "I cannot teach you, maybe some other time." That was not very smart because my grandpa was already in a bad mood from all the problems with the camper. The man ended up directing us through the car wash.
We found a campsite near by that was only an hour away from San Francisco. We mainly went to Chinatown. If I ever go back there I will know three things: (1) Don't go to Chinatown with a full wallet- it's too addicting (2) never buy something at the first shop because chances are the shop down the street has the same item for half the price (3) dress warmly. We thought oh everyone is so high class there, let's wear our sun dresses. Bad move. It was a whopping 58 degrees and only warmed up to 62 by the end of the day. Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter of my life was the summer I spent in San Francisco." The fog covers it so much that it blocks the sun. We went on the cable car despite the cold (it's all open and receives lots of wind going down those hilly streets). It was worth just saying you road on one though. We also went to a pretty fancy Chinese restaurant. We order the Sizzling Soup because it's so rare. If you ever see it get it because you'll probably not find it again.
Right now we're making our way through the normal California traffic on six-lane road. We're headed for Salt Lake City for a day. It's just a side stop on the way to the Montana entrance to Yellow Stone. This is my part of the trip because I've wanted to see Montana for a few years now just because of how open it is.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
From the Red Wood Moutains....
We went to the Sequoia Red Woods National Park Friday and Saturday. They are GIANT! My grandpa said that if God was a living thing he'd be a Sequoia. So far this is my favorite national park because it's such a colorful mountain. The downside is the high elevation and humidity. The air gets really thin at 7,000 feet above sea level. The sights were just incredible and once again the pictures don't do it justice. But the winding road is probably We went to Crystal Cave on a flash light tour. After seeing one cave you have not seen them all. This one was completely different from the Mark Twain caves. It was a shorter tour, but the only lights were a flash light per group. There was big open rooms all over so in one we turned off all the lights and "experienced total darkness". The walk to get to the cave had sights on its own. There were a few paths that lead down to a waterfall. My grandpa got across it on the side of a rock to take some pictures. When getting down he slid into the water. But he caught himself and was more worried about losing his hat. The cameras in his pocket got wet, but they're drying up and working now. We went to see some more of the main Sequoia land marks after. There was a huge group of French people trying to get a picture by one of the trees. My grandma told me to go offer to take it, so I did. The group was just fun to watch because of their enthusiasm. Then my grandma took my camera (the only one working) and told me to get in the picture with them. I went over to the side and they said "No, come in the middle you are the star!" That stuff doesn't happen every day.
Friday, July 17, 2009
It's a giant anthill, but it has a great view.
Tuesday was a beach day. That's the first time I got a little burned the whole trip and the first time in the Pacific Ocean. The waves were really strong, but it was warm enough to swim in. I was the first one in then Amelia was finally convinced it was fun to jump into the waves. Then we went on a bike ride from Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach. We were about to buy some popsicles, but the man was told to leave because he didn't have a license to sell anything. For dinner we ate at Bubba Gump's. If you've seen Forest Gump you'd love this place. Amelia and I watch that movie all the time so we loved the signs, picture from the movie, and quotes all over. We bought a bumper sticker for the camper from there, that's another collection we've started besides postcards.
Yesterday we went to the Getty Villa. It's a huge mansion that is a museum to hold a collection of things that date back to 300 B.C. There were a lot of statue replicas from Pompeii. Venus was in so many different views, but she definitely had the most statues there. My favorite goddess is Aphrodites, but I didn't see any of her. The building is set up like a Villa in that time period. Later on we went to La Brea Tar Pit. Even though some spots are bubbling it's cool not boiling. You can watch the workers in some areas and they act like they don't notice you. I assume they get used to people watching them all the time. They were gossiping away about some guy's love life. Pretty laid back job, I wouldn't mind living in California and digging through tar or cleaning bones. The tar preserved the bones from the time of mammoths. A horse would get stuck in the tar hen yell for help, but it would only attract predators who also got stuck. Then other animal would get stuck trying to eat the decaying bodies. The whole food chain would be preserved in the tar and it's in the middle of Los Angeles. We explored L.A. for while then decided to drive through Beverly Hills. I tried to get some pictures, but I ended up sticking the camera out the window and taking snap shots (some of them are a little crooked). Trying to find the Hollywood sign isn't easy. We kept missing our exits or getting on a side road on accident. It got too late so we went back and ate some chocolate pie. Then we discovered the ants. They were all over right below the ceiling on the wall and they still are. We have experience in this area because in South Carolina we killed "No-see-ms", little mosquitoes, with Windex. It worked quite well, but we didn't have any this time so we used diluted bleach. It worked at the time, but they're all back now. Management doesn't give you a proper warning of this so my grandma wrote a "Ants" on a piece of duck tape and stuck it to the electrical box.
By the way traffic in California is insane. First of all there's not many places to change your direction and there's a lot of one way turns. The people zigzag around and go way too fast.
Yesterday we went to the Getty Villa. It's a huge mansion that is a museum to hold a collection of things that date back to 300 B.C. There were a lot of statue replicas from Pompeii. Venus was in so many different views, but she definitely had the most statues there. My favorite goddess is Aphrodites, but I didn't see any of her. The building is set up like a Villa in that time period. Later on we went to La Brea Tar Pit. Even though some spots are bubbling it's cool not boiling. You can watch the workers in some areas and they act like they don't notice you. I assume they get used to people watching them all the time. They were gossiping away about some guy's love life. Pretty laid back job, I wouldn't mind living in California and digging through tar or cleaning bones. The tar preserved the bones from the time of mammoths. A horse would get stuck in the tar hen yell for help, but it would only attract predators who also got stuck. Then other animal would get stuck trying to eat the decaying bodies. The whole food chain would be preserved in the tar and it's in the middle of Los Angeles. We explored L.A. for while then decided to drive through Beverly Hills. I tried to get some pictures, but I ended up sticking the camera out the window and taking snap shots (some of them are a little crooked). Trying to find the Hollywood sign isn't easy. We kept missing our exits or getting on a side road on accident. It got too late so we went back and ate some chocolate pie. Then we discovered the ants. They were all over right below the ceiling on the wall and they still are. We have experience in this area because in South Carolina we killed "No-see-ms", little mosquitoes, with Windex. It worked quite well, but we didn't have any this time so we used diluted bleach. It worked at the time, but they're all back now. Management doesn't give you a proper warning of this so my grandma wrote a "Ants" on a piece of duck tape and stuck it to the electrical box.
By the way traffic in California is insane. First of all there's not many places to change your direction and there's a lot of one way turns. The people zigzag around and go way too fast.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Vegas Baby!
We've been staying with my cousin Carla who live about twenty minutes from the strip. Las Vegas is a very controversial place. It's exciting, full of lights, and has incredible casinos. But on the other hand, it's a bit tacky at times and their advertisements are well..... I really loved it overall. We went to see the Lion King at the Mandalay. Their costumes were amazing and they moved like the animals they were. My favorite casino was Paris. That's pretty much a given but the atmosphere of it all was perfect. We went to the restaurant at the upper level and they loaned my grandpa put on a nice jacket because it was so fancy. The view over looked the fountain show. I a pastry that had warm apples in it and cinnamon ice cream on the side with whip cream on the top. It was just ahhh. The next day we went back for crepes. I had one with raspberry sauce and filled with berries. Once again it was ridiculously delicious. If I stayed there I would want to stay in the Luxor which is the huge pyramid. As nice as the whole experience was Amelia still managed to get her leg stuck between pillars in Venice, while watching the volcano errupt. And before that even happened my grandpa gently backed into a tree with the car, no damage just weird.
When I woke up this morning I looked outside at our incredible view from our campsite. The sky was the same color as the ocean. That's hard to imagine so I took some pictures to remember it but the camera doesn't do it justice. Malibu, California has the nicest climate so far. We went from 110 degree weather to the 80's. It's breazy because we're on the ocean and it feels so nice. We got here last night and saw the sun set, but we're in a bay so it set on the mountains behind us. For future advice, never rent a camper from a very popular place. Lots of people coming to America do that and we met three groups that had problems like the steps wouldn't close in or the transmission drop out. It's horrible, the rental places just don't take care of them.
When I woke up this morning I looked outside at our incredible view from our campsite. The sky was the same color as the ocean. That's hard to imagine so I took some pictures to remember it but the camera doesn't do it justice. Malibu, California has the nicest climate so far. We went from 110 degree weather to the 80's. It's breazy because we're on the ocean and it feels so nice. We got here last night and saw the sun set, but we're in a bay so it set on the mountains behind us. For future advice, never rent a camper from a very popular place. Lots of people coming to America do that and we met three groups that had problems like the steps wouldn't close in or the transmission drop out. It's horrible, the rental places just don't take care of them.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Hello Nevada!
We got to our campsite last night and it was ridiculously hot for how late it was. The AC was going most of the night. Today we went to the Hoover Dam. It's still curing in the middle and is expected to for the next few hundred years. The water is so clean and blue there. It has only over flowed once and right now it's a bit low, so you can see the the discoloration on the mountains from the chemical reaction. We went on a tour inside the dam and everyone got a yellow hard hat. The tour guide kept saying jokes like "I'm your dam tour guide." Restaurants also play that into their titles in the area. There are little vents in the dam and we got to walk town a circular tunnel to look out of them. Anywhere you stand you see a different perspective of it.
Everyone is resting right now because we're spending a late night in......Vegas! I'm too excited to rest so remember to check the photo links because I'm finally caught up on my updates.
Everyone is resting right now because we're spending a late night in......Vegas! I'm too excited to rest so remember to check the photo links because I'm finally caught up on my updates.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
6 Degrees of Separation
Today we went out for brunch and had the best Egg's Benedict and biscuits with gravy we've ever had. The people that recommended the place to us were eating there too. They are also at the Distant Drums campsite and told us where to go today. We went to Sedona. It's amazing how beautiful rocks can be just from their arrangement. It was cooler up there and more green. But the rocks and dirt is red.
Amelia and I found a stand with t-shirts. I asked the man to see the little kid t-shirts and he assumed I was having a baby. I tried to get a word in saying no it's for my younger siblings, but he was just talking about the deal we could get. Then after we bought the shirts he said "Good luck with the baby!" We have many "unique" experiences traveling.
For dinner we went to a ghost town called Jerome. The restaurant is called "The Haunted Hamburger". It used to be a hospital with an insane asylum upstairs. I didn't see any ghosts, but they apparently steal hammers. They really do have incredible hamburgers though. Here's where the expression 6 degrees of separation comes in, we met a couple from New Hampshire and the women grew up in New Hartford! We talked about Holland Farms and tomato pie for awhile then told them about our trip.
Amelia and I found a stand with t-shirts. I asked the man to see the little kid t-shirts and he assumed I was having a baby. I tried to get a word in saying no it's for my younger siblings, but he was just talking about the deal we could get. Then after we bought the shirts he said "Good luck with the baby!" We have many "unique" experiences traveling.
For dinner we went to a ghost town called Jerome. The restaurant is called "The Haunted Hamburger". It used to be a hospital with an insane asylum upstairs. I didn't see any ghosts, but they apparently steal hammers. They really do have incredible hamburgers though. Here's where the expression 6 degrees of separation comes in, we met a couple from New Hampshire and the women grew up in New Hartford! We talked about Holland Farms and tomato pie for awhile then told them about our trip.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Over 100 degrees in southern Arizona
Last night we went to a Johnny Rockets at the Cliff Castle Casino, it's about five minutes up the road. Our new campsite has a nice and cool pool that we have already swam in twice. But what stands out to me the most about this campsite is the showers. The last place we stayed the showers shut off after six minutes and you had to pay $1.50. In these showers you get your own bathroom and shower to yourself!
Today we went to Arcosonti. The word that comes to mind after visiting it is utopia. Personally I was freaked out by the whole concept. Their idea is to have basically everything in a community in a short walking distance. Cars would be completely eliminated. The purpose for this close community is so we can condense all the wasted space. They give you an apartment and you help build the place or make their signature wind chimes/bells. The idea of being in one place for a long time scares me a little. I wouldn't want to live, eat, and work in the same place, but some may like the idea. It is eco-friendly.
Later on we saw the Montezuma Castle. There were people there living into their late forties while people in europe were living into their twenties. They built a "castle" high in a mountain side. It protected them from their enemies and gave them a lot of storage space. It's still well preserved. If you're wondering how we can get into all these national parks, my grandpa has a senior citizen golden pass. We've been getting in for free in most places!
Today we went to Arcosonti. The word that comes to mind after visiting it is utopia. Personally I was freaked out by the whole concept. Their idea is to have basically everything in a community in a short walking distance. Cars would be completely eliminated. The purpose for this close community is so we can condense all the wasted space. They give you an apartment and you help build the place or make their signature wind chimes/bells. The idea of being in one place for a long time scares me a little. I wouldn't want to live, eat, and work in the same place, but some may like the idea. It is eco-friendly.
Later on we saw the Montezuma Castle. There were people there living into their late forties while people in europe were living into their twenties. They built a "castle" high in a mountain side. It protected them from their enemies and gave them a lot of storage space. It's still well preserved. If you're wondering how we can get into all these national parks, my grandpa has a senior citizen golden pass. We've been getting in for free in most places!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy
I haven't had an internet connection in awhile, so I haven't done much updating. I'm so behind on uploading my pictures too. Saturday I took 397 and Sunday I took 107. We've been all over in the past few days and now we're three hours behind New York time. We started the morning off at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Incredible. Both sites were absolutely stunning. They are both really the same thing but there’s one part in the Painted Desert that has a lot of petrified wood. The wood has been preserved from millions of years ago because it turned to stone. There was also petroglyphics carved into some rocks. One showed a legend of a bird that swoops down and takes bad kids. Before they had security there, one ton of the stone was stolen a month.
We caught the sunset at Grand Canyon for the 4th of July. My dad and aunt were at the same spot on Christmas Eve when they were about are age. My pictures seriously look like post cards because of how beautiful the lighting was. When we got back to our campsite there was a parade going on and then a concert with the Rachel Burnett Band. They don't do fireworks in this area because of the fire hazards. Yesterday we went to Grand Canyon again and saw the South and West sides. We even saw a two Condors. I took a picture for a family then we got talking and they have been pretty much everywhere in the U.S. As soon as we said we were going somewhere their response was beautiful place and they recommended other spots to see there. When we ate lunch I dropped my cinnamon bun and the Ravens immediately picked it up. Later on we went to a restaurant called "We Cook PIZZA and Pasta". The slices were shorter, but so delicious.
Today we drove more south in Arizona between Sedona and Flagstaff. I already went swimming because it's so hot, but it's a dry heat. The wind is even warm. I'm wondering if it'll be cooler at night here like how it was in Armarillo and near Grand Canyon. I'm going to upload my videos and make a link to them soon!
We caught the sunset at Grand Canyon for the 4th of July. My dad and aunt were at the same spot on Christmas Eve when they were about are age. My pictures seriously look like post cards because of how beautiful the lighting was. When we got back to our campsite there was a parade going on and then a concert with the Rachel Burnett Band. They don't do fireworks in this area because of the fire hazards. Yesterday we went to Grand Canyon again and saw the South and West sides. We even saw a two Condors. I took a picture for a family then we got talking and they have been pretty much everywhere in the U.S. As soon as we said we were going somewhere their response was beautiful place and they recommended other spots to see there. When we ate lunch I dropped my cinnamon bun and the Ravens immediately picked it up. Later on we went to a restaurant called "We Cook PIZZA and Pasta". The slices were shorter, but so delicious.
Today we drove more south in Arizona between Sedona and Flagstaff. I already went swimming because it's so hot, but it's a dry heat. The wind is even warm. I'm wondering if it'll be cooler at night here like how it was in Armarillo and near Grand Canyon. I'm going to upload my videos and make a link to them soon!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
4th of July in Grand Canyon?
Yesterday we ended up staying in the pool at the campsite for the whole morning instead of going to the water park. It was fine with me because I laid out in the sun reading then went inside to the chilled pool. For dinner we went to the Palo Duro Canyon. We actually drove in it. There was tons of food and then a Broadway-like show "Texas" at night, right in the canyon! It was a lot of actors on the rise performing and it was great, especially with the view in the canyon. It's the second largest canyon in the U.S. At our campsite you have to type in a code to the bathroom door and they changed it. We started late because we could get into the shower room for awhile.
It was about a five hour drive to Albuquerque and I tried to stay up and read, but I couldn't stay awake (now we're two hours behind New York time). We went shopping in the old town city while my grandpa rested up. I bought a very nice wallet because the one I brought was too wide and bulky to put in my pocket. This one I can carry around so I'm happy with that. Amelia and I got to try on $200 cow girl boots. I tried the red ones on in my new profile picture and I love them. Amelia tried on some original tan ones that were a size and a half bigger than mine. She is now two inches taller than me. Yay.
We are driving down the road right now to the Petrified Forest State Park in Arizona. We'll spend the morning there, then start driving to Grand Canyon. Hopefully we'll be to celebrate and see fireworks. The man at the campsite warned us it's going to be a little bit rowdy there. Later in the week we'll be headed for Las Vegas. My cousin Carla lives right outside of it and she has an RV hook-up near her house so we'll stay there. And yes Dad, we'll stay by an adult at all times :P.
It was about a five hour drive to Albuquerque and I tried to stay up and read, but I couldn't stay awake (now we're two hours behind New York time). We went shopping in the old town city while my grandpa rested up. I bought a very nice wallet because the one I brought was too wide and bulky to put in my pocket. This one I can carry around so I'm happy with that. Amelia and I got to try on $200 cow girl boots. I tried the red ones on in my new profile picture and I love them. Amelia tried on some original tan ones that were a size and a half bigger than mine. She is now two inches taller than me. Yay.
We are driving down the road right now to the Petrified Forest State Park in Arizona. We'll spend the morning there, then start driving to Grand Canyon. Hopefully we'll be to celebrate and see fireworks. The man at the campsite warned us it's going to be a little bit rowdy there. Later in the week we'll be headed for Las Vegas. My cousin Carla lives right outside of it and she has an RV hook-up near her house so we'll stay there. And yes Dad, we'll stay by an adult at all times :P.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Taste of Texas
This morning in southern Missouri it was much colder than it should've been. I put on jeans and a sweatshirt I was so cold. But I also wasn't feeling the best going down the road so maybe that had something to do with how cold I felt. When I woke up from a nice nap going down the road we were at a gas station in Oklahoma. They woke me up so I could say I stood in Oklahoma. I opened the door, stood right outside it, and went back inside haha. I was probably so tired because my grandpa woke us up an hour too early- we thought it was 7. The rest of the way to northern Texas I got up to chapter 5 in my newest book and I love it! It's not just focused on a lifestyle of a motorcycle journey, it's the big picture of appreciating the little things and making things simpler by just adapting with them.
As we pulled into our campsite in Amarillo, Texas, there was boy about my age that ducked down then ran to the road.... Later, Amelia and I went on our traditional bike ride around the campground and saw police investigating. I don't know if the two have any link with each other, but that was quite a weird start. The stove isn't working at the moment and everyone is crowded around it, but I'm using my time wisely to write this (and eating radishes with salt).
Tomorrow we are going to the water park across the street while my grandpa rests up. Then Friday we're headed for New Mexico, but along the way we're stopping at a canyon a bit smaller than Grand Canyon.
As we pulled into our campsite in Amarillo, Texas, there was boy about my age that ducked down then ran to the road.... Later, Amelia and I went on our traditional bike ride around the campground and saw police investigating. I don't know if the two have any link with each other, but that was quite a weird start. The stove isn't working at the moment and everyone is crowded around it, but I'm using my time wisely to write this (and eating radishes with salt).
Tomorrow we are going to the water park across the street while my grandpa rests up. Then Friday we're headed for New Mexico, but along the way we're stopping at a canyon a bit smaller than Grand Canyon.
More Missouri....then Texas instead
Branson is 5 hours south of Hannibal. Yes, we're still in Missouri. Yesterday we settled into camp and immediately found our way to the pool. But we had to wait until this over-sized-bus-like-RV could pull into their camp site. We thought it was so funny to watch them try not to hit the trees on either side of them. It probably didn't help that there was 3 people trying to direct the driver.
Today we went into town and visited the Butterfly House. I had on land on me along with both of my grandparents. My favorite thing there was the mirror maze though. It was hilarious walking into the walls so frequently. We went out to lunch at the outlet mall and saw another Fudgery show (it was nowhere's near as good as the one in St. Louis). However, we met this horrible man there that told us we shouldn't go to the Titanic museum, which we were headed for. This man was just a drag to talk to and I can't stop laughing while writing this because he was such a nut! Anyways, we went to the Titanic museum and it was phenominal. There were things like an iceburg to touch, a cold deck to walk on, a slanted deck to try and get up (I had to use two hands on the railing), and water to feel how cold it was. Everyone got a card with someone that was on the ship. Mine was Helene Baxter, a 50 year old, first class, widow of a rich criminal, and a mother of 2. Her son was on the ship with his fiance who she didn't approve of. She was sick, so her son carried her to the life boat his fiance was on and gave her some wiskey to keep her warm, but all she did was yell at him for drinking. The two women lived, but her son died.
When we got back to camp we went for another dip in the pool and I started my third book. "Armegeddon Summer" was a great suspenseful story and now I'm reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance". It's a philosophy book that my dad's neighbor gave me. Tomorrow we're leaving for Amarillo, Texas. It seems to be a better route to Las Vegas than going through Colorado. But either way tomorrow is a driving day.
Today we went into town and visited the Butterfly House. I had on land on me along with both of my grandparents. My favorite thing there was the mirror maze though. It was hilarious walking into the walls so frequently. We went out to lunch at the outlet mall and saw another Fudgery show (it was nowhere's near as good as the one in St. Louis). However, we met this horrible man there that told us we shouldn't go to the Titanic museum, which we were headed for. This man was just a drag to talk to and I can't stop laughing while writing this because he was such a nut! Anyways, we went to the Titanic museum and it was phenominal. There were things like an iceburg to touch, a cold deck to walk on, a slanted deck to try and get up (I had to use two hands on the railing), and water to feel how cold it was. Everyone got a card with someone that was on the ship. Mine was Helene Baxter, a 50 year old, first class, widow of a rich criminal, and a mother of 2. Her son was on the ship with his fiance who she didn't approve of. She was sick, so her son carried her to the life boat his fiance was on and gave her some wiskey to keep her warm, but all she did was yell at him for drinking. The two women lived, but her son died.
When we got back to camp we went for another dip in the pool and I started my third book. "Armegeddon Summer" was a great suspenseful story and now I'm reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance". It's a philosophy book that my dad's neighbor gave me. Tomorrow we're leaving for Amarillo, Texas. It seems to be a better route to Las Vegas than going through Colorado. But either way tomorrow is a driving day.
Monday, June 29, 2009
On the Road Again
Yesterday we had an early start heading into St. Louis. When we got there we went inside the St. Louis Arch. There's a museum in there about the Westward Expansion and a movie that we saw. Then we went to the top of the arch in a tram that they called a "time capsule", it was very small. At the top it was packed with people and small windows to look out over the Mississippi River and on the other side you could see the whole city. There was a Cardinals baseball game going on in the stadium that you could see from there.
Today we're headed for Branson. It's similar to Bush Gardens because it's a little village with shows and rides. We'll spend the day there tomorrow, but then we're headed straight for Colorado. There is a lot to do there, but we don't exactly have it planned out yet.
Today we're headed for Branson. It's similar to Bush Gardens because it's a little village with shows and rides. We'll spend the day there tomorrow, but then we're headed straight for Colorado. There is a lot to do there, but we don't exactly have it planned out yet.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
We're Here!
My grandma was sleeping, so I had to figure out how to get to our camp site...I typed in the completely wrong road into the GPS, but by coincidence there was a road with that name in the direction we were headed. Then my grandma woke up and found directions with her iphone and handed it to me. It was my duty to tell my grandpa when to turn and I wasn't too good at it. We missed a turn and everyone started to stress out because we were headed up this narrow road uphill and there wasn't a way to turn around. But with my luck, we actually were going the right way. So at 2:30 a.m. we settled down for bed.
Today we toured 2 caves: The Mark Twain Cave & the Cameron Cave. They're located right at our camp ground. It felt so nice in the 52 degree cave compaired to the 96 degree outside weather. Apparently this is hotter than it normally is here, but it's so muggy out!
Later we went out for a dinner and had home-made rootbeer (delicious). Then we went to an overlook of the Mississippi River. I got some great shots of the caves and the river so check them out!
Today we toured 2 caves: The Mark Twain Cave & the Cameron Cave. They're located right at our camp ground. It felt so nice in the 52 degree cave compaired to the 96 degree outside weather. Apparently this is hotter than it normally is here, but it's so muggy out!
Later we went out for a dinner and had home-made rootbeer (delicious). Then we went to an overlook of the Mississippi River. I got some great shots of the caves and the river so check them out!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Almost Through 5 States
When I woke up we were in Ohio. All today we made it through Indiana and almost out of Illinois. The goal was to get to our camp site in Missouri by 10 p.m. But we ran into a huge traffic jam, so now we're pulled over in a Walmart parking lot. We took advantage of walking around in an air conditioned building and getting some little things for dinner while my grandpa could finally get some sleep.
I already finished one book and now I'm a quarter through the next, but I brought 5 with me so I have bit bit more to go. That's basically what I've been occupying myself with this whole time. The city side of Ohio was really foggy and there was a lot of old bridges there. But the country side was just simple; completely flat and covered with corn fields.
We're an hour behind the New York time right now. I'm not sure how hot it was there today, but I was over heated in a t-shirt and shorts at 5 p.m. here. It will take another 4 1/2 hours to get to our camp site, so we might get there at 2 a.m. if we leave after dinner.
First Stop....
So we're finally on the road and headed for Missouri. My Grandpa took a few hour nap and is insisting on driving the entire night. It is around 1:30 right now and I cannot even try to sleep because I'm so excited, therefore I am writing this. I recently found out that my grandpa's computer gets internet while driving down the road....very useful to me.
We also had a change of plans for our route. Originally we were going to head north and then come back through the middle of the U.S. Now we are going to Missouri first and hopefully we'll get to see this amazing college there called Washington State (weird I know, but there's a lot of towns there named after other states). Then we are going to head towards Las Vegas to visit my cousin Carla who lives there. Apparently there is an RV set up right behind her house, so it is a perfect spot to stay for awhile. The rest isn't completely planned, but that's the fun of it.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
leaving soon
We are leaving on June 26th for out west, so that's 8 days after the regents tests are done. I am so ridiculously excited just to see how different it can be across the country in food, clothes, architecture, and climate.
My grandparents bring us everywhere. We actually went to Obama's inauguration and it is one of my most vivid memories I'll ever have. During February break they brought us to Key West, which is in the chain of islands at the bottom of Florida. My sister and I have been to pretty much every state on the east coast and that's why we are taking this trip out west.
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