Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Washington DC
It's about time we post about this adventure. Jeff's wonderful parents decided to take us to DC for 10 days in July. Pretty awesome, right? We had so much fun and feel very grateful for the opportunity to learn and see all that we did. Just to warn you, this is gonna be a looong one.
The adventure began even before we got to the airport. Haha, I still laugh just thinking about it. Jeff and I were standing with his parents and Alisa and Ryan in front of Alisa and Ryan's house when their neighbor decides to set off a firework. Don't know why for sure. I guess he just felt like it. Anyway, the firework was pretty impressive shooting colorful sparks up in the air and making screeching noises. Until the firework TIPPED OVER and started sending blasts towards the house, cars, and every other direction. I looked around at everyone just standing there, looking stupified and not really sure what to do when Jeff yelled, "RUN FOR COVER!!!!" and sprinted off in the opposite direction. Fearing for my life, I ran after him. Finally the firework stopped and we couldn't stop laughing until we got to the airport. Oh my gosh, it was hilarious. Thankfully, no one was killed, none of the cars blew up, and no houses burned down. It was a close one though :)
After that, the trip started out with a red-eye flight to NY. Jeff suffered from restless leg syndrome and I was worried about not being able to sleep so I took one little Tylenol PM (which is only half a dose) and felt drugged for the next 12 hours. That stuff knocked me out! We had a layover at JFK and sat around watching BIRDS flying around INSIDE the terminal. It was really funny to watch peoples' reactions when they realized that yes, that was a bird that just flew past their face.
When we finally got to DC, the weather was just as I was warned it would be. Hot and sticky! And it stayed like that the entire trip. I never really felt clean. That's okay though. Our first stop was Arlington Cemetery. Very impressive. We took a bus around the cemetery that made stops at all of the really important memorials. We watched the changing of the guards. I was amazed at how precise and in sync the guys were as they did the gun routine. I also felt bad for them because they had to have been hotter than heck in their uniforms.
Next stop was the Holocaust museum. There was a torrential downpour just before we got into the museum so we were especially freezing inside. I was amazed at how interested Jeff was. I won't lie, I wasn't really sure he would get into the museums, but man, he loved them! Every person in the world should go to this museum at some point in their life. It really touches you and makes you feel awful for all the horrible things that happened back then.
By this time, we were so hungry and tired that we got some food and went to the hotel to prepare for our drive up to PA the next morning.
We drove to Gettysburg which was so neat! It was kind of humbling to be there, to know that so many soldiers died right where we were in order to establish justice. Just FYI, if you ever go, plan on way more than 2 hours if you want to see it all. It was very, very cool.
Then we drove to York and got lost. Then drove around until we finally found our way out of York. Haha. We were on our way to Doylestown for the rest of the weekend to spend time with Jeff's cousin Todd and his family. On the way, we drove through Lancaster County where the Amish live. It was so crazy to see the families driving around by horse and buggy. We decided to stop at an Amish restaurant to get a feel for their life. In my opinion, the food was decent at best. Our favorite thing about the restaurant was that it was in a town called Intercourse. Yup. I was the lucky one who got to ask for directions on how to get to Intercourse. We all thought that was pretty funny. As we drove on to Doylestown, we got to see how beautiful PA is. It was gorgeous. I didn't realize that there were states as pretty (or maybe even prettier) than Oregon.
Finally, we arrived at Todd and Connie's and met some of the cutest little kiddies ever. Alex, Anna, and Andrew were totally adorable. And I must brag that Anna and Andrew especially liked me :) They were too much fun. That weekend Todd was our tour guide. We went to Philadelphia and saw the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' house, Ben Franklin's grave, the Church of Christ, and ate the famous Philly Cheesesteaks. Yum! Jeff and I got out of the car at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to run up the same steps that Rocky Balboa runs up in the movie. Later that day we went to Valley Forge and saw the humble circumstances the troops lived in. The huts were weeny and dirty! I especially enjoyed the museum there and the tour of Washington's house while he was there. I thought it was so cool to be able to walk in a house that George Washington had lived in. So neat!!
The next day we went to church and then to Washington's crossing on the Delaware River. Everything was closed there so we just walked around the park for a while. Then we went back to Todd's house to jump on the tramp in the rain (which to this day, I still think is so much fun), and play some Wii and Bop-It, see fireflies for the first time, and watch the most intense thunderstorm I've ever witnessed. I'd never seen rain pour like that before and the thunder was sooo unbelievably loud. And the lightning was so close it would light up the entire black sky. It was really cool!
The day after that we went to Six Flags in NJ. Sooooo muuuch fuuuun!!!!!! I overcame my fear of rollercoasters by doing one simple thing: closing my eyes during the climb. I HATE the climb because I'm so afraid of heights. But after that, then the rest of the ride is a blast. Jeff and I especially loved Nitro. It was by far the best in the park. I wish I was riding it right now, haha. We also really liked the Superman ride because you feel like you're flying. And El Torro is the most intense wooden rollercoaster ever! Even though the heat and humidity were almost too much to handle, we still had a ton of fun. And props to Kim and Patsy for going on most of the thrill rides.
The next morning we went to "Coffee with the Senator" or whatever it was called and got to talk with Mike Crapo, senator of Idaho. He gave us his stance on healthcare, and from what he said, we should all be afraid if Obama passes his legislature for universal healthcare. I really enjoyed being able to learn more about that directly from a senator. We then went to the National Museum of Art which Kim and I especially liked. I realized that maybe I did learn something from my Humanities classes. We also toured the Library of Congress and saw where some scenes in National Treasure took place. We then proceeded to tour the Capital building where I had a little run in with security. Haha. They were out to get me that day, I swear. I won't get into it, but let's just say they were all in a conspiracy to get a hold of my nifty pink waterbottle. They didn't though! Unfortunately, our tour there was super rushed because they were trying to close the building for an event. And our tour guides voice was completely obnoxious. After that, we got to go to the Senate Lecture Hall and listen to a few senators debate and make propositions (if that's what you call it, I'm not sure!). It was pretty neat.
After that, we went back to Alexandria, VA, where our hotel was. We were really close to Old Towne Alexandria and so we decided to go down to the waterfront and have dinner around there. We were told by someone that it was only about 6-8 blocks to get down there. But it actually ended up being more like 20+ blocks and it took us forever. We were so hungry and wanted some advice as to where we should eat when this random guy told us that we should go to Gadsby's Tavern. He said that Washington had eaten there a few times and the food was delicious and not too expensive. And so we went, but only to find out that the food was super expensive. On average, it was about $30 a plate! We weren't sure what that guy was smoking when he told us they had reasonable prices. The food was really good though. After that, we were going to take the free shuttle back to the hotel, but missed the last one of the night by about 3-5 min. That was frustrating. Fortunately, Kim decided he'd rather pay for a taxi than walk for another hour. It seem like we spent half our time walking everywhere. But I guess that's what you do when you go back East to see the sights.
This is getting way too long so I will just list the rest of the stuff we did:
-Went to the National Air and Space Museum. One of the planes there was in the new Transformers movie.
-Had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, a place Jeff has wanted to go to for a long time.
-Went to the DC temple.
-Toured the White House
-Went to the American History Museum
-Went to Mount Vernon--and got hit by yet another torrential downpour.
-Relaxed in the hotel's hot tub and watched SYTYCD. A nice relaxing evening.
-Went out on a date. Jeff took me out to dinner while Kim took Patsy out somewhere else.
-Walked the entire mall where we saw the Washington Monument, Vietnam War memorial, WWI and WWII memorials, Korean War memorial, and the Lincoln, FDR, and Jefferson memorials. A LOT OF WALKING THAT DAY!
-Went to the Botanical Gardens.
-Went to the Museum of Natural History and saw a 3D Dinosaur Imax movie.
-Had dinner at Union Station.
-We did want to go to the International Spy Museum, but were so completely exhausted that we just slept in on the last day and then packed to go home.
We had a trip of a lifetime and feel really lucky that we got to see as much as we did. Thanks Kim and Patsy for a great trip!
The adventure began even before we got to the airport. Haha, I still laugh just thinking about it. Jeff and I were standing with his parents and Alisa and Ryan in front of Alisa and Ryan's house when their neighbor decides to set off a firework. Don't know why for sure. I guess he just felt like it. Anyway, the firework was pretty impressive shooting colorful sparks up in the air and making screeching noises. Until the firework TIPPED OVER and started sending blasts towards the house, cars, and every other direction. I looked around at everyone just standing there, looking stupified and not really sure what to do when Jeff yelled, "RUN FOR COVER!!!!" and sprinted off in the opposite direction. Fearing for my life, I ran after him. Finally the firework stopped and we couldn't stop laughing until we got to the airport. Oh my gosh, it was hilarious. Thankfully, no one was killed, none of the cars blew up, and no houses burned down. It was a close one though :)
After that, the trip started out with a red-eye flight to NY. Jeff suffered from restless leg syndrome and I was worried about not being able to sleep so I took one little Tylenol PM (which is only half a dose) and felt drugged for the next 12 hours. That stuff knocked me out! We had a layover at JFK and sat around watching BIRDS flying around INSIDE the terminal. It was really funny to watch peoples' reactions when they realized that yes, that was a bird that just flew past their face.
When we finally got to DC, the weather was just as I was warned it would be. Hot and sticky! And it stayed like that the entire trip. I never really felt clean. That's okay though. Our first stop was Arlington Cemetery. Very impressive. We took a bus around the cemetery that made stops at all of the really important memorials. We watched the changing of the guards. I was amazed at how precise and in sync the guys were as they did the gun routine. I also felt bad for them because they had to have been hotter than heck in their uniforms.
Next stop was the Holocaust museum. There was a torrential downpour just before we got into the museum so we were especially freezing inside. I was amazed at how interested Jeff was. I won't lie, I wasn't really sure he would get into the museums, but man, he loved them! Every person in the world should go to this museum at some point in their life. It really touches you and makes you feel awful for all the horrible things that happened back then.
By this time, we were so hungry and tired that we got some food and went to the hotel to prepare for our drive up to PA the next morning.
We drove to Gettysburg which was so neat! It was kind of humbling to be there, to know that so many soldiers died right where we were in order to establish justice. Just FYI, if you ever go, plan on way more than 2 hours if you want to see it all. It was very, very cool.
Then we drove to York and got lost. Then drove around until we finally found our way out of York. Haha. We were on our way to Doylestown for the rest of the weekend to spend time with Jeff's cousin Todd and his family. On the way, we drove through Lancaster County where the Amish live. It was so crazy to see the families driving around by horse and buggy. We decided to stop at an Amish restaurant to get a feel for their life. In my opinion, the food was decent at best. Our favorite thing about the restaurant was that it was in a town called Intercourse. Yup. I was the lucky one who got to ask for directions on how to get to Intercourse. We all thought that was pretty funny. As we drove on to Doylestown, we got to see how beautiful PA is. It was gorgeous. I didn't realize that there were states as pretty (or maybe even prettier) than Oregon.
Finally, we arrived at Todd and Connie's and met some of the cutest little kiddies ever. Alex, Anna, and Andrew were totally adorable. And I must brag that Anna and Andrew especially liked me :) They were too much fun. That weekend Todd was our tour guide. We went to Philadelphia and saw the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' house, Ben Franklin's grave, the Church of Christ, and ate the famous Philly Cheesesteaks. Yum! Jeff and I got out of the car at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to run up the same steps that Rocky Balboa runs up in the movie. Later that day we went to Valley Forge and saw the humble circumstances the troops lived in. The huts were weeny and dirty! I especially enjoyed the museum there and the tour of Washington's house while he was there. I thought it was so cool to be able to walk in a house that George Washington had lived in. So neat!!
The next day we went to church and then to Washington's crossing on the Delaware River. Everything was closed there so we just walked around the park for a while. Then we went back to Todd's house to jump on the tramp in the rain (which to this day, I still think is so much fun), and play some Wii and Bop-It, see fireflies for the first time, and watch the most intense thunderstorm I've ever witnessed. I'd never seen rain pour like that before and the thunder was sooo unbelievably loud. And the lightning was so close it would light up the entire black sky. It was really cool!
The day after that we went to Six Flags in NJ. Sooooo muuuch fuuuun!!!!!! I overcame my fear of rollercoasters by doing one simple thing: closing my eyes during the climb. I HATE the climb because I'm so afraid of heights. But after that, then the rest of the ride is a blast. Jeff and I especially loved Nitro. It was by far the best in the park. I wish I was riding it right now, haha. We also really liked the Superman ride because you feel like you're flying. And El Torro is the most intense wooden rollercoaster ever! Even though the heat and humidity were almost too much to handle, we still had a ton of fun. And props to Kim and Patsy for going on most of the thrill rides.
The next morning we went to "Coffee with the Senator" or whatever it was called and got to talk with Mike Crapo, senator of Idaho. He gave us his stance on healthcare, and from what he said, we should all be afraid if Obama passes his legislature for universal healthcare. I really enjoyed being able to learn more about that directly from a senator. We then went to the National Museum of Art which Kim and I especially liked. I realized that maybe I did learn something from my Humanities classes. We also toured the Library of Congress and saw where some scenes in National Treasure took place. We then proceeded to tour the Capital building where I had a little run in with security. Haha. They were out to get me that day, I swear. I won't get into it, but let's just say they were all in a conspiracy to get a hold of my nifty pink waterbottle. They didn't though! Unfortunately, our tour there was super rushed because they were trying to close the building for an event. And our tour guides voice was completely obnoxious. After that, we got to go to the Senate Lecture Hall and listen to a few senators debate and make propositions (if that's what you call it, I'm not sure!). It was pretty neat.
After that, we went back to Alexandria, VA, where our hotel was. We were really close to Old Towne Alexandria and so we decided to go down to the waterfront and have dinner around there. We were told by someone that it was only about 6-8 blocks to get down there. But it actually ended up being more like 20+ blocks and it took us forever. We were so hungry and wanted some advice as to where we should eat when this random guy told us that we should go to Gadsby's Tavern. He said that Washington had eaten there a few times and the food was delicious and not too expensive. And so we went, but only to find out that the food was super expensive. On average, it was about $30 a plate! We weren't sure what that guy was smoking when he told us they had reasonable prices. The food was really good though. After that, we were going to take the free shuttle back to the hotel, but missed the last one of the night by about 3-5 min. That was frustrating. Fortunately, Kim decided he'd rather pay for a taxi than walk for another hour. It seem like we spent half our time walking everywhere. But I guess that's what you do when you go back East to see the sights.
This is getting way too long so I will just list the rest of the stuff we did:
-Went to the National Air and Space Museum. One of the planes there was in the new Transformers movie.
-Had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, a place Jeff has wanted to go to for a long time.
-Went to the DC temple.
-Toured the White House
-Went to the American History Museum
-Went to Mount Vernon--and got hit by yet another torrential downpour.
-Relaxed in the hotel's hot tub and watched SYTYCD. A nice relaxing evening.
-Went out on a date. Jeff took me out to dinner while Kim took Patsy out somewhere else.
-Walked the entire mall where we saw the Washington Monument, Vietnam War memorial, WWI and WWII memorials, Korean War memorial, and the Lincoln, FDR, and Jefferson memorials. A LOT OF WALKING THAT DAY!
-Went to the Botanical Gardens.
-Went to the Museum of Natural History and saw a 3D Dinosaur Imax movie.
-Had dinner at Union Station.
-We did want to go to the International Spy Museum, but were so completely exhausted that we just slept in on the last day and then packed to go home.
We had a trip of a lifetime and feel really lucky that we got to see as much as we did. Thanks Kim and Patsy for a great trip!
Girls Camp
A view of the camp from half way to the summit.
The first year girls. They were too cute.
The Camp Director with me, her assistant. Glamorous shot, I know.This year I got sucked into going to girls camp again. It seems weird that I'm old enough to be a leader in YW. I mean, when I'm with all the girls and all the leaders, I feel much more like I'm 17 or 18 than 30 or older. And I'll be honest, when I first heard about Camp Mia Shalom, I finally realized how spoiled I was when I went to camp up in Washington. We had electricity in half of the cabins, we had warm showers, we had a pool, and we had a lodge with a dining hall. Camp Mia Shalom had NONE of the above. Most everyone went without a shower for the whole week. Not me though, no thanks. I'd rather take a freezing cold shower than none at all. And yes, it was freezing! We also had to cook every single meal for the entire week. Luckily, we brought along a lady who cooks delicious food on the fire and on camp stoves so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Even though we were roughing it a bit more than I would prefer to, we had a lot of fun. I've never met a more happy and friendly group of girls. They were awesome to be around. I also had a lot of fun getting to know the other leaders better. Yay for making more friends in the ward!
Here are some highlights of the trip:
1. The hike to the summit. We could see forever in every direction.
2. Canoeing on the lake. It was too bad that we couldn't go swimming though. The lake was crystal clear so you could see right to the bottom. It didn't feel too cold either, and since it was so hot up there, it would have been a great way to cool down.
3. Morning runs at 10,000 feet. I don't think I've ever had to work so hard to breath. Great way to train though.
4. Singing around the lake.
5. Tin foil calzones. Delicious.
6. The scenery. It was beautiful up there. Reminded me a lot of Oregon.
7. Cute little first years with extra camp enthusiasm.
8. Camp fire stories.
9. Watching the moon rise each night. It would come up from behind a mountain and light up the sky. There were a gazillion stars out too.
10. And I'll be honest, I felt pretty lucky that I got to come home a day early to go up to Jeff's family reunion in Idaho. I got to shower before everyone else, and I didn't have to help clean up! Haha.
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