Topeka, Kansas

while we were driving to Topeka, it was pain.
it never went under 100 degrees the entire time from Denver to Topeka. at least we got to stay in a hotel
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.
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.

haha. we should've used the side door. (yeah, not really)

mei, me, and allana, drinking our smoothies

when we got to topeka, it was dinner time, and we went to this great barbeque place called Boss Hawgs. the chicken is good.

when we were walking back to the car, we figured out that we left one of the doors of the car open.
thankfully, nothing was stolen, but it was still a close call.
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.

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.
the next morning we had breakfast, went swimming in the pool, and left the Super 8.
my mom said we were going to have lunch at a special place, but she wouldn't tell us what it was.
first though, we went to Brown vs. Board of Education Museum. it all started in Topeka, which none of us knew.
but it was there, the museum in one of the schools that were involved in the case.
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.
we left the museum with a few postcards and a pencil for mei.
it was pretty cool.

then we drove to Kansas City, Kansas, which isn't too far from Topeka, just an hour.
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.
we drove to the other Kansas City, and we it turned out, this one was in a mall.
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.
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.
the milkshakes are to die for, but an actual server brings that to your table.

people watching the trains

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.

you can see just how happy i am

good god

we left that mall and drove to our next stop- St Louis, Missouri.

Denver, Colorado (ana)

when we got to Denver, we checked into our hotel, yet another La Quinta.
btw, those hotels are very nice, and it the price really depends on the location.

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.
we got dressed, and went out to a mexican restaurant called 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.
man, i love spanish soap operas.

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.

union station

this was in front of some museum

then we went back to the hotel, where allana and i got the floor (ack), and we got a good nights sleep.
the next morning, we got up, and got dressed, and tried to look presentable to go downstairs for breakfast.
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.

yum

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.
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).

 miss ski town chick

but we had liked Denver, even if we were there for less than a day.
snap, chocolate muffins are good.

Colorado National Monutment, Colorado (ana)-Grand Junction, Colorado

hehe, colorfu

next to us on our drive

the view forever

we drove into colorado through a desert.
i wrote a few postcards to some friends, and we continued onto Grand Junction, Colorado.
we were looking around in amazement. there aren't many deserts in New Jersey.
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.
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.
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.

this is what we were driving next to

we go up to where the little booth is, ask if there's vacancy (which there is), and start driving up the mountains.

this is him making us all scream from the car

pretty picture

that in itself is an adventure.
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.

fat rocks

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.

pretty view

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.
we went outside and took a few pictures with the incredible background.
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.
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.
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.

i was mad at mary when i took this picture

and there were all these weird sculptures all over the place, which was pretty random.

this was the first sculpture i saw, and i was a little disturbed

so all in all, we all really liked Grand Junction, and we were glad that we went.

the tent

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.

setting up the tent in the boiling heat

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.

mary and allana before dinner, playing a hand game

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.
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.

the scorpion next to my dad's foot

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.
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.
it really is amazing.
you should try to go before you die. even if you live across the world, it's worth it.
we got to Serpent's Trail, went walking, which you have to look down to not fall of the side of the cliff.
it was fun though, but it was ho, so it was nice to go back to an air-conditioned car.

my sweaty family

we left the Colorado National Monument for Denver, Colorado.

Willard Bay, Utah (ana)

welcome to utah!

a guy we saw who is waving to us. we think this is a 700 horsepower

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.

part of our site

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.
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.
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.
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.
we all got into the tent, and fell asleep.

us reading in the tent

the next morning, we had breakfast, got ready, and left Willard Bay.
we drove through Salt Lake City on our way to Grand Junction, Colorado.
a cool thing was that we kept on seeing these giant white letters on the side of the mountain.
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.
the rest of utah was the desert. most of our drive we saw no civilization.

the view for most of utah

this is what my dad was imatating

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.
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.

Farewell Bend, Oregon (allana)

rainbow on our drive

the view

old sign

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.

Portland, Oregon: Day 1, Day 2 & Day 3. ( allana )

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).

kaitryn and allana at 12:30 am

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).  

ana and mei outside Vita Cafe

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. 

biscuts
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)

the biscut shop

We sat outside the store and ate our biscuits in peace. 
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. 

voodoo doughnuts

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.

exterior of the kennedy school

you got that right

 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.

matthew and andrew

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.

Before we knew it we were leaving Portland and going to Farewell Bend, Oregon.

Seattle, 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.

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.

(clockwise) mary, eamon, kaitryn, matthew, andrew, mei, doreen, and allana

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.

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.

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.

unattractive picture at the falls

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.

the falls

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

the girls outside the market

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.

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.

this is my favorite picture of the entire trip

and 2 seconds later

mei being a goofball

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.

my dad and valencia

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.

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.

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.

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.

harry potter

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.

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.
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.
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.
the next morning, we all brought our suitcases down, and packed up the car, while eating pancakes in the process.

there was almost a stabbing

we left for portland, which is only a 3 or so hour drive from seattle.
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.