This morning I was planning on eating cereal, but any kind that I wanted was gone so I actually had to cook something--toast. Which does take a lot longer than mixing up a bowl of cereal.
Anyway, I really didn't have time to finish my second slice so I left thinking maybe I could still make the bus and have time to eat my toast along the way. Well, when I came out of my house, the bus was coming up my street. (Luckily the Wednesday driver turns and goes by my house, instead of straight.) So I ran back up my walk, and just set the piece of toast on the front porch. I ran on the side of the road and flagged the bus driver and he stopped and let me on. Tee hee, that was convinient. :)
Throughout the day I wondered what my parents would think of the mystery of the toast. My dad had known that I hadn't had time to eat it, because I offered it to him.
When I got home I asked my parents what had happened to it because it wasn't on the porch any longer. My dad said that when he was watching TV, he heard birds squaking outside his window. When he looked, it was seagulls devouring my toast. Hey, it didn't go to waste at least!
Yup, and that's my story of the day!
27 April 2005
10 April 2005
Vacation, Day VIII (Home!)
Today (Saturday) I woke up and had continental breakfast and then laid on my bed probably writing in my journal or doing random stuff. We packed up and left.
We stopped for gas by our hotel and then drove and didn't stop until we were home.
While we were driving I found a dime in my water. So weird and random! No one new how it had gotten there. It explained why my water tasted weird. Once back in Utah we drove through a storm that had just visited Utah and was now headed East to Colorado. Very cool because that night on the news I saw the weather man talking about the storm moving to Colorado and I had witnessed it. It was cool to see and helped with my understanding of weather. Plus we got through the worst of the storm very quickly. :) Once we got in to the canyon (Spanish Fork Canyon?) we saw a snow plow coming back down out of the canyon. This was a given that there would be snow. Once furthur up, sure enough, there was snow! The snow was very recent which also showed the storms path. :) We saw the frozen waterfall on the cliff again.
Just a few hours later we were parked infront of our house (well, near it...someone took our spot). Just as we were jumping out of the car Brownie came running up, purring and everything. :) So cute. We checked the mail and messages on the machine and there was one from Jackie, the lady I used to babysit for. It went something like this: "Your cat is over her and he's meowing really bad!" I'm pretty sure that would have been Brownie, he probably got out of the window we left open in our room and then didn't figure out how to get in for quite awhile. He felt as if he'd lost weight. But anyway, it was really funny because of course Brownie was OK and it was so like him. :D Finally I saw that my dad had unlocked the gate to the back yard so I headed out to my room to look for Sanno. I took two steps out the door and Janessa had him and gave him to me. I could tell Sanno was pissed to have an end to his vacation. While we were gone he had ample food and water, free range access to our rooms and his favorite beds, and no one to disturb his naps. (It's all good though because the next day I hugged Sanno and he couldn't stop purring. He did miss me :D) I made reservations for Les Mis, went on the internet, watched the news and The Simpsons, and then pretty much fell asleep.
We stopped for gas by our hotel and then drove and didn't stop until we were home.
While we were driving I found a dime in my water. So weird and random! No one new how it had gotten there. It explained why my water tasted weird. Once back in Utah we drove through a storm that had just visited Utah and was now headed East to Colorado. Very cool because that night on the news I saw the weather man talking about the storm moving to Colorado and I had witnessed it. It was cool to see and helped with my understanding of weather. Plus we got through the worst of the storm very quickly. :) Once we got in to the canyon (Spanish Fork Canyon?) we saw a snow plow coming back down out of the canyon. This was a given that there would be snow. Once furthur up, sure enough, there was snow! The snow was very recent which also showed the storms path. :) We saw the frozen waterfall on the cliff again.
Just a few hours later we were parked infront of our house (well, near it...someone took our spot). Just as we were jumping out of the car Brownie came running up, purring and everything. :) So cute. We checked the mail and messages on the machine and there was one from Jackie, the lady I used to babysit for. It went something like this: "Your cat is over her and he's meowing really bad!" I'm pretty sure that would have been Brownie, he probably got out of the window we left open in our room and then didn't figure out how to get in for quite awhile. He felt as if he'd lost weight. But anyway, it was really funny because of course Brownie was OK and it was so like him. :D Finally I saw that my dad had unlocked the gate to the back yard so I headed out to my room to look for Sanno. I took two steps out the door and Janessa had him and gave him to me. I could tell Sanno was pissed to have an end to his vacation. While we were gone he had ample food and water, free range access to our rooms and his favorite beds, and no one to disturb his naps. (It's all good though because the next day I hugged Sanno and he couldn't stop purring. He did miss me :D) I made reservations for Les Mis, went on the internet, watched the news and The Simpsons, and then pretty much fell asleep.
Vacation, Day VII
On Friday I woke up at like 8 AM and ate breakfast and then went on the computer. After a bit I went back to our room and wrote in my real journal and then went back to the business center (computer room) to use a desk to write in my journal because I figured it would be easier then on a bed. After awhile my siblings came in and played pinball on the 2 computers and then I had to leave to pack and other stuff. A bit later I came back and gathered my stuff off of the desk and then finished loading stuff into the car and we finally left.
We drove for just a few minutes passing many things I wanted to stop at but we were frankly running out of time. We drove up one of the mountains in the canyon to the Royal Gorge Park. It was like $70 for our whole family to get in which is a total rip off. I of course didn't want to spend that much for something I didn't even really want to do, but my dad did it anyway.
First we crossed the bridge. It's the highest or longest suspension bridge in the world or something like that. It was really windy and I took pictures and when changing the memory stick, I almost dropped the batteries and $70 memory stick down one of the crack in the wood planking on the bridge. I was very lucky I didn't.
Pictures of the bridge:
When we got to the other side of the bridge it looked very deserted. We walked up some insane hills and saw the lame sky coaster. Claimed to be the tallest in the world. Really, it was only like 20 ft hight but I guess they counted the hight from the bottom of the gorge... *sings: Liar liars liars, every single one! They say they tell the truth, but they live on the run, from all their lies. (Song Janessa and I wrote and supposedly it will be part of our musical...We don't really have a plot yet though. :D)* Lagoons is like 3 times as high for the same price so we didn't ride it.
Pictures of the Sky Coaster:
This picture makes it look giant...
There you see the real picture...sort of. It's even more dinky from the top.
We walked up to Point Sublime to view the gorge and stuff. After that we walked over and waited for a bit to ride the tram over the gorge. I thought it was going to be very scary but really you couldn't look straight down so it wasn't too bad. It was really scary thinking that the tram was built in 1969 though...
Pictures of the tram:
Once to the other side we boarded the tram again because there was no wait and we wanted to see more stuff on the other side. This time the guide actually told us stuff but we were on the wrong side to see it all. Once on the other side we walked down to the petting zoo. The petting zoo and burro rides were closed but the lady cleaning the burros area let us pet them. They were very cute and there was even a funny llama. :) After awhile of petting we walked back down to the deserted looking area and found out that the movie they would be showing wouldn't start for 20 more minutes so we walked over to a gift shop and looked at everything and bought post cards. After paying for the stuff we walked back over to the theater and had a few minutes to look at the museum type stuff around the walls. After a few minutes of this we sat down and watched the movie. The movie actually made the park look REALLY fun. Gah.
After the movie we walked back across the bridge. It was very cool because the wind was blowing so hard that the bridge was swaying. You would think that would freak someone out like me, but I thought it was very fun. It made it exciting. The winds were blowing so hard that my dad said if Janessa would have grabbed all four corners of her blanket, the wind would have picked her up. Insane.
When we were near the other side of the bridge, it began raining and lightninging. Cool yet freaky. We saw that the incline train was open but wasn't leaving for 20 more minutes. So we went in the gift shop on this side of the gorge and looked at all the stuff. I made a pressed penny. After a bit we ran back over to the train station just in time and boarded. The incline train is the steapest incline in the world, a 45 degree angle. It was lame though because they made the cars stay upright on the angle so you didn't really feel the incline, you could only see it.
Pictures of the Incline Train:
From inside the train
Once at the bottom we were allowed to look around for 10 minutes. You could see the remains of the wooden water pipe that carried water to Ca~non City for like 75 years or so I think. You could also take a closer look at the Arkansas River and see how far up the bridge really was.
Picture of the bridge and tram from the bottom of the gorge:
Bottom line is the bridge and the top one is the tram.
I couldn't find any good pictures of the water pipe or the Arkansas River online but as soon as my digital camera will transfer pictures (we should be taking it in tomorrow to find the problem) then check my zorpia and you can see the pictures that I took!
After 10 minutes at the bottom we rode the vertical train back to the top. At the top we got out, used the bathrooms, and then we were back in the car and on the road again. We drove through most of the Rockies and it was really cool. My ears were popping like crazy.
At the next town with food (Salida I think) we stopped at Burger King and got food. (sick) After eating we hit the road again and didn't stopped until we were in Gunnison I think. We stopped at a grocery store to buy Windex to clean the extremely dirty van window. I found a bunch of stationary for only $1 so I bought that and Janessa and I used the bathroom. After a bit we were on our way again.
We drove into the night and at about 10 PM we checked into a Holiday Inn Express in Grand Junction. It was the biggest one we've ever stayed in (four floors) and there were tons of people there. I quickly dragged all my stuff into our room and put on my swimsuit. I convinced my siblings to go swimming and we went down to the pool. We played Marco Polo, sat around, got the rescue rafts and played on them, and did other random stuff. When we were done there was a shower in the pool room so we all just washed out hair and chlorined bodies off in there. (With our swimsuits on of course.) Soap ran almost to the pool. I know the showers meant for rinsing before getting in the pool, but if they leave it there, we'll use it. :) It's so much easier plus I'm sure we saved them a bit on their water bill. lol.
After swimming I sat on my bed and watched news about the popes funeral and I think wrote in my journal, I can't remember. I eventually did go to bed though.
We drove for just a few minutes passing many things I wanted to stop at but we were frankly running out of time. We drove up one of the mountains in the canyon to the Royal Gorge Park. It was like $70 for our whole family to get in which is a total rip off. I of course didn't want to spend that much for something I didn't even really want to do, but my dad did it anyway.
First we crossed the bridge. It's the highest or longest suspension bridge in the world or something like that. It was really windy and I took pictures and when changing the memory stick, I almost dropped the batteries and $70 memory stick down one of the crack in the wood planking on the bridge. I was very lucky I didn't.
Pictures of the bridge:
When we got to the other side of the bridge it looked very deserted. We walked up some insane hills and saw the lame sky coaster. Claimed to be the tallest in the world. Really, it was only like 20 ft hight but I guess they counted the hight from the bottom of the gorge... *sings: Liar liars liars, every single one! They say they tell the truth, but they live on the run, from all their lies. (Song Janessa and I wrote and supposedly it will be part of our musical...We don't really have a plot yet though. :D)* Lagoons is like 3 times as high for the same price so we didn't ride it.
Pictures of the Sky Coaster:
This picture makes it look giant... There you see the real picture...sort of. It's even more dinky from the top.We walked up to Point Sublime to view the gorge and stuff. After that we walked over and waited for a bit to ride the tram over the gorge. I thought it was going to be very scary but really you couldn't look straight down so it wasn't too bad. It was really scary thinking that the tram was built in 1969 though...
Pictures of the tram:
Once to the other side we boarded the tram again because there was no wait and we wanted to see more stuff on the other side. This time the guide actually told us stuff but we were on the wrong side to see it all. Once on the other side we walked down to the petting zoo. The petting zoo and burro rides were closed but the lady cleaning the burros area let us pet them. They were very cute and there was even a funny llama. :) After awhile of petting we walked back down to the deserted looking area and found out that the movie they would be showing wouldn't start for 20 more minutes so we walked over to a gift shop and looked at everything and bought post cards. After paying for the stuff we walked back over to the theater and had a few minutes to look at the museum type stuff around the walls. After a few minutes of this we sat down and watched the movie. The movie actually made the park look REALLY fun. Gah.
After the movie we walked back across the bridge. It was very cool because the wind was blowing so hard that the bridge was swaying. You would think that would freak someone out like me, but I thought it was very fun. It made it exciting. The winds were blowing so hard that my dad said if Janessa would have grabbed all four corners of her blanket, the wind would have picked her up. Insane.
When we were near the other side of the bridge, it began raining and lightninging. Cool yet freaky. We saw that the incline train was open but wasn't leaving for 20 more minutes. So we went in the gift shop on this side of the gorge and looked at all the stuff. I made a pressed penny. After a bit we ran back over to the train station just in time and boarded. The incline train is the steapest incline in the world, a 45 degree angle. It was lame though because they made the cars stay upright on the angle so you didn't really feel the incline, you could only see it.
Pictures of the Incline Train:
From inside the trainOnce at the bottom we were allowed to look around for 10 minutes. You could see the remains of the wooden water pipe that carried water to Ca~non City for like 75 years or so I think. You could also take a closer look at the Arkansas River and see how far up the bridge really was.
Picture of the bridge and tram from the bottom of the gorge:
Bottom line is the bridge and the top one is the tram.I couldn't find any good pictures of the water pipe or the Arkansas River online but as soon as my digital camera will transfer pictures (we should be taking it in tomorrow to find the problem) then check my zorpia and you can see the pictures that I took!
After 10 minutes at the bottom we rode the vertical train back to the top. At the top we got out, used the bathrooms, and then we were back in the car and on the road again. We drove through most of the Rockies and it was really cool. My ears were popping like crazy.
At the next town with food (Salida I think) we stopped at Burger King and got food. (sick) After eating we hit the road again and didn't stopped until we were in Gunnison I think. We stopped at a grocery store to buy Windex to clean the extremely dirty van window. I found a bunch of stationary for only $1 so I bought that and Janessa and I used the bathroom. After a bit we were on our way again.
We drove into the night and at about 10 PM we checked into a Holiday Inn Express in Grand Junction. It was the biggest one we've ever stayed in (four floors) and there were tons of people there. I quickly dragged all my stuff into our room and put on my swimsuit. I convinced my siblings to go swimming and we went down to the pool. We played Marco Polo, sat around, got the rescue rafts and played on them, and did other random stuff. When we were done there was a shower in the pool room so we all just washed out hair and chlorined bodies off in there. (With our swimsuits on of course.) Soap ran almost to the pool. I know the showers meant for rinsing before getting in the pool, but if they leave it there, we'll use it. :) It's so much easier plus I'm sure we saved them a bit on their water bill. lol.
After swimming I sat on my bed and watched news about the popes funeral and I think wrote in my journal, I can't remember. I eventually did go to bed though.
09 April 2005
Vacation, Day VI
On Thursday I woke up, ate, and packed. I did other random stuff and then our whole family finally left the hotel.
We drove for a few hours and finally stopped in the small city of Raton. We stopped at a grocery store to use the bathroom and I got ice cream and my siblings got some kind of treat. We drove a bit more and my dad went into an Arby's and brought back Arby's melts. We hit the freeway and ate as we drove.
After another long period of driving we stopped in Pueblo at a Loaf 'n Jug (most insane name for a gas station, anyone know where it comes from?) and got gas and went to the bathroom. We then drove East for about 45 minutes and arrived at the town of Ca~non (put the squigle over the n, I don't know how to make my keyboard make that character) We looked at a Best Western but eventually decided to stay at a Holiday Inn Express. We unpacked our stuff from the car (mostly through the window because we were on the first floor :D) and then I went and used the computer. It was the first hotel we stayed at that no only had internet access, but had a computer to access it on. I typed some entries in here, checked my e-mail, and caught up at frenchboys and maybe a few other things that I can't remember. After that I did random stuff and then my parents left all of us kids in the room with a pizza on the way and went out to eat fish. Sick. The pizza came so we ate it and watched TV. After my parents got back I can't really remember what I did, just watched more TV, did random stuff, and went to bed.
We drove for a few hours and finally stopped in the small city of Raton. We stopped at a grocery store to use the bathroom and I got ice cream and my siblings got some kind of treat. We drove a bit more and my dad went into an Arby's and brought back Arby's melts. We hit the freeway and ate as we drove.
After another long period of driving we stopped in Pueblo at a Loaf 'n Jug (most insane name for a gas station, anyone know where it comes from?) and got gas and went to the bathroom. We then drove East for about 45 minutes and arrived at the town of Ca~non (put the squigle over the n, I don't know how to make my keyboard make that character) We looked at a Best Western but eventually decided to stay at a Holiday Inn Express. We unpacked our stuff from the car (mostly through the window because we were on the first floor :D) and then I went and used the computer. It was the first hotel we stayed at that no only had internet access, but had a computer to access it on. I typed some entries in here, checked my e-mail, and caught up at frenchboys and maybe a few other things that I can't remember. After that I did random stuff and then my parents left all of us kids in the room with a pizza on the way and went out to eat fish. Sick. The pizza came so we ate it and watched TV. After my parents got back I can't really remember what I did, just watched more TV, did random stuff, and went to bed.
08 April 2005
Vacation, Day V
Today (Wednesday) I woke up and had continental breakfast and then went back up to the room. No one really felt like packing so we just paid for another night in the room. We gathered a few things and then took off to see the plaza or whatever downtown Santa Fe is called.
We found a parking lot (pay of course) and parked. We walked across the street to a post office and finally mailed my letter to Kasie. It was $5.60 because I have so much junk in there...
After that we walked to the downtown area and looked at some Indian Jewelry and saw all the really old buildings. We went in a cathedral that was about 120 years old with AWESOME stained glass. There was a sign that said no flash photography so I went outside to check if the setting was correct so the camera wouldn't flash. It was--when outside in the light... So I went in and took a picture of the beautiful stained glass that was in the round window. (It look exactly (at least to me) like the round window in the Cathedral de Paris.) It of course flashed. No one came after us or anything but we just left. I got the main thing I wanted to take a picture of anyway.
After that our whole family walked to some other churches and cathedrals that were all much older. We didn't go in any because you had to pay to get in. $2.50 may not seem like a lot, but it is when you have a family of six. Things that you pay to tour never really pay off I've learned.
After a bit we came to the oldest house in the US, supposedly (sp). Here they only charged for adults so $2 wasn't bad. There were only two rooms to look at, and everything basically had been re-done with cement. The celing looked really old though so hopefully it was authentic. There were some cool artifacts from the era to look at and I took a few pictures. There was a cat in the house named Melanie I think, very cute! I of course took pictures...:D
After the house we walked around some more and headed back to the car. We drove to this one part of town that was supposedly where all the artists live and very beautiful. It was a cool drive I guess but not extremely scenic. We did find this lodge called: "The Bishop's Lodge". That was totally a Les Mis reference (even if they didn't intend it) so I made my dad drive through it. So awesome!
After driving around that area we drove to an Albertson's to buy sandwich making supplies. This Alberson's has to be the most fancy Alberson's I've ever been to. There were tons of variety of everything and lots of fancy decorations. Oh yeah, and two isles of wines and other alcoholic beverages. You don't see that in Utah. :D
After Albertson's we drove back to our hotel and ate our sandwiches and watched TV. For the rest of the day I basically laid on my bed because I was so burnt out and did random stuff that enabled me to just lay on my bed all day.
In the evening I watched "The Simple Life" and the results show of "American Idol". After that I watched "Casa 2 News" (Local Fox News for New Mexico.) After that I can't remember what I did but it wasn't long before I went to sleep.
We found a parking lot (pay of course) and parked. We walked across the street to a post office and finally mailed my letter to Kasie. It was $5.60 because I have so much junk in there...
After that we walked to the downtown area and looked at some Indian Jewelry and saw all the really old buildings. We went in a cathedral that was about 120 years old with AWESOME stained glass. There was a sign that said no flash photography so I went outside to check if the setting was correct so the camera wouldn't flash. It was--when outside in the light... So I went in and took a picture of the beautiful stained glass that was in the round window. (It look exactly (at least to me) like the round window in the Cathedral de Paris.) It of course flashed. No one came after us or anything but we just left. I got the main thing I wanted to take a picture of anyway.
After that our whole family walked to some other churches and cathedrals that were all much older. We didn't go in any because you had to pay to get in. $2.50 may not seem like a lot, but it is when you have a family of six. Things that you pay to tour never really pay off I've learned.
After a bit we came to the oldest house in the US, supposedly (sp). Here they only charged for adults so $2 wasn't bad. There were only two rooms to look at, and everything basically had been re-done with cement. The celing looked really old though so hopefully it was authentic. There were some cool artifacts from the era to look at and I took a few pictures. There was a cat in the house named Melanie I think, very cute! I of course took pictures...:D
After the house we walked around some more and headed back to the car. We drove to this one part of town that was supposedly where all the artists live and very beautiful. It was a cool drive I guess but not extremely scenic. We did find this lodge called: "The Bishop's Lodge". That was totally a Les Mis reference (even if they didn't intend it) so I made my dad drive through it. So awesome!
After driving around that area we drove to an Albertson's to buy sandwich making supplies. This Alberson's has to be the most fancy Alberson's I've ever been to. There were tons of variety of everything and lots of fancy decorations. Oh yeah, and two isles of wines and other alcoholic beverages. You don't see that in Utah. :D
After Albertson's we drove back to our hotel and ate our sandwiches and watched TV. For the rest of the day I basically laid on my bed because I was so burnt out and did random stuff that enabled me to just lay on my bed all day.
In the evening I watched "The Simple Life" and the results show of "American Idol". After that I watched "Casa 2 News" (Local Fox News for New Mexico.) After that I can't remember what I did but it wasn't long before I went to sleep.
Vacation, Day IV
Today (Tuesday) I woke up and had continental breakfast and then I can't really remember what I did but I think we just packed up and stuff.
At about 11 or 12 we hit the road again. We stopped in Dona Ana for gas and food. We had extremely greasy (but yummy) food at a place called Mike's or Mike's burgers or something like that.
We then drove for like 4 more hours until we stopped in northern Albuqueque to use the restroom. We then took a different highway--a longer route but different scenery. In the mid-afternoon we finally stopped in Santa Fe at the Chamber of Commerce. We picked up about 50 million brocures (sp?) and got advice on what to visit while in Santa Fe. We drove some more down Cerrillos road until we found a Best Western and we checked in. We took all our stuff into the room and then we drove to a Hunan not to far away. It was expensive but really yummy. They had a spiney (sp?) thing in the middle of the table so it was fun to share all of our orders.
After we ate we drove some more and Dad stopped at a liquor store and bought lots of alcohol. Stupid idiot. We drove back to our hotel and went swimming.
At 8 PM I got out of the pool and watched House. I had already seen the episode but I had forgotten what happened and it was very good. Near the end of the episode my family started coming up after swimming for a long time. Clint had thrown a raft (not just a normal raft, but one of those safety, life-saver rafts) at Crystal. This made Janessa mad so she thrust it in Clint's face and he got a bloody lip.
I finished watching House and then watched some news and near the end fell asleep. When I woke up I felt like crap but I had to take a shower to get the chlorine out. I shampooed my hair THREE times and it still felt coated because I'd let the chlorine dry. After the shower I finished getting ready for bed and went to bed.
At about 11 or 12 we hit the road again. We stopped in Dona Ana for gas and food. We had extremely greasy (but yummy) food at a place called Mike's or Mike's burgers or something like that.
We then drove for like 4 more hours until we stopped in northern Albuqueque to use the restroom. We then took a different highway--a longer route but different scenery. In the mid-afternoon we finally stopped in Santa Fe at the Chamber of Commerce. We picked up about 50 million brocures (sp?) and got advice on what to visit while in Santa Fe. We drove some more down Cerrillos road until we found a Best Western and we checked in. We took all our stuff into the room and then we drove to a Hunan not to far away. It was expensive but really yummy. They had a spiney (sp?) thing in the middle of the table so it was fun to share all of our orders.
After we ate we drove some more and Dad stopped at a liquor store and bought lots of alcohol. Stupid idiot. We drove back to our hotel and went swimming.
At 8 PM I got out of the pool and watched House. I had already seen the episode but I had forgotten what happened and it was very good. Near the end of the episode my family started coming up after swimming for a long time. Clint had thrown a raft (not just a normal raft, but one of those safety, life-saver rafts) at Crystal. This made Janessa mad so she thrust it in Clint's face and he got a bloody lip.
I finished watching House and then watched some news and near the end fell asleep. When I woke up I felt like crap but I had to take a shower to get the chlorine out. I shampooed my hair THREE times and it still felt coated because I'd let the chlorine dry. After the shower I finished getting ready for bed and went to bed.
07 April 2005
Vacation, Day III (Juarex, Mexico!)
I forgot to mention that in the last post we stayed at Teakwood Inn.
On Monday morning I woke up and had breakfast, sat around a acted lazy, packed up, and then we began driving. We drove about 45 minutes into El Paso, Texas and found a hotel. It was advertised in a brocure (sp?) as a Holiday Inn Express, but it was becoming that in 1 week and was still a Travel Lodge. We checked in and grabbed a few things and then walked to a bank a few blocks away. Here we converted some money into Pasos and converted some money into american ones.
We walked back to the hotel and waited like a half and hour in the annoying wind for the hotel shuttle to arrive to carry us to the border. Finally it did come and we were driven and dropped off at the border. We walked through the checkpoint or whatever you call it and only had to pay 35 cents. We didn't even go through checks or anything. As soon as we got over the border I saw lots of kinda run down buildings and tons of people. After just a few minutes I knew I was going to love it here. A man bugged us on the way in asking if we wanted a cab ride because there were gangs further down. My dad knew better and didn't believe him. We stopped at a few shops and walked down a few streets. I can't remember the exact order of everything but we eventually ended up at the plaza or something like that. We shopped around and then ate our pasteries we had bought at a bakery earlier. Very yummy. After eating I went with Clint and Janessa to the upper level. Nearly every shop we passed we were dragged in by the owners. I tried on several bracelets because I was forced to and was shown many beautiful items. I was bugged at each place because I was the oldest and for the most part I resisted. When we were about halfway around the upper loop of shops I was dragged into yet another store. The salesperson was desperate. He had blankets which I really didn't want. The blanket began at $25 and I kept trying to leave. He eventually got all the way down to $5. How can you resist that? (Plus I wanted to leave.) So I just bought the blanket.
We continued on and I was shown many more things. I was bugged by every shop owner as I went along. I was asked to buy a very immodist dress and some very cute baby cowboy boots. :) Near the end I was sucked into this shop and I bought a very pretty small pot for $1.
After that I made it back downstairs. We hung out for a bit more and looked at some of the downstairs shops. A totally ignorant salesperson wanted my mom to buy a bracelet for Crystal. This is of course hard because Crystal wanted it, and vocally said so, but Mom didn't want to buy it. Eventually we had to just walk off.
After a bit more we walked to the back of the store to find the bathrooms. (My whole family.) This of course took along time because we got bothered by quite a few shops. Mom bought Crystal a bracelet and then Crystal didn't want it; she wanted a necelace. It's a never ending battle with five-year-olds.
Out back of the plaza were bathrooms. They were 25 cents per person but Dad got us all in for $1. They were quite nice bathrooms concidering they were in Mexico.
When we came out there was a candy store right there so we went in and bought some candy. This was more like an American store because everything was labelled which was very nice to not be harrassed. I had no idea what anything tasted like and I could understand very little so I bought three very small candies.
When we exited the store there was a young girl and her mother there trying to sell sparkly purses for $2 each. Mom asked her if she made them herself and she said she did. But I am sure she just didn't know what she was saying because they obviously weren't homemade. (Janessa found a plastic tag holder thing around her purse.) Anyway, Crystal, Janessa, and I all got one.
When we were still purchasing from the little girl another man walked up who said he would write something on rice for two dollars or something like that. We had to turn him down.
After that I think we walked back to the main street where we came in on: B. Juarez and went back to a shop that we had been to earlier. Here I bought a purse and a change purse.
After that we began heading out of Mexico and we gave to beggars all along the way.
After we arrived at the border we had to scramble up thirty cents, we paid, and then walked across the long bridge. Back on the US side of the Rio Grande we waited in line and then went through a checkpoint where they asked us what we had and my parents showed their ID. We then went to another building where Dad payed nearly a dollar for his Tequila that the state of Texas had absolutely nothing to do with.
After that we walked to some pay phones and called our shuttle. We waited an agonizing 20 minutes or so before the shuttle came. (Ten minutes, my butt!) When we got in the airconditioned van, it was like heaven.
We rode back to the hotel and once there I showered. After that I basically did random stuff.
In the night when it was time to sleep, our family could just not sleep. We were so loud I have absolutely no idea we didn't have the front desk knocking on our door several times. My siblings put on mini shows, we entertained ourselves with the light coming in from the window creating a projecter on the wall for a shadow show, and did other random stuff. Yeah, it was loud.
On Monday morning I woke up and had breakfast, sat around a acted lazy, packed up, and then we began driving. We drove about 45 minutes into El Paso, Texas and found a hotel. It was advertised in a brocure (sp?) as a Holiday Inn Express, but it was becoming that in 1 week and was still a Travel Lodge. We checked in and grabbed a few things and then walked to a bank a few blocks away. Here we converted some money into Pasos and converted some money into american ones.
We walked back to the hotel and waited like a half and hour in the annoying wind for the hotel shuttle to arrive to carry us to the border. Finally it did come and we were driven and dropped off at the border. We walked through the checkpoint or whatever you call it and only had to pay 35 cents. We didn't even go through checks or anything. As soon as we got over the border I saw lots of kinda run down buildings and tons of people. After just a few minutes I knew I was going to love it here. A man bugged us on the way in asking if we wanted a cab ride because there were gangs further down. My dad knew better and didn't believe him. We stopped at a few shops and walked down a few streets. I can't remember the exact order of everything but we eventually ended up at the plaza or something like that. We shopped around and then ate our pasteries we had bought at a bakery earlier. Very yummy. After eating I went with Clint and Janessa to the upper level. Nearly every shop we passed we were dragged in by the owners. I tried on several bracelets because I was forced to and was shown many beautiful items. I was bugged at each place because I was the oldest and for the most part I resisted. When we were about halfway around the upper loop of shops I was dragged into yet another store. The salesperson was desperate. He had blankets which I really didn't want. The blanket began at $25 and I kept trying to leave. He eventually got all the way down to $5. How can you resist that? (Plus I wanted to leave.) So I just bought the blanket.
We continued on and I was shown many more things. I was bugged by every shop owner as I went along. I was asked to buy a very immodist dress and some very cute baby cowboy boots. :) Near the end I was sucked into this shop and I bought a very pretty small pot for $1.
After that I made it back downstairs. We hung out for a bit more and looked at some of the downstairs shops. A totally ignorant salesperson wanted my mom to buy a bracelet for Crystal. This is of course hard because Crystal wanted it, and vocally said so, but Mom didn't want to buy it. Eventually we had to just walk off.
After a bit more we walked to the back of the store to find the bathrooms. (My whole family.) This of course took along time because we got bothered by quite a few shops. Mom bought Crystal a bracelet and then Crystal didn't want it; she wanted a necelace. It's a never ending battle with five-year-olds.
Out back of the plaza were bathrooms. They were 25 cents per person but Dad got us all in for $1. They were quite nice bathrooms concidering they were in Mexico.
When we came out there was a candy store right there so we went in and bought some candy. This was more like an American store because everything was labelled which was very nice to not be harrassed. I had no idea what anything tasted like and I could understand very little so I bought three very small candies.
When we exited the store there was a young girl and her mother there trying to sell sparkly purses for $2 each. Mom asked her if she made them herself and she said she did. But I am sure she just didn't know what she was saying because they obviously weren't homemade. (Janessa found a plastic tag holder thing around her purse.) Anyway, Crystal, Janessa, and I all got one.
When we were still purchasing from the little girl another man walked up who said he would write something on rice for two dollars or something like that. We had to turn him down.
After that I think we walked back to the main street where we came in on: B. Juarez and went back to a shop that we had been to earlier. Here I bought a purse and a change purse.
After that we began heading out of Mexico and we gave to beggars all along the way.
After we arrived at the border we had to scramble up thirty cents, we paid, and then walked across the long bridge. Back on the US side of the Rio Grande we waited in line and then went through a checkpoint where they asked us what we had and my parents showed their ID. We then went to another building where Dad payed nearly a dollar for his Tequila that the state of Texas had absolutely nothing to do with.
After that we walked to some pay phones and called our shuttle. We waited an agonizing 20 minutes or so before the shuttle came. (Ten minutes, my butt!) When we got in the airconditioned van, it was like heaven.
We rode back to the hotel and once there I showered. After that I basically did random stuff.
In the night when it was time to sleep, our family could just not sleep. We were so loud I have absolutely no idea we didn't have the front desk knocking on our door several times. My siblings put on mini shows, we entertained ourselves with the light coming in from the window creating a projecter on the wall for a shadow show, and did other random stuff. Yeah, it was loud.
Vacation, Day II
On Sunday Morning I woke up and had continental breakfast. We packed up and drove all day again. On the road from Farmington to Alburqueque we saw lots of road kill, tons of nothingness, and one random llama in the middle of nowhere sitting on a pile of gravel. Go figure. It was cool though.
When a little further than halfway to Alburqueque we stopped at a McDonalds in a small town called Cuba. We each got a burger and then Dad got mad at me for flinging the sliding door on the van open...I was annoying because I really didn't mean to.
After about another hour of driving we drove through Alburqueque. It's a really big city and very fun to drive through. It had NINETEEN freeway exits...
A bit after Alburqueque we stopped in a town called Belen for gas.
After Belen we drove for like another 3 hours all the way to Las Cruces. It was agonizing and I went quite crazy. We watched lots of sagebrush and our windsheild becoming increasingly more covered with bug splatters. By the time we got to Las Cruces we had several GIANT yellow splatter from monarch butterflies (not to mention probably a thousand little clear splatters). At one point we came just inches from nailing a bird. That would have been really sad. (Sorry if this bit grossed anyone out.)
In Las Cruces we stopped for a bathroom break and watched dad clean off (more like scrape off) all the bug guts. After that we drove around to many hotels and this time shopping around paid off. We found a nice hotel that was under renovation (but half of it was still old, which was the part we stayed in). And I think it was only $50 or something...not sure. But a lot cheaper than anything else around. We settled in and I just did random stuff for the rest of the day. I played catch with Dad and Janessa, took pictures of my siblings in the pool, watched TV, and other random stuff.
When a little further than halfway to Alburqueque we stopped at a McDonalds in a small town called Cuba. We each got a burger and then Dad got mad at me for flinging the sliding door on the van open...I was annoying because I really didn't mean to.
After about another hour of driving we drove through Alburqueque. It's a really big city and very fun to drive through. It had NINETEEN freeway exits...
A bit after Alburqueque we stopped in a town called Belen for gas.
After Belen we drove for like another 3 hours all the way to Las Cruces. It was agonizing and I went quite crazy. We watched lots of sagebrush and our windsheild becoming increasingly more covered with bug splatters. By the time we got to Las Cruces we had several GIANT yellow splatter from monarch butterflies (not to mention probably a thousand little clear splatters). At one point we came just inches from nailing a bird. That would have been really sad. (Sorry if this bit grossed anyone out.)
In Las Cruces we stopped for a bathroom break and watched dad clean off (more like scrape off) all the bug guts. After that we drove around to many hotels and this time shopping around paid off. We found a nice hotel that was under renovation (but half of it was still old, which was the part we stayed in). And I think it was only $50 or something...not sure. But a lot cheaper than anything else around. We settled in and I just did random stuff for the rest of the day. I played catch with Dad and Janessa, took pictures of my siblings in the pool, watched TV, and other random stuff.
Vacation, Day I
On Saturday, 2 April, around 10 AM or something, my whole family left for vacation. We drove south for a few hours until we got to Arches National Park. We paid and drove for awhile in the park. We stopped at a parking lot for the famous Delicate Arch. We walked for about 10 minutes and arrived at the viewpoint. (It's 3 miles to actually get to it--like I would hike that far!) Anyway, we veiwed it but couldn't take any pictures because our stupid camera batteries were dead. I'll have to buy a postcard when I'm back in Provo, lol. Or look at a Utah lisence plate...
Anyway, after visiting the arch we drove for a few more hours through Colorado and into Northern New Mexico. (That adds 2 states to my list of states visited :D) Here we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Farmington. We got there fairly late so I basically swam, showered, and went to bed.
Anyway, after visiting the arch we drove for a few more hours through Colorado and into Northern New Mexico. (That adds 2 states to my list of states visited :D) Here we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Farmington. We got there fairly late so I basically swam, showered, and went to bed.
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