Thursday, July 24, 2008

Seattle Vacation- Day Six

Location- Seattle still!
Clothing Worn- Jeans, black performing arts tee, athletic shoes, green hoodie
Places Visited- Port Angeles, Olympic National Park (Hurricane Ridge, Crescent Lake, Hoh Rain Forest), First Beach, Forks, Kalaloch
Places We've Eaten At- Hotel room for breakfast, sandwich picnic for lunch, Kalaloch Lodge for dinner

Today was a busy day. We planned to leave the hotel room by 6:30, but didn't actually leave until 6:45. We went and picked up my aunt and uncle from their house, and then got to the ferry just in time. While on the ferry, we found this coffee machine, so we got some hot chocolate from that. It was nice and warm.

After getting off the ferry, we drove up to Port Angeles to find a Twilight sight. I'll have a big long blog post about those when I have time to do it, so keep reading. :)

After that, we drove up to Hurricane Ridge, and went on a short walk. By then it was about noon, so we were all starving. We got out our picnic and ate by the Visitor Center. While we were eating, we saw a deer come up really close, and some chipmunks playing around.

After lunch, we drove down to Crescent Lake for a short stop. Then we continued on to La Push to see First Beach. The beach was beautiful and pretty cold. We played with the waves for a bit before getting back on the road.

After a quick stop at Forks, we went to the Hoh Rain Forest. It wasn't like you would usually think of a rain forest, but it was very mossy with lots of trees. And mosquitos. So we didn't stay out long.

Then we drove to Kalaloch Lodge for dinner. It was getting late, and we still had several hours to drive before we got to home base. Mostly, we slept on the way home. We got in just after twelve, and immediately fell back asleep. Hopefully we won't have another crazy day like that.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Seattle Vacation- Day Five

Location- Still in Seattle
Clothing Worn- Cargo pants, blue cami, blue striped polo, athletic shoes
Places Visited- Pacific Science Center, Experience Music Project, Space Needle
Places We've Eaten At- Hotel room for breakfast/lunch, Space Needle for dinner

Today we slept in a lot, so we just ate what we had at the hotel, and left in the early afternoon. It was kind of fun just hanging out for a bit. We don't get to do that enough.

We drove to downtown Seattle to visit some museums and the Space Needle. First, we went to the Pacific Science Center. It's a science museum with many hands-on activities, so that was kind of fun. We got to go learn about the stars in a planetarium show.

When the Science Center was closing, we booked it over to the Science Fiction Museum/Experience Music Project, since that was what I really wanted to see. I went into the Music Project area and saw some displays before discovering the sound lab. That was the best part. They had little booths set up in which there were different instruments (guitar, keyboard, drums) that you could play and learn with tutorials on screens in front of them. There were even booths to learn about mixing and editing. I had way too much fun doing this. I didn't really learn anything new in the way of music, but it was fun actually being able to play instruments that I hadn't really gotten a chance to play before.

After the Music Project closed at 7, we went and hung out outside to wait for our 8:15 reservation at the Space Needle. After a bit of sitting around, we walked over to the Needle and went up in an elevator. That was fun. We were quickly seated at the restaurant. The restaurant rotates around, so you get to see the whole city and harbor as you eat. We got there in time to see the sun set and the city lights come on. The food was really good, too, although crazy expensive.

After dinner and desert, we went up to the observation deck. The breeze blowing off of the water was freezing, so we didn't stay out long, but it was nice to see all of the city lights around us.

We then drove home and went to bed, knowing we'd have to get up early the next day for our excursion.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Seattle Vacation- Day Four

Location- Seattle, WA
Clothing for the Day- Jeans, purple cami, purple shirt, athletic shoes
Places Visited- Bainbridge Island
Places We've Eaten At- Residence Inn for breakfast, Richie's Diner for lunch, The Cheesecake Factory for dinner

Today was a fun day. We rode a ferry over to Bainbridge Island, which I guess I did when I was four, last time we came up here, but I really don't remember that. I love being out on the water, so it was pretty exciting. The wind blowing off the water was kind of cold, though. But the water was beautiful.

While on Bainbridge Island, we walked around. We went to a bookshop and bought a couple books. Then we went to lunch. It was in a place shaped like a diner car, so that was fun, too. After lunch, we went to a candy store and got some candy to eat for the rest of our stay here. Then we went to a park, and played for a bit before catching a ferry back to the mainland.

We came back to the hotel and went swimming, and since I haven't been swimming for a long time, that was fun. I've forgotten how much I hate the damage chlorine does to my hair and skin, though.

After getting re-dressed, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. They have HUGE portions there, so we're going to eat the leftovers for another dinner. The cheesecake was so good. By the time we got back, it was after 11, so we all went to bed and collapsed immediately.

My friend asked what the best part of my day was. I have to pick three: the ferry ride was amazing, the cheesecake was delicious, and seeing the moon and stars coming out was beautiful. Pretty good day, overall.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Seattle Vacation- Day Three

Location: Portland, OR to Seattle, WA
Clothing for the day: White skirt, purple polo, white flats
Places visited: A church, International Rose Test Garden
Places we've eaten at: Embassy Suites for brunch, our aunt and uncle's house for dinner

Erin's not adjusting well to the time zone change. She woke up at 6 this morning, since it's 7 back home.

This is the shortest leg of our journey. That's good, because we're all dressed up for church. Riding around in the car in a skirt just isn't that fun. It actually took us a bit longer than we had originally thought, because Washington traffic is horrific. It's really pretty up here, though, as it's all green. I love it. :)

We went to the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, and that was pretty fun. It smelled so good, and the roses were in all different colors and sizes. Good walk for a Sunday. We got some good pictures, too.

My friend got back from camping today, so I got to talk to him a bit. I haven't heard from him in a while, so that was fun.

We went to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner, and we had a barbeque. It was some really tasty food. After dinner, they planned what we're going to do together on Wednesday, while I went and played the keyboard. They have a piano solo of Rhapsody in Blue, so I played the clarinet part a couple of times. I'd love to play that in real life sometime.

After dinner we came to "home base," as many in my family have taken to calling it, and went to bed. It was a good day.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Seattle Vacation- Day Two

Location: Boise, ID to Portland, OR
Clothing for the day: Jeans, SummerFest tee, athletic shoes
Places visited: Oregon Trail Interpretive Park at Blue Mountain Crossing, Multnomah Falls
Places we've eaten at: Holiday Inn Express for breakfast, Subway for lunch, Pizza Hut (delivered to our hotel room) for dinner

This morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel. My sister and I went down by ourselves, as everyone else wasn't ready yet. There were two boys at the table next to us; one about my age, and the other about my sister's age. They kept laughing at things we said, and we kept laughing at things they said, but we really never said a word to each other. Pretty funny.

Today was more driving, but at least this time it was a bit more eventful. Lots more sleep for me, and I decided to try to listen to almost every song on my iPod (I skip the ones that I really don't like, but there aren't very many of those. Now, some of you might say, "Why do you have songs on your iPod that you don't like?" Answer: Because sometimes CDs have really good songs mixed with really bad ones, so they just end up on there. That's all). I texted a friend for a little bit of the trip, but he had to go to work, so that didn't last long.

The best part of driving on the road we were on was that it was right next to the Columbia River. It's way pretty. Now I know what they mean about Utah rivers being mere trickles. I played some river watching music (Andare, which was a free song off iTunes) and watched as we drove by, catching glipses of the river through many green trees.

We walked around a bit at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Park, on a half mile trail. It was kind of fun to see what the pioneers saw.

The other stop we made was at Multnomah Falls. It was only one mile to hike, but it was pretty steep. Steeper than any of the trail runs we've done so far, anyways. But the view was totally worth it. I got some good pictures on my phone, but I can't really put them here.

We got to our Embassy Suites hotel fairly late, ordered pizza, and went to bed. Pretty tiring day.

For a different account of the trip (with pictures!) see mum's blog.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Seattle Vacation- Day One

Okay, so I know no one really reads this. So it's mostly for my own benefit. But if you are reading, welcome! Hopefully this will be a fairly interesting account of my trip.

Location: Salt Lake City, UT to Boise, ID
Clothing for the day: Jeans, blue tee, athletic shoes
Places visited: None, really
Places we've eaten at: McDonald's for lunch, Applebee's for dinner

Vacation has started! This morning was pretty stressful trying to get ready to go, but I'm here now, so I guess we did okay.

We mostly just drove today, so there's not much to say. It was pretty boring. More details after some things happen!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Book Meme

Wow, can't believe I never finished this! This is a book meme mum did a while back. You go through and bold the ones that you've read, and italicize the ones that you want to read. I had started this back last summer, so this summer I went through and made a few changes. It's funny how many of these I read this year. :)

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)

29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (George Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Scott Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)[we talked about her when we read Dracula]
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Helen Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In the Skin of a Lion (Michael Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)9
7. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Okay, so I haven't read as many as mom. But just wait till I'm done with high school!

I'm Going To Do Better. Really!

Yeah, I know it's been forever since I last posted. But it's summer now! I should have more time, right?

Well, not really. I'm crazy busy with cross country, online classes, clarinet, being a driver (who would've guessed kids needed to go so many places?!), getting CAS hours, and everything else. But with a work load that big, why not add one more thing?

So, official goal: I'm going to update my blog at least once every week for the rest of the summer. This does not include the week I'm on vacation (although if mum will let me use her laptop, I might anyway) or the week I'm at camp. So we'll see how that goes. :)