I made a trip to Ohio last year and never realized how amazing that whole state is. Even though the duration of my stay consisted of two weeks, I found myself completely occupied the entire time. I have family that lives about 45 minutes from Cleveland in the town of Ravenna. This town held a population of about 30, every yard was without a fence and everyone knew their neighbor. Creeks and lakes and tall green trees surrounded every area. B E A U T I F U L .
The first few days were spent boating, fishing, hiking and eating. I do not think I have ever been on any hiking trail that was as incredible as the ones here. I got a mild case of poison oak but it was worth it! I wish I had a camera because this trail went through the ground as if it was a mini Grand Canyon. I would look up about 40 feet and see a long crack of light that barely lit the pebble coated walls. So many layers of sediment! And the bugs, oh, the bugs! I finally decided to make my way out of the maze by climbing on this dead tree, BIG MISTAKE! As I started to make my way up it, gigantic beetles started flying out! They were so big, they could fly for only about 10 seconds and of course, had to land on me! I could feel their claws poking through my shirt and they were very loud! Amazing hiking adventure none the less.
The next few days were spent in Amish town where we bought cheeses, blankets, tools and a whole lot of other hand made goods. These people were incredible, so polite and so so so simple. Every doll was without a face, every dress of an unmarried girl was pinned, not buttoned. Every woman wore a bonnet and every married man was to grow a beard and told never to trim it. They traveled by horse drawn carriages, plowed their own fields and always had a homemade meal on the table. The next day I went on a museum tour and witnessed an amazing work of art. It was a 360 degree painting that told a story in timeline form. This way of life holds such great morality. I was in awe the whole time.
Then came the nights filled with lighting fireworks, taking baths in well water, catching fireflies in jars, hitting balls and placing bets on who could accomplish the longest drive. I went to this amusement park called, Geauga Lake. This place had tons of rides, lakes full of massive coy fish and the biggest water park I have ever seen. I remember this one ride though, the most intense of any I have ever been on. I am a roller coaster fanatic so this was intense times one thousand. THE VILLAIN was it's name. My brother and I were told by my aunt that this ride HURT but we did not take her word for it. When on this ride, all you could hear was crying and people yelling, "OW OW OW OW OW!!!". haha. If that ride is still going today, I would be astonished. Though, it had me laughing the whole entire time. :]
The next few days were spent in Cleveland where we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. SO SO SO radical. I saw John Lennon's doodle book and the one where he wrote most of his songs. Also, the Sergeant Pepper uniforms and tons of other memorabilia including some by Tom Petty, The Clash, Jim Morrison, The Rolling Stones and a whole room of Jimi Hendrix material. We also went on a boat tour through the city also known as, "The City of Bridges" which contained an incredible amount of mind blowing architecture that I wish I could have taken more pictures of.
It is a sight to see for sure.
The last few days were spent up at Niagara Falls. We stayed on the Canada side and made sure to check out all of the wax museums. The best part was when we got on the Maid of the Mist boat ride. We got so close to the falls that I got a little scared. A boy once survived falling down the Canada side. That must have been insane. Thank goodness he was rescued before the whirlpool! (yea, there's a whirlpool about a half mile down stream. They even have a speed boat ride that goes super close to it.) Before we left Canada we made sure to go to the butterfly atrium, the whirlpool and of course the liquor store. Haha. My dad had to get the green label Jack Daniel's.
The last part of the trip was in the airplane from Vegas to Palm Springs Airport. My family and I were on a 16 passenger plane with a bunch of basketball players and the turbulence went out of control! It was pretty scary since it was night time and we could not see the ground. The turbulence lasted for about 30 minutes! Freaked us all out pretty bad! Haha.
So that was my trip.
I will be posting pictures of it soon! <3
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
The day I saved a life
I was driving along Stanford street until I stopped at the turning lane on Florida Ave.
I waited at least 2 minutes until the light turned green.
As I started creeping forward, I hit a boy on his bicycle.
A little boy who was probably 6 or 7 decided to speed across the road without looking.
I am so thankful that I hit him because if I was not there to do so, he would have probably been dead.
I knocked him off of his bike and onto the hood of my car.
His bicycle got mangled under an SUV that was coming in the opposite direction.
This SUV was driving at least 50 mph!
The boy ran across the street to the Shell station as I pulled in to see if he was ok.
He was more interested in what happened to his bike but was fine.
There were three other witnesses who hugged me and the boy right away.
We picked up the pieces of his bicycle and put them in my car.
I drove the boy home and relayed the news to his mother.
She did not seem to care.
Wow.
What a mom.
It is very odd to say that I saved a boy's life by hitting him with my car.
If I would have looked the other way before creeping up, I would have had the reaction to stop.
I waited at least 2 minutes until the light turned green.
As I started creeping forward, I hit a boy on his bicycle.
A little boy who was probably 6 or 7 decided to speed across the road without looking.
I am so thankful that I hit him because if I was not there to do so, he would have probably been dead.
I knocked him off of his bike and onto the hood of my car.
His bicycle got mangled under an SUV that was coming in the opposite direction.
This SUV was driving at least 50 mph!
The boy ran across the street to the Shell station as I pulled in to see if he was ok.
He was more interested in what happened to his bike but was fine.
There were three other witnesses who hugged me and the boy right away.
We picked up the pieces of his bicycle and put them in my car.
I drove the boy home and relayed the news to his mother.
She did not seem to care.
Wow.
What a mom.
It is very odd to say that I saved a boy's life by hitting him with my car.
If I would have looked the other way before creeping up, I would have had the reaction to stop.
Friday, October 17, 2008
I remember!
From toddler times to present day, I have moments in my life that I hope will always remain in my memory. Some are clear, some are hazy and others are just pictorial flashes that my brain stored in it's photo album.
I consider myself to be overly observant. I have been this way since the day I was born. My mom would sit a plant in front of my crib to keep me quiet because she knew I would be staring at it in awe for at least an hour. I remember extremely detailed things such as how the hose was rolled up in the backyard or what the garden looked like. I could list countless things!
One memory that I will never forget was the time I broke my arm. This happened to land on my first day of school in the first grade. It was a cold, rainy morning and was during "free play" that I decided to get my clothes dirty and finally get to be able to play on the "big kids" playground. In kindergarten, I was the champ at hop skotch, swing jumping and the ever so popular, "Monkey Bars". After a few hand-clapping games and a trip down the slide I decided to challenge a girl by the name of Erica Smith to the bars. This was unlike the usual competition because the bars were wet which made it challenging. We started out going across, then moved on to skipping one, then two and when that time to skip three rolled around, things got deadly. I was the first to make the attempt. I was in mid-air on the second swoop when I lost grip and went down. I happened to land my wrist right on the cement step of the planter and that was when it happened; "CRACK!" went my arm. The funny thing was that it did not hurt. I held my wrist, got up off the ground and made my way over to the yard nark. "I think I broke my wrist", I said while staring up at her. Everyone gathered around and started grabbing my arm. "Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!". I could not wait there any longer so I jetted to the nurses office without the pass. My arm ended up being fractured pretty bad. I remember being able to be excused from doing any writing for the next few months. My wrist was so skinny I could slide my hot pink, tagged up cast right off. When the weather changes like this and my arm starts aching, this memory flashes through my mind. :]
I consider myself to be overly observant. I have been this way since the day I was born. My mom would sit a plant in front of my crib to keep me quiet because she knew I would be staring at it in awe for at least an hour. I remember extremely detailed things such as how the hose was rolled up in the backyard or what the garden looked like. I could list countless things!
One memory that I will never forget was the time I broke my arm. This happened to land on my first day of school in the first grade. It was a cold, rainy morning and was during "free play" that I decided to get my clothes dirty and finally get to be able to play on the "big kids" playground. In kindergarten, I was the champ at hop skotch, swing jumping and the ever so popular, "Monkey Bars". After a few hand-clapping games and a trip down the slide I decided to challenge a girl by the name of Erica Smith to the bars. This was unlike the usual competition because the bars were wet which made it challenging. We started out going across, then moved on to skipping one, then two and when that time to skip three rolled around, things got deadly. I was the first to make the attempt. I was in mid-air on the second swoop when I lost grip and went down. I happened to land my wrist right on the cement step of the planter and that was when it happened; "CRACK!" went my arm. The funny thing was that it did not hurt. I held my wrist, got up off the ground and made my way over to the yard nark. "I think I broke my wrist", I said while staring up at her. Everyone gathered around and started grabbing my arm. "Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!". I could not wait there any longer so I jetted to the nurses office without the pass. My arm ended up being fractured pretty bad. I remember being able to be excused from doing any writing for the next few months. My wrist was so skinny I could slide my hot pink, tagged up cast right off. When the weather changes like this and my arm starts aching, this memory flashes through my mind. :]
Monday, October 13, 2008
Meditative running?
I love running.
I reach a point where I am absolutely thoughtless.
I am in perfect rythym with my mind, body and soul.
I feel no pain.
I hear my breath slowly fade to complete silence.
Complete serenity.
I am meditating.
This usually comes after the 4th or 5th mile.
Try it! Do not give up!
:]
I reach a point where I am absolutely thoughtless.
I am in perfect rythym with my mind, body and soul.
I feel no pain.
I hear my breath slowly fade to complete silence.
Complete serenity.
I am meditating.
This usually comes after the 4th or 5th mile.
Try it! Do not give up!
:]
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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