tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57618226036252345062024-02-06T21:36:18.909-05:006inavanfour girls and two adults going across the U.S.A. in a minivan. we're all hoping there won't be a stabbing.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-56511674995168098122011-08-30T10:16:00.000-04:002011-08-30T10:16:33.068-04:00The Way Back Home (ana)after driving through Maryland, and parts of Pennsylvania, we came into Harrisburg, the capital of PA.<br />
it was dark, and we were all tired, and it was raining, but my mom had found a place called Neato Burrito, a burrito place.<br />
the burritos were huge, so two of us shared one, and in twenty minutes we were in and out of there, our stomachs full.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAuiuL0FLncqeD-xnzLzwi4-n4PDEqmc4BkzxSEQfmAvsgbTGYtNbaSIbHxyskwH_Atq9I4b0N5-mrzzekgN7seWJKjQnlmCltKLI4pNlyYWDwRAUUsjWVeFuhGTrfGFe4w_lW_yTUrrEm/s1600/IMG_0819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAuiuL0FLncqeD-xnzLzwi4-n4PDEqmc4BkzxSEQfmAvsgbTGYtNbaSIbHxyskwH_Atq9I4b0N5-mrzzekgN7seWJKjQnlmCltKLI4pNlyYWDwRAUUsjWVeFuhGTrfGFe4w_lW_yTUrrEm/s320/IMG_0819.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us, not looking so hot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>the rest of the drive was kind of scary.<br />
my mom drove the rest of the way home, in the dark rain. there were points where you could barely see the car next to you.<br />
she had forgot to put the headlights on, it turns out. but it's okay! she wasn't being stupid. they usually turn on with our automatic key, but since we lost that back in Utah, we had to use the other one, which doesn't automatically turn on the headlights.<br />
there was also this point, where two huge trucks came speeding by us, one on either side which was terrifying. they were shaking and it was dark and raining. lets just say, not the best experience.<br />
when we got home, it was around 11:00 pm.<br />
we were all really happy to be home, but we loved this trip, and i hope that you liked reading about our adventures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4VNWTeyvidGnzNkIwAenMEC3DWIwY5fh1QTthJgGeYl6n5Ml-HSttzUjA1LWeqGkI2hcdI0SYc2oiR2KoLBAeGpP2zS13FKqFQ1sNLXo878og9ae5zjKchSGVNwqUP6LNKjNOfNFVMnC/s1600/IMG_0821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4VNWTeyvidGnzNkIwAenMEC3DWIwY5fh1QTthJgGeYl6n5Ml-HSttzUjA1LWeqGkI2hcdI0SYc2oiR2KoLBAeGpP2zS13FKqFQ1sNLXo878og9ae5zjKchSGVNwqUP6LNKjNOfNFVMnC/s320/IMG_0821.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the odometer at the end of the trip- 7,347.9 miles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>now allana is already back in school, my mom's teaching already, and mary, mei, and i all start school in a week. my dad's becoming a spin teacher, and he's foot's pretty much all healed.<br />
we would just like to say thank you to all the people who read our blog, loaned us movies, recommended places to eat, loaned us supplies, and just gave us support.<br />
thank you for reading!<br />
<br />
-ana, allana, mary, mei, eliza, & andrew6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-29416125921909760372011-08-30T09:55:00.000-04:002011-08-30T09:55:55.835-04:00Berkeley Springs, WV (ana)my parents always celebrate their wedding anniversary by going away for a weekend to somewhere that has an old movie theater. don't know why, it's just always been that way.<br />
so for the first year, my dad wanted to surprise my mom, and someone told him about the springs. so he blindfolded my mom and brought her to the baths. the baths is really the only destination of Berkeley Springs. they are healing waters, and it was perfect timing for my dad. us kids weren't allowed to do it, which stinks, but it all turned out fine.<br />
when we got to Berkeley Springs, we drove around, trying to find the creepy bed & breakfast my parents stayed at, and then went to the baths.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUpjlmbf4bpXEsPwaRLZTHfj11t8lrl4FHCLfm9ZLRSDaSCFYBHKvTID9rsLCBDFcBhsepZUbx4bjIMaQYAWTGabM92sVA0s-WRYkDcX-W4PX6F-slKZn16aWoc4BgeP5j3C8kSZAOA0G/s1600/IMG_0817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUpjlmbf4bpXEsPwaRLZTHfj11t8lrl4FHCLfm9ZLRSDaSCFYBHKvTID9rsLCBDFcBhsepZUbx4bjIMaQYAWTGabM92sVA0s-WRYkDcX-W4PX6F-slKZn16aWoc4BgeP5j3C8kSZAOA0G/s400/IMG_0817.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>when my parents set up, we messed around in this weird river thing, saw George Washington's bathtub (he visited a lot), which wasn't very big. the water was freezing, but it was nice.<br />
after my parents started their baths, we went to this ice cream place.<br />
the guy was kind of scary. mei and mary liked him, and allana thought he was funny, i just thought he was a creep. i barely understood a word he said, too.<br />
we walked around the block, looking at the old theater where we were going to see Mr Popper's Penguins that night, which is the same theater my parents went to.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wv-vacationrental.com/images/star2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wv-vacationrental.com/images/star2.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the theater</td></tr>
</tbody></table>when we got back to the baths, we put our feet in some of the outside springs, but it was freezing cold, and there were tons of bugs that were trying to bite us, and give us bug bites, so we went back to the car.<br />
in the car we watched The Partridge Family, an old TV show. it was actually pretty good, but the clothes they wore were terrible. it did take place in the 70's, so i guess...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0X7wAvhE40unJJBb0Qa8JqWEWUpswkpi4xgoCCZV2TXuGw8w261_85uko5MhmVb5D0DEE3eZQUmYnwVN5aws0_-yV_KkzqdP6NTHykEy6ZxwDVFqV2D7v13YjfGjoEdBveDm5nbrrgdLS/s1600/Partridge+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0X7wAvhE40unJJBb0Qa8JqWEWUpswkpi4xgoCCZV2TXuGw8w261_85uko5MhmVb5D0DEE3eZQUmYnwVN5aws0_-yV_KkzqdP6NTHykEy6ZxwDVFqV2D7v13YjfGjoEdBveDm5nbrrgdLS/s1600/Partridge+Family.jpg" /></a></div>(susan dey looks exactly like vanessa hudgens)<br />
so we sat their, in a hot car watching The Partridge Family, until my parents came back, all refreshed. <br />
some of us wanted to just head straight home, while others wanted to watch the movie and have dinner.<br />
but the movie was in another 2 hours, and all the restaurants didn't look so good, so we headed back home.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-66506897583965065032011-08-29T23:41:00.000-04:002011-08-29T23:41:48.777-04:00Stonewall Jackson Campground, West Virginia (ana)we missed the real West Virginia welcome sign, but i took a picture of a miniature one at a rest stop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDjLxuZrMVR6ODISKNc4RZZNL4jECXyIbDrHBoAdkw9JsqoUSTsj4S06XUr2rfzsjlPjv0sqkEw6jEbR0rcrttCBFxPYJLxr5GPS-sLjyvhzdhYNfNjGPyWvzxSX7WujzPFuXM5CojdM8/s1600/IMG_0799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDjLxuZrMVR6ODISKNc4RZZNL4jECXyIbDrHBoAdkw9JsqoUSTsj4S06XUr2rfzsjlPjv0sqkEw6jEbR0rcrttCBFxPYJLxr5GPS-sLjyvhzdhYNfNjGPyWvzxSX7WujzPFuXM5CojdM8/s320/IMG_0799.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you can see the picnic table in the backround</td></tr>
</tbody></table>my mom found some place called Stonewall Jackson Campground (the civil war general), and decided we were going to camp there.<br />
we had no idea what would just happen there.<br />
when we got to the check in station, the nice lady there, who's name Becca, came up to our car. after telling my parents what we can't do, my mom turns around and goes, "Girls, did you hear that? that mean no alcohol, and no pot."<br />
she was joking of course. but mei, being 7, took it literally.<br />
so she decides to scream, "NO POT!!!!" loud enough for both Becca and the next car to hear. she of course means no pots, for cooking.<br />
but we all find this hilarious, and bust out laughing. ohhh, mei.<br />
no pot, hehe.<br />
after we calm down, we drive down this road, trying to find the on for the campsite. this is a nice campground, and i know there's also a golf course, marina, two lodges, and cabins, along with the campground. it's a pretty nice place.<br />
but the issue is, we cannot find the campsite. it's campsite 2. but when we get there, there's already some family with a bunch of little kids in it. they're staring at us, on account of both us staring at them, and the flames on our minivan. we continue around the loop, thinking there must be another section. there isn't<br />
we drive around a few more times. we still cannot find it.<br />
now we decide to see if there's another place to camp. so we drive around part of resort, looking for more. which we can't find.<br />
we go back to Becca. she tells us it's right next to the parking lot in the campground. we go back. still can't find it. we go back to Becca. she explains in detail on the map where it is.<br />
we go back to the campground. and we finally find it.<br />
but hey, it's not our fault we couldn't. this campsite goes down this hill, where the only access is by a foot path. but we like this campsite. it has a big platform to put the tent on (where it barely fits. is that saying something?), and it has a small inlet jutting out into the lake, which we can walk down to the small beach and play with the sand, and don't go swimming in because walking in it you can tell there's more duck poop on the floor than sand. but all in all, this is one of the best campsites yet. that is, until later.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcoheymA8Jhw8GVvEm19Z7nj3Bcobn6jIs_Btc64BcgD3baeYbCWJWzrvsXv7sPJRT7FMhZmaTLeUFSjgxqExKAAp907eIWD7QMHHDlKwVNYzs8YBkoNu1dJvN39F0T4hcN6CkE5_N1R4/s1600/IMG_0802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcoheymA8Jhw8GVvEm19Z7nj3Bcobn6jIs_Btc64BcgD3baeYbCWJWzrvsXv7sPJRT7FMhZmaTLeUFSjgxqExKAAp907eIWD7QMHHDlKwVNYzs8YBkoNu1dJvN39F0T4hcN6CkE5_N1R4/s320/IMG_0802.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our site</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after trudging up and down the path to get all the stuff down there, we set up camp, and then just hang out. my dad goes in the minivan to check the restaurants out at the lodge, and we all just mess around, almost swinging mary into the water, and losing her shoe in the process, and me having to climb down into the duck poop water and get it.<br />
my dad gets back, and tells us that we're going to have to get a little cleaned up before we got to dinner. so we drive to the bathrooms, get cleaned up, and head over to the lodge.<br />
the restaurant we ate at Stillwaters, or something like that. we had a nice dinner, where we met this nice family who had a very cute baby.<br />
and we also became like best friends with the waitress, who was also really nice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://forkyou.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/stillwater-sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://forkyou.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/stillwater-sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">good food</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we went back to the bathrooms, to pee and brush our teeth and such, and then got into the tent.<br />
i pretended to be asleep, and eventually did fall asleep, but was awoken in the middle of the night.<br />
so my dad had decided he really needed to pee in the middle of the night (all boys seem to have to a lot), and he got out of the tent.<br />
but the issue is, when my dad wakes up in the middle of the night, he's really never <i>really</i> awake. so for some reason, my dad decided to get out the side next to my mother, where no one ever gets out.<br />
it was also the side on the high side of the platform.<br />
it was also that platform my dad fell off of.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndNizOcRF3RbUT2eWlDyVMKGQtUtHpVcsP0HuLEveGx9KpsG9o69uhF4uXZfgZ6HlTlBBZYnf8Fkwzo-uEGKDRDmg4xvlKTrdtfFbf-TfxmG8uRZ4QDLgpiAkfVjLONyHfFYRxrHyKg6-/s1600/IMG_0800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndNizOcRF3RbUT2eWlDyVMKGQtUtHpVcsP0HuLEveGx9KpsG9o69uhF4uXZfgZ6HlTlBBZYnf8Fkwzo-uEGKDRDmg4xvlKTrdtfFbf-TfxmG8uRZ4QDLgpiAkfVjLONyHfFYRxrHyKg6-/s320/IMG_0800.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's about 3 ft off the ground</td></tr>
</tbody></table>he grabbed the tent when he fell, shaking it so much, we all woke up.<br />
my mom and mary were first. when i woke up, saying "what is going on?' over and over again, they were both sitting up, asking my dad if he was okay.<br />
allana never opened her eyes, but in the morning, she told us she was awake the whole time. i don't think mei talked at all, but she was awake. i think.<br />
anyway, my dad's foot got pretty busted up. he had huge cuts on it in the morning.<br />
after he went to the bathroom, he got back in the same way.<br />
and here's the funniest part. not that this whole situation should be funny, but this was.<br />
he could not figure out where he was sleeping.<br />
so he was crawling around the tent, going "where am i sleeping" and my mom and i screaming "right here!" pointing in between us, while he was on the complete opposite side of the tent. (the order for that night was mei, allana, mary, me, my dad, my mom. try to imagine it)<br />
he eventually got in the right spot. we were all a little pissed about being woken up, so when he took out his iPhone, we both got mad. he told me later he was trying to see his foot. sorry for that.<br />
the next morning, we saw it, and it was not flattering. i'm not going to post a picture of it, because it is disgusting.<br />
no offense to my dad's foot or anything.<br />
then we went to the pool and went swimming for an hour or so, where my dad iced his foot, and my mom worked out.<br />
then we left for a place my parents had been looking forward to this entire trip, especially my mom.<br />
Berkeley Springs, WV.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-37123038772956636482011-08-29T22:48:00.000-04:002011-08-29T22:48:49.523-04:00Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky (ana)so this whole trip i really wanted to go to Kentucky. i don't know why, maybe because i like the way Kentuckians (?) talk. or maybe because of the history. or maybe because the shape of the state. i really have no idea. but i wanted to go there, and so my mom found this place in Lexington called the Kentucky Horse Park.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgf-z2Dh6s4SPeru7S9iZDo5dFxwRVuR52CysfYn4f0iL5Prnxm8prjUlzxIlvl-F9LPLVxJIh92Msu8nOOXIufKMwZJ6LiFlxjnCBxm4ObSFbd294rH2mJ37jc3npelced7p6O42Enepb/s1600/IMG_0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgf-z2Dh6s4SPeru7S9iZDo5dFxwRVuR52CysfYn4f0iL5Prnxm8prjUlzxIlvl-F9LPLVxJIh92Msu8nOOXIufKMwZJ6LiFlxjnCBxm4ObSFbd294rH2mJ37jc3npelced7p6O42Enepb/s320/IMG_0625.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bridge!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>mei is obsessed with horses. as is mary. like, freakishly obsessed. like when they found out where we were going one of my eardrums burst obsessed. it's annoying.<br />
we kept it a surprise, until we got there.<br />
on the way though, we stopped at this healthy grocery store. we each got to get a treat, and i got this to die for raspberry-chocolate scone. it was yummy.<br />
so we left there with some nice, healthy food, and mary with her yoga cat calendar (i still don't get why she bought that), en route to Kentucky Horse Park.<br />
we drove for another hour or so, and when we got there we went to check in.<br />
this campground wasn't like the other ones we had been to. for starters, there were way more people. people and horses and golf carts and trailers the size of small houses.<br />
it was also more expensive, and nicer. it had a pool, and the bathrooms were actually not all that disgusting.<br />
so we got our site, which was nice, and we didn't have any neighbors on one side (the biggest side) so that was good (more space).<br />
we set up camp, then allana and i went the longest way to the bathrooms. it took like 10 minutes to walk there (i may be exaggerating), which is way too long in my opinion. like seriously? you want us to walk that long to a bathroom? it might make us not happy (i have also been known to be impatient though).<br />
so we came back (the short way, i might add) in our bathing suits, and for some reason we didn't go to the swimming pool for the longest time (again, impatience), but when we got there it was worth the wait.<br />
the swimming pool was really nice. it got really deep though on one side, and some of the people in the car could not go there.<br />
after messing around with us a bit, my parents went inside to take showers. yours truly got left in charge. (even though allana is a grade above me, i'm the better swimmer. not to be cocky or anything, but it's true).<br />
it was really funny when one of the lifeguards asked us where we were from, casue our voices sounded different. when we told her we were from jersey, she goes, "oh joisey. like the jersey shore, right?"<br />
nice to know we have a good reputation. and just for the record, we do NOT talk like that. thank you very much.<br />
anywho, we sadly had to leave the lifeguard (hey, she had a weird voice to us too.), and we went back to camp. we roasted marsh mallows (sorry for spelling it wrong until now, some of our followers care (you know who you are)). unfortunately, we ran out of chocolate somewhere in the black hills or one of those places (they're all the same to us now. kidding), and the graham crackers got finished in utah. so it was just marsh mallows. i got sick of it after the first one.<br />
it was yet another hot night in the tent (ugh), so we were all grumpy. it's not fun when you have a tent full of annoying, sweaty people, for future reference.<br />
the next morning, we had to get up at like, 8:30! for god's sake, it's summer! let us sleep. but we had to got to this horse thing in the actual horse park (well, duh) at either nine or nine thirty, so waking up early was required.<br />
when we got to the horse park, we were grateful for the air conditioning.<br />
does it really have to be so HOT in the summer? like really, why can't it be pleasant weather. like spring. that would be nice instead of scorching hot days.<br />
we paid for admission, then went back outside. grr. we saw a nice statue of Secretariat and some other famous horse when we were walking to this tram ride thing. we waited on line for a short while, and then got on the tram. we got a tour of the park, and they pointed out this hall of fame thing for horses. (who knew?)<br />
after the tram ride, which wasn't so long, we went to a presentation at the hall of fame thing. we were a little late for us, so everyone stared at us when we walked in (awkward).<br />
the presentation was actually really interesting (and not the bad kind). they brought out the horses that they were talking about, which was cool. and don't worry, mary took like, i don't know, a billion pictures of either the horses mouth (is it a snout?), or the side, or the leg, or the butt. they're might be one of the face. but they're pretty horses.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyb4hLKRBYNyFl7titfh9FSpBI7UfBVxdXkpg0Z1d6kKZww3inxYTlcx8J4DggTQnkPMWfYjJWNsr6AlZYpwCd02A7WRVwrCzhQ4sTXKScne2gwJEmgx7eB0PNuQosmftAcssrwZX_Vxo/s1600/IMG_0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyb4hLKRBYNyFl7titfh9FSpBI7UfBVxdXkpg0Z1d6kKZww3inxYTlcx8J4DggTQnkPMWfYjJWNsr6AlZYpwCd02A7WRVwrCzhQ4sTXKScne2gwJEmgx7eB0PNuQosmftAcssrwZX_Vxo/s320/IMG_0633.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">famous horse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>they're were a few Kentucky Derby champions of the 5 or 6 horses we saw, including one really famous one who's name i don't remember. they showed us the videos of the horses winning various races, and it is just amazing to watch how fast they can go. i would not want to be on the back of one. knowing me, i would fall off or something. i would be freaking out to much.<br />
anyway, after the presentation, we went to another corral or horse stadium or whatever they're called, and watched another thing where people ride around on horses from different countries, wearing the native costumes. that took a while, and the entire time, there was this huge beetle sitting on this british lady's butt next to allana, who was next to me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqhv4-Bl8BTiT_Z9kw06KEMF7BSu9bPNrtQ9S-sI7xundHoArvM0WozSrZTScZmWdx-8Kuue_CNHt99f0PIviTxZFen3hkifS0nUsLtjJXSvZoyn5UVgibrgZXyq2cxjnkFriTlpOl-mQ/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqhv4-Bl8BTiT_Z9kw06KEMF7BSu9bPNrtQ9S-sI7xundHoArvM0WozSrZTScZmWdx-8Kuue_CNHt99f0PIviTxZFen3hkifS0nUsLtjJXSvZoyn5UVgibrgZXyq2cxjnkFriTlpOl-mQ/s320/IMG_0650.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">irish horse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we were starting at it (which sounds gross, but trust me, she was like in her 50s) and then after like 20 minutes (i'm also not good at telling time. it could of been 5 for all i know. this show was very long), i tap her on the shoulder and tell her that there is a bug on her crawling up the back of her pants, near her belt. i tried to say it in the least awkward and most polite way i could, like i-have-totally-not-been-staring-at-that-bug-on-you-for-the-past-10-minutes type of thing. i don't think i succeeded. i really still don't know if she spoke english, i mean, she seamed british or australian, but you never know. she did seem to understand in the end though, and brushed the giant bug off her pants.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DNQYFfkOmAYn1uUxFjEbdlH8EMFxOyCE1ELpAFQsoX40dnOm7XDIyWo8mFs3qDm6pSCfckJqSMVNkazv2N8eEt8wx8iJUQk277M1pDU7t8C5250XYMkouRmhYZgQpPsAlZbyOPeuOQx4/s1600/IMG_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DNQYFfkOmAYn1uUxFjEbdlH8EMFxOyCE1ELpAFQsoX40dnOm7XDIyWo8mFs3qDm6pSCfckJqSMVNkazv2N8eEt8wx8iJUQk277M1pDU7t8C5250XYMkouRmhYZgQpPsAlZbyOPeuOQx4/s320/IMG_0685.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spanish horse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>then this australian guy came out with four horses, who all obeyed him so well it was crazy. they were the most well trained horses i have and probably will ever see. they did all these tricks, and while the guy was a little bit of a braggart, the stuff he did with horses were amazing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAm4q1IeL3dhWIhrKs1-7d43Gx-FeZHY4-VlLXJ_hWEPTxcVUFsKf5NJ0D7yVEjEhIJlijGPtS6RR-jFf5eykzEW6KQb_UFLY4lk1aUo6WGlc1MTEIgrU-iMC0RYSDbeBqqB0Z0bhkbmVX/s1600/IMG_0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAm4q1IeL3dhWIhrKs1-7d43Gx-FeZHY4-VlLXJ_hWEPTxcVUFsKf5NJ0D7yVEjEhIJlijGPtS6RR-jFf5eykzEW6KQb_UFLY4lk1aUo6WGlc1MTEIgrU-iMC0RYSDbeBqqB0Z0bhkbmVX/s320/IMG_0711.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">they rode like this the entire time</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YPmOpq4ebd1Rlyj2acFUhqT4zOjc5RbSprySoRDgXqq8Gbhv4PXN-92vP0GhkeW-PNZVlRsSzw-40HiQByCaB69IM_DARLMrkf24qxkw1LZ4_f8gIZ45-2x9nZGWhMqdx_ous3gKtFAt/s1600/IMG_0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YPmOpq4ebd1Rlyj2acFUhqT4zOjc5RbSprySoRDgXqq8Gbhv4PXN-92vP0GhkeW-PNZVlRsSzw-40HiQByCaB69IM_DARLMrkf24qxkw1LZ4_f8gIZ45-2x9nZGWhMqdx_ous3gKtFAt/s320/IMG_0767.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there's also a horse under the top ones</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after the show, we walked around a bit, and saw the horses, which mei got to pet, and which my mom made allana and me pet too (yay). then we went to this tack shop of some sort, and we got water, which was my favorite part of the day.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8WO6Wb_-Jm4kW5-WFh66cGqVY6YFhee8vPJZGd8030nUEwp8V7XUp8ftQvsKtnLGGWmCDtoU-bRrSPR7aQSjVl466-Xs_aCo7KUKt2nsdnIlWSTFg9iahf-2K3oKcVaqVKflSsK6qZ3B/s1600/IMG_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8WO6Wb_-Jm4kW5-WFh66cGqVY6YFhee8vPJZGd8030nUEwp8V7XUp8ftQvsKtnLGGWmCDtoU-bRrSPR7aQSjVl466-Xs_aCo7KUKt2nsdnIlWSTFg9iahf-2K3oKcVaqVKflSsK6qZ3B/s320/IMG_0783.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei was very happy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTzMSsSQ79OO_CuUk7ZWXse_QETow_mpQrbsUuTfnR5g2PHqdcT8ebOJ3cRM04ICIeu8KysvVlNDn17AygpzImctA0HeO0LR76y5p8jx13iPw0_8YLNoAM5wan4fc1j75UXNCDe5BiKDP/s1600/IMG_0792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTzMSsSQ79OO_CuUk7ZWXse_QETow_mpQrbsUuTfnR5g2PHqdcT8ebOJ3cRM04ICIeu8KysvVlNDn17AygpzImctA0HeO0LR76y5p8jx13iPw0_8YLNoAM5wan4fc1j75UXNCDe5BiKDP/s320/IMG_0792.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you can see how much allana was too</td></tr>
</tbody></table>i love water.<br />
then we went to one of the barns, where some really huge draft horses were. that was cool, but it was time to go.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEOmcdkWMsOg5clGECSRFFI0gaL_j2F_eXSFl7iECVjbY8_cpseZXqnRfw2KtCKODTVjpXUs_ZOfZpA38d4v1Vga_3izlrlmb4qpQ8AYIOpIZMIQdsVgV1MldPv4CFRUFdoC0tonUyjKN/s1600/IMG_0798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEOmcdkWMsOg5clGECSRFFI0gaL_j2F_eXSFl7iECVjbY8_cpseZXqnRfw2KtCKODTVjpXUs_ZOfZpA38d4v1Vga_3izlrlmb4qpQ8AYIOpIZMIQdsVgV1MldPv4CFRUFdoC0tonUyjKN/s320/IMG_0798.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">giant lawn chair</td></tr>
</tbody></table>yet when we got back to the building, mei and mary spent a long time in the gift shop picking gifts out for a few friends.<br />
we left kentucky horse park, and headed for somewhere in west virginia, a few days away from getting back home.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-80629173162483796792011-08-24T15:45:00.000-04:002011-08-24T15:45:16.120-04:00St Louis, Missouri (ana)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>we arrived in St Louis at around 5 in the afternoon, and my mom said our first night was going to be in a hotel, the Hamptons Bay, which is a spin-off of the Hampton Inn.<br />
it was an amazing hotel.<br />
luxury would be the word i would use.<br />
the rooms were big, there were two beds, a comfortable leather desk chair, a flat screen, and free internet. but sadly, allana and i got the floor that night.<br />
my parents went to the High Pointe, an old movie theater. they went on a date, and saw Captain America.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5FIRXTzxV9HbD100wkbGJiSqPSyIfOftwu3PTYwEPV6NRH2x9179x2Ch8eywYTBl2Ow6ZXG0LBuLry0Jt0AQSPg1Fl71foKnKYrdTykYS6YyALOJvUaO_Z88gcEqmFWbC5RCPEDsj5qU/s1600/IMG_0577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5FIRXTzxV9HbD100wkbGJiSqPSyIfOftwu3PTYwEPV6NRH2x9179x2Ch8eywYTBl2Ow6ZXG0LBuLry0Jt0AQSPg1Fl71foKnKYrdTykYS6YyALOJvUaO_Z88gcEqmFWbC5RCPEDsj5qU/s320/IMG_0577.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>we got to stay at the hotel, order pizza, watch TV, and go on the computer. in other words, relax.<br />
it was very nice.<br />
we got a good night sleep (even the floor was comfortable), and went downstairs for breakfast in our swim suits. the breakfast was great.<br />
the pool was a lot of fun. it was all the way in the back of a hallway, but my mom got to work out, and we learned that mei is a really fast swimmer. we actually tied once!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNWeS6ctglJCTP99gfkoqPTqMryRAGza_Ox9cTXH3zOYO32r0etRL9NcAYY8rVkMDXvYiGvchJmGySWvCNixymRmzz5kxWOJnIpHZS3DS99XgCljI9woVbhZD3_9SEI8YFgvJ5Tw3pvHN/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNWeS6ctglJCTP99gfkoqPTqMryRAGza_Ox9cTXH3zOYO32r0etRL9NcAYY8rVkMDXvYiGvchJmGySWvCNixymRmzz5kxWOJnIpHZS3DS99XgCljI9woVbhZD3_9SEI8YFgvJ5Tw3pvHN/s320/IMG_0581.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>we were all sad when we had to leave, but we got the nice water with the oranges (another 95 type of day) and left to go to the City Museum, a museum that one of my mom coworkers- Mr. S - said that we had to go to.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3066_Sk_vzaUzEEjL3F592G6XVttjzsjqdMxOrykkbXskFiqEvxPg2RQffiLo7BfF_Tlc1XbV-PN6eEVpkNX2SuWKAIEjG2eKXxdTyzMUenb0UPAQ04Bp6Ad6FGEgrtwyqKURq22HfDH/s1600/IMG_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3066_Sk_vzaUzEEjL3F592G6XVttjzsjqdMxOrykkbXskFiqEvxPg2RQffiLo7BfF_Tlc1XbV-PN6eEVpkNX2SuWKAIEjG2eKXxdTyzMUenb0UPAQ04Bp6Ad6FGEgrtwyqKURq22HfDH/s320/IMG_0591.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary and mei going up to a slide</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRE_V6GUKJSfKo8V08E2qsmVns_qQTuCVOwxr4AIMFLhN5xq0AUnCiIyrTUncxJeAFx2LGYZ3HMEIFyPkIe5D-OxtX9LCP-26a2erbfrmZVm9jG_MERkjrYLQjovmZ5C56Vi-1kdGJNty6/s1600/IMG_0583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRE_V6GUKJSfKo8V08E2qsmVns_qQTuCVOwxr4AIMFLhN5xq0AUnCiIyrTUncxJeAFx2LGYZ3HMEIFyPkIe5D-OxtX9LCP-26a2erbfrmZVm9jG_MERkjrYLQjovmZ5C56Vi-1kdGJNty6/s320/IMG_0583.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary climbing up a spring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>if you are ever in St Louis, no matter if you are a kid or adult, you have to go to the City Museum. it is crazy. you are allowed to go pretty much everywhere, touch everything, climb everything, crawl everything, slide everything, and go through near death experiences about every other minute. in other words, it's a kid's paradise.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-Myp_FS77g9zTe7iX_3rc3DSn1XWKy8GoAO9KPArbnXWS-ZWnD3yDShGsKNs8MG-Mpt4DLTgvpr5GYAe-6WRvSc9RfpO_SYxv2xCYnJDpUSgXq9w7FdAF2bB1aCVTOsm44dkysp_M3IU/s1600/IMG_0593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-Myp_FS77g9zTe7iX_3rc3DSn1XWKy8GoAO9KPArbnXWS-ZWnD3yDShGsKNs8MG-Mpt4DLTgvpr5GYAe-6WRvSc9RfpO_SYxv2xCYnJDpUSgXq9w7FdAF2bB1aCVTOsm44dkysp_M3IU/s320/IMG_0593.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i was ducking the entire time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>everything that decorates this museum is made of recycled items. the outside of the bathroom is made of baking tins, there's one wall with bottle caps, a part of the ceiling is covered in white plastic shopping bags, the list goes on and on.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK6cIW24BviDos04Pugtce6NtZN1kCzzAKrtdCYJWoys6GMxrpVKq9opp1W7U-qnDzcFvwv2fNH8kZIhM_BddEkHhrQkK4gl9eEnKbnwu9rOIIfk40a5ZXUrju1P9AOygU7h_d66RqEs6/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK6cIW24BviDos04Pugtce6NtZN1kCzzAKrtdCYJWoys6GMxrpVKq9opp1W7U-qnDzcFvwv2fNH8kZIhM_BddEkHhrQkK4gl9eEnKbnwu9rOIIfk40a5ZXUrju1P9AOygU7h_d66RqEs6/s320/IMG_0596.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>we were at City Museum for about 3 or 4 hours, and we did not run out of things to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7OaruS2HDAmvSgiOCx6PTNz2lqLLNusrpgBg2xRrrndmU4IINQ9EqYw7bYyquzzR_AkU-i-uUpkOt3coEprDIK8O6TkRVS4wdytwM8T17iz1f-_NVH6f2vc4jWUNgMgvmYl4xyZsEmXj/s1600/IMG_0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7OaruS2HDAmvSgiOCx6PTNz2lqLLNusrpgBg2xRrrndmU4IINQ9EqYw7bYyquzzR_AkU-i-uUpkOt3coEprDIK8O6TkRVS4wdytwM8T17iz1f-_NVH6f2vc4jWUNgMgvmYl4xyZsEmXj/s320/IMG_0598.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">allana in a giant wire tunnel, suspended above the air</td></tr>
</tbody></table>climbing up a giant spring, crawling under the floor trying to find a way out, shimmying under a pipe on your back, squeezing through a cave, going down a slide that drops straight down to the boiler room, climbing a bunch of stairs for a ten story slide, jumping into as ball pit, sitting in an airplane that is suspended high above the parking lot that shakes at the slightest movement, etc. your nerves are tested here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOyv-uZM1eE77JUcdkpiJ08t0hyphenhyphenlx5fwXjrJrxEFAQ4IWpJLKbpPWBSMhnCN_lUh3Aix3NNWtN_Qitbyk1rt-eiY38mHq6J-7YyrtzLvxrGs42PsXpS5jcB7LnW-37SpVlPhkpJ0P8dFl/s1600/IMG_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOyv-uZM1eE77JUcdkpiJ08t0hyphenhyphenlx5fwXjrJrxEFAQ4IWpJLKbpPWBSMhnCN_lUh3Aix3NNWtN_Qitbyk1rt-eiY38mHq6J-7YyrtzLvxrGs42PsXpS5jcB7LnW-37SpVlPhkpJ0P8dFl/s320/IMG_0607.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">allana and i decided not to go from one airplane to the other</td></tr>
</tbody></table>i think i've said enough about City Museum, it was just so much fun.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9KfIeouPfgDgtSk-Qdb7riuRrY7DIE0dcDhiaZAAHvon8t1zp9DRWSyCGe6epW0Dcjegrb7b7qt5ZmrAM3LBREfJ_HtnhaFKyKce526BM8AbR9wwdpvaBbPqbAJMo-aVdPQoxSVjwILz/s1600/IMG_0608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9KfIeouPfgDgtSk-Qdb7riuRrY7DIE0dcDhiaZAAHvon8t1zp9DRWSyCGe6epW0Dcjegrb7b7qt5ZmrAM3LBREfJ_HtnhaFKyKce526BM8AbR9wwdpvaBbPqbAJMo-aVdPQoxSVjwILz/s320/IMG_0608.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we like the shade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we had lunch there, and then after the museum (we left because of the temperature- 103), we went to the St Louis Arch.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZi_BU5OxQvqsYpsVWBBxTPc0VZyD1R7q0kM0cLkwJmdrIyDnQUQE8bQwWbRY49IoeRO36ks-YPMS2yi6z19v88pmbp5NHsIfX-wMjlkpsD5tI0qnhdqSqQ3KcSXKzZcNrlO39y0KkjPq/s1600/IMG_2765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZi_BU5OxQvqsYpsVWBBxTPc0VZyD1R7q0kM0cLkwJmdrIyDnQUQE8bQwWbRY49IoeRO36ks-YPMS2yi6z19v88pmbp5NHsIfX-wMjlkpsD5tI0qnhdqSqQ3KcSXKzZcNrlO39y0KkjPq/s320/IMG_2765.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">st louis arch from the side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we went underground, where the museum and tram is, and we bought tickets to go up to the top of the arch, the problem was, the time we were going was in 2 hours.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0KtyfF4MXCNMdiCQH3VMvni6y6-MOdbeHXrSgvShNV6Lr51HFjGk_gfs5RsY0E3sa0Jb9gsnCnod3A9i5knp5CyHFFGt7NSEV0HniJsBi-0ypcEg0P5s11OWWM1QlEB8gSlBF-adHEwl/s1600/IMG_2778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0KtyfF4MXCNMdiCQH3VMvni6y6-MOdbeHXrSgvShNV6Lr51HFjGk_gfs5RsY0E3sa0Jb9gsnCnod3A9i5knp5CyHFFGt7NSEV0HniJsBi-0ypcEg0P5s11OWWM1QlEB8gSlBF-adHEwl/s320/IMG_2778.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">somee of the creepy talking/moving mannequins</td></tr>
</tbody></table><!--EndFragment-->so we walked around the museum, then just sat for about a half hour.<br />
finally, they called our group, then we waited on line for about 15 minutes, walking through another museum thing to where the little cars would come to get us.<br />
the pod we had to sit in was so small, and we could see out the window that we were slowly rising.<br />
when we got to the top, the carpeted walkway was curved. we were at the top of the arch.<br />
inside that are tiny windows that you look out. you can barely see them from the outside, but the view from inside was great.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKEq9w_zFqwJLI87nSrFOkE2-iUregX3F8aQNCohmwSVHvmO3u-KSrLp7gxwOip1OuhF6AcMpSOxLDNniYxiNOBJ4PXBvAjQhTZogYRBflfnBzgPZiXjGZYDXB_leeMs-d3kvoJg1dQDR/s1600/IMG_2792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKEq9w_zFqwJLI87nSrFOkE2-iUregX3F8aQNCohmwSVHvmO3u-KSrLp7gxwOip1OuhF6AcMpSOxLDNniYxiNOBJ4PXBvAjQhTZogYRBflfnBzgPZiXjGZYDXB_leeMs-d3kvoJg1dQDR/s320/IMG_2792.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one part of the view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we went back down the other side, and then we went to where we were going to spend our second night in St Louis.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUIhguk5RasNGvnfgHHKtjTva08NGLDTliZPaQkeshIsQRCR7dxsi7WrID2jr6dYohussnA6H4aJKKRV-ZgndvGWQiA3PGTM0SviZlLHNz3jQw9fZl7fze6bIQZv2qkhOT0zIwwmYMt0T/s1600/IMG_0618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUIhguk5RasNGvnfgHHKtjTva08NGLDTliZPaQkeshIsQRCR7dxsi7WrID2jr6dYohussnA6H4aJKKRV-ZgndvGWQiA3PGTM0SviZlLHNz3jQw9fZl7fze6bIQZv2qkhOT0zIwwmYMt0T/s320/IMG_0618.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of the pod</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN0cEW9lM9ds20vWjaBE2iZWjbRQd_fyWGXdyW4KIbKTP0C0UD6CzCLgAuisxnqaiTfMvwZkF-gdCirYvxCb2rjfdVcmlgtktS0LV62BckxUIeavDCI_D4PwldF8-aZDHzHD1um6a7aSX/s1600/IMG_0619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN0cEW9lM9ds20vWjaBE2iZWjbRQd_fyWGXdyW4KIbKTP0C0UD6CzCLgAuisxnqaiTfMvwZkF-gdCirYvxCb2rjfdVcmlgtktS0LV62BckxUIeavDCI_D4PwldF8-aZDHzHD1um6a7aSX/s320/IMG_0619.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary doing the "facebook thing"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>since St Louis is on the border, the nearest campground was about 5 minutes away in Illinois.<br />
we arrived at the campground, and as we drove to the campsites, it looked really nice.<br />
there was a lake, and on one side of the road it was filled with lily pads, which was really pretty.<br />
the drive to where the actual sites was a really long one. when we got to the sites, all we saw were one other site with people. we chose a nice one, close to the bathroom, and close to water. it was also shaded, which was nice, because it was another 95 degree type of day.<br />
we set up camp, and then drove back to where you sign up for the sites, at the entry.<br />
then we went to dinner at this small, back road, Chinese place called Wong's Wok. it is really good, and it's close to University of Washington, St Louis. after we had that amazing food (along with Fanta), we went driving around University Loop, which is the neighborhood near the university. the house there are very pretty, very big, and actually not that expensive- if my memory is right.<br />
we got back to our campsite, and now it was time for the horror to begin.<br />
allana had gone into the bathrooms before, and said it looked like a prison cell. we had decided to hold it. but now it was nighttime, and we all needed to pee, so...<br />
mary decided to not to come with us, and allana, mei, my dad and i decided to go to the prison cell. so we're walking along the dirt road, and a police cruiser comes by, with the flashlight pointing out the window, just like in movies.<br />
we look at him, then continue walking. he continued on to the other people and got out of the car.<br />
but now we weren't paying attention, having just stepped onto the porch of the 'bathroom.' my dad went inside, because it was dark and there was no lighting, and, well, we were scared.<br />
he checks it out, and then we walk inside with our flashlights.<br />
it is made out of cinderblocks, and there are two stalls, one bigger than the other. there were also no doors. seems like wyoming all over again. anyway, while we were holding the flashlights around the corner for the person in the "stall", my dad was screaming at us from the mens bathroom. i couldn't hear him.<br />
turns out we were supposed to be listening to the domestic violence dispute that the <u>only other people </u>in the campground were having. the cops came 3 or 4 times that night.<br />
when we were done with our interesting visit to the bathroom, we went back and my dad was making a fire, even though we were going to bed.<br />
so my mom is screaming at us to stop talking and go to sleep. after everything finally gets quiet, and we're all starting to breathe heavy, we hear this strangled, rabid, loud, terrifying noise from the woods. we all bolt up and start freaking out, i guess you could say. my mom shines a flashlight outside to scare the thing away, and then the fire starts up again.<br />
this campground is just lovely.<br />
we get the fire under control and then the people start screaming again.<br />
wow, this is fun.<br />
also, to add to this misery, it's about 106 degrees inside the tent. cause of the bodies, and the sleeping bags, and the nylon, everything got hotter. it was pain.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0p_NQDAa6h1YKXUBYkDqh1w_WTLxen_pFRV7UDaQ0evRQDsU4v485oX0JdNzehpmvUn5Wn_8-5QmpyKb78D68h9CYeInxNqsBaacMEZSQgsB7ek52jWtzQFbBa9AsglTMBVK_eeuFOx84/s1600/IMG_0621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0p_NQDAa6h1YKXUBYkDqh1w_WTLxen_pFRV7UDaQ0evRQDsU4v485oX0JdNzehpmvUn5Wn_8-5QmpyKb78D68h9CYeInxNqsBaacMEZSQgsB7ek52jWtzQFbBa9AsglTMBVK_eeuFOx84/s320/IMG_0621.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at least there was a pretty view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>the next morning, the bugs greeted us as we stepped out of the tent. there was a colony of flies living in the car by the time we were ready to go. the solution? my mom drive the wrong way to get the flies out with the doors open.<br />
my dad had just gone for a run so he took a 'shower' in the pump water.<br />
you can see how classy this place is.<br />
the domestic violence people had left by the time that we woke up, thank god, so we left Granite City, Illinois, so ready to get home, it's not even funny.<br />
(on our way to the highway, we passed about 7 strip clubs in a row- one right in front of a school)<br />
we left for Lexington, Kentucky, having no idea where we were going to sleep that night.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-18527658258354124162011-08-23T21:33:00.000-04:002011-08-23T21:33:06.173-04:00Topeka, Kansaswhile we were driving to Topeka, it was pain.<br />
it never went under 100 degrees the entire time from Denver to Topeka. at least we got to stay in a hotel<br />
we stopped at this random restaurant in Goodland, Kansas, on the way to Topeka, which is a very, very small farming you can't really call it a town type of town. the restaurant is called Crazy R's, and it's actually pretty good.<br />
everyone stared at us when we walked in, because we weren't locals. but it was yum, and we got these good healthy shaved ice type of things, which just adds to it all.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht33cXLUpRFWB3QDm1NtHbJuxTv38YGLcD1p97ruQrq82fpSl7jmiQhxxlcxp6F9n-Pjx_3u_sP6lIqOfStShyphenhyphenLWOF3DSWFB9uSrIc2s0OLYHsGrViqONTfjFjubSES__Hj0moKzIXsrVM/s1600/IMG_0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht33cXLUpRFWB3QDm1NtHbJuxTv38YGLcD1p97ruQrq82fpSl7jmiQhxxlcxp6F9n-Pjx_3u_sP6lIqOfStShyphenhyphenLWOF3DSWFB9uSrIc2s0OLYHsGrViqONTfjFjubSES__Hj0moKzIXsrVM/s320/IMG_0559.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">haha. we should've used the side door. (yeah, not really)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-g7Y_wPM6XiepqebCB5NSVDR-yg_semANLGa9NWFADDNzzEBP3IL9TQswlGcfppIKeB3hw_McXSGRiPF_fFSwJyvhtPCBZck1LaairJY7lp3EtlQiU5Kf-haqwAZojHt8TEzn_YwQ8zz/s1600/IMG_0561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-g7Y_wPM6XiepqebCB5NSVDR-yg_semANLGa9NWFADDNzzEBP3IL9TQswlGcfppIKeB3hw_McXSGRiPF_fFSwJyvhtPCBZck1LaairJY7lp3EtlQiU5Kf-haqwAZojHt8TEzn_YwQ8zz/s320/IMG_0561.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei, me, and allana, drinking our smoothies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>when we got to topeka, it was dinner time, and we went to this great barbeque place called Boss Hawgs. the chicken is good.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NIKF1m_1HIRdx7P9dFavWvEDL55amufrLCNmeytoHy3pVtOmUvdMF2oYHIWcgSfQJIyRhqUeQB8WZ3PgRYObaYES1Db0FnXURdPqUAniBny2oemSu6BYPuAMcvTsgopDfYkuxbLOn5W5/s1600/IMG_0562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NIKF1m_1HIRdx7P9dFavWvEDL55amufrLCNmeytoHy3pVtOmUvdMF2oYHIWcgSfQJIyRhqUeQB8WZ3PgRYObaYES1Db0FnXURdPqUAniBny2oemSu6BYPuAMcvTsgopDfYkuxbLOn5W5/s320/IMG_0562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>when we were walking back to the car, we figured out that we left one of the doors of the car open.<br />
thankfully, nothing was stolen, but it was still a close call.<br />
that night we stayed in a Super 8, which have a reputation of being not the best, but this one was actually pretty good. my dad calls it a Super 10.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.celticbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Super-8-Brand-Logo-Full-Color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://blog.celticbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Super-8-Brand-Logo-Full-Color.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>allana and i got the bed that night, but the problem was, i couldn't sleep for 3 hours after we turned out the light. not the best sleep.<br />
the next morning we had breakfast, went swimming in the pool, and left the Super 8.<br />
my mom said we were going to have lunch at a special place, but she wouldn't tell us what it was.<br />
first though, we went to Brown vs. Board of Education Museum. it all started in Topeka, which none of us knew.<br />
but it was there, the museum in one of the schools that were involved in the case.<br />
the museum was really cool. we were only there for about a half hour, but that was plenty of time. we learned a lot about Brown vs. Board of Ed. you should definitely check it out if you ever go there. especially if your mom is a teacher like mine.<br />
we left the museum with a few postcards and a pencil for mei.<br />
it was pretty cool.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4E7EuMNLOHECG4aw0RccrKtbhQM93omHs40HjKbWQ3VP97PnvTVIZbAKXIXNFT3hhJRGa9wQ1_V0sJMeTQyO-hZVJkrXh-4fTwpZkOjswcClpeSX1kQQfYjMeqlJaO-oTrYcpa56u7V_A/s320/brown+vs+board+of+education+topeka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4E7EuMNLOHECG4aw0RccrKtbhQM93omHs40HjKbWQ3VP97PnvTVIZbAKXIXNFT3hhJRGa9wQ1_V0sJMeTQyO-hZVJkrXh-4fTwpZkOjswcClpeSX1kQQfYjMeqlJaO-oTrYcpa56u7V_A/s320/brown+vs+board+of+education+topeka.jpg" /></a></div>then we drove to Kansas City, Kansas, which isn't too far from Topeka, just an hour.<br />
so, the restaurant was called Fritz's, and it was closed. but there was another location in Kansas City, Mo. but my mom still wouldn't tell us what it was, which is annoying.<br />
we drove to the other Kansas City, and we it turned out, this one was in a mall.<br />
so we eventually found it, and it turns out Fritz's is a burger french fry type of place, otherwise known as fast food, but they do it a little differently.<br />
the way you get your food is that there's a train track near the top of the ceiling, and it has a little tray underneath it, which a basket is put on, which has your food inside. so the train goes on the track to your table, and the basket slides of onto this elevator, which brings the basket down to your table. also, you order on a phone which is at your table.<br />
the milkshakes are to die for, but an actual server brings that to your table.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimH7pXzPgKdkI5F1niR_6DrFHY_Guo81E-Lwgl1KvcVWG-rs4C0tS37yQtpJeuRXuOS5XT77rnHHe8ghxPydwp3cjk8wqZTh5j1D17hQbSLiUnkldfDwg8yXlarbbtt4bybEad4D00Pn2Q/s1600/IMG_0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimH7pXzPgKdkI5F1niR_6DrFHY_Guo81E-Lwgl1KvcVWG-rs4C0tS37yQtpJeuRXuOS5XT77rnHHe8ghxPydwp3cjk8wqZTh5j1D17hQbSLiUnkldfDwg8yXlarbbtt4bybEad4D00Pn2Q/s320/IMG_0575.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">people watching the trains</td></tr>
</tbody></table>mei was transfixed by the whole thing, but i was occupied with getting those awful hats off my parents. the rest was very cute though. and the burgers were good.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTJkiq1oobH82_QQ16hoBLzrF804Qpc1jcQqL1mrZU4HCnIrJUREvwsdi2V0hFRpF6SwKHkEKLBafTLVsQhoYeDUPy-UTs0gjp7WRdJiWr0KhbPL1NgjIwncadPhqDWPMzQa7t8ck5sn3/s1600/IMG_0566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTJkiq1oobH82_QQ16hoBLzrF804Qpc1jcQqL1mrZU4HCnIrJUREvwsdi2V0hFRpF6SwKHkEKLBafTLVsQhoYeDUPy-UTs0gjp7WRdJiWr0KhbPL1NgjIwncadPhqDWPMzQa7t8ck5sn3/s320/IMG_0566.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you can see just how happy i am</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqAcq28x9eTm_tM12wbvYcjfJOMceOBp6e8Rx0W9Q5cFX7vNEVMP9sT0yF29glLhh9r5zWiQU3-6sA7e2oqg8OiVgS-yewgotGWQ5OmuY5cfeNPBD64UhoI-dlukD9YbPTTyv0S2SViPgn/s1600/IMG_0564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqAcq28x9eTm_tM12wbvYcjfJOMceOBp6e8Rx0W9Q5cFX7vNEVMP9sT0yF29glLhh9r5zWiQU3-6sA7e2oqg8OiVgS-yewgotGWQ5OmuY5cfeNPBD64UhoI-dlukD9YbPTTyv0S2SViPgn/s320/IMG_0564.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">good god</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
we left that mall and drove to our next stop- St Louis, Missouri.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-19099778481168173252011-08-23T21:32:00.000-04:002011-08-23T21:32:49.667-04:00Denver, Colorado (ana)when we got to Denver, we checked into our hotel, yet another La Quinta.<br />
btw, those hotels are very nice, and it the price really depends on the location.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>we went into the room, and just hung out in the hotel, on the computer, taking much needed showers. allana, mei, mary, and my mom went down to the pool, and i wanted to shower.<br />
we got dressed, and went out to a mexican restaurant called <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Los Carboncitos, which my mom's coworker- Ms. M, recommended to us. it was really good food. i like the tortilla chips a lot. but that was fun, and they had a mariachi band, which was good, and they also had Spanish soap operas, and dancing and singing shows, which are so funny to watch.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">man, i love spanish soap operas.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYlXZ0YQKYPRbcJWF1peujjMc33GsHodjRiPDQIKotyAQBZpI19tfyenvC73mJ3mz2l0Kn7gFKpkPM5-C7j4jKjlQTDefWyONhmd6tD7w_d-t0Znr1qs2WP_bNTxNNPFWdaLHOL3ynn0D/s1600/IMG_0551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYlXZ0YQKYPRbcJWF1peujjMc33GsHodjRiPDQIKotyAQBZpI19tfyenvC73mJ3mz2l0Kn7gFKpkPM5-C7j4jKjlQTDefWyONhmd6tD7w_d-t0Znr1qs2WP_bNTxNNPFWdaLHOL3ynn0D/s320/IMG_0551.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">after that, we drove around denver, just checking things out. it seems like a really cool city, but for adults. it didn't seem all that kid friendly, from what we saw. but we did see a giant blue bear, and Union Station, so all that was fun.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA39CzEqQTGan0HqCGpycgQVsu1twnfteM5Ase2FCD2a3To33Y3FlruJDCWdiG1ujSEJZMCEtnZX2uhSMNoXM6ltK7-nMq2lABQ-A1iAbCLYyhyphenhyphenUbX07TSL9jWrg4Y7z1aCpB-UkPqFBkw/s1600/IMG_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA39CzEqQTGan0HqCGpycgQVsu1twnfteM5Ase2FCD2a3To33Y3FlruJDCWdiG1ujSEJZMCEtnZX2uhSMNoXM6ltK7-nMq2lABQ-A1iAbCLYyhyphenhyphenUbX07TSL9jWrg4Y7z1aCpB-UkPqFBkw/s320/IMG_0554.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">union station</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDW9s5gHphm5y_eBu43cdUOboNG-f-21UvnJ9Yv30zCrHz0qOwAH2_6ssYT2W9v3a-JmqoekJTxJAhG7zkoWlnexEephbghklzj9Q8shLU_O5-jjKFf2a3GNHX2JaNUTJEVJ-VOm92hfZ/s1600/IMG_0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDW9s5gHphm5y_eBu43cdUOboNG-f-21UvnJ9Yv30zCrHz0qOwAH2_6ssYT2W9v3a-JmqoekJTxJAhG7zkoWlnexEephbghklzj9Q8shLU_O5-jjKFf2a3GNHX2JaNUTJEVJ-VOm92hfZ/s320/IMG_0553.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this was in front of some museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">then we went back to the hotel, where allana and i got the floor (ack), and we got a good nights sleep.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">the next morning, we got up, and got dressed, and tried to look presentable to go downstairs for breakfast.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">the breakfast was good, and we had already it before, and we knew what we liked and didn't like. the chocolate muffins are good, even though you can probably get a cavity from just one.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://newculinaryideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Chocolate-Muffin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://newculinaryideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Chocolate-Muffin2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yum</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">we made a group decision. we were all starting to get a little homesick (except for my mom, who really doesn't care where she sleeps "as long as i'm with the people i love." yeah right), and we all wanted to get through corn country and rednecks as fast as we could. so, we decided to leave Denver asap, and drive through the rest of Colorado and all of Kansas, to Topeka. it's about 8 and a half hours, more or less. it seemed a little shorter.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">we passed through all these rich skiing towns, where stars like Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz vacation (thank you Google), and there was this one rest stop where we got out to pee that had white water rafting (that was the place where we couldn't find the bathrooms, and ended up on the roof of the joint).</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.celebitchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/wenn5452493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.celebitchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/wenn5452493.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> miss ski town chick</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">but we had liked Denver, even if we were there for less than a day.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">snap, chocolate muffins are good.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-86218819569694166722011-08-20T10:54:00.000-04:002011-08-20T10:54:31.250-04:00Colorado National Monutment, Colorado (ana)-Grand Junction, Colorado<br />
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRiMp0M8lgdCU2UgSH0JrkAO8Z5BqImQVJ54zx9QHAtLEpCTBe8mx2m2t0ULD8mtC8fazMTQodjeA6y9adBN16RoxkEaM_AlvVE8pRJ4KU_ubAb1vsbKi7GY0gIWOwLwijHcTDgbWG7AZ/s1600/IMG_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRiMp0M8lgdCU2UgSH0JrkAO8Z5BqImQVJ54zx9QHAtLEpCTBe8mx2m2t0ULD8mtC8fazMTQodjeA6y9adBN16RoxkEaM_AlvVE8pRJ4KU_ubAb1vsbKi7GY0gIWOwLwijHcTDgbWG7AZ/s320/IMG_0521.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hehe, colorfu</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIBHmzqImpgtPm5NyiRoM6nRQZYmAIVj83uIgstqurVRnW6FBUOYRM5oTJhyphenhyphenoWfZW08yBZ4jpAZvXqqUPNYNApsfgCHF0g76grSHUv5rwQ-Hkjp0EGqnc35eeDDyX2PQFhky4wYS_vWre/s1600/IMG_0525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIBHmzqImpgtPm5NyiRoM6nRQZYmAIVj83uIgstqurVRnW6FBUOYRM5oTJhyphenhyphenoWfZW08yBZ4jpAZvXqqUPNYNApsfgCHF0g76grSHUv5rwQ-Hkjp0EGqnc35eeDDyX2PQFhky4wYS_vWre/s320/IMG_0525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">next to us on our drive</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHxQBZkmSPG0j8kFnWl2IChFpbPzM3t2ZcuAgCwjL6XRWrkY1EYY9P4scj7O1wsfMdH6qekhEDl6YWFkjwG14ynfDNyikqYsnoHeEb7is2hfbXC4rE-nRrCsggcoPKPd9NUtAZsJ_KuDg/s1600/IMG_0520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHxQBZkmSPG0j8kFnWl2IChFpbPzM3t2ZcuAgCwjL6XRWrkY1EYY9P4scj7O1wsfMdH6qekhEDl6YWFkjwG14ynfDNyikqYsnoHeEb7is2hfbXC4rE-nRrCsggcoPKPd9NUtAZsJ_KuDg/s320/IMG_0520.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view forever</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we drove into colorado through a desert.<br />
i wrote a few postcards to some friends, and we continued onto Grand Junction, Colorado.<br />
we were looking around in amazement. there aren't many deserts in New Jersey.<br />
and i don't think any of us have ever seen one, at least, us kids haven't that's for sure. well, maybe Bolivia, but that's a different story.<br />
so my mom finds this one place, call the Colorado National Monument. none of us have ever heard of it, but the pictures she shows us on my dad's IPhone, it looks amazing.<br />
so we're driving along this nicely paved road, following directions, when these giant mountains loom in front of us. they're not the snow-capped type. these are flat on the top, and red and dusty. desert mountains.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFGAKjLRBxMOby3NL3A40xc2SeqIdVrf_cjlwN9EjrBdwCYxEn6UUAFZ8BwZa77CVXF9MTS4Aw4HsGmib38ZMhxnvdMNdS-EMUZJrqhDfvfuV4UiM3A361qXY51eyRwKudYEublg9SFKU/s1600/IMG_0531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFGAKjLRBxMOby3NL3A40xc2SeqIdVrf_cjlwN9EjrBdwCYxEn6UUAFZ8BwZa77CVXF9MTS4Aw4HsGmib38ZMhxnvdMNdS-EMUZJrqhDfvfuV4UiM3A361qXY51eyRwKudYEublg9SFKU/s320/IMG_0531.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is what we were driving next to</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we go up to where the little booth is, ask if there's vacancy (which there is), and start driving up the mountains.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeBTEICrg-pfFpIw3zhQ3l50VoM-L_lWOieHBxY6INz2OEHtE82JeuapILmYrzeOxX8m7xUG3c6q7Laz0cSBIvQ9IK-lV_y9fIwi294PZwLWT9TWd0tQMxq8s1BqLFy-mWfMTKTnCf8sx/s1600/IMG_0526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeBTEICrg-pfFpIw3zhQ3l50VoM-L_lWOieHBxY6INz2OEHtE82JeuapILmYrzeOxX8m7xUG3c6q7Laz0cSBIvQ9IK-lV_y9fIwi294PZwLWT9TWd0tQMxq8s1BqLFy-mWfMTKTnCf8sx/s320/IMG_0526.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is him making us all scream from the car</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXHXjDSDIdcnssIQqlujRXIZaePjn903cc_qt1AprVccpY4QUDxDiFkSRDJNYaN-_CbTUGVtBHPrXQ3n5cM1ZkEcvaolV6kgolMf6v0LfwFzU80x2E0PcdL_nqrIJnjwvefZBRvAjLjiz/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXHXjDSDIdcnssIQqlujRXIZaePjn903cc_qt1AprVccpY4QUDxDiFkSRDJNYaN-_CbTUGVtBHPrXQ3n5cM1ZkEcvaolV6kgolMf6v0LfwFzU80x2E0PcdL_nqrIJnjwvefZBRvAjLjiz/s320/IMG_0529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pretty picture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>that in itself is an adventure.<br />
these mountains go straight down, to the land below. and even though the roads are very nice, there's not a whole lot of railing on it, so you pretty much always are about to fall off the edge. and that would really ruin the whole vacation.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChlm14XqT9ERsepJT1se7no10txL35Kcuv1PJMmYtiHzG7wP3chEsZJIDe7gho4Nqhh_EL1XcBEyIQE3bg4_X9PsrHzthfAsNJxjDlJNoPJJB_FdEzAuKAZiUsRrZVM_YXUdzGyXrgWFV/s1600/IMG_2661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChlm14XqT9ERsepJT1se7no10txL35Kcuv1PJMmYtiHzG7wP3chEsZJIDe7gho4Nqhh_EL1XcBEyIQE3bg4_X9PsrHzthfAsNJxjDlJNoPJJB_FdEzAuKAZiUsRrZVM_YXUdzGyXrgWFV/s320/IMG_2661.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fat rocks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>thankfully, we finally managed to get to the top without dying, and we went to check the campsites out. we were looking for shade, and somewhere close to bathrooms and water. we found one that had a pump near it, and the bathroom a short walk up a hill. and it had a tree that provided shade, and man was it hot outside.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZG52ZP6UrxNu7R5DxE-0xXz8bMAyNpaUk_zmlR2hT1ctjszLILuDef8Lj_iAvxvF7FYNU4kMw_qNUDjy528KoPkr4GLmt_zyeMoTsti06PnH_G99Aiqvz9hZbtv-W8paS0keTXlrc3Of/s1600/IMG_0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZG52ZP6UrxNu7R5DxE-0xXz8bMAyNpaUk_zmlR2hT1ctjszLILuDef8Lj_iAvxvF7FYNU4kMw_qNUDjy528KoPkr4GLmt_zyeMoTsti06PnH_G99Aiqvz9hZbtv-W8paS0keTXlrc3Of/s320/IMG_0547.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pretty view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after we registered for our campsite, we went to the education center (of course). we roamed around a little bit, but it was small, and i had looked at everything in a span of 10 minutes. i did learn about the different kinds of rocks that Colorado National Monument is made of, so that was kind of cool.<br />
we went outside and took a few pictures with the incredible background.<br />
then we went to Grand Junction, which is the city near Co. National Monument. we drove around a bit, and then we saw signs for a farmer's market. we went to that, and it turned out to be really fun. we tried out all types of food, and we got to get shaved ice, which was refreshing.<br />
my dad got this chili thing for his dinner, because the entire trip he was begging for it, but we never got the chance to make it.<br />
there was this bellydancing thing, and we watched a little bit of that. also, there was a live band, but they weren't all that great.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupuV2Cox-CEdZKXSX9yFuLcqY_G3rw_eKVAD-RTHbTNkRU8vf4Td9bS4GwvSY1wutbJmFxZFRo1NzyaAi4vcoG-oPdqsmLyUPik5Qq5LJrXnHzI_CsOXiW8pIw1tnc9s2omrK5C5sr_FS/s1600/IMG_2669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupuV2Cox-CEdZKXSX9yFuLcqY_G3rw_eKVAD-RTHbTNkRU8vf4Td9bS4GwvSY1wutbJmFxZFRo1NzyaAi4vcoG-oPdqsmLyUPik5Qq5LJrXnHzI_CsOXiW8pIw1tnc9s2omrK5C5sr_FS/s320/IMG_2669.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i was mad at mary when i took this picture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>and there were all these weird sculptures all over the place, which was pretty random.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcAtkwzHqxtXRXFMEtAvMQqrB7ugkB0fGEeIpHWClspO5aoXedfl8fKqYigA9-0R3_DLxA-7-5X556RRYpzvRW93KHF-RKWQmktp5fjpNWMiuX2rJAKA2yQXA-EZX9vK2VcvIDAJvlTFJ/s1600/IMG_2670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcAtkwzHqxtXRXFMEtAvMQqrB7ugkB0fGEeIpHWClspO5aoXedfl8fKqYigA9-0R3_DLxA-7-5X556RRYpzvRW93KHF-RKWQmktp5fjpNWMiuX2rJAKA2yQXA-EZX9vK2VcvIDAJvlTFJ/s320/IMG_2670.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this was the first sculpture i saw, and i was a little disturbed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>so all in all, we all really liked Grand Junction, and we were glad that we went.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGSLmgsBAdAI37xVnpRpWHeQtG0u15DULywaDp7zXGJCPzwoSq6vGfHF3delnmDDlZN8IpdU3PpabDLABdIFqElQSXNjdeeYqBVRtF7zB-9x0mV-0avWefEVSKPyguTln-V2xxLl7Uk2v/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGSLmgsBAdAI37xVnpRpWHeQtG0u15DULywaDp7zXGJCPzwoSq6vGfHF3delnmDDlZN8IpdU3PpabDLABdIFqElQSXNjdeeYqBVRtF7zB-9x0mV-0avWefEVSKPyguTln-V2xxLl7Uk2v/s320/IMG_0534.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the tent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we took the perilous drive up the mountains again, and then set up the tent. for some reason, it was acting weirdly, and we had to set it up and take it down 1 or 2 times. now it chooses to be annoying, in this heat. really.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNfhOwERj1OC-5ao44J7KTiT9t5eXvgocpA4NPzPdF6kpl96Z543OhywsKRiEbK1MD1evQYs4b3tjN7qOQ4lw04Mfzt31S_RUuUvOWlyb-2Ew1_U5d8Cw7vOM_6ukLqSHmvlvMOq4kqZb/s1600/IMG_2678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNfhOwERj1OC-5ao44J7KTiT9t5eXvgocpA4NPzPdF6kpl96Z543OhywsKRiEbK1MD1evQYs4b3tjN7qOQ4lw04Mfzt31S_RUuUvOWlyb-2Ew1_U5d8Cw7vOM_6ukLqSHmvlvMOq4kqZb/s320/IMG_2678.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">setting up the tent in the boiling heat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we finally decided that whatever, we'll just be careful with it, then sat down to have dinner. mac&cheese is always a good option.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0GSlItJYajPtjDwR-kkxA8vKBtToFtOIFDd5B-qD2SYoerkw6uHCL3HbTELOSEJ-UI8U-v_Dd7cIICGG-Cc9IXtQMfJPOZwHta1a1qYnmHBkfxm-_DG_u9YG1-Va6bQwVF-2FeuPEvpq/s1600/IMG_0538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0GSlItJYajPtjDwR-kkxA8vKBtToFtOIFDd5B-qD2SYoerkw6uHCL3HbTELOSEJ-UI8U-v_Dd7cIICGG-Cc9IXtQMfJPOZwHta1a1qYnmHBkfxm-_DG_u9YG1-Va6bQwVF-2FeuPEvpq/s320/IMG_0538.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary and allana before dinner, playing a hand game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>then we got ready for bed, went to the restroom, brushed our teeth, ect. i was the only one to change into pajamas though. my mom and mei slept in dresses, and the rest of them in shorts and shirts. well, that's camping for you. you aren't the cleanest person.<br />
the next morning, we got up a little later than usual, and my dad told us about that he saw a scorpion before he went for his run this morning. again, it was like bolivia.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5Y0Sc3uOPR6bOJAOfVfp7IKguCLShe841bSBCzIhyth_fzHYgTKJvd85CATH_etrMUeQ5x_67ubkojKY1v4DXU9eflZfahkDs_bLOkRFZKGW0Ijb2_CyVuPcyhBUS4aue6yh1UZ1qgVP/s1600/IMG_0545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5Y0Sc3uOPR6bOJAOfVfp7IKguCLShe841bSBCzIhyth_fzHYgTKJvd85CATH_etrMUeQ5x_67ubkojKY1v4DXU9eflZfahkDs_bLOkRFZKGW0Ijb2_CyVuPcyhBUS4aue6yh1UZ1qgVP/s320/IMG_0545.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the scorpion next to my dad's foot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>then we packed up camp, and drove down to Serpent's Trail, a trail where my mom wanted to go walking on for 20 minutes or so.<br />
since we were at the top of the park, and Serpent's Trail was at the bottom, we got one last chance to admire the beauty of Colorado National Monument.<br />
it really is amazing.<br />
you should try to go before you die. even if you live across the world, it's worth it.<br />
we got to Serpent's Trail, went walking, which you have to look down to not fall of the side of the cliff.<br />
it was fun though, but it was ho, so it was nice to go back to an air-conditioned car.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeiAm6B_aEQkqzwFg5Lf_WIvBEeaS97RgwsuFnaZ8R3s7Og2wF04CgfDS9sh-VNjBamrKy6WkXO5xhV36kTv2okUeEZcmqLfza1BJbx_i42PYh77R_1WFjmEWQrEFwUPS8VZaf4WYg0_e/s1600/IMG_2717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeiAm6B_aEQkqzwFg5Lf_WIvBEeaS97RgwsuFnaZ8R3s7Og2wF04CgfDS9sh-VNjBamrKy6WkXO5xhV36kTv2okUeEZcmqLfza1BJbx_i42PYh77R_1WFjmEWQrEFwUPS8VZaf4WYg0_e/s320/IMG_2717.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my sweaty family</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we left the Colorado National Monument for Denver, Colorado.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-13187127143006504442011-08-15T14:13:00.000-04:002011-08-15T14:13:39.551-04:00Willard Bay, Utah (ana)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgHljWdYyc_jB1pouV-EcdoXtalM1Y3fVl-Om-TKwgc_HpDJyQc0KEsVUhifTI161L21Npr77wemtYvSWyz3o7gbdEGRy166TDDH_fq7Jz1OboGuG09xCKpAM367kEl4bsKcgPGMVkCDa/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgHljWdYyc_jB1pouV-EcdoXtalM1Y3fVl-Om-TKwgc_HpDJyQc0KEsVUhifTI161L21Npr77wemtYvSWyz3o7gbdEGRy166TDDH_fq7Jz1OboGuG09xCKpAM367kEl4bsKcgPGMVkCDa/s320/IMG_0499.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">welcome to utah!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98MZn-2PwSpKGWsIE7_hI0rfnRRwXe47DBAxlzxAMQnZhys2wbhxAwW2sW-hyD2Db_RZWhoVTVHIxpRhQvP-QYByXX8kFaRk8MOV1CQ2eDmPDxxiBY6xX4JgVZnAOQyYqy2hIZ7bRAdUC/s1600/IMG_0500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98MZn-2PwSpKGWsIE7_hI0rfnRRwXe47DBAxlzxAMQnZhys2wbhxAwW2sW-hyD2Db_RZWhoVTVHIxpRhQvP-QYByXX8kFaRk8MOV1CQ2eDmPDxxiBY6xX4JgVZnAOQyYqy2hIZ7bRAdUC/s320/IMG_0500.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a guy we saw who is waving to us. we think this is a 700 horsepower</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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after driving through the bottom part of idaho, and most of utah, we went arrived at Willard Bay, Utah, which is right outside of Salt Lake City. our campground is actually on a bay of the great salt lake.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCjjFUaQE_eQ0c3blzJkdw5HL3CLp8hbjeZb0b0mTUTWmkPSz7C2UHjyEcoW87rpgo4iMitevCrYc2wiUTtXMHWUvgaivtuBzmjBxyPnpjIdJBnpczFaHSkR30SppX_A9BNe-X-qrDdh0/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCjjFUaQE_eQ0c3blzJkdw5HL3CLp8hbjeZb0b0mTUTWmkPSz7C2UHjyEcoW87rpgo4iMitevCrYc2wiUTtXMHWUvgaivtuBzmjBxyPnpjIdJBnpczFaHSkR30SppX_A9BNe-X-qrDdh0/s320/IMG_0505.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of our site</td></tr>
</tbody></table>so we got there and set up our tent. our site was huge. it was shaded in one part, where we put the tent, and sunny in the other part. the utah sun is rough. you can feel yourself getting burned.<br />
so, we set up camp, had dinner, which was really good, and then my dad went to the town to see if a bar had the Man. United game, and we went swimming.<br />
well, kind of swimming. it's more like wading in your bathing suits. but it was nice, and we got to watch the sunset over the lake, which was beautiful. like, amazing.<br />
we finished up, dried off, and walked back not on the main drive, but on a dirt path that we hoped would lead out to an entry by our campsite. well, we were walking for a little longer than we would have thought it would be, but it turned out, it was the right path, and as we walked up to the site, my dad drove up. the United match hadn't been on at the bar, which was annoying.<br />
we all got into the tent, and fell asleep.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdujDSIM-RiPDiR_Iqc6Ky0w-AZmr02emyu8KbEejqJ00GpxHTslzvenW3XPB6u5PIORgjR9GbUqVyP55kQW1GJNWwmCz725OQXnxb1Ia1EbUJt7ZVFpIxUP4nVm-VKvQJak6IGe-ovE9/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdujDSIM-RiPDiR_Iqc6Ky0w-AZmr02emyu8KbEejqJ00GpxHTslzvenW3XPB6u5PIORgjR9GbUqVyP55kQW1GJNWwmCz725OQXnxb1Ia1EbUJt7ZVFpIxUP4nVm-VKvQJak6IGe-ovE9/s320/IMG_0504.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us reading in the tent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>the next morning, we had breakfast, got ready, and left Willard Bay.<br />
we drove through Salt Lake City on our way to Grand Junction, Colorado.<br />
a cool thing was that we kept on seeing these giant white letters on the side of the mountain.<br />
we figured they spelled Brigham Young, because the letters we saw all fit. and the mormon temple is in Salt Lake City. i thought i saw it on a hill (a giant castle), but i wasn't sure.<br />
the rest of utah was the desert. most of our drive we saw no civilization.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKM8kupuAsf0DqV2SavJoRcM_qWDTj8UofgKrnXrpOpCF3S8mbVojrQGGQWZQES4aDY6n0qnRaeK9ttxmRVqSeuGAX7TzAqvgQ5PdFQ-EasFyA-TymGmxfuxFmJRHnEa9uXGzx0OtRod7h/s1600/IMG_0511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKM8kupuAsf0DqV2SavJoRcM_qWDTj8UofgKrnXrpOpCF3S8mbVojrQGGQWZQES4aDY6n0qnRaeK9ttxmRVqSeuGAX7TzAqvgQ5PdFQ-EasFyA-TymGmxfuxFmJRHnEa9uXGzx0OtRod7h/s320/IMG_0511.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view for most of utah</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.commercialappeal.com/media/img/photos/2008/01/16/17signs_t300.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.commercialappeal.com/media/img/photos/2008/01/16/17signs_t300.jpeg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is what my dad was imatating</td></tr>
</tbody></table>that is except for a Wendy's where this little girl was hugging everyone, and became like best friends with my mom. and then there was this man who went into the bathroom, even though someone was already there, and stayed there. that wendy's was... colorful.<span id="goog_1143532978"></span><span id="goog_1143532979"></span><br />
then there was this one way road where we had to wait for 10 minutes or so, and we were second in line out of maybe 50 cars, and my dad got out and did his special transmission dance. god. we even have a video to prove it, but it's not going on the internet. not in a million years. but the video has lady gaga, mary screaming, allana laughing hysterically, me yelling, and mei laughing and crying at the same time. it's interesting.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-37938180218893087802011-08-05T17:34:00.000-04:002011-08-05T17:34:59.714-04:00Farewell Bend, Oregon (allana)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 418.5pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9UxqpC7Q9N_pFAMkY0WvHz4iHa80psKMaNPBQA_f-vSqdOunYrOrqx72f6bSVYGqCqoZra9aEVai2oMH8P2d7n_Ifrx_8hISZvkkHynNC8mriLuhBU0Nh7D6w2sMpFwOibFdProOi1W3/s1600/IMG_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9UxqpC7Q9N_pFAMkY0WvHz4iHa80psKMaNPBQA_f-vSqdOunYrOrqx72f6bSVYGqCqoZra9aEVai2oMH8P2d7n_Ifrx_8hISZvkkHynNC8mriLuhBU0Nh7D6w2sMpFwOibFdProOi1W3/s320/IMG_0481.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">rainbow on our drive</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeWIIhmq3PwP1d8Bj-TKPsksy8t_3gb7KraF__cwYSBPnGABHKNNH2JrLft-jetIqA7cJP6p_wFhA-Jn9aVND2iubY_BOxmFVUf0hEnyajreyuUv0d4Zwqn6-6VUMWYnXcWX2fHNxymvj/s1600/IMG_0486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeWIIhmq3PwP1d8Bj-TKPsksy8t_3gb7KraF__cwYSBPnGABHKNNH2JrLft-jetIqA7cJP6p_wFhA-Jn9aVND2iubY_BOxmFVUf0hEnyajreyuUv0d4Zwqn6-6VUMWYnXcWX2fHNxymvj/s320/IMG_0486.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6BgCLsCFhDZZjpove93Fva7Gsb9DvLSA4MCFH0xEG0ZKele0S0Dudt0y6fZa-_rG3c-lBOlyJh7vDE7BVRNsm8DwqVS-NztTU1znB6lnnRBirhk6zroxzGdcL9rI5t_vEFe7EfOPAEWq/s1600/IMG_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6BgCLsCFhDZZjpove93Fva7Gsb9DvLSA4MCFH0xEG0ZKele0S0Dudt0y6fZa-_rG3c-lBOlyJh7vDE7BVRNsm8DwqVS-NztTU1znB6lnnRBirhk6zroxzGdcL9rI5t_vEFe7EfOPAEWq/s320/IMG_0491.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">old sign</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Now, this place was a good place to camp, but the only problem was their was TOO many bugs that it was unbearable. We can take bugs but these bugs were to much . Every second their was a bug coming towards you. The sight was beautiful and we were right next to the Snake River. What was amazing about where we were was that just on the other side of the river there was a hour time difference, and we never had that experience before. During the day we also went into town to get a couple of ice pops to eat on our ride back to the campsite. In the morning we headed to Idaho which was a few minutes away.</span></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-40082511318701648612011-08-05T17:13:00.001-04:002011-08-05T17:13:28.139-04:00Portland, Oregon: Day 1, Day 2 & Day 3. ( allana )<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 418.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After leaving Seattle, we headed for Portland with Matthew, Doreen, Kaitryn, and Eamon behind us. The drive was 2 and a half hours and we spent it by reading books, listening to music off the iTouch, and Mary and Mei watched movies. Throughout the drive the two vans would pull up on the side of each other just to say hello to each other. When we arrived at The Kennedy School Hotel we all took a look at the rooms to see which one we would be sleeping in. When we figured out which one we would be staying in (Me, Ana, & Kaitryn) we figured out who would get the beds. It was the King bed for me and Kaitryn one night and The King bed for Ana and Kaitryn one night. (It was only right that Kaitryn got the King bed both nights since she allowed us to stay in her room for 3 nights). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 418.5pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMdqpTN6A3gkz2wJIweEQkD3WWsaqi9zoLR-i-Yj0yyX-MMreYIVVkucXGstg7KwzKD1YE04Snu1tEfdJqJ_iFbEP5YThD-YMd4rD8eNC80j463nex6O5ecudZdQJsFlKelN7fIK4Zt2z/s1600/IMG_2556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMdqpTN6A3gkz2wJIweEQkD3WWsaqi9zoLR-i-Yj0yyX-MMreYIVVkucXGstg7KwzKD1YE04Snu1tEfdJqJ_iFbEP5YThD-YMd4rD8eNC80j463nex6O5ecudZdQJsFlKelN7fIK4Zt2z/s320/IMG_2556.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kaitryn and allana at 12:30 am</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When everyone was settled down we all decided that we should get in the soaking pool. We all got changed and met in the pool with the rest of the family. We stayed in the pool for a while until it was time for us to have dinner. We got dried off and showered and got ready to watch a movie. But when we got to the movie theater at the hotel we found out that the movie was sold out. So instead we walked a few blocks up and a few blocks over from were we were staying and went to a restaurant called ‘Vita Café‘. (They had delicious food. My Cesar salad was amazing, but not recommended if you’re a meat lover, it’s a vegetarian and vegan joint). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIUG-89E3wBKduFnsr8QppmFLvq5fjmaowTHv3Q5bmdwFHWLi8uYEP61XO6i4tICGFlEHlVNPATuVVE7eJVDCIi7zeT8tcSRefdDC7UhF7i6fb6-SjWJBdar8E3dkKFzDCOg-D7qYbscI/s1600/IMG_0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIUG-89E3wBKduFnsr8QppmFLvq5fjmaowTHv3Q5bmdwFHWLi8uYEP61XO6i4tICGFlEHlVNPATuVVE7eJVDCIi7zeT8tcSRefdDC7UhF7i6fb6-SjWJBdar8E3dkKFzDCOg-D7qYbscI/s320/IMG_0461.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ana and mei outside Vita Cafe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Soon after see walked back to the hotel and got prepared for bed. Ana, Kaitryn, and I stayed up a little late watching videos which affected us the next day because we were all kind of sleepy. </span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-l4_QLgYCg2qDPwQJyGNckMpoFVbA5OBcwdbB2dUKqRQ-0Ix1lWB-bPy5eoOW8cJEvQ_Ok6FXvYvWjzf8w7PfBG-nPZRigDAmtaABsrDRYMYx7haB7x1M5mOIJGWNoa8NmfzeKdNJjal/s1600/IMG_2570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-l4_QLgYCg2qDPwQJyGNckMpoFVbA5OBcwdbB2dUKqRQ-0Ix1lWB-bPy5eoOW8cJEvQ_Ok6FXvYvWjzf8w7PfBG-nPZRigDAmtaABsrDRYMYx7haB7x1M5mOIJGWNoa8NmfzeKdNJjal/s320/IMG_2570.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">biscuts<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the morning we went out for biscuits (Ana`s obsession). Most people order egg, cheese and some type of meat, and others ordered biscuit with jelly. (THIS BISCUIT PLACE ‘Pine State Biscuit’ IS HIGLY RECOMMENDED!) (side note, ana here: biscuts are the most amazing food on earth and it's not fair that they're none in Bergen County. so if anyone from Pine State Biscuts is reading this right now, i'm telling you to open one in N.J. i can't go another 3 years without them. just saying)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 418.5pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTGHvVAAKwctwj-tjEZVMdWuRdq3YExga5-5ztzJxZnuCDE5ehKsr3-6I504VcXbQAKkAzVzyuk1OjYOplKjkNbogB7TvLFkqOhaRJ8GANBgT36kZOCyIHNbkrdK93jqITitHu9IMMHm6/s1600/IMG_2571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTGHvVAAKwctwj-tjEZVMdWuRdq3YExga5-5ztzJxZnuCDE5ehKsr3-6I504VcXbQAKkAzVzyuk1OjYOplKjkNbogB7TvLFkqOhaRJ8GANBgT36kZOCyIHNbkrdK93jqITitHu9IMMHm6/s320/IMG_2571.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the biscut shop</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We sat outside the store and ate our biscuits in peace. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After everyone was done eating we went to Washington Park. While Mary and Mei were playing in the park being watched by Andrew, Ms.Armstrong, Ana, Kaitryn, Doreen, Matthew, Eamon, and I went to the rose garden to see all the different types of roses. The roses there was incredibly beautiful and the aroma of the roses were so appealing. We walked around the entire rose garden and admired the flowers that we saw. When we were done we meet up with Andrew, Mei, and Mary, and waited around while some of the people went in the gift shop. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIwyiLo1R5RFLiTbggO9lna7msbRzSb-5BSnyTUQ7q7TpT7Mou-lwDRuIFpFH37I1IhDx3P3h1V-ITpvXVLawmBWQ4zi6n5s7G-hEZo_MjlfAnpzAsJeNf6dvLDJksjajTn7hLshvSV7q/s1600/IMG_0465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIwyiLo1R5RFLiTbggO9lna7msbRzSb-5BSnyTUQ7q7TpT7Mou-lwDRuIFpFH37I1IhDx3P3h1V-ITpvXVLawmBWQ4zi6n5s7G-hEZo_MjlfAnpzAsJeNf6dvLDJksjajTn7hLshvSV7q/s320/IMG_0465.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">voodoo doughnuts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after, we went to Powell's Books, where everyone got 2 or 3 books. Kaitryn got like 5 or 6. then we went to Voodoo Doughnuts where they have really weird types of doughnuts. and names. so, this is where eamon had really wanted to go, after seeing a Food Network thing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdSfaZPhyphenhyphenK5rwt2kyok8ewKdHJOwiLIL6bQNlcsQZqTuJd87ISTK2KnJDQDEXYrnkBQGKDfPLilPVd8hKYiVnV23yeiRDQ_DhxKrIK3XDDOLxWJCTozzSDcZNZFvJPvEkFAcmdOYX-jix/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdSfaZPhyphenhyphenK5rwt2kyok8ewKdHJOwiLIL6bQNlcsQZqTuJd87ISTK2KnJDQDEXYrnkBQGKDfPLilPVd8hKYiVnV23yeiRDQ_DhxKrIK3XDDOLxWJCTozzSDcZNZFvJPvEkFAcmdOYX-jix/s320/IMG_0476.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exterior of the kennedy school</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu01bNovU-qipbpc06jf1qC3RlHvBLvR4ko5VPFk2OZWQXt6if2qYBbZ-1P0422nP5d-3ZN9h2vAbg_2a0uYkyzSTatOHGMac-2fkOVpjweaomNYsO9h3wfAesnFx2mYyVdGbTd-WsY0Qj/s1600/IMG_0464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu01bNovU-qipbpc06jf1qC3RlHvBLvR4ko5VPFk2OZWQXt6if2qYBbZ-1P0422nP5d-3ZN9h2vAbg_2a0uYkyzSTatOHGMac-2fkOVpjweaomNYsO9h3wfAesnFx2mYyVdGbTd-WsY0Qj/s320/IMG_0464.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you got that right</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> When they come back we went back to the hotel and went in the soaking tub for about 20 minutes. We decided to get out early so we can have seats for the movie. We all arrived in the movie theater and watched the film ‘Kung Fu Panda’. When the movie was over we went to a restaurant called. ‘Laughing Planet’, a Mexican Restaurant, were they serve amazing food. It was so delicious, everyone would recommend this place to eat because they had amazing service and even more amazing food. Dinner was done and we got back to the hotel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 418.5pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMxy-VsVoYBniHlQjFPyrCnNB1srO9L31ICf380c0IEloPriecUCsTNIZuDRlx8bvv45k-Mz7JQMiAPijrQEXPR_KWW2NPIQ2FK4-JGOCnw-z-TQBct0CJ5ZHEBtq9WBF8zlGk9aPQgo5/s1600/IMG_0479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMxy-VsVoYBniHlQjFPyrCnNB1srO9L31ICf380c0IEloPriecUCsTNIZuDRlx8bvv45k-Mz7JQMiAPijrQEXPR_KWW2NPIQ2FK4-JGOCnw-z-TQBct0CJ5ZHEBtq9WBF8zlGk9aPQgo5/s320/IMG_0479.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">matthew and andrew</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Just like the other night we stayed up watching video , but this time we minused 2 hours. When we woke up the next morning, we realized that it would be our last day together. In the morning we got our things pack and loaded it into the van. For breakfast we ate at ‘The Tin Shed ‘were they had great French Toast, and amazing fresh fruit. They also had good tea and fresh hot coffee. Everybody enjoyed their breakfast that morning and after everyone was done we all depart the store and met up near the cars. While everyone was around we all said our goodbyes and gave hugs and kisses. It was a sad moment but in the end everyone was happy they saw each other. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 418.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Before we knew it we were leaving Portland and going to Farewell Bend, Oregon.</span></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-40282063209232937312011-08-05T17:13:00.000-04:002011-08-05T17:13:12.034-04:00Seattle, Washington (ana)A little background info. Uncle Matthew is my dad’s younger brother, and he’s a cop. Aunt Doreen is a second grade teacher at the local school. Kaitryn is 13, and going into her freshman year of high school. Eamon is 11, and going into sixth grade. So we had a freshman, an eighth grader, a seventh grader, a sixth grader, a fourth grader, and a second grader in one house. Definitely an adventure.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">We arrived in Snoqualmie at around 6:00 pm. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories at the table. I spit out my orange juice at something that I probably shouldn’t mention on the Internet. Hehe. Let’s just say, Eamon got some interesting advice from my dad.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkKapdXYVTD6MQcaQYiDRUtzlEqyaFE0mdXzD1-FIPxZAJFgw5kusIj_QCdVFUqzZurFjhCj6xZL4MnM1y-XmC91V4K6lWZ8Kg9CvtNIuhKEfIvmktGPxRPhSgxbpcU9eC9BDK24hRB1p/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkKapdXYVTD6MQcaQYiDRUtzlEqyaFE0mdXzD1-FIPxZAJFgw5kusIj_QCdVFUqzZurFjhCj6xZL4MnM1y-XmC91V4K6lWZ8Kg9CvtNIuhKEfIvmktGPxRPhSgxbpcU9eC9BDK24hRB1p/s320/IMG_0458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(clockwise) mary, eamon, kaitryn, matthew, andrew, mei, doreen, and allana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Allana and I crashed in Kaitryn’s room for the night, me on the trundle, Allana on the cot. We stayed up till 1:30 in the morning, talking and laughing, and getting up for the occasional bathroom break. It was a lot of fun.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day we hung around, watching TV, going on the computer, watching TV, eating lunch, checking my email, watching TV… You get the point.</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a while, our parents were getting frustrated, so they made us all get up and go see Snoqualimie Falls, which is taller than Niagara.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dEo6HlX9UPyVyrTqKbn7uczxp1Us6GMvoWuiselhIyYp7mXDFFpdoaqIhNruMtadGkcTHOowpWWA9qP7OrvytqA-UJcFTzm6pMdiL8DrViNRSe41pGjHP2SXzz55gfATQbo2Xm5h-woa/s1600/IMG_2542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dEo6HlX9UPyVyrTqKbn7uczxp1Us6GMvoWuiselhIyYp7mXDFFpdoaqIhNruMtadGkcTHOowpWWA9qP7OrvytqA-UJcFTzm6pMdiL8DrViNRSe41pGjHP2SXzz55gfATQbo2Xm5h-woa/s320/IMG_2542.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">unattractive picture at the falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was pretty cool, but it was drizzeling, and I was in flip-flops (which I consider to be useful April-November), and I slipped and grabbed Kaitryn, and some old man with his dog laughed at me! Right in my face! Have some tact, dude.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL7EIaZbK3D8NVuKdW3_uSPW5vo69XIKBVzeLip5blf9UM-iP9k1zHGLh9oDjhNbRmLOuUY2M0kh0K6WB7JpRlsW66sUEEm4oeFw3Szhrq1Tn2Bd09IVIB5CI92lwmDoLFSgrk2zGD4Uu/s1600/IMG_2541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL7EIaZbK3D8NVuKdW3_uSPW5vo69XIKBVzeLip5blf9UM-iP9k1zHGLh9oDjhNbRmLOuUY2M0kh0K6WB7JpRlsW66sUEEm4oeFw3Szhrq1Tn2Bd09IVIB5CI92lwmDoLFSgrk2zGD4Uu/s320/IMG_2541.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anyway, Falls were nice; we were there for about 10 minutes, and then after we went to Starbucks, where Kaitryn ordered Allana a vanilla bean frappacino. She was addicted. And yes, I’m blaming you Kaitryn, because every time we see a Starbucks (which is a lot) Allana gasps, and goes on and on about how good it was. I myself stuck with a scone and an Izze. </div><div class="MsoNormal">We went back to their house, and just plopped down on the couch again. Matthew, Doe, my mom and dad went to see Horrible Bosses, which is supposed to be absolutely hilarious. </div><div class="MsoNormal">We watched some more MTV, and then when the parents came home, went to bed. Again, we stayed up till 12:30 or so reading Seventeen Magazine, and chatting a bit. Watching six or seven hours of TV really wears you out. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day, we went into Seattle, and Allana and I got switched to Uncle Matthew’s car while Eamon got forced into the van. I feel for him.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We went to Pike’s Market, which we all love, and walked around there for a while. My mom and I and Mary picked out flowers for Aunt Doreen, who stayed at home because her insomnia had been acting up all night, and she wanted to sleep.</div><div class="MsoNormal">At the market, we just browsed, looking at the merchandise. We got these amazing tasting smoothies, which were also expensive, and donuts. Real ones, not like the crap that Dunkin Donuts gives you, which makes me just sick. Excuse my language, but seriously. So meanwhile, we sat on these stairs, eating donuts, and I got powder all over me. My mom, dad, and Uncle Matthew went to this French restaurant inside the market, which we went to last time, but they went to get some wine.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOKRn7qbdiNH9DkJdLhDGrUbywlzJRwMRubEDrmBamKdlyUenMLsSNQP1cbe-vcD0qR8YsbsWDong3vqQ-i-1DlWNo2gIJkzVEVsuWv6AsEV9Tb78w3n-9a5NNbGYXerwvbG8_c6lWjYJ/s1600/IMG_0444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOKRn7qbdiNH9DkJdLhDGrUbywlzJRwMRubEDrmBamKdlyUenMLsSNQP1cbe-vcD0qR8YsbsWDong3vqQ-i-1DlWNo2gIJkzVEVsuWv6AsEV9Tb78w3n-9a5NNbGYXerwvbG8_c6lWjYJ/s320/IMG_0444.JPG" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the girls outside the market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Us kids wandered back to the flower stand, where we were supposed to meet up with the adults. So we were all just standing there awkwardly, listening to this lady play the violin. She was probably in her twenties, and she was very good. None of us had any money to give her, so it was a little uncomfortable. Eventually, the parents showed up, and we got money from them, and we all gave her a dollar. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Then Eamon decided he needed a milkshake. So, we all walked up to Starbucks or a café like that, and he got a milkshake. Meanwhile, Mei was entertaining Allana, Kaitryn, and me I couldn’t even tell you about what now, but we were all laughing hysterically (which caused a few looks from strangers), and Mei even fell down at one point. The lady behind Mei was laughing a bit too. It was quite a sight.</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-_NBNX8Xoebzf8-BA0iW9OdShn3GSezB2KO61DxY0Cn14P_8OmD9nb9oCWwcKc_uMoL5HuECA_S5MySl6lgVIVoRZw1YIyu-sPNdQgOF4u-Zu2ALUpDBxDS1DtVDHcfd5VeCGBWTLkBP/s1600/IMG_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-_NBNX8Xoebzf8-BA0iW9OdShn3GSezB2KO61DxY0Cn14P_8OmD9nb9oCWwcKc_uMoL5HuECA_S5MySl6lgVIVoRZw1YIyu-sPNdQgOF4u-Zu2ALUpDBxDS1DtVDHcfd5VeCGBWTLkBP/s320/IMG_0440.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is my favorite picture of the entire trip</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFYj-1Qzj8AErFkd0pIUF5lSsdiTLxqxdAMFP6T8oBYGYLrbMKuwMqQnTGePGZdfM_BwZTqWZ7Y4UqYjJMVenAkeVzjEP7FhvldTy95lv0UVu9oH0QZSZSgkucxFhP71Dq9wLMmSm7Yze/s1600/IMG_0441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFYj-1Qzj8AErFkd0pIUF5lSsdiTLxqxdAMFP6T8oBYGYLrbMKuwMqQnTGePGZdfM_BwZTqWZ7Y4UqYjJMVenAkeVzjEP7FhvldTy95lv0UVu9oH0QZSZSgkucxFhP71Dq9wLMmSm7Yze/s320/IMG_0441.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and 2 seconds later</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQc7PE6hi85qX4OGTPF3-2UV4lGgZORQyXgCrYnIZdP-pytwFq7hu_2RYT6s_0v3I5A7KJ40R2oHsu6qlqPVQqmc6tuXNsUp5p4l3v6SIiucmn30TQC8p8ryRq_xJqe9KXM9OuL1sbozH/s1600/IMG_0447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><i><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQc7PE6hi85qX4OGTPF3-2UV4lGgZORQyXgCrYnIZdP-pytwFq7hu_2RYT6s_0v3I5A7KJ40R2oHsu6qlqPVQqmc6tuXNsUp5p4l3v6SIiucmn30TQC8p8ryRq_xJqe9KXM9OuL1sbozH/s320/IMG_0447.JPG" width="320" /></i></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei being a goofball</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We decided to go on a walk. Well, the parents decided. The rest of us groaned. It was very nice in the end though. We saw a few fountains, and even better, got to see Manchester United’s bus! For those who don’t know what that is, it is the best soccer team ever. And it’s our favorite. My dad got a picture next to Valencia, one of his favorite players. We all wanted to stick around and see them come out, but it would just be a few more hours.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfIQDbeM2OrhyphenhyphenGNWkMNU75mmY7mt6Gr6L9SJ_ekat3YgM5CcWj3FKCQVQYF0cRoEd5xNM_4W9Id3Q__9i2MyACwUykvVxBEWCC0UV3Y8G8YmZMbpJSNIY8ei12zGk4kRTaslTPFYtq7Kl/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfIQDbeM2OrhyphenhyphenGNWkMNU75mmY7mt6Gr6L9SJ_ekat3YgM5CcWj3FKCQVQYF0cRoEd5xNM_4W9Id3Q__9i2MyACwUykvVxBEWCC0UV3Y8G8YmZMbpJSNIY8ei12zGk4kRTaslTPFYtq7Kl/s320/IMG_0455.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my dad and valencia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We continued our walk, and then went back to the cars. Matthew had to pick up their minivan from the shop, so my dad hopped in and started driving, relaying on Kaitryn to direct us back to their house. She didn’t really know. Eventually, we got home, and gave Aunt Doreen her flowers, which she loved.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We all relaxed, and then Allana, my mom, Mary, Aunt Doreen, me, and Kaitryn all went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at a movie theatre in downtown Seattle. It was a 10:00 showing, but we all piled into the car at around 9:00, knowing there would be a big line.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The movie was great. I’m one for nerves, and I was scared practically the entire time. Everybody admitted in the car that they teared up a bit, except for my mom and allana, who really see to have no emotion in movies at all.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We got home at around 1:15 in the morning, and we immediately fell asleep. Well, Aunt Doreen had to come in and tell us lights are off, but it’s the same thing in the end. We slept.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlknxoGjzz-sDJB-u_SchQ4yEY49b8toz42EiK7ZytF_1fGQjxOGwadzBhOuUlvo8G8zlWDfsezfdZ2DjywFwhgkiLlUuY3x7XzQSFd1Nf7BQc6sb-gBCSRGi9myJR2WVcM4CVfWcTH8s/s800/harry+potter+movie+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlknxoGjzz-sDJB-u_SchQ4yEY49b8toz42EiK7ZytF_1fGQjxOGwadzBhOuUlvo8G8zlWDfsezfdZ2DjywFwhgkiLlUuY3x7XzQSFd1Nf7BQc6sb-gBCSRGi9myJR2WVcM4CVfWcTH8s/s320/harry+potter+movie+poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">harry potter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We got up the next morning, and told Uncle Matthew, my dad, Eamon, and Mei about the movie, and they told us about their night. It sounded like we had a lot more fun then them.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then we went into Seattle again for Kaitryn, Allana, and me to get a leather bracelet at a booth in Pike’s Market. Mary looks around for a gift for her friend Isabella, and finds one. We leave, but as we’re going, it starts raining. My dad, Uncle Matthew, and Eamon had stayed in the cars when the rest of us had went to check it out. We call them, and they tell us to just walk in the rain. so we walked, which was nice, and we drove home.<span style="color: #448551;"></span><br />
we all relaxed a bit, and then went out for dinner at a pizza place, where the food was pretty good. but the best part was when we went to a milkshake/ice cream store in North Bend, which is a few towns over. and man, that stuff was good.<br />
we all went to bed, and allana, kaitryn, and i all played on the ipad. well, they played on the ipad while i tried to catch up on blogging. checkers is very competitive i learned.<br />
the next morning, we all brought our suitcases down, and packed up the car, while eating pancakes in the process.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeJeO3GaU9ikhpSjvOhU7FPVGa2M2tzIq2Fu64D_HAwhngqQ_8vSerhkxoctcdm2GFWcK51Jc6cHgv0sOZpDMH3HXx9aesdUoqByiASjsQuQcGrwtuQrgT02CFhRF208x-S6-dofxpYZG/s1600/IMG_2550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeJeO3GaU9ikhpSjvOhU7FPVGa2M2tzIq2Fu64D_HAwhngqQ_8vSerhkxoctcdm2GFWcK51Jc6cHgv0sOZpDMH3HXx9aesdUoqByiASjsQuQcGrwtuQrgT02CFhRF208x-S6-dofxpYZG/s320/IMG_2550.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there was almost a stabbing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we left for portland, which is only a 3 or so hour drive from seattle.<br />
we stopped in a sports bar 5 mins outside of the city in Vancouver, Washington. we watched the 2nd half of the women's world cup, where japan won in penalty kicks.</div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-61133974081370784982011-07-31T11:08:00.001-04:002011-07-31T17:17:00.678-04:00Spokane, Washington (ana)<div class="MsoNormal">So, we decided we needed a break; cause we still had 5 more hours of driving to go.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My mom was trying to make Allana talk; we all were, but my mom especially. She was trying to make her pick a place where we could stop for dunch (a combo or lunch and dinner, for those who do not know. There is also linner, but we like dunch better). Allana loves green beans, so, after she couldn’t find, that is, decide, on a place, my mom just took the Iphone (it’s a lifesaver, my dad’s) and found this Chinese place that had green beans.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is called Gordy’s Sichuan Café, which is not a very Chinese sounding name, and also there was the fact that no Chinese people worked at the place, but everyone said it was the best Chinese food they had ever had. Me? I thought it was pretty good, really good actually, but the best would be reserved for this random place in Bolivia. But I haven’t been to China yet, so…</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, it’s really good food. If you’re ever in Spokane, go to Gordy’s.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alixcompton.com/main/wp-content/uploads/Gordys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://www.alixcompton.com/main/wp-content/uploads/Gordys.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">to the left.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After, we got ice cream at a Baskin Robin’s, which was also yum.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Baskin_Robbins_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Baskin_Robbins_Logo.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">we continued our way out to Snoqualmie, which is where the Uncle Matthew, Aunt Doe, Kaitryn, and Eamon live, a town about 15 minutes outside of Seattle. Another, 5, long hours from Spokane.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, we felt like now would be a good chance to let Uncle Matthew know that we were coming a day early. He was cool with it, because that’s just how Uncle Matthew is.</div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-59757443397950887062011-07-23T01:41:00.001-04:002011-07-23T01:41:49.320-04:00Bozeman, Montana (Ana)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.totsandtravel.com/images/hotels/us_MT/la_quinta_inn_suites_bozeman_montana-main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.totsandtravel.com/images/hotels/us_MT/la_quinta_inn_suites_bozeman_montana-main.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">la quinta</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">We had decided to skip out on one more night in Yellowstone after our little incident with the tent, and we had seen old faithful, so we decided just to sleep in a hotel in someplace in Montana. We had dinner at this really cool restaurant called The Garage. We sat outside, but with our great weather luck, it started raining. So we went inside to a booth, and the inside was even cooler than the exterior. The bathroom was a bit disconcerting, it being covered mirrors, even the ceiling, but even that was cool in an awkward way.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/460370403_33fe1047c4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/460370403_33fe1047c4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the garage</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">After our healthy dinner, we went to a La Quinta, where we had the best sleep because it was actually on a bed! Can you believe it?</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the morning, we woke up very happy, and had breakfast and whatever, and got on the road.</div><div class="MsoNormal">There had been a debate the night before whether we should just cannonball to Seattle, and arrive a day early, or go to our campground in Idaho. Allana and my mom were up for not driving for 10 hours, but the rest of us were fine with it, as long as we got to see our family sooner.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We decided to cannonball.</div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-12141255667960670812011-07-23T01:41:00.000-04:002011-07-23T01:41:24.234-04:00Yellowstone, Wyoming: Day 1 & Day 2 ( allana )<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dommelen.net/miata/trip/img/buffaloq.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.dommelen.net/miata/trip/img/buffaloq.gif" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the sign that is everywhere. buffalo can run 3x faster than you. just so you know.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In Yellowstone Park we had a once in a life time experience. When arriving in Yellowstone on the first day, before entering the park we saw humongous canyons of colorful rocks surrounding us. Upon our entering we were given a map of the park and the animals that we will be able to see. While reading it aloud we noticed that there was a buffalo walking on the same road that we were driving on. Of course we weren’t going to wait for it to continue walking while we were behind it so we drove around it and we were about 4 inches away from its body. COOL ! We countiued to drive around on the road in seach of our campsite. About 10 minutes after leaving the buffalo we saw a amazing lake that flooded a lot of trees and on the hill above the road we could see trees that had been hit by the forest fire. (More than 1,000 trees had been dead ; Im just guessing) After seeing the lake we continued to drive and then we spotted tons of bison, adults and children. But that’s not what everyone was looking at. It was bears!!!!! A mother and its 2 cubs walking in the field near the mountains. That got everybody in the van excited. For the rest of the way everyone was pointing out some sites they saw and then we finally arrived at our campsite. We had a lot of space and we automatically started to get our work done so we could see some stuff that was near by. When we got done we headed to the car and got back on the road. We went to a sight that had different colors of rocks everywhere we turned and when we walked up a few stairs we saw a water fall. It was amazing. From there on we got into the van and when we arrived at our site it was dinner time. YAY! We went to a lodge that was right across the street from us and had a delicious dinner. (Ana and I had meatballs with tomato sauce and noodles, with a side of fruit and a vegetable platter; two thumbs up) After dinner Ms. Armstrong and Andrew went to bar and they left Mary in charge. She took us out for ice cream, that was a plus! Soon after sitting outside eating ice cream we waited for the adults to come back out and we went to our campsite. Mary and Mei really wanted braids so their hair could be curly when they took it out so we got their hair a little wet and I started to braid Mary`s hair, but I had to teach Ana how to make cornrows so I did one on Mei`s hair and told her to do her best with the others. After she was done with Mei`s hair it was . . . interesting. But we congratulated Ana for her hard work and a good job for the first time and Mei loved it. After I was done with Mary`s hair I started Ana`s and then we saw a huge flash of lightning, that’s when we knew it was time to go to bed. That night was the worst night, at least for Ana. There was a wild thunderstorm and during the night she got wet, I mean soaked and could barely sleep for the rest of the night. I on the other hand had a pleasant sleep and didn’t hear a thing J . In the morning, we all got out of the tent and ate breakfast. We got into the van and drove around; we visited Thermal Spring which is steam from boiling hot water that creates mist in the air. When we arrived at Old Faithful we had to wait about a hour to see it so we had lunch (meatball sandwiches) and then we went out on the lodges balcony and waited. We decided to get ice cream, since we all decided it is never cold to not get ice cream. While eating the ice cream we quickly got some rocking chairs in the front row of the balcony and about 15 minutes Old Faithful erupted. Water squirted out of the hole and went straight in the air. It was a great experience. When we got to the campsite we pack up our things and depated Yellowstone a day early. We decided that one night in a wet tent was enough.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXWT2MxUGrCNpmW4zZIWqmvG7baKmyvi5yUvFLad06R6DmEiK9ETuSwxFsxqcGxuQLl5mJ6J_kZdMxKGWVD_UYiAgwbvRwjQds-ew2S-IlGWH2eDEUNdtbhrGne8fNdJk5nFWue32JQ4Y/s1600/IMG_2396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><i><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXWT2MxUGrCNpmW4zZIWqmvG7baKmyvi5yUvFLad06R6DmEiK9ETuSwxFsxqcGxuQLl5mJ6J_kZdMxKGWVD_UYiAgwbvRwjQds-ew2S-IlGWH2eDEUNdtbhrGne8fNdJk5nFWue32JQ4Y/s320/IMG_2396.JPG" width="320" /></i></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>lions and tigers and bears, oh my!</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_qX7m7IH2rQ5Ov9trrp5EZidFUq9Pi7woNMg-hHDL7UK1r8IE2SdzLeN89CEC-gpgr_mDsHqu0qLhRf-7MxJnJDUY223RQZMIQFvanCKo-k6nL2wHpMK6VXSnDa89jzMsu0n274Z3zTX/s1600/IMG_0411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_qX7m7IH2rQ5Ov9trrp5EZidFUq9Pi7woNMg-hHDL7UK1r8IE2SdzLeN89CEC-gpgr_mDsHqu0qLhRf-7MxJnJDUY223RQZMIQFvanCKo-k6nL2wHpMK6VXSnDa89jzMsu0n274Z3zTX/s320/IMG_0411.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sharing a rocking chair at the lodge</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGFslfM5o56nghK9X6mhFilsQrDwgrpmYHps25bOQZP-gROKjLl5Q9lSoau1skCI7WlVZLBUlyBCfG8ze1xzwfpD3-r2NnJS-NqX1YLVS9RESj6wR62MiucjJ-m7vQ199trYqS1y0LFWd/s1600/IMG_2522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGFslfM5o56nghK9X6mhFilsQrDwgrpmYHps25bOQZP-gROKjLl5Q9lSoau1skCI7WlVZLBUlyBCfG8ze1xzwfpD3-r2NnJS-NqX1YLVS9RESj6wR62MiucjJ-m7vQ199trYqS1y0LFWd/s320/IMG_2522.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Faithful</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZGfLj0PfyF_D2DF7hu1SHKux28OnnMK1d26mxlMDSiTd7e2LrMIVUAVnGrPDqSgheU_nSPdUqrNaM88QQ1zhqSySXse8Oe8amv7imwSYJAfKPfRJWn1Q0YdhPmYSEwMAMxNE75OsWWod/s1600/IMG_2403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZGfLj0PfyF_D2DF7hu1SHKux28OnnMK1d26mxlMDSiTd7e2LrMIVUAVnGrPDqSgheU_nSPdUqrNaM88QQ1zhqSySXse8Oe8amv7imwSYJAfKPfRJWn1Q0YdhPmYSEwMAMxNE75OsWWod/s320/IMG_2403.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a river</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsmeIse0vE8n_iHcklJGbhFA5l36tZMBYthfelQz9vkdg3Fsch_xvaXiLpwsWBNAF_wD0dwReqQHMfiSh9XLUGDHfftRzBQLE5dWfr86SQbmmaQI-Gluruf4FPcC4b4hvVlLy5iKrChy7/s1600/IMG_0447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsmeIse0vE8n_iHcklJGbhFA5l36tZMBYthfelQz9vkdg3Fsch_xvaXiLpwsWBNAF_wD0dwReqQHMfiSh9XLUGDHfftRzBQLE5dWfr86SQbmmaQI-Gluruf4FPcC4b4hvVlLy5iKrChy7/s320/IMG_0447.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">setting up camp, again</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO9ZmGHkAofFxujzhkoerCwmNuXESaL4zxPqqNRbbnu-3YMIjr5E2jcNG8vJj8oeO5mRY7VO_5oy7npN3Km_aODP3j9SBg8tHPJhvwany3mB0QyR5oHb8cs10xNg0KhDdJWD_t8XoPRcd/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO9ZmGHkAofFxujzhkoerCwmNuXESaL4zxPqqNRbbnu-3YMIjr5E2jcNG8vJj8oeO5mRY7VO_5oy7npN3Km_aODP3j9SBg8tHPJhvwany3mB0QyR5oHb8cs10xNg0KhDdJWD_t8XoPRcd/s320/IMG_0400.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us in the snow</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulhveyXJZY-nbL8BiejbGiE-zfUd9nkiKKzqpiXNRPEWe2F7Of5zAwuS8YSAYRNDarYoQZVlXbjnZc8YmuNNsCqd7Wgt-mz3Ur38B3CAEJhNjWGLUfZYpUAx8p46hnYtnRPBcltKR8p-H/s1600/IMG_0396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulhveyXJZY-nbL8BiejbGiE-zfUd9nkiKKzqpiXNRPEWe2F7Of5zAwuS8YSAYRNDarYoQZVlXbjnZc8YmuNNsCqd7Wgt-mz3Ur38B3CAEJhNjWGLUfZYpUAx8p46hnYtnRPBcltKR8p-H/s320/IMG_0396.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waterfall</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0rjo64bLcApDxMlaOkfaYO-u2I1MNXoESAJiCCXldc_iQqQln1qp71AA9HCum0ZsoJ_fPZg6ljM_gjAWQJx4zfSUUvbi0eQfheVAm-e17Ic-YeyAWME5NvRNXkRGgypXtd5GDsZVDCJk/s1600/IMG_2408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0rjo64bLcApDxMlaOkfaYO-u2I1MNXoESAJiCCXldc_iQqQln1qp71AA9HCum0ZsoJ_fPZg6ljM_gjAWQJx4zfSUUvbi0eQfheVAm-e17Ic-YeyAWME5NvRNXkRGgypXtd5GDsZVDCJk/s320/IMG_2408.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">buffalo about 10 ft away from parking lot</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzMfinDZG6eVUStOf20wjFkHNUXLNAntoVkF-BEmZOtkbOs13l6xf_Lk4kivKADkjwtovWlnOzaQJW31lOtSqktT6QUq9khNseOCm7VMfOxEKPEIhNVDDhawb6Bn4q7OhSqvbUKMJr8nM/s1600/IMG_0405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzMfinDZG6eVUStOf20wjFkHNUXLNAntoVkF-BEmZOtkbOs13l6xf_Lk4kivKADkjwtovWlnOzaQJW31lOtSqktT6QUq9khNseOCm7VMfOxEKPEIhNVDDhawb6Bn4q7OhSqvbUKMJr8nM/s320/IMG_0405.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cornrows</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9q_PR8ID8S0Eldh5Er7PvvOojjF-jRp6psKOZLJALN2S-tcbyPmazhQ3h1BgIilFStOIETGkF_Te134_NBnzASouuYOsZGcKybcOwytsJa8wZ5AXEltsmwxIef3lbzgYpnVJKXpeKGn4/s1600/IMG_2465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9q_PR8ID8S0Eldh5Er7PvvOojjF-jRp6psKOZLJALN2S-tcbyPmazhQ3h1BgIilFStOIETGkF_Te134_NBnzASouuYOsZGcKybcOwytsJa8wZ5AXEltsmwxIef3lbzgYpnVJKXpeKGn4/s320/IMG_2465.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei's new look, ugh</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKYmrkhNgZSHz6l6ydYy-EM_VWec4-ZdTVUYnA1bZzTzr8NJesZMQCxJWacEnqmgquHQxqGmJL-UTJOsCWUj8JCL1em1DNO74kYYEbH92DQMWP0NaohiVyU1fZCG8VuCJD5nH6zPGHFxq/s1600/IMG_2472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKYmrkhNgZSHz6l6ydYy-EM_VWec4-ZdTVUYnA1bZzTzr8NJesZMQCxJWacEnqmgquHQxqGmJL-UTJOsCWUj8JCL1em1DNO74kYYEbH92DQMWP0NaohiVyU1fZCG8VuCJD5nH6zPGHFxq/s320/IMG_2472.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary's cornrows</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2rm6rz_gP1f_Rt8KTd7RUwpMKXj5WS8dT4QXnueGpkiRww9Gz3scyd7ShlFxFvB5JAdxi-qU8lUiDKGKrfy7J56BOdKufVo_i3EYNQ8MhobWLatzhUScoZ8on9VejJW5TnNLlDMhhRLn/s1600/IMG_0409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2rm6rz_gP1f_Rt8KTd7RUwpMKXj5WS8dT4QXnueGpkiRww9Gz3scyd7ShlFxFvB5JAdxi-qU8lUiDKGKrfy7J56BOdKufVo_i3EYNQ8MhobWLatzhUScoZ8on9VejJW5TnNLlDMhhRLn/s320/IMG_0409.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there's a plaque there that tells you not to walk near it, there is a thin crust</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnJecBZDkWEgAaS2TSpUu5STiOJVAqYqFWwvJmwRWXt4_ThVlVpKhC6g-Qt_R_Loh1RO6lu_E9X1CE-pW8EOoPTOPkS2NxAcOiGB7kZlduVEpKTlGWJWVsUlX1kQJ2eD4FdXu8NQFLNXV/s1600/IMG_2506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnJecBZDkWEgAaS2TSpUu5STiOJVAqYqFWwvJmwRWXt4_ThVlVpKhC6g-Qt_R_Loh1RO6lu_E9X1CE-pW8EOoPTOPkS2NxAcOiGB7kZlduVEpKTlGWJWVsUlX1kQJ2eD4FdXu8NQFLNXV/s320/IMG_2506.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gysers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvsMs__kkj5z1M-TNSa7WCte9Gaf9xC6JBxlYvQXK5L2XkMoX6gvrRZwW0pOroW6lDSKyyCZgKB0PwJLws3qSbicjVeqpQ26tP8Rob-iGmvDofaL0qL9vsnqpcGqpuE0psK-pT_pqCrLK/s1600/IMG_0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvsMs__kkj5z1M-TNSa7WCte9Gaf9xC6JBxlYvQXK5L2XkMoX6gvrRZwW0pOroW6lDSKyyCZgKB0PwJLws3qSbicjVeqpQ26tP8Rob-iGmvDofaL0qL9vsnqpcGqpuE0psK-pT_pqCrLK/s320/IMG_0387.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">buffalo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We were headed to Montana.</span></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-2218828515910491082011-07-22T22:30:00.048-04:002011-07-23T00:24:12.265-04:00Cody, Wyoming (allana)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After we deported the black hills in South Dakota we started out for Wyoming.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On the way to Wyoming there was tons of farmland and animals walking through empty fields. We took a detour to get a chance to see the Devils Tower (you might have seen it in a few movies before). The shape and size of the sculpture is amazing and was a once in a life opportunity for us to see it up close.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLD-zwPCgcYkM78w-V4IvoPXyoloNEjTSHVEV0VZiYUIoW1iQTnv1sjHlcI_DSCsgxgf-7HtABoIplOk3K31JL1wdLQtUaHV5rNVJe7c2f7hKxj5KzstvIQkGX_rNd-x47l6MsQOh2911Q/s1600/IMG_0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLD-zwPCgcYkM78w-V4IvoPXyoloNEjTSHVEV0VZiYUIoW1iQTnv1sjHlcI_DSCsgxgf-7HtABoIplOk3K31JL1wdLQtUaHV5rNVJe7c2f7hKxj5KzstvIQkGX_rNd-x47l6MsQOh2911Q/s320/IMG_0427.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">devil's tower</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On the way leaving the Devils tower we saw tons of mountains with big boulders surrounding it. When we arrived at our campsite, which was called Pondarosa, we were so excited to see that we were going to sleep in a teepee. We drove down a hill were we saw the teepee that we were going to stay in. Andrew pretended to have no brakes while going down the mountain which I found hilarious but everyone else was terrified. we put our stuff out of the teepee, and then we went out to have dinner at “Cassie’s”. ( the food was okay, wasn’t the best) They had live entertainment and it was also the first time I tasted Squid. (which was surprisingly tastey :) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cassies.com/images/pic_outside04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.cassies.com/images/pic_outside04.jpg" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqklGGOid0U9UT-UJr_t4dWtm54eyiz7c1oufxxP3nhsNOZBBJHKkoJNCv2YWb654vGbQCOYJBcKDjWe_QRYgZeKcOm6YqLWeG-wP29eTDISRPcb9T9O079eUxJUc4XJLtCu3BuvvTTW7/s1600/IMG_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqklGGOid0U9UT-UJr_t4dWtm54eyiz7c1oufxxP3nhsNOZBBJHKkoJNCv2YWb654vGbQCOYJBcKDjWe_QRYgZeKcOm6YqLWeG-wP29eTDISRPcb9T9O079eUxJUc4XJLtCu3BuvvTTW7/s320/IMG_0369.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm a Cowgirl!!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SCnR8MZLj-z9z0wy7-znyzVO5UMjz4IT5o7UmWYKYAKl98T2aNWVep-ob5w68krsgHRw5tJO_IFA6evCEvCxKQzudia67yUGTCyOo0K51WDh3BXC67aUnC7kxo4FYV6P2-kHl_wVBbpV/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SCnR8MZLj-z9z0wy7-znyzVO5UMjz4IT5o7UmWYKYAKl98T2aNWVep-ob5w68krsgHRw5tJO_IFA6evCEvCxKQzudia67yUGTCyOo0K51WDh3BXC67aUnC7kxo4FYV6P2-kHl_wVBbpV/s320/IMG_0371.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part time cowgirl, part time mother</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After dinner we went to a rodeo. It was known to be “ the longest running rodeo in the world”. Before entering the rodeo mei decided to dress up in her homemade cowgirl coustume consisting of a bandana around her mouth with a buffalo on it , a cowgirl hat, and a bandana in her back pocket. We took our seats and saw the cowboys riding horses and lassoing cattle. We also saw girls around the ages of 7 – 12 attempt dangerous stunts while riding horses around the rodeo field. Then, we saw young girls and older women compete in how much time it took to go around 3 different barrels. By the time we left the rodeo we were all exhausted and when we arrived at the campsite we quickly brush our teeth and jumped in our sleeping bags in the teepee, read a little then went to bed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YpZNWP0iFiJAD0GhHxMHa5eNuXck492C6bnCTxSiIJjCIId6GwD79j2a1nM2Wa6cJS7E5a2Ei8UI3q05hc8m1ovP-jpw8n4gWGA0SM5E_wWoOPh_dOvDYuKB1_7LPpFJUth7pSZA793w/s1600/IMG_0379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YpZNWP0iFiJAD0GhHxMHa5eNuXck492C6bnCTxSiIJjCIId6GwD79j2a1nM2Wa6cJS7E5a2Ei8UI3q05hc8m1ovP-jpw8n4gWGA0SM5E_wWoOPh_dOvDYuKB1_7LPpFJUth7pSZA793w/s320/IMG_0379.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us, asleep in our teepee. do you see the grass?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In the morning we woke up to toast and butter and the sound of the river that was behind us. We walked down to see the river and it was beautiful. Ms. Armstrong says her favorite part of the campsite.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdvS2ilOoUys5dtdsQDIfQyzm2ewWWIGVl6QRPN_7fUPfn7M9iAw1nz7RYWC5tUh39FRmBCBXwIviK6WQTxAwAqcpkIAFiDCvu7JGLCgvVTQnxzl9yYWoME6ZW3u6u-VrlLf5zXP5Nb_p/s1600/IMG_0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdvS2ilOoUys5dtdsQDIfQyzm2ewWWIGVl6QRPN_7fUPfn7M9iAw1nz7RYWC5tUh39FRmBCBXwIviK6WQTxAwAqcpkIAFiDCvu7JGLCgvVTQnxzl9yYWoME6ZW3u6u-VrlLf5zXP5Nb_p/s320/IMG_0378.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our protective door</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpfdHK_EGKI9vSkGcwEbdCkLMUETAsP_zI1U89YppjQkIzi6LewmC3sIJijLw4Ei-iMVuSF7O0Y1HCtUcBL4RtU0JXvXZcfCHXkklMMprJfpHBt4wCHTMpqXdqmDqmMFGO-tmmpB2BBk4/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpfdHK_EGKI9vSkGcwEbdCkLMUETAsP_zI1U89YppjQkIzi6LewmC3sIJijLw4Ei-iMVuSF7O0Y1HCtUcBL4RtU0JXvXZcfCHXkklMMprJfpHBt4wCHTMpqXdqmDqmMFGO-tmmpB2BBk4/s320/IMG_0376.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rodeo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We packed up, and started the drive to the great Yellowstone.</span></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-72921169214201522672011-07-22T19:03:00.000-04:002011-07-22T19:03:19.242-04:00Black Hills, Day 4 (Ana)<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">We woke up, took down camp, said bye to Paul and Carrie (well, they actually said bye to us, but that’s not the point) and went to breakfast in Custer, to Baker’s Bakery. It was quite good, and our waitress was so sweet she could have diabetes, as my mom said.</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYM86s6u2d5ciSTc7wpof7CFWERH3pXSIlh30-Xqx-2iUoI-e6Rml-fy0nABiVqUqR1tvcFAxIOteZiGkQ4rXTNyA_v6o1ZjtInM7P0EoVD78qm7yCtHGg3VFyqES7TCaL06RblUcrgxm/s1600/IMG_0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYM86s6u2d5ciSTc7wpof7CFWERH3pXSIlh30-Xqx-2iUoI-e6Rml-fy0nABiVqUqR1tvcFAxIOteZiGkQ4rXTNyA_v6o1ZjtInM7P0EoVD78qm7yCtHGg3VFyqES7TCaL06RblUcrgxm/s320/IMG_0353.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei next to Buffalo Bill, and what she calls a 'Beefalo'</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">So anyway, we left South Dakota with full stomachs, light hearts, and a lot of pictures.</div><!--EndFragment-->6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-48661192749403715912011-07-22T18:58:00.000-04:002011-07-22T18:58:37.135-04:00Black Hills Day 3 (Ana)<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">We woke up, got dressed, you know, the usual morning routine with camping.</div><div class="MsoNormal">And had breakfast of course. After that we went to Sylvan Lake, where we just hung out all day. It wasn’t very exciting; we just went swimming and climbed on rocks. Where actually, I got a very bloody toe, and scraped the back of my leg trying to shimmy down a step rock that curved inn the middle and had a tree in front of it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Falling off of that onto the ledge on the bottom also gave me a few cuts on my hands.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Not really a big deal.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.journeyintotheblackhills.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/sylvanlake-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.journeyintotheblackhills.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/sylvanlake-300x225.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sylvan Lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">After we had been swimming for a while, I got my dad to go onto the rocks with us (allana, me, and Mary). He had heart attacks almost every other minute, which actually got really annoying after a while. We tried to get him to take off his flip-flops, which were not helping with climbing at all. He just freaked out a little more.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After swimming, we went back to the campsite to have these amazing hot dogs, that is if hot dogs can be amazing, but anyway these were, made of whatever animals I don’t even know. They were just really good. Then we roasted marshmellows, which are always good, with this guy named Paul who my dad asked to join us, who was yet another ‘interesting’ person, and Mei’s friend Carrie, who was just a flat out annoying kid. She woke me up one morning, which trust me, I do not like, at all, talking to my dad about her brother’s hair color. As I was saying, an annoying kid. Even her dad came down to talk to us when she came to yatter at us when we were setting up camp that we could just kick her out if she was being to annoying. I’m paraphrasing, but still… it says something that even her own father mentioned it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiTYPyiN_EN1aUS7CWBRi-0hFicDiFTd-eQwI-SpLEDSF4lyhdb0hO0jKAR6uS8GEnMmXmrhN1q0MRMbLD6rrwDZUhj0r1L1wogGQxij4IuAlz_oKN9n95d7Wqx6Zk0opIz7NXER06cmt/s1600/IMG_0346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiTYPyiN_EN1aUS7CWBRi-0hFicDiFTd-eQwI-SpLEDSF4lyhdb0hO0jKAR6uS8GEnMmXmrhN1q0MRMbLD6rrwDZUhj0r1L1wogGQxij4IuAlz_oKN9n95d7Wqx6Zk0opIz7NXER06cmt/s320/IMG_0346.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mary sporting her cowboy hat, me sporting pajamas, and mei just being, well, mei</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7j-L4ZHZsFHWREwd2TJf2PpJb8iXgP7GqiQwt_8DxTiy_kZf3_kaAY-dc99v9AS_8x0Oi1PI8qiNBvz7Tk2ixmHl4HDjExcHagANgb5JUfimC0kX-PbPBXs2JMItJa4Lqx8EqcqF5gZ0/s1600/IMG_0352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7j-L4ZHZsFHWREwd2TJf2PpJb8iXgP7GqiQwt_8DxTiy_kZf3_kaAY-dc99v9AS_8x0Oi1PI8qiNBvz7Tk2ixmHl4HDjExcHagANgb5JUfimC0kX-PbPBXs2JMItJa4Lqx8EqcqF5gZ0/s320/IMG_0352.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the pretty view at sunset</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">So marshmellows was annoying. But then my dad ordered Allana and me to go to the top of the hill near our campsite to find whatever was there. He was practically begging us when we finally agreed. So when we got to the top of the hill, there was more hill, this time only made of rocks, which we climbed and explored. There was this sort of path on the top, where we stumbled along, trying not to fall off the edge, which of course would just ruin the entire trip. Even though I almost pushed allana down this slit in the rock, where she almost fell, and then got really mad at me about it when she didn’t. Anyway, I went out onto this random ledge, where I found the most gorgeous view so the whole trip of tromping through tick filled grass and the bordered poison ivy path was worth it. The great thing was, we had to make that trip 4 or 5 more times to show everyone else. Yay. </div><!--EndFragment-->6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-26582381585090634932011-07-17T03:15:00.000-04:002011-07-17T03:15:09.982-04:00Black Hills, Day 2the next day, we woke up, and had our daily dose of Captin' Crunch, and got ready for the day.<br />
we started out with going to Crazy Horse, where we went to the top of the arm, thanks to my Uncle Harlan (thank you Coben Family!), who got us a special private tour. it was incredible. a spectacular view.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWTTjPtQywWxzqnyXGsixtw4jtukjhjST9WI83tJ_rbYMoQVDytuHx_fqDZH_CgfCU1rW5KLmSL8GgcgSPBYbhEaF_s07yejMzkEU09t-458OY50FIf4v8eiUw7hkN-WUP2L5oR72QqH0/s1600/IMG_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWTTjPtQywWxzqnyXGsixtw4jtukjhjST9WI83tJ_rbYMoQVDytuHx_fqDZH_CgfCU1rW5KLmSL8GgcgSPBYbhEaF_s07yejMzkEU09t-458OY50FIf4v8eiUw7hkN-WUP2L5oR72QqH0/s320/IMG_0342.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">aren't we so attractive in our hard hats?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-WJYVw9Y8lcaXZWThBZ3FXJI_iw9JKMVhrHyU5Vug5R7yQ9vlD-Qh2NNGLnIxLHiHp_vLGdcc_wLokZw2thBxjN0omg5hFiurZMrNBLQNJuGTwLOnj_x3CdOE-vm3-sBrTjxyPQvdv5T/s1600/IMG_0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-WJYVw9Y8lcaXZWThBZ3FXJI_iw9JKMVhrHyU5Vug5R7yQ9vlD-Qh2NNGLnIxLHiHp_vLGdcc_wLokZw2thBxjN0omg5hFiurZMrNBLQNJuGTwLOnj_x3CdOE-vm3-sBrTjxyPQvdv5T/s320/IMG_0358.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy Horse</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjponRwXitVIvcsZuNUHirpE5ZBB0X5DxnVlHkpOpGFNReXjrsKkM7sG3Rdo1Oqni4VFdJ0fJseJubVVk3RUkyE35OEPstmmlzmkQCavrDgppwC9SYnnplJEbH-Ea9ALbYmJzKGKUjJY-So/s1600/IMG_0350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjponRwXitVIvcsZuNUHirpE5ZBB0X5DxnVlHkpOpGFNReXjrsKkM7sG3Rdo1Oqni4VFdJ0fJseJubVVk3RUkyE35OEPstmmlzmkQCavrDgppwC9SYnnplJEbH-Ea9ALbYmJzKGKUjJY-So/s320/IMG_0350.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"i'm ready for my close up"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after Crazy Horse, we went to the Purple Pie Place, which had really, really good Mac & Cheese, and where you can get top-notch pie. seriously, that pie is some good stuff. ana got Bumbleberry(an assortment of berries) and allana got peach (just peach).<br />
after Purple Pie Place, we went on a drive in Custer to see buffalo!!<br />
lets just say, man, those things are big. and there's lots of them. we also had some donkeys come up to our window.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyXXjyevsLBFpC-HifS_00IgkI7mNjcA-qxi6j3sM7Ujq4kEUiKY72F4JogHFpsaRkHIZ4ION2RGuV1TmnX1X9sinzvsCtNN2IXTpSWIvQJh2FrWtyJWvHaYYb9gP85hKzE8AAtXYqe5J/s1600/IMG_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyXXjyevsLBFpC-HifS_00IgkI7mNjcA-qxi6j3sM7Ujq4kEUiKY72F4JogHFpsaRkHIZ4ION2RGuV1TmnX1X9sinzvsCtNN2IXTpSWIvQJh2FrWtyJWvHaYYb9gP85hKzE8AAtXYqe5J/s320/IMG_0303.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">buffalo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXtz9QkLTMp48zxjxrk-Xx6rhlLNJcLSW_akZUUquF0WJV-dTGbO_v3HmRFqGU8jyI-pGsngbL6vmhQL4R_caeCKquJQeuH6xQG_tiI7mPX2QCoaxpnRRoZXEmnAhB7UpMYYKZDXWJu2s/s1600/IMG_0414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXtz9QkLTMp48zxjxrk-Xx6rhlLNJcLSW_akZUUquF0WJV-dTGbO_v3HmRFqGU8jyI-pGsngbL6vmhQL4R_caeCKquJQeuH6xQG_tiI7mPX2QCoaxpnRRoZXEmnAhB7UpMYYKZDXWJu2s/s320/IMG_0414.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we are in our car, btw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after that, we went to a lake, sat for a while and read, all of us chilln' like a villans.<br />
then, we went to our Chuckwagon Dinner!!!!!!!!!<br />
if you've never been to a chuckwagon, you should go. it's tons of fun, and you get nice cowboy hats.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qIKaVtJNeHDmLIBd0nQ_c1V-i-7KAYKnSQ52Hu_WcQmh1_tyD_sKFpCsZ3S7KhZPbOCaTtE9FoFlBMUnhRsI989FhCECnKHm-GYQyFlyP6ZtY_nkonQeO0lNIMXJLLLNoje10IO_naWg/s1600/IMG_0308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qIKaVtJNeHDmLIBd0nQ_c1V-i-7KAYKnSQ52Hu_WcQmh1_tyD_sKFpCsZ3S7KhZPbOCaTtE9FoFlBMUnhRsI989FhCECnKHm-GYQyFlyP6ZtY_nkonQeO0lNIMXJLLLNoje10IO_naWg/s320/IMG_0308.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us in our stylish hats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>what you do: sit in a wagon that is pulled by a pickup truck, and two guys are in the front, and they sing cowboy songs and play the guitar and ukulele and we all have to join in. the best part was, when the guy asked to stop the wagon, so he could go into the woods and go to the bathroom.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcnZrhIlSsM7pmXEk8u1D89fYc3cU2U6C-HyVyICGltEPvqPELCYeQ5aLucxosetKaMzKZY8zIEfFUlpVp_x54-xAdDW9WcorRkGWx8v1SrWcMsNTKXHhKoZygNrXtDCybnXcxdHvC0WM/s1600/IMG_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcnZrhIlSsM7pmXEk8u1D89fYc3cU2U6C-HyVyICGltEPvqPELCYeQ5aLucxosetKaMzKZY8zIEfFUlpVp_x54-xAdDW9WcorRkGWx8v1SrWcMsNTKXHhKoZygNrXtDCybnXcxdHvC0WM/s320/IMG_0316.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neal and Curtis, our chuckwagon cowboys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>when we got to the valley, where we were to have dinner, some of the other musicians from different wagons played more cowboy songs when we eat our dinner. the cookies were huge.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOXYDdGWeiQsGFppIJWY0Z51sor9c2cC_qooPf2I_rLX8Nc3GTc1DQfP-mqvj9Z2cBBsiOeSJTKxLAuLjopQKGzlIAwUBJ9ghXVnt_RyZq-s1Cg0fRNdp0avIKEHa79PpZ4rBL1z1IJZQ/s1600/IMG_0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOXYDdGWeiQsGFppIJWY0Z51sor9c2cC_qooPf2I_rLX8Nc3GTc1DQfP-mqvj9Z2cBBsiOeSJTKxLAuLjopQKGzlIAwUBJ9ghXVnt_RyZq-s1Cg0fRNdp0avIKEHa79PpZ4rBL1z1IJZQ/s320/IMG_0323.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dinner. allana refused to wear the hat the entire time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>then it was time for the dancing. we are not proud of these pictures. but, seriously, it was the hokey-pokey and the chicken dance. you can't really look good while doing those dances.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOucGjKK3I99veeeh-H1Ii6FOdhSF7eF1DfBxAq-PMnzVwL-CfQEQK8j72izvKOYWnGGS58qeapPXwvJylCZL-Egr_Fn7bEcigC4f2-4xWaz64Kj8qB5QOq0nK7EwWkdk9AksiX5saxe1/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOucGjKK3I99veeeh-H1Ii6FOdhSF7eF1DfBxAq-PMnzVwL-CfQEQK8j72izvKOYWnGGS58qeapPXwvJylCZL-Egr_Fn7bEcigC4f2-4xWaz64Kj8qB5QOq0nK7EwWkdk9AksiX5saxe1/s320/IMG_0336.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ugh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> we took a "shortcut"back to where the cars were, went back, read a bit, and zonked out.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-32153890696817682682011-07-17T02:11:00.000-04:002011-07-17T02:11:36.157-04:00Black Hills, Day 1after that dreaded day at Jellystone, we headed off for the fantastico Black Hills.<br />
we got there, and went to our campsite.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fOink0RkrDCtHDWGswHRy4ib3aPEF18y63m1f1L4thMJYd7u52DHzliLEgLO5gqFH4ThWyvAqVS-PQtk3BJm67GNTNNIoA086UO-bGjtS0kuf9ItoguvaSIdiF5zO0enh_cEygSocG5O/s1600/IMG_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fOink0RkrDCtHDWGswHRy4ib3aPEF18y63m1f1L4thMJYd7u52DHzliLEgLO5gqFH4ThWyvAqVS-PQtk3BJm67GNTNNIoA086UO-bGjtS0kuf9ItoguvaSIdiF5zO0enh_cEygSocG5O/s320/IMG_0281.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">see the tent? ana was sleeping on the edge (ugh)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>our site was up 20 small steps made out wood. so, what we had to do was lug everything up the hill to the actual campsite. it took a long time.<br />
our tent didn't really fit into the designated box where the tent was supposed to go, so we lost space because the ends were hanging off the edges.<br />
then we went to Mount Rushmore, which was really beautiful. we listened to a park ranger tell us a little bit about the sculpture, and then we walked up closer to the sculpture.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKcD-may7xi2zc6o_jgy4I8Y-GqGYN8IEEV5lHT9DRP32ZBzxeUJfygPHAXjIC6Tm2MveHQSlR8aVVEslZnrt844EG474cpd1T1cQ4V2RD_zEo9S78AnTXFup5Hx_6Q-WBCTBoJk-bzu8/s1600/IMG_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKcD-may7xi2zc6o_jgy4I8Y-GqGYN8IEEV5lHT9DRP32ZBzxeUJfygPHAXjIC6Tm2MveHQSlR8aVVEslZnrt844EG474cpd1T1cQ4V2RD_zEo9S78AnTXFup5Hx_6Q-WBCTBoJk-bzu8/s320/IMG_0267.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us and the presidents</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpK19mBCwi7FsN109rRu-nRDs3y0yC43qS3INY0_vg-JENmsujR29pAVlqGX82u4YeIZdqjuiIsaCkf61v0vmiJXCNovWD3mxlWIFSxXIXzkGCFCvizTtZSmLFommTzspNsniIkXypjiD/s1600/IMG_0260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpK19mBCwi7FsN109rRu-nRDs3y0yC43qS3INY0_vg-JENmsujR29pAVlqGX82u4YeIZdqjuiIsaCkf61v0vmiJXCNovWD3mxlWIFSxXIXzkGCFCvizTtZSmLFommTzspNsniIkXypjiD/s320/IMG_0260.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">is it a thumb or a head????? (answer-head)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjC8-NuTuJmWOu-plZ6HHpmP5U8YCl2ASw6iE9RqBbwY7pYIPYhp-W0yimLHeyim3eeVdMXrQGOnF51k8Z34xduWFmykrwrVXXgnSP4gG8SzBdugdCy_VBffad2dZoXVC5As0KQvMD3lQm/s1600/IMG_0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjC8-NuTuJmWOu-plZ6HHpmP5U8YCl2ASw6iE9RqBbwY7pYIPYhp-W0yimLHeyim3eeVdMXrQGOnF51k8Z34xduWFmykrwrVXXgnSP4gG8SzBdugdCy_VBffad2dZoXVC5As0KQvMD3lQm/s320/IMG_0277.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ana, Mei, Eliza, and Mary (or at least part of her)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOU1hWqdqSewVkhe91K1UhO5V8_m-sU_e36KGIz9e1BeSUb_7SQpm9f_4VN1davIuhGNKS1EMn1wIjeTMpDeLknz4GFUSwEvjr_5LWyg8gzhdIgyFXLpGd5ZBVBi2M_j6axDd3IR1faVH/s1600/IMG_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOU1hWqdqSewVkhe91K1UhO5V8_m-sU_e36KGIz9e1BeSUb_7SQpm9f_4VN1davIuhGNKS1EMn1wIjeTMpDeLknz4GFUSwEvjr_5LWyg8gzhdIgyFXLpGd5ZBVBi2M_j6axDd3IR1faVH/s320/IMG_0282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the steps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after Mount Rushmore, we took a nice, scenic drive around Custer State Park, where we were staying.<br />
it is a beautiful place. if you ever visit South Dakota, i think you should definitely go to Custer. it's right around all the landmarks, and you can see a lot of wildlife there too. it's great there.<br />
after the view, we went to the campsite, had dinner, and went to our sleeping bags.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-41960027985018416612011-07-17T01:05:00.000-04:002011-07-17T01:05:57.371-04:00Sioux Falls, South Dakotawhen we arrived in Sioux Falls, we were all surprised to see that we were staying in a Jellystone. you know, Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo or whatever?<br />
and when say surprised, we don't really mean it in a good way.<br />
i would just say, you should try to never stay there in your life.<br />
it's very... cramped.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_3O1JkM69ZZ5E-q3Akn92420RNxe3Foo6uV7TJrAgL7DuiAnK4ZFsOhs83ntOOpWjv3x5KcTzzaYLPu7dcAscR8zOK53RXqPmKDCU4gAVvEVge5bYS1r7zjA6Jqz_TpHndshvDsyimK7/s1600/IMG_0263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_3O1JkM69ZZ5E-q3Akn92420RNxe3Foo6uV7TJrAgL7DuiAnK4ZFsOhs83ntOOpWjv3x5KcTzzaYLPu7dcAscR8zOK53RXqPmKDCU4gAVvEVge5bYS1r7zjA6Jqz_TpHndshvDsyimK7/s320/IMG_0263.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our tent, and our neighbors. btw, there was a campsite between us too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>mei met Yogi Bear though, so it was fine.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEwRuEG29DFfKKQDj6AMTen9_YTKag2fV9y60ZGLO8KVmOt2hgSE75LUfCQbDiz0-MJ_-noz24moT_hyphenhyphenq4FckDnaeQiZv_q88fYgdeuu6WuTVOItpc2S6sCvq1iMH5X3boiEgg9vw-ac2/s1600/IMG_0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEwRuEG29DFfKKQDj6AMTen9_YTKag2fV9y60ZGLO8KVmOt2hgSE75LUfCQbDiz0-MJ_-noz24moT_hyphenhyphenq4FckDnaeQiZv_q88fYgdeuu6WuTVOItpc2S6sCvq1iMH5X3boiEgg9vw-ac2/s320/IMG_0264.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei and mary with yogi bear</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6jheQl5JWh-44fVQ-DXRHueT5RrOpLblWFMbtpan0v5f7baI9WDdgOX-gbymoRi6qyFdVCcVrZUsluTOELiuiSO8eKXfDIrxnUYaglUv7gzmCsvj3AzC4mUvIUnaqY16g5EpTOw7nIf9/s1600/IMG_0269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6jheQl5JWh-44fVQ-DXRHueT5RrOpLblWFMbtpan0v5f7baI9WDdgOX-gbymoRi6qyFdVCcVrZUsluTOELiuiSO8eKXfDIrxnUYaglUv7gzmCsvj3AzC4mUvIUnaqY16g5EpTOw7nIf9/s320/IMG_0269.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>we went for a swim, and then roasted marshmellows.<br />
but the jumping pillow was fun. we met a dude named Albert there. he was very... interesting, to put it nicely.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.campjellystone.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/fhvjump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://www.campjellystone.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/fhvjump.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">random kids off the internet on a jumping pillow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>and we had the beautiful sounds of Route 90 going past us all night.<br />
we're never going back there.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-6786125980489920352011-07-17T00:48:00.000-04:002011-07-17T00:48:22.997-04:00Minnesotawe drove through the entire bottom half of the state in a few hours.<br />
like Indiana, we saw a lot of the highway and farms.<br />
it was very beautiful though.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8Io4fmU3fShNEhl3CHg6L-deBtqAivfBa7bmUfA2o2OfVXxhu4b-B0NSNJKnGAVOvOLLZ-Jrpovc7z84m97Dyd09PHQgzKdv11QHtKmVmu65CHdEbEq2wvNrilflJLJ8J11GrFiyEVK7/s1600/IMG_2381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8Io4fmU3fShNEhl3CHg6L-deBtqAivfBa7bmUfA2o2OfVXxhu4b-B0NSNJKnGAVOvOLLZ-Jrpovc7z84m97Dyd09PHQgzKdv11QHtKmVmu65CHdEbEq2wvNrilflJLJ8J11GrFiyEVK7/s320/IMG_2381.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>and it was also very tiring.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-5228029949435600502011-07-17T00:45:00.000-04:002011-07-17T00:45:01.607-04:00La Crosse, Wisoconsinafter the Dells, we needed a place to stay before we headed to South Dakota.<div>we decided on La Crosse, a small college town right on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin.</div><div>we stayed in a Marriott, where there was a jacuzzi in our room, and we were actually comfortable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNha893a9aV-zSaFhMFd3EwvyetozRdF_KkczrXwbe71dk9zdZTwfisXPNkydPUogg58Kqu-QzRYlaLgtWzX26uZYzFIJQw9gjtJ9Xq45sh1V6ru2oE6j5CAuLQzIfTcj31dVc91k1PBUc/s1600/IMG_0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNha893a9aV-zSaFhMFd3EwvyetozRdF_KkczrXwbe71dk9zdZTwfisXPNkydPUogg58Kqu-QzRYlaLgtWzX26uZYzFIJQw9gjtJ9Xq45sh1V6ru2oE6j5CAuLQzIfTcj31dVc91k1PBUc/s320/IMG_0257.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><div>we went to dinner at Buzzard Billy's, which had such good bbq food, it was awesome. the place is decorated really well too. after dinner, we decided we all deserved ice cream, for almost being halfway there, and we went to this cute little ice cream shop across the street called the Pearl Ice Cream Parlor, where we had delicious ice cream.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-NW79-pn-Zwb4yTv9HTeIrv51DsCWd0hXKjs8bYbwxgcsCR7nZAoutT2XVsN9MMamXd-31QJvg_Jl7xJAZRBk4zhyphenhypheni1Fx7ddrNW0RB2XZKAE8pkgvidhyfDuoLbushMVGoXz_fLUb7RD/s1600/IMG_0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-NW79-pn-Zwb4yTv9HTeIrv51DsCWd0hXKjs8bYbwxgcsCR7nZAoutT2XVsN9MMamXd-31QJvg_Jl7xJAZRBk4zhyphenhypheni1Fx7ddrNW0RB2XZKAE8pkgvidhyfDuoLbushMVGoXz_fLUb7RD/s320/IMG_0258.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mei, allana, and ana, freezing our butts off at Buzzard Billy's</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>we got a good nights sleep, and in the morning we went to Fayze's. we all had amazing food there (best breakfast yet), and our waitress was so nice it was scary. we also ordered from their bakery to go.</div><br />
<div>we left La Crosse with full, satisfied, stomachs, destination Sioux Falls, South Dakota.</div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-91320100458140790112011-07-05T23:19:00.001-04:002011-07-06T10:20:24.978-04:00Wisconsin Dells<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://test.kalahariresort.com/images/wi/parks/gallery/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://test.kalahariresort.com/images/wi/parks/gallery/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">outdoor waterpark</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.waveloch.net/sales/galleries/flowrider-gallery-001/800x600/Kalahari%20FlowRider%20cheer%20crowd%20(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.waveloch.net/sales/galleries/flowrider-gallery-001/800x600/Kalahari%20FlowRider%20cheer%20crowd%20(800x600).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">surfing ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we arrived at the Wisconsin Dells, Kalahari Resort at about 2:00 on the fourth of July.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/kalahari_dells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/kalahari_dells.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">indoor waterpark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>we checked into our room (where everyone got a bed!) and threw on our bathing suits and went to the outdoor waterpark. we had about 6 hours until fireworks by then, so we were in the outdoor one for 3 hours, had dinner at one of the restaurants (the food was okay) and went to the indoor waterpark where we had the most fun. lets just say, surfing is not ana's thing. allana didn't want to try it, not being able to tread water (she can swim, somewhat. enough to survive), and when ana went on, she fell down immediately, and her bottoms did a bit too.<br />
the fireworks we phenomenal. the show went on for about 20 minutes, and it was really pretty. the only downside was the fake palm tree in front of us. :(<br />
we all got a good night sleep, and the next day we went out and did the same routine, this time with lunch in the middle. again, okay food.<br />
just before we were about to leave, a huge thunderstorm came over, and so we all piled into the car and began our short drive to La Crosse, Wisconsin.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761822603625234506.post-39242122776422171402011-07-05T22:57:00.001-04:002011-07-06T10:22:15.524-04:00Chicagowe arrived in chicago at about 1:30 that afternoon.<br />
we checked into the Palmer House Hotel, the oldest hotel in North America.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7nFLtyg-C1wZv2oRGskDuH4WfcfXsxYAUPykurRq7MrinMQcnESBoYl0zrfAykPYpVPVbEYcaNBjtmGi9y6I9oEvbTiCCSrNxOnEUQtxfnA-uOzMgN6CX-TdZWiefIc1uHe1sjg6g8oZ/s1600/IMG_2201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7nFLtyg-C1wZv2oRGskDuH4WfcfXsxYAUPykurRq7MrinMQcnESBoYl0zrfAykPYpVPVbEYcaNBjtmGi9y6I9oEvbTiCCSrNxOnEUQtxfnA-uOzMgN6CX-TdZWiefIc1uHe1sjg6g8oZ/s320/IMG_2201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>we couldn't get our room at first, and we went and visited Eliza and Andrew's friends, Liz and Josh, and their two daughters, and played in a fountain. the fountain was awesome, it was two rectangular huge cement blocks across from each other with pounding water coming out from the top.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpSodVNpHAYapF4ty7Udgwv_PUtzvtWTT6KqEtKPbDUymV6yvGxP196drOueNFdIm_4axNYGCZxHHW9Ac1p1y5JHie9gyP1vZLwhuw3mUznfw5xc5ZQv8hDaX2U_MgZC0PUQjBZGncVLb/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpSodVNpHAYapF4ty7Udgwv_PUtzvtWTT6KqEtKPbDUymV6yvGxP196drOueNFdIm_4axNYGCZxHHW9Ac1p1y5JHie9gyP1vZLwhuw3mUznfw5xc5ZQv8hDaX2U_MgZC0PUQjBZGncVLb/s320/IMG_0234.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ana and allana at the Fat Cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>after that we went to the Bean, a big silver sculpture shaped like a bean.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fl5Wg9zwIvNNNrjJnqopv5yH_ADvrUtIFvU7RFdGP8RLldOa0J2TQQ3_YeWCX90Ycu97s35eEeeELvZvVG2o_Tbs_yFAsEYdEbq-94ONTS1IMuJo0VFxa1VLQzMDM8ghrglTGIQOKwLU/s1600/IMG_2219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fl5Wg9zwIvNNNrjJnqopv5yH_ADvrUtIFvU7RFdGP8RLldOa0J2TQQ3_YeWCX90Ycu97s35eEeeELvZvVG2o_Tbs_yFAsEYdEbq-94ONTS1IMuJo0VFxa1VLQzMDM8ghrglTGIQOKwLU/s320/IMG_2219.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ana and allana in the reflection of the bean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>then we got on the train, went to Liz and Josh's neighborhood, and went to dinner at this cool bar and restaurant called the Fat Cat.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Big Caslon'; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"> </span></span><br />
we came back to the hotel, spread out our sleeping bags, and went to sleep. by the way, the hotel though there were only two people in the room, when there was really six. so whenever a person came to the door, all the kids would run into the bathroom, get in the bathtub, close the curtain, and turn off the lights. it's a very... interesting situation.<br />
in the morning, we all got dressed (eventually), and went for brunch in a place called Mei's Kitchen. mei was really excited about it, because most places don't have her name, the way it's spelled. she made sure to take lots of pictures. the food was really nice too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNDz1WUgzlAYc1hgTjfykQie2TGXmOlCb05xPemR7uwsX2A-sGw4FdvdH3iUKHJ4HesEaKRyE2rXyR79fiVqsIgDAmdz1sYfJ6qDdJCfZ5WvvpbKXcdswJVWJGNGsXuWN0sign53RuKKs/s1600/IMG_2242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNDz1WUgzlAYc1hgTjfykQie2TGXmOlCb05xPemR7uwsX2A-sGw4FdvdH3iUKHJ4HesEaKRyE2rXyR79fiVqsIgDAmdz1sYfJ6qDdJCfZ5WvvpbKXcdswJVWJGNGsXuWN0sign53RuKKs/s320/IMG_2242.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>soon after, we walked a few blocks to the Art Institute, and spent lots of time exploring the museum, taking turns to choose the exhibits. i would say, if you're in chicago any time soon, check out the museum, it's awesome.<br />
after we went to the gift shop, where the two of us bought postcards, and Eliza and Andrew decides they were going to buy a Calder mobile (not a real one), inspired by the book we just listened to, <u>The Calder Game.</u><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXUBmzmewopk_tMTBs09ssH1ZYh9-dS-iAqeqKlrYLsGyN7ANOPF49BA3wN9svajFg8serGh0i2b4BQpReSPW5_jIud4-aVQJzZNAJb_nPuJMIVWTXSVcjCreAn50A-k1bGh8vWWp-cIF/s1600/IMG_2203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXUBmzmewopk_tMTBs09ssH1ZYh9-dS-iAqeqKlrYLsGyN7ANOPF49BA3wN9svajFg8serGh0i2b4BQpReSPW5_jIud4-aVQJzZNAJb_nPuJMIVWTXSVcjCreAn50A-k1bGh8vWWp-cIF/s320/IMG_2203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>after the art institute, we walked a few blocks back to our hotel, where we relaxed for a few hours.<br />
then we took a 20 minute bus ride to Hyde Park, which ana had been dying to see. we had dinner at Medici on 57th, a place where Barack Obama used to eat, before becoming president. it's mostly a pizza place, and the deep dish was delicious.<br />
the next morning, we got up, and had breakfast at a small little joint called the Depot. it had been on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, a show that the whole family loves to watch. it's in a neighborhood called Austin in Chicago. it's really small, 5 booths, and 10 stools at the counter, where we sat. we all definitely recommend it.<br />
since it was the fourth of july, we couldn't exactly find our way to where Frank Lloyd Wright lived, Oak Park, Chicago. eventually we did, and we saw a bunch of beautiful houses designed by him, including hid home and studio.<br />
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when we were done with that, it was off to the highway for us, on our way to the Wisconsin Dells.6inavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02916413550451368209noreply@blogger.com0